Delivery of Stem Cells and BMP-2 With Functionalized Self-Assembling Peptide Enhances Regeneration of Infarcted Myocardium.

Stem cell transplantation is a promising therapeutic strategy for myocardial infarction (MI). However, engraftment, survival and differentiation of the transplanted stem cells in ischemic and inflammatory microenvironment are poor. We designed a novel self-assembly peptide (SAP) by modifying the peptide RADA16 with cell-adhesive motif and BMP-2 (bone morphogenetic protein-2)-binding motif.

Efficacy of physiological seawater nasal irrigation for the treatment of children with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 variant infection: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Saline nasal irrigation is an effective therapy for relieving common cold symptoms. This study aimed to investigate and explore the efficacy of physiological seawater nasal irrigation (PSNI) on children with mild and asymptomatic infection with Omicron.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in Shanghai, China, and 403 children with mild and asymptomatic infection with Omicron were included.

Climate and geochemistry at different altitudes influence soil fungal community aggregation patterns in alpine grasslands.

Fungi represent key ecosystem factors that affect plant growth and development and improve soil structure and fertility. Due to changes in environmental conditions, fungi show strong spatial heterogeneity along altitudinal gradients. Current knowledge of the driving mechanisms and effects of soil fungal community construction at high altitudes is very limited on a regional scale.

Alteration of neural activity and neuroinflammatory factors in the insular cortex of mice with corneal neuropathic pain.

Dry eye disease (DED) affects nearly 55% of people worldwide; several studies have proposed that central sensitization and neuroinflammation may contribute to the developing corneal neuropathic pain of DED, while the underlying mechanisms of this contribution remain to be investigated. Excision of extra orbital lacrimal glands established the dry eye model. Corneal hypersensitivity was examined through chemical and mechanical stimulation, and open field test measured the anxiety levels.

Evaluation of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of achalasia.

Due to the unclear quality of the current guidelines, users may be confused about how to diagnose and treat achalasia. The objective of this work is to systematically evaluate the methodological quality of the current guidelines for diagnosing and treating achalasia and to determine the heterogeneity among recommendations. We systematically searched literature databases to retrieve relevant guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of achalasia.

Hem-o-lok clip migration to the common bile duct after laparoscopic common bile duct exploration: A case report.

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) has been widely used for management of gallbladder and common bile duct (CBD) stones. Post-operative clip migration is a rare complication of laparoscopic biliary surgery, which can serve as a nidus for stone formation and cause recurrent cholangitis.

Case Summary: A 59-year-old female was admitted to hospital because of fever and acute right upper abdominal pain.

Systematic appraisal of the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Hirschsprung's disease.

Background: Some guidelines for management of Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR, HD) have been developed, but their quality is vague. This study will systematically assess the quality of guidelines and analyze the key recommendations and the best evidence for guidelines.

Methods: Applicable guidelines were retrieved using a systematic search of databases.

The Relationship of the Test for Respiratory and Asthma Control in Kids Initial Score on the Prognosis of Pre-school Children With Asthma: A Prospective Cohort Study.

The test for respiratory and asthma control in kids (TRACK) is currently the only standard follow-up tool for children under 5 years of age with asthma. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the TRACK initial score (Ti) and their prognosis after 6 months of follow-up in pre-schoolers with asthma. A prospective cohort study.

Rapamycin-Preactivated Autophagy Enhances Survival and Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells After Transplantation into Infarcted Myocardium.

Stem cell transplantation has been limited by poor survival of the engrafted cells in hostile microenvironment of the infarcted myocardium. This study investigated cytoprotective effect of rapamycin-preactivated autophagy on survival of the transplanted mesemchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs isolated from rat bone marrow were treated with 50 nmol/L rapamycin for 2 h, and then the cytoprotective effect of rapamycin was examined.

Integrated microRNA and gene expression profiling reveals the crucial miRNAs in curcumin anti-lung cancer cell invasion.

Background: Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) has chemopreventive and therapeutic properties against many types of tumors, both in vitro and in vivo. Previous reports have shown that curcumin exhibits anti-invasive activities, but the mechanisms remain largely unclear.

Methods: In this study, both microRNA (miRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profiles were used to characterize the anti-metastasis mechanisms of curcumin in human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cell line.

Preparation and evaluation of a sustained-release buckwheat noodle.

