Diels-Alder reaction in hydrogel synthesis: Mechanisms and functional aspects.

The Diels-Alder reaction, a classical (4+2) cycloaddition process, holds significant standing within the realms of organic synthesis and polymer chemistry, frequently employed in areas such as pharmaceutical production and material science. Recently, hydrogels constructed via Diels-Alder reactions have garnered considerable attention from researchers. This review aims to summarize the advancements in utilizing the Diels-Alder reaction for hydrogel synthesis, exploring its impact on structural design, functionalization, and application domains.

An Application of Machine-Learning-Oriented Radiomics Model in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) Early Diagnosis.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a common and aggressive form of kidney cancer, where early diagnosis is crucial for improving prognosis and treatment outcomes. Radiomics, which utilizes machine learning techniques, presents a promising approach in medical imaging for the early detection and characterization of such conditions. This study aims to explore the clinical utility of a machine-learning-based radiomics model in the early diagnosis of ccRCC.

Upregulated TIMP1 facilitates and coordinates myometrial contraction by decreasing collagens and cell adhesive capacity during human labor.

Myometrial contraction is one of the key events involved in parturition. Increasing evidence suggests the importance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in this process, in addition to the functional role of myometrial smooth muscle cells, and our previous study identified an upregulated tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1) in human laboring myometrium compared to nonlabor samples. This study aimed to further explore the potential role of TIMP1 in myometrial contraction.

Resequencing of global Lotus corniculatus accessions reveals population distribution and genetic loci, associated with cyanogenic glycosides accumulation and growth traits.

Background: Lotus corniculatus is a widely distributed perennial legume whose great adaptability to different environments and resistance to barrenness make it an excellent forage and ecological restoration plant. However, its molecular genetics and genomic relationships among populations are yet to be uncovered.

Result: Here we report on a genomic variation map from worldwide 272 L.

Identification and Characterization of Regulatory Pathways Controlling Dormancy Under Lower Temperature in Alfalfa ( L.).

Alfalfa ( L.), a kind of high-quality perennial legume forage, is widely distributed in the northern regions of China. In recent years, low temperatures have frequently occurred and limited alfalfa productivity and survival in early spring and late fall.

Genetic diversity and population structure analysis in a large collection of Vicia amoena in China with newly developed SSR markers.

Vicia amoena is a high-nutritional quality forage similar to alfalfa. However, studies on the genetic background of V. amoena are scarce.

A trade-off between antifouling and the electrochemical stabilities of PEDOTs.

Strong nonspecific protein/cell adhesion on conducting polymer (CP)-based bioelectronic devices can cause an increase in the impedance or the malfunction of the devices. Incorporating oligo(ethylene glycol) or zwitterionic functionalities with CPs has demonstrated superior performance in the reduction of nonspecific adhesion. However, there is no report on the evaluation of the antifouling stability of oligo(ethylene glycol) and zwitterion-functionalized CPs under electrical stimulation as a simulation of the real situation of device operation.

Tunable Protein/Cell Binding and Interaction with Neurite Outgrowth of Low-Impedance Zwitterionic PEDOTs.

Zwitterionic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is an effective electronic material for bioelectronics because it exhibits efficient electrical trade-off and diminishes immune response. To promote the use of zwitterionic PEDOTs in bioelectronic devices, especially for cell alignment control and close electrocoupling, features such as tunable interaction of PEDOTs with proteins/cells and spatially modulating cell behavior are required. However, there is a lack of reliable methods to assemble zwitterionic EDOTs with other functionalized EDOT materials, having different polarities and oxidation potentials, to prepare PEDOTs with the aforementioned surface properties.

Evidence for Cross-Protection Against Subsequent Febrile Respiratory Illness Episodes From Prior Infections by Different Viruses Among Singapore Military Recruits 2009-2014.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the relative cross-protection conferred by infection with different groups of viruses through studies of sequential infections in humans. We investigated the presence of short-lived relative cross-protection conferred by specific prior viral infections against subsequent febrile respiratory illness (FRI).

Methods: Men enlisted in basic military training between December 2009 and December 2014 were recruited, with the first FRI as the study entry point.

Self-assembly and the hemolysis effect of monodisperse N,N-diethylacrylamide/acrylic acid nanogels with high contents of acrylic acid.

Monodisperse temperature/pH sensitive poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide/acrylic acid) (P(DEA/AAc)) nanogels with high contents of AAc up to 40 wt% have been prepared. In this study, it was unexpectedly found that the polydispersity of the nanogels with 40 wt% AAc strongly depended on the initiator concentration. Monodisperse P(DEA/AA) nanogels were synthesized only at a very low concentration of initiator.

Synthesis of surfactant-free hydroxypropyl methylcellulose nanogels for controlled release of insulin.

A facile controlled-release nanogels delivery system has been developed by using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) hybrid nanogels as encapsulation shell materials, which were synthesized by surfactant-free polymerization in aqueous solution. The effects of reaction time and cross-linker concentration on the size of the nanogels have been studied. The results showed that in a certain range, the particle size decreased with increasing reaction time and increasing concentration of cross-linker.

