Multifunctional Prussian blue nanozymes alleviate atherosclerosis through inhibiting the inflammation feedback loop.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a lipid-driven chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of numerous proinflammatory cytokines, massive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and excess lipids, which together result in an overall inflammatory positive feedback loop in the plaque focus. Due to its excellent enzyme-like activity in ROS scavenging and inflammation inhibition, as well as its photothermal effects in the lipid efflux ability of foam cells, Prussian blue (PB) has greater potential in preventing inflammatory factor loops for enhanced treatment of AS than traditional nanozymes. In this study, the multifunctional nanozyme BSA@PB/Cur was synthesized by self-assembly of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with PB and further encapsulation of the anti-inflammatory drug curcumin (Cur).

Effects of Different Test Positions on Quantitative Muscle Strength of Wrist and Finger Flexor Muscle Groups and Its Standardization.

Objectives: To explore the effects of different test positions on quantitative muscle strength of wrist and finger flexor muscle groups and to establish a standardized muscle strength test protocol for each muscle group.

Methods: Forty healthy subjects (12 males and 28 females) were recruited. A portable digital quantitative muscle strength tester, Micro FET2, was used to measure the flexor muscle strength of each finger and the wrist joint at the 30° extension, 0° neutral, and 30° flexion, respectively.

Laparoscopic total mesorectal excision versus transanal total mesorectal excision for mid and low rectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (LaTME) and transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) are popular mid and low rectal cancer trends. However, there is currently no systematic comparison between LaTME and TaTME of mid and low rectal cancer. Therefore, we systematically study the perioperative and pathological outcomes of LaTME and TaTME in mid and low rectal cancer.

Correlation between Elbow Flexor Muscle Strength and Needle Electromyography Parameters after Musculocutaneous Nerve Injury.

Objectives: To explore the changes of elbow flexor muscle strength after musculocutaneous nerve injury and its correlation with needle electromyography (nEMG) parameters.

Methods: Thirty cases of elbow flexor weakness caused by unilateral brachial plexus injury (involving musculocutaneous nerve) were collected. The elbow flexor muscle strength was evaluated by manual muscle test (MMT) based on Lovett Scale.

Spontaneous extension wave for in vivo assessment of arterial wall anisotropy.

Another type of natural wave, traced from longitudinal wall motion and propagation along the artery, is observed in our in vivo human carotid artery experiments. We coin it as extension wave (EW) and hypothesize that EW velocity (EWV) is associated with arterial longitudinal stiffness. The EW is thus assumed to complement the pulse wave (PW), whose velocity (PWV) is tracked from the radial wall displacement and linked to arterial circumferential stiffness through the Moens-Korteweg equation, as indicators for arterial mechanical anisotropy quantification by noninvasive high-frame-rate ultrasound.

Analysis of the Primary and Post-Treatment Antibiotic Resistance of Helicobacter pylori in the Nanjing Area.

Background: Resistance of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) to antibiotics is increasing worldwide. The study was aimed to understand the current situation of antibiotic resistance in Nanjing and to provide a reasonable basis for clinical selection of antibiotics to cure H.

Sulforaphane alter the microbiota and mitigate colitis severity on mice ulcerative colitis induced by DSS.

Sulforaphane (SFN) is a kind of natural isothiocyanate, which exists in cruciferous plants. Only few studies were about the anti-inflammatory effects of sulforaphane in ulcerative colitis. In this study, our purpose is to explore the effects of sulforaphane on the intestinal microbial community of UC mice.

A randomized, controlled comparison of different intensive lipid-lowering therapies in Chinese patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS): Ezetimibe and rosuvastatin versus high-dose rosuvastatin.

Background: Statin combined with ezetimibe demonstrates significant benefit in lowering low density lipid cholesterol (LDL-C) and cardiovascular events abroad, but whether intermediate intensity statins combined with ezetimibe is superior to high-intensity statin monotherapy in Chinese people is unknown.