Background: Different carbohydrates elicit various effects on the digestibility and the glucose release rate, so it is of interest to develop a sustained-release noodle based on the combination of different carbohydrates and reveal the sustained-release mechanism.

Results: The data obtained suggest that xanthan and konjac gum exhibited excellent and synergistic sustained-release properties, whereas cornstarch showed the lowest average digestion rate. The sustained release was particularly evident when the noodle consisted of the following components: 50 g of 25 g kg(-1) hydrophilic colloid mixture solution composed of a 1:1 mass ratio of xanthan:konjac gum and 100 g of reconstructed flour consisting of 200 g kg(-1) buckwheat flour, 400 g kg(-1) cornstarch, and 400 g kg(-1) plain flour.

[Investigation of social support for inpatients with occupational diseases].

Objective: To investigate and analyze the social support for inpatients with occupational diseases and to provide reference and basis for relevant medical and nursing interventions.

Methods: The social support rating scale (SSRS) was used to investigate the social support for 95 inpatients with occupational diseases.

Results: The total SSRS score of these patients was significantly lower than the national norm (32.

Characterization of rat very small embryonic-like stem cells and cardiac repair after cell transplantation for myocardial infarction.

Stem cell therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy for treating myocardial infarction (MI). However, it is necessary to identify ideal adult stem cells for transplantation and explore mechanisms of the transplanted cells in improving cardiac functions after MI. In this study, a population of embryonic-like stem cells (ELSCs) was isolated from rat bone marrow.

Up-regulation of prohibitin 1 is involved in the proliferation and migration of liver cancer cells.

Although prohibitin 1 (PHB) is known to be associated with tumors, there are few studies regarding the role of PHB in hepatocellular carcinoma. An earlier glycoproteomics study of ours showed that PHB is over-expressed in MHCC97-H cells, a highly metastatic liver cancer cell line, and can be captured by wheat germ agglutinin. In the present study, western blotting and reverse transcription-PCR experiments showed an approximately 2-fold up-regulation in the expression of PHB in MHCC97-H cells.

Proteomic analysis of rice leaves shows the different regulations to osmotic stress and stress signals.

Following the idea of partial root-zone drying (PRD) in crop cultivation, the morphological and physiological responses to partial root osmotic stress (PROS) and whole root osmotic stress (WROS) were investigated in rice. WROS caused stress symptoms like leaf rolling and membrane leakage. PROS stimulated stress signals, but did not cause severe leaf damage.

Transplantation of marrow-derived cardiac stem cells carried in fibrin improves cardiac function after myocardial infarction.

The high death rate of the transplanted stem cells in the infarcted heart and the low efficiency of differentiation toward cardiomyocytes influence the outcome of stem cell transplantation for treatment of myocardial infarction (MI). Fibrin glue (FG) has been extensively used as a cell implantation matrix to increase cell survival. However, mechanisms of the effects of FG for stem cell transplantation to improve cardiac function are unclear.

Dissection of additive, epistatic effect and Q x E interaction of quantitative trait loci influencing stigma exsertion under water stress in rice.

Four flowering related traits, spikelet number per panicle (SNP), percentage of single exserted stigma (PSES), dual exserted stigma (PDES) and total exserted stigma (PES) of a RI population with 185 lines under water stress and non-stress conditions for 2 years, were investigated in a drought tolerance screening facility. ANOVA results showed high significance between years, lines, and water stress treatments, together with interactions among them in pairs. Highest phenotypic correlation was found between PSES and PES (r = 0.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of a non-specific lipid-transfer protein with antipathogenic activity from Phaseolus mungo.

A 9 kDa non-specific lipid-transfer protein (nsLTP) from mung bean (Phaseolus mungo) seeds, displaying antifungal activity, antibacterial activity and lipid-transfer activity, was crystallized at 297 K using ammonium sulfate as a precipitant by means of the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Native X-ray diffraction data were collected to a resolution of 2.4 A.

A non-specific lipid transfer protein with antifungal and antibacterial activities from the mung bean.

A non-specific lipid transfer peptide (nsLTP) with antimicrobial activity was isolated from the mung bean (Phaseolus mungo) seeds. The procedure entailed aqueous extraction, ion exchange chromatography on CM-Sephadex and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on POROS-HS-20. The peptide exhibited a molecular mass of 9.