Magnesium status, serum vitamin D concentration and mortality among congestive heart failure patients: a cohort study from NHANES 2007-2018.

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between magnesium (Mg) status, serum vitamin D (VD) concentration and mortality in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. Data for this study were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2007-2018. Magnesium depletion score (MDS) is a scoring system developed to predict the status of Mg deficiency that considers the pathophysiological factors influencing the reabsorption capability of the kidneys.

Incidence and risk factors of anti-tuberculosis drug induced liver injury (DILI): Large cohort study involving 4652 Chinese adult tuberculosis patients.

Background And Aims: Anti-tuberculosis drugs remain as an important cause of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) worldwide. Adverse drug reactions reduce the effectiveness of treatment. We aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors associated with anti-tuberculosis DILI (ATDILI).

Role of Drugs Used for Chronic Disease Management on Susceptibility and Severity of COVID-19: A Large Case-Control Study.

This study aimed to investigate whether specific medications used in the treatment chronic diseases affected either the development and/ or severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a cohort of 610 COVID-19 cases and 48,667 population-based controls from Zhejiang, China. Using a cohort of 578 COVID-19 cases and 48,667 population-based controls from Zhejiang, China, we tested the role of usage of cardiovascular, antidiabetic, and other medications on risk and severity of COVID-19. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index and for presence of relevant comorbidities.

Pro-adrenomedullin in acute decompensation of liver cirrhosis: relationship with acute-on-chronic liver failure and short-term survival.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is characterized by the presence of acute decompensation (AD) of cirrhosis, organ failures, and high short-term mortality rates. In present study, we explored whether Pro-adrenomedullin (Pro-ADM), a biomarker of sepsis, is a potential marker of outcome in patients admitted for AD or ACLF and whether it might be of additional value to conventional prognostic scoring systems in these patients. 332 consecutive patients with AD of cirrhosis were prospectively enrolled.

Optical Parameters Optimization for All-Time Star Sensor.

As an important development direction of star sensor technology, the All-Time star sensor technology can expand the application of star sensors to flight platforms inside the atmosphere. Due to intense atmospheric background radiation during the daytime, the commonly used star sensors operating in the visible wavelength range are significantly limited in their ability to detect stars, and hence the All-Time star sensor technology which is based on the shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging system has become an effective research direction. All-Time star sensor detection capability is significantly affected by observation conditions and, therefore, an optimized selection of optical parameters, which mainly includes the field of view (FOV) and the detection wavelength band, can effectively improve the detection performance of All-Time star sensors under harsh observation conditions.

The effects of PDTC on interleukin-1beta-induced nitric oxide production in chondrocytes.

In order to find new drugs to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) production, the effects of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), a nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) inhibitor, on recombinant human interleukin-1beta (rhIL-1beta)-induced NO production in chondrocytes were investigated. Rat chondrocytes were isolated and cultured, divided into control, P0, P1, P2, P3 and P4 groups. The chondrocytes in the P0, P1, P2, P3 and P4 groups were treated with different concentrations of PDTC (0, 3, 10, 30, and 50 micromol/L respectively) for 1 h and then incubated with 5 U/mL rhIL-1beta for 24 h.

Expression of MMP-1 in cartilage and synovium of experimentally induced rabbit ACLT traumatic osteoarthritis: immunohistochemical study.

Unlabelled: To observe the level and the distribution of MMP-1 in cartilage and synovium over the progression of OA in rabbit ACLT model, and to explore the relationship between the amount of MMP-1 expression and the degree of OA cartilage degradation. OA was induced in 20 rabbits by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) and ten rabbits were killed at 4 and 8 weeks after the operation, respectively. A further ten rabbits received unilateral knee arthrotomy as controls.

Treatment of severe gluteal muscle contracture in children.

To investigate the efficacy of a combination therapy on gluteal muscle contracture, 286 definitely diagnosed patients were subjected to surgical treatment, and then functional exercises and physical therapy. The patients with severe symptoms were asked to have a set of specially-designed functional exercises. All the patients were followed up for 3 to 24 months by hospital visit, correspondence or telephone interview.

Follow-up study on the motion range after treatment of degenerative disc disease with the Bryan cervical disc prosthesis.

This study examined effect of a new intervertebral cervical disc prosthesis in relieving the neurological symptoms and signs, improving the patients' ability to perform daily activities, reducing pain, and maintaining the stability and segmental motion. From December 2003 to October 2004, 12 patients, who had received 14 replacements of cervical artificial discs, were followed-up for 2 to 8 months (with a mean of 5.2 months).

Self-assembled IKVAV peptide nanofibers promote adherence of PC12 cells.

Lack of biocompatibility and bioactivity is a big problem for the synthetic materials that have been generated for neural tissue engineering. To get around the problem and generate better scaffold for neural tissue repair, we intended to generate nano-fibers by self-assembly of polypeptide IKVAV. Bioactive IKVAV Peptide-Amphiphile (IKVAV-PA) was first synthesized and purified, the property of which was analyzed and determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS).

Treatment of floating knee injury in children.

The necessity and superiority of the surgical operation on children with floating knee injury and the fracture union and complications were investigated. Twenty-eight children with floating knee injury were subjected to open reduction and internal fixation or external fixator. The patients were followed up for 18 months to 7 years.

Ad/CMV- hTGF-beta1 treats rabbit intervertebral discs degeneration in vivo.

To investigate therapeutic efficiency of Ad/CMV- hTGF-beta1 gene for rabbit intervertebral disc degeneration model. 60 Japanese white rabbits were selected to form the 1.5-L6 Anterior-Lateral-Anulus-Fibrosus-Incision-Induced model in order to simulate human intervertebral disc degeneration.

Effects of TGF beta1 autocrine blockage on osteosarcoma cells.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1) autocrine blockage on proliferation activity and drug sensitivity of osteosarcoma. METHODS; Northern blot, MTT determination, and 3H thymidine incorporation were used to investigate the effects of antisense TGF beta1 gene on osteosarcoma.

Results: The proliferation of osteosarcoma cells transfected by antisense TGF beta1 gene was suppressed markedly, and adriamycin sensitivity was significantly increased.

Basic fibroblast growth factor gene transfection to enhance the repair of avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

Objective: To explore a new method for the therapy of avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

Method: The recombinant plasmid pCD-rbFGF was mixed with collagen and was implanted in the necrotic femoral head. Expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was examined by RT-PCR and immunohistochemical method.

Vascular endothelial growth factor gene transfection to enhance the repair of avascular necrosis of the femoral head of rabbit.

Objective: To explore a new method for the therapy of avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

Methods: The recombinant plasmid pCD-hVEGF165 was mixed with collagen and was implanted in the necrotic femoral head. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was examined by RNA dot hybridization and immunohistochemical techniques.

Experimental study of vascular endothelial growth factor gene therapy for avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

To explore a new method for the therapy of the avascular necrosis of the femoral head, the recombinant plasmid pCD-hVEGF165 was mixed with collagen and was implanted in the necrotic femoral head. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was detected by RNA dot hybridization and immunohistochemical method. The repair of the femoral head was observed by histological method.

Construction of antisense transforming growth factor beta 1 gene and its effect on the proliferation by expression in osteosarcoma cells.

To construct the antisense transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1) gene and investigate the effect of TGF beta 1 autocrine loop blockage on the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells. TGF beta 1 cDNA was cloned by RT-PCR from human osteosarcoma cells (MG-63) and inserted into pcDNA3 to construct an antisense expression vector, which was dubbed pcDNA3-TGF beta 1(-). MTT was used to detect the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells transfected by antisense TGF beta 1 gene.

Expression of rhBMP-7 gene in transduced bone marrow derived stromal cells.

Objective: To explore the possibility of expression of exogenous gene in transduced bone marrow derived stromal cells (BMSCs).

Methods: The marker gene, pbLacZ, was transferred into cultured BMSCs and the expression of transduced gene by X-gal staining was examined. Then plasmid pcDNA3-rhBMP7 was delivered to cultured BMSCs.

Effects of basic fibroblast growth factor on biological characteristics of osteoblasts.

Objective: To elucidate the effects of exogenous basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on biological characteristics of rat osteoblasts cultured in vitro.

Methods: The osteoblasts isolated from a Sprague-Dawley rat and cultured in vitro were treated with different concentrations of bFGF (5-50 ng/ml) respectively. At 24 hours after treatment, the proliferating cell nuclear antigen was measured with immunocytochemistry, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was determined and the expression of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta(1)) was detected to observe the effects of bFGF on growth and differentiation of osteoblasts.

Transfection of articular chondrocytes with rhBMP7 gene and its expression.

In order to investigate the possibility of expression of exogenous gene in transduced articular chondrocytes, plasmid pcDNA3-rhBMP7 was delivered to cultured chondrocytes. Through immunohistochemical staining and RT-PCR assay, the expression of rhBMP7 gene was detected. And the bioactivity of transgene expression product was detected through MTT assay as well.

Study of rat osteoblasts transfected by transforming growth factor beta 1 gene.

In order to investigate the effect of TGF beta 1 gene transfer on the biological characteristics, the effects of gene transfer and supernatant of transfected osteoblasts on the proliferation and ALP activity of osteoblasts were detected by 3H-TdR and MTT. Our results showed that TGF beta 1 gene transfer had no effect on the biological characteristics and the activated supernatant of transfected osteoblasts stimulated proliferation and inhibited ALP activity of osteoblasts. TGF beta 1 gene transfer could promote the expression of TGF beta 1 and the biological characteristics of transfected osteoblasts were stable, which might be helpful for gene therapy of bone defects in vivo.

Expression of transforming growth factor beta 1 in mesenchymal stem cells: potential utility in molecular tissue engineering for osteochondral repair.

The feasibility of using gene therapy to treat full-thickness articular cartilage defects was investigated with respect to the transfection and expression of exogenous transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 genes in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro. The full-length rat TGF-beta 1 cDNA was transfected to MSCs mediated by lipofectamine and then selected with G418, a synthetic neomycin analog. The transient and stable expression of TGF-beta 1 by MSCs was detected by using immunohistochemical staining.

[Study of rat osteoblasts transfected by transforming growth factor-beta 1 gene].

Objective: To investigate the effect of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) gene transfer on the biological characteristics of osteoblasts.

Methods: The expression of TGF-beta 1 in the transfected osteoblasts was detected by in situ hybridization and assay of TGF-beta 1 activity in the supernatant (mink lung epithelium cell growth-inhibition test). The effects of gene transfer and supernatant of the transfected osteoblasts on the proliferation and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity of osteoblasts were detected by 3H-TdR and MTT.