Methods: A total of 125 patients were randomly assigned to a intermediate intensity rosuvastatin group (rosuvastatin 10mg/d, n=42), high-dose rosuvastatin group (rosuvastatin 20mg/d, n=41) or combination therapy group (ezetimibe 10mg/d and rosuvastatin 10mg/d, n=42) with a 12-week follow-up. The primary end point was the proportion of patients who achieved the 2011 ESC/EAS LDL-C goal <70mg/dL (1.

[Application of isokinetic muscle testing in identification of the faked paralysis].

Objective: To study the application of isokinetic muscle testing in identification of the faked paralysis to provide scientific data for establishing a standard system of muscle strength in forensic medicine identification.

Methods: Fifty-seven patients with bone fracture or nerve damage as damaged group and 128 normal subjects pretended paralysis as faked paralyzed group were included in this study. Isokinetic muscle testing was performed on bilateral knees of all subjects in the two groups.

Plakophilin-2 promotes tumor development by enhancing ligand-dependent and -independent epidermal growth factor receptor dimerization and activation.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) has been implicated in tumor development and invasion. Dimerization and autophosphorylation of EGFR are the critical events for EGFR activation. However, the regulation of EGF-dependent and EGF-independent dimerization and phosphorylation of EGFR has not been fully understood.

[Study on garlic oil combined with 5-FU induced apoptosis of adenoid cystic carcinoma cell line ACC-M].

Objective: To observe the effect of garlic oil combined with 5-FU induced apoptosis of adenoid cystic carcinoma cell line ACC-M.

Method: Human salivary in adenoid cystic carcinoma cell line AC-M was cultured, divided into the experimental group (5-FU group, garlic oil group, garlic oil + 5-FU group) and the control group, to observe the growth activity of tumor cells by MTT methods; to analyse the changes of cell cycle and apoptosis rate by flow cytometry.

Result: MTT experiments showed that 5-FU, garlic oil, garlic oil and 5-FU on ACC-M cells have inhibition in different concentration, with the increase of concentration and action time of the rise; Cell cycle analysis showed significant changes in flow cytometry.

Reliability study on quantitative detection of extensor digitorum brevis strength with needle electromyography and nerve conduction.

Objective: To study the objectivity and reliability of needle electromyography and nerve conduction for detection of musculus extensor digitorum brevis strength, which may provide a basis for establishing a quantitative detection of muscle strength in forensic clinical study.

Methods: Forty-four healthy people were enrolled as the subjects, and during toe dorsiflexion, the following items including needle electromyography indexes, motor unit potential (MUP) amplitude, MUP count, recruitment reaction type, and nerve conduction detection indexes, compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude, CMAP latent period and motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), were simultaneously detected under the cooperation and disguise condition.

Results: Under the cooperation condition, regardless of the same operator or different operators, there were good test-retest reliabilities in MUP amplitude, CMAP amplitude, CMAP latent period and MNCV, while there were normal test-retest reliabilities in MUP count and recruitment reaction type and the repeatability of the same operator was slightly better than the repeatability between different operators.

Identification and separation of normal hematopoietic stem cells and leukemia stem cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Mounting evidences indicate that leukemic cells in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are derived from leukemia stem cells (LSC). In analogy to normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), LSC remain mostly dormant and are hence resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Residual, physiological HSC exist alongside with LSC, with heterogeneous dominance of LSC over HSC in individual patients.

Concentrations and distribution of organochlorine pesticides in pine needles of typical regions in Northern Xinjiang.

The residues of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in 29 pine needle samples of typical regions (including Shihezi, Beitun, and Kanas) in Northern Xinjiang was determined with a gas chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector. Total OCPs concentrations in pine needles ranged from 2.94 to 186 ng/g dry weight, with a mean concentration of 39.

Distribution of sterols and the sources of pollution in surface sediments of Ulungur lake, Xinjiang.

Domestic sewage discharged into lakes brings great pressure to the ecological environment. This study selected sediment from an inland lake as a research object to evaluate pollution of the environment. Eight sterols were used to evaluate the content of pollutants, while the ratios of sterols were used as the index to analyze the sources of pollution.

