Dual tumor-targeted multifunctional magnetic hyaluronic acid micelles for enhanced MR imaging and combined photothermal-chemotherapy.

Multifunctional polymeric micelles were developed as a promising dual tumor-targeted drug delivery platform for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and combined photothermal-chemotherapy. HA-C copolymers were synthesized via peptide formation process with subsequent co-encapsulation of therapeutic agent docetaxel (DTX) and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) to form the multifunctional micelles. The micelles exhibited uniform nanosize and remarkable colloidal stability in aqueous solution.

Transient Scute activation via a self-stimulatory loop directs enteroendocrine cell pair specification from self-renewing intestinal stem cells.

The process through which multiple types of cell-lineage-restricted progenitor cells are specified from multipotent stem cells is unclear. Here we show that, in intestinal stem cell lineages in adult Drosophila, in which the Delta-Notch-signalling-guided progenitor cell differentiation into enterocytes is the default mode, the specification of enteroendocrine cells (EEs) is initiated by transient Scute activation in a process driven by transcriptional self-stimulation combined with a negative feedback regulation between Scute and Notch targets. Scute activation induces asymmetric intestinal stem cell divisions that generate EE progenitor cells.

The epidemic model based on the approximation for third-order motifs on networks.

The spread of an infectious disease may depend on the structure of the network. To study the influence of the structure parameters of the network on the spread of the epidemic, we need to put these parameters into the epidemic model. The method of moment closure introduces structure parameters into the epidemic model.

Cilostazol attenuates kainic acid-induced hippocampal cell death.

Cilostazol is a selective inhibitor of type 3 phosphodiesterase (PDE3) and has been widely used as an antiplatelet agent. Cilostazol mediates this activity through effects on the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling cascade. Recently, it has attracted attention as a neuroprotective agent.

SHBG expression is correlated with PI3K/AKT pathway activity in a cellular model of human insulin resistance.

Decreased sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) expression is an independent risk factor for gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM).However, the mechanisms that link low SHBG expression and insulin resistance in GDM is unclear. In this study, we investigated the placenta SHBG in the PI3K/AKT pathway to reveal the mechanism that links decreased SHBG to insulin resistance.

Moment closure of infectious diseases model on heterogeneous metapopulation network.

The global transmission of infectious diseases poses huge threats to human. Traditional heterogeneous mean-field models on metapopulation networks ignore the heterogeneity of individuals who are in different disease states in subpopulations with the same degree, resulting in inaccuracy in predicting the spread of disease. In this paper, we take heterogeneity of susceptible and infectious individuals in subpopulations with the same degree into account, and propose a deterministic unclosed general model according to Markov process on metapopulation networks to curve the global transmission of diseases precisely.

Neural mechanism and heritability of complex motor sequence and audiovisual integration: A healthy twin study.

Complex motor sequencing and sensory integration are two key items in scales assessing neurological soft signs. However, the underlying neural mechanism and heritability of these two functions is not known. Using a healthy twin design, we adopted two functional brain imaging tasks focusing on fist-edge-palm (FEP) complex motor sequence and audiovisual integration (AVI).

Structural calculations and propagation modeling of growing networks based on continuous degree.

When a network reaches a certain size, its node degree can be considered as a continuous variable, which we will call continuous degree. Using continuous degree method (CDM), we analytically calculate certain structure of the network and study the spread of epidemics on a growing network. Firstly, using CDM we calculate the degree distributions of three different growing models, which are the BA growing model, the preferential attachment accelerating growing model and the random attachment growing model.

Transmission dynamics and optimal control of brucellosis in Inner Mongolia of China.

A multigroup model is developed to characterize brucellosis transmission, to explore potential effects of key factors, and to prioritize control measures. The global threshold dynamics are completely characterized by theory of asymptotic autonomous systems and Lyapunov direct method. We then formulate a multi-objective optimization problem and, by the weighted sum method, transform it into a scalar optimization problem on minimizing the total cost for control.

Cervical pessary for preventing preterm birth: a meta-analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of cervical pessary in the prevention of preterm birth and its influence on pregnancy and maternal outcomes, so as to provide a clinical basis for cervical pessary to prevent premature delivery.

Methods: The databases of PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang Data, etc, were used to search for the eligible articles. The relevant data were abstracted by two independent reviewers and performed with Stata 12.

Soybean Milk Inhibits Absorption and Intestinal Transmembrane Transport of Gegen in Rats.

Puerariae Lobatae Radix, known as Gegen in Chinese, is widely used to treat cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and many other chronic illnesses. Flavonoids are the main active components in Gegen and are found in high concentrations in soybeans. Few studies, however, have focused on the effects of flavonoid-rich food on the absorption of Gegen.

Folate-receptor-targeted NIR-sensitive polydopamine nanoparticles for chemo-photothermal cancer therapy.

We propose the use of folate-receptor-targeted, near-infrared-sensitive polydopamine nanoparticles (NPs) for chemo-photothermal cancer therapy as an enhanced type of drug-delivery system which can be synthesized by in situ polymerization and conjugation with folic acid. The NPs consist of a FeO/Au core, coated polydopamine, conjugated folic acid, and loaded anti-cancer drug (doxorubicin). The proposed multifunctional NPs show many advantages for therapeutic applications such as good biocompatibility and easy bioconjugation.

The optimal regulation mode of Bcl-2 apoptotic switch revealed by bistability analysis.

In most cell types, apoptosis occurs by the mitochondrial outer membrane permeability (MOMP)-mediated pathway, which is controlled by Bcl-2 family proteins (often referred to as Bcl-2 apoptotic switch). These proteins, which display a range of bioactivities, can be divided into four types: effectors, inhibitors, activators and sensitizers. Although the complex interactions among Bcl-2 family members have been studied intensively, a unifying hypothesis for the mechanism they use to regulate MOMP remains elusive.