Nicotine inhibits LPS-induced cytokine production and leukocyte infiltration in rat placenta.

Introduction: Previous work conducted by our group has shown that nicotine reduces lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammatory responses and protects fetuses in pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. In the present study, we aim to evaluate the influence of nicotine on rat placenta, including cytokine release, leukocyte infiltration, and α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) expression.

Methods: Placental tissues of SD rats on gestation day 14 (GD14) were obtained and cultured in the presence or absence of LPS and/or nicotine.

Utility of COX1 phylogenetics to differentiate between locally acquired and imported Plasmodium knowlesi infections in Singapore.

Introduction: Although there have been several phylogenetic studies on Plasmodium knowlesi (P. knowlesi), only cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene analysis has shown some geographical differentiation between the isolates of different countries.

Methods: Phylogenetic analysis of locally acquired P.

[Pediatric lung lesions: a clinicopathological study of 215 cases].

Objective: To investigate clinical and pathological features of lung lesions in children.

Methods: Clinical manifestations, radiologic imaging, histopathological features and immunohistochemical results were analyzed in 215 cases of lung lesions in children.

Results: A total of 215 cases of lung lesions in children aged 0 day to 13 years (average age of 27.

Synthesis of surfactant-free hydroxypropylcellulose nanogel and its dual-responsive properties.

Surfactant-free hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) nanogels were synthesized by using thermo-sensitive HPC as a template to form HPC/PMAA nanoscale complex. The formation mechanism was owing to the interpolymer hydrogen bonding between HPC and PMAA induced phase transition of HPC in aqueous media. The average size of the resulting HPC nanogels ranges from about 98 to 241 nm.

[Prognostic significance of MYCN amplification in children neuroblastic tumors].

Objective: To summarize the clinicopathologic features of neuroblastic tumors (NT), and to explore the prognostic significance of MYCN amplification in NT.

Methods: The clinicopathologic data of 267 NT were reviewed. MYCN gene amplification was detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in 119 cases and the relationship with pathological characteristics and prognostic significance were analyzed.

Methacrylic acid-triggered phase transition behavior of thermosensitive hydroxypropylcellulose.

Methacrylic acid (MAA)-triggered phase transition of thermosensitive hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) was studied. The phase transition temperature of 0.1 wt.

Evolution of double positive autoregulatory feedback loops in CYCLOIDEA2 clade genes is associated with the origin of floral zygomorphy.

Members of the CYCLOIDEA2 (CYC2) clade of the TEOSINTE BRANCHED1, CYCLOIDEA, and PCF transcription factor genes are widely involved in controlling floral zygomorphy, a key innovation in angiosperm evolution, depending on their persistently asymmetric expression in the corresponding floral domains. However, it is unclear how this asymmetric expression is maintained throughout floral development. Selecting Primulina heterotricha as a model, we examined the expression and function of two CYC2 genes, CYC1C and CYC1D.

[Spectral diagnosis of plasma jet at atmospheric pressure].

A new approach to surface modification of materials using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma jet at atmospheric pressure is presented in the present paper. The emission spectral lines of argon plasma jet at atmospheric pressure were recorded by the grating spectrograph HR2000 and computer software. The argon plasma emission spectra, ranging from 300nm to 1000 nm, were measured at different applied voltage.

A chinese herbal decoction, danggui buxue tang, stimulates proliferation, differentiation and gene expression of cultured osteosarcoma cells: genomic approach to reveal specific gene activation.

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). When DBT was applied onto cultured MG-63 cells, an increase of cell proliferation and differentiation of MG-63 cell were revealed: both of these effects were significantly higher in DBT than RA or RAS extract. To search for the biological markers that are specifically regulated by DBT, DNA microarray was used to reveal the gene expression profiling of DBT in MG-63 cells as compared to that of RA- or RAS-treated cells.

Expression differentiation of CYC-like floral symmetry genes correlated with their protein sequence divergence in Chirita heterotricha (Gesneriaceae).

CYCLOIDIEA (CYC) and its homologues have been studied intensively in the model organism Antirrhinum majus and related species regarding their function in controlling floral dorsoventral (adaxial-abaxial) asymmetry, including aborting the adaxial and lateral stamens. This raises the question whether the same mechanism underlies the great morphological diversity of zygomorphy in angiosperms, especially in Lamiales sensu lato, a major clade predominantly with zygomorphic flowers. To address this, we selected a representative in Gesneriaceae, the sister to the remainder of Lamiales s.

A Chinese herbal decoction prepared from Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis induces the expression of erythropoietin in cultured Hep3B cells.

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese medicinal decoction used commonly for treating women's ailments, contains Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (RAS). According to Chinese medicinal theory, this decoction is to nourish the blood function; this, however, has not been demonstrated on the molecular level. In order to reveal the hematopoietic effect of this decoction, DBT was applied to cultured Hep3B human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.