The synthesis of molecular imprinted chitosan-gels copolymerized with multiform functional monomers at three different temperatures and the recognition for the template ovalbumin.

In this paper, the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared to recognize the template ovalbumin. The graft copolymerization was conducted based on chitosan (CS) and several types of functional monomers, while choosing N,N-methylenebisacrylamide as the cross-linking agent. The influence of the synthesis temperature was investigated.

RUNX1a enhances hematopoietic lineage commitment from human embryonic stem cells and inducible pluripotent stem cells.

Advancements in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) research have potential to revolutionize therapeutic transplantation. It has been demonstrated that transcription factors may play key roles in regulating maintenance, expansion, and differentiation of hPSCs. In addition to its regulatory functions in hematopoiesis and blood-related disorders, the transcription factor RUNX1 is also required for the formation of definitive blood stem cells.

Polydopamine-based molecular imprinting on silica-modified magnetic nanoparticles for recognition and separation of bovine hemoglobin.

Surface molecular imprinting, especially on the surface of silica-modified magnetic nanoparticles, has been proposed as a promising strategy for protein recognition and separation. Inspired by the self-polymerization of dopamine, we synthesized a polydopamine-based molecular imprinted film coating on silica-Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles for recognition and separation of bovine hemoglobin (BHb). Magnetic molecularly imprinted nanoparticles (about 860 nm) possess a core-shell structure.

Bovine serum albumin recognition via thermosensitive molecular imprinted macroporous hydrogels prepared at two different temperatures.

A novel temperature-sensitive molecular imprinted hydrogel composed of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-propanosulfonic acid (AMPS), N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and acrylamide (AAm) has been prepared by free-radical cross-linking copolymerization in aqueous solution under two different temperatures (25 °C and -20 °C). Bovine serum albumin (BSA, pI 4.9, MW 66.

Heterogeneity of leukemia stem cell candidates at diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia and their clinical significance.

Leukemia stem cell candidates (LSCC) can be enriched from patients with acute myeloid leukemia by high aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity and CD34 expression. We have previously demonstrated the leukemia-initiating activity of ALDH(bright) cells in xenograft transplantation models, as well as in vitro. Applying single-cell long-term culture-initiating cell assays, we have correlated the functional properties of individual cells within this LSCC population and the respective phenotypes.

Differential survival of AML subpopulations in NOD/SCID mice.

Objective: Leukemia-initiating cells can retrospectively be defined by tumorigenicity in immunodeficient mice and be characterized by surface markers. The latter still being discussed for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice were used to evaluate long-time reconstitution and expansion of AML subpopulations.

Materials And Methods: Bone marrow cells from patients with AML were separated according to CD34 expression, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity, and divisional kinetics in comparison to cord blood-derived CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells, evaluating survival and expansion in NOD/SCID mice.

Poor mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells-definitions, incidence, risk factors, and impact on outcome of autologous transplantation.

As more efficient agents for stem cell mobilization are being developed, there is an urgent need to define which patient population might benefit from these novel drugs. For a precise and prospective definition of "poor mobilization" (PM), we have analyzed the efficiency of mobilization in patients intended to receive autologous transplantation at our center in the past 6 years. Between January 2003, and December 2008, 840 patients with the following diagnoses were scheduled to undergo leukapheresis: multiple myeloma (MM, n = 602) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL, n= 238).

Aldehyde dehydrogenase activity among primary leukemia cells is associated with stem cell features and correlates with adverse clinical outcomes.

Objective: Animal models have provided evidence for the existence of leukemia stem cells (LSC). However, prospective isolation of human LSC from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as the assessment of their clinical significance, has remained a major challenge.

Materials And Methods: We have studied the functional characteristics of a subset of leukemia cells that expressed CD34 and high aldehyde dehydrogenase activity (ALDH(br)), which was freshly isolated from the mononuclear cells at the time of diagnosis from the marrow of 68 consecutive patients suffering from AML.