Structural Brain Network Changes across the Adult Lifespan.

A number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown age-related alterations in brain structural networks in different age groups. However, the specific age-associated changes in brain structural networks across the adult lifespan is underexplored. In the current study, we performed a multivariate independent component analysis (ICA) to identify structural brain networks based on covariant gray matter volume and then investigated the age-related trajectories of structural networks over the adult lifespan in 536 healthy subjects aged 20-86 years.

Differential effects of antidepressant treatment on long-range and short-range functional connectivity strength in patients with major depressive disorder.

Although we have some basic understanding of the neurochemical mechanisms of the antidepressants, the network-level effect of antidepressant treatment is still not fully understood. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of antidepressant on functional brain networks of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). We performed resting-state fMRI scans on 20 first-episode drug-naive MDD patients at baseline and after escitalopram medication for 8 weeks.

TonEBP/NFAT5 haploinsufficiency attenuates hippocampal inflammation in high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.

Recent studies have shown that overexpression of tonicity-responsive enhancer binding protein (TonEBP) is associated with many inflammatory diseases, including diabetes mellitus, which causes neuroinflammation in the hippocampus as well as hepatic steatosis. However, the exact mechanism in diabetic neuroinflammation is unknown. We report that haploinsufficiency of TonEBP inhibits hepatic and hippocampal high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) expression in diabetic mice.

Efficient Two-Photon Fluorescent Probe for Glutathione S-Transferase Detection and Imaging in Drug-Induced Liver Injury Sample.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a potential complication of any prescribed medication. So far, the diagnosis of DILI is still a clinical challenge due to the lack of efficient diagnosis method. Glutathione S-transferase (GST), with a high concentration in liver cytosol, can reduce toxicity and facilitate urinary excretion by catalyzing the conjugation of glutathione (GSH) with reactive metabolites in liver.

A Magnetically Actuated Microscaffold Containing Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Articular Cartilage Repair.

This study proposes a magnetically actuated microscaffold with the capability of targeted mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) delivery for articular cartilage regeneration. The microscaffold, as a 3D porous microbead, is divided into body and surface portions according to its materials and fabrication methods. The microscaffold body, which consists of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), is formed through water-in-oil-in-water emulsion templating, and its surface is coated with amine functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) via amino bond formation.

SIRT6 inhibits TNF-α-induced inflammation of vascular adventitial fibroblasts through ROS and Akt signaling pathway.

SIRT6, with both deacetylase and ADP-ribosyltransferase activities, is predominantly expressed in the nucleus. It has been revealed that SIRT6 regulates various biological functions including metabolism, aging and stress resistance. This study aims to investigate the role of SIRT6 in vascular inflammation and it molecular mechanism.

Expanded antiretroviral treatment, sexual networks, and condom use: Treatment as prevention unlikely to succeed without partner reduction among men who have sex with men in China.

Background: To project the impact of partner reduction on preventing new HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) under varying conditions of enhanced HIV testing and treatment (T&T) and condom use in Beijing, China.

Methods And Findings: A complex network model was fitted to predict the number of new HIV infections averted from 2014 to 2023 under four scenarios of sexual behavior risk reduction (S)-S1: Male sexual partners decrease (reduced by a random value m from 1-50) while condom use increases (risk constant p is a random value between 0.2 and 1]); S2: Both sexual partners and condom use decrease (m 1, 50; p 1, 1.

A supplementary grading scale combining lesion-to-eloquence distance for predicting surgical outcomes of patients with brain arteriovenous malformations.

OBJECTIVE Case selection for the surgical treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVMs) remains challenging. This study aimed to construct a predictive grading system combining lesion-to-eloquence distance (LED) for selecting patients with BAVMs for surgery. METHODS Between September 2012 and September 2015, the authors retrospectively studied 201 consecutive patients with BAVMs.

Synergetic Neuroprotective Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid and Aspirin in SH-Y5Y by Inhibiting miR-21 and Activating RXRα and PPARα.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a serious neurodegenerative disorder that lacks effective therapeutic methods. In this research, expressions of PPARα, RXRα, and miR-21 were evaluated in PD patients and normal controls. To investigate the effects of miR-21, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and aspirin (ASA) on PD, as well as the relationships between them, SH-Y5Y cells were treated with DHA, ASA, or both for 24 h.

Inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators in RAW264.7 cells by 7-hydroxyflavone and 7,8-dihydroxyflavone.

Objectives: Flavonoids are a class of compounds that having the benzo-γ-pyrone skeleton, which possess anti-inflammatory properties in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibition of two flavonoids 7-hydroxyflavone (HF) and 7,8-dihydroxyflavone (DHF) on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in RAW264.7 cells activated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Model-Based Evaluation of Strategies to Control Brucellosis in China.

Brucellosis, the most common zoonotic disease worldwide, represents a great threat to animal husbandry with the potential to cause enormous economic losses. Brucellosis has become a major public health problem in China, and the number of human brucellosis cases has increased dramatically in recent years. In order to evaluate different intervention strategies to curb brucellosis transmission in China, a novel mathematical model with a general indirect transmission incidence rate was presented.

Potential Biochemical Mechanisms of Lung Injury in Diabetes.

Accumulating evidence has shown that the lung is one of the target organs for microangiopathy in patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Diabetes is associated with physiological and structural abnormalities in the diabetic lung concurrent with attenuated lung function. Despite intensive investigations in recent years, the pathogenic mechanisms of diabetic lung injury remain largely elusive.