Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes on Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis.

We previously demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) ameliorated experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) in rats. Recently, MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-Exo) were thought to carry functions of MSCs. In this study, we tested the effect of local administration of human MSC-Exo on established EAU in the same species.

Modulation of cadmium-induced phytotoxicity in Cabomba caroliniana by urea involves photosynthetic metabolism and antioxidant status.

Urea is a widespread organic pollutant, which can be a nitrogen source, playing different roles in the growth of submerged macrophytes depending on concentrations, while high cadmium (Cd) concentrations are often toxic to macrophytes. In order to evaluate the combined effect of urea and Cd on a submerged macrophyte, Cabomba caroliniana, the morphological and physiological responses of C. caroliniana in the presence of urea and Cd were studied.

Inhibitory effects of pine nodule extract and its component, SJ-2, on acetylcholine-induced catecholamine secretion and synthesis in bovine adrenal medullary cells.

Extract of pine nodules (matsufushi) formed by bark proliferation on the surface of trees of Pinus tabulaeformis or Pinus massoniana has been used as an analgesic for joint pain, rheumatism, neuralgia, dysmenorrhea and other complaints in Chinese traditional medicine. Here we report the effects of matsufushi extract and its components on catecholamine secretion and synthesis in cultured bovine adrenal medullary cells. We found that matsufushi extract (0.

Responses of Ottelia alismoides, an aquatic plant with three CCMs, to variable CO2 and light.

Ottelia alismoides is a constitutive C4 plant and bicarbonate user, and has facultative crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) at low CO2. Acclimation to a factorial combination of light and CO2 showed that the ratio of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) to ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) (>5) is in the range of that of C4 plants. This and short-term response experiments showed that the activity of PEPC and pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) was high even at the end of the night, consistent with night-time acid accumulation and daytime carbon fixation.

The HMGB1-CXCL12 Complex Promotes Inflammatory Cell Infiltration in Uveitogenic T Cell-Induced Chronic Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis.

It is largely unknown how invading autoreactive T cells initiate the pathogenic process inside the diseased organ in organ-specific autoimmune diseases. In experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) induced by uveitogenic, interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP)-specific T cells (tEAU) in mice, we have previously reported that high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) released as a consequence of the direct interaction between IRBP-specific T cells and retinal parenchymal cells is an early and critical mediator in induction of intraocular inflammation. Our present study explored the roles of HMGB1 in intraocular inflammation, focusing on its role in recruiting inflammatory cells into the eye.

Evaluating Excessive Burden of Depression on Health Status and Health Care Utilization Among Patients With Hypertension in a Nationally Representative Sample From the Medial Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS 2012).

Depression and hypertension frequently present together in clinical practice. Evaluating the interaction between depression and hypertension would help stakeholders better understand the value of depression prevention in primary care. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the excessive burden of depression on overall health and on health care utilization expenditure among hypertensive patients.

Functional Conversion and Dominance of γδ T Subset in Mouse Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis.

We have previously shown that activated γδ T cells have a much stronger proinflammatory effect in the development of experimental autoimmune uveitis than their nonactivated counterparts. Our present study explored γδ T cell subsets are functionally distinct in autoimmune pathogenesis and determined the pathogenic contribution of biased Vγ4 γδ T cell activation in this disease. By systematically comