Comparative study of biomarkers for the early identification of Epstein-Barr virus-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in infectious mononucleosis.

Background And Aim: Epstein-Barr virus-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (EBV-HLH) and infectious mononucleosis (EBV-IM) share mimic symptoms in the early stages of childhood development. We aimed to examine the clinical features and laboratory indices of these two diseases in children and uncover unique indicators to assist pediatricians in identifying these diseases early.

Methods: We collected clinical data from 791 pediatric patients diagnosed with EBV-IM or EBV-HLH, compared the clinical traits and laboratory biomarkers presented in the two groups, and constructed predictive models based on them.

Baicalein exerts anxiolytic and antinociceptive effects in a mouse model of posttraumatic stress disorder: Involvement of the serotonergic system and spinal delta-opioid receptors.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental disease featured by a stress dysfunction that occurs after an individual has faced intense mental stress, often accompanied by anxiety and chronic pain. Currently, the mainstream drug for PTSD is serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), however, their pain management for patients is limited. Baicalein, a Chinese traditional herbal medicine, has shown promising results in treating anxiety, depression, and pain.

Inhibition of Phosphodiesterase 2 Ameliorates Post-Traumatic Stress-Induced Alcohol Intake Disorder by Regulating cAMP/cGMP Signaling.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the prevalent psychiatric disorder that induces alcohol use disorders (AUD) such as abnormal alcohol intake and anxiety. However, little is known about whether phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2)-cAMP/cGMP signaling is involved in PTSD-induced AUD.

Methods: The present study used single-prolonged stress (SPS) to mimic PTSD that induced increases in ethanol intake and preference (2-bottle choice test) and anxiety-like behavior (elevated-plus maze test and novelty suppressed feeding test).

The Current State of the Art in PARP Inhibitor-Based Delivery Nanosystems.

Poly (adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerases inhibitors (PARPi), the first clinically approved drug that exhibits synthetic lethality, are moving to the forefront of cancer treatments. Currently, the oral bioavailability of PARPi is quite low; thus, it is a major challenge to effectively and safely deliver PARPi during clinical cancer therapy. Nanotechnology has greatly advanced the development of drug delivery.

Conjoint Fascial Sheath Suspension for Severe Blepharoptosis through Palpebral Margin Incision.

Background: Conjoint fascial sheath suspension can achieve pleasing surgical efficacy and dynamic eyelid movement in the treatment of severe ptosis. In recent years, the palpebral margin incision technique has been applied for double-eyelid blepharoplasty, which is characterized by inconspicuous scarring, short convalescence, and natural-looking outcome. However, studies of the application of this technique in the treatment of ptosis are scarce.

Impact of arabinoxylan on characteristics, stability and lipid oxidation of oil-in-water emulsions: Arabinoxylan from wheat bran, corn bran, rice bran, and rye bran.

To investigate the impact of arabinoxylan (AX) on the physical and oxidative stability of oil-in-water emulsions, AX from wheat bran, corn bran, rice bran, or rye bran was incorporated into the production of whey protein isolate-stabilised emulsions. Decreased interfacial charge and increased mean particle diameters were recorded in all fresh emulsions with 0.1%-0.

A viscoelastic PEGylated poly(glycerol sebacate)-based bilayer scaffold for cartilage regeneration in full-thickness osteochondral defect.

Defects of either articular cartilage or subchondral bone would destroy the structural integrity and functionality of the joint. Reconstruction of osteochondral defects requires difunctional scaffolds that simultaneously induce cartilage and subchondral bone morphogenesis, however, high-performance cartilage reconstructive scaffolds remain a considerable challenge. In this study, a solvent-free urethane crosslinking and spontaneous pore-forming procedure under room temperature was proposed and optimized to produce PEGylated poly(glycerol sebacate) (PEGS) scaffolds with controllable crosslinking degrees and hierarchical macro-/micro-porosities.

MBG scaffolds containing chitosan microspheres for binary delivery of IL-8 and BMP-2 for bone regeneration.

Biomimetic delivery of chemokines and growth factors based on stem cell recruitment and endochondral ossification, as the key steps in natural regenerative process, has been an area of intense research in recent years. An inflammatory chemokine, interleukin-8 (IL-8), was recently reported with high recruitment efficiency of bone marrow stem cells, chondrogenic inductivity and immune regulatory functions. In this study, the effect of IL-8 action duration on bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2)-induced bone regeneration was studied to achieve an optimal synergism of these two proteins.

Lasing behavior modulation for ZnO whispering-gallery microcavities.

Four configurations of whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microcavities were designed and fabricated to modulate the optically pumped lasing characteristics by polymer modification on hexagonal ZnO microrod surfaces. On the basis of the total internal reflection (TIR) at the boundary of microcavities, the lasing characteristics were improved by raising the relative refractive index. Considering the different reflective conditions at various side surfaces, the typical lasing mode equation for whispering-gallery microcavity was modified to adapt for general situation even with unsymmetrical structure, and then employed to discuss the observed lasing behaviors, in the polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) modified ZnO microrods, such as mode position, mode numbers and quality factor.

Optical properties of a planar metamaterial with chiral symmetry breaking.

The optical properties of a planar metamaterial with gammadion-shaped chiral symmetry breaking holes array have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The results indicate that the introduction of the chiral symmetry breaking causes the split of the transmission peak and exerts large influence on the optical rotation and circular dichroism. Our metamaterials might have potential applications in future design of plasmonic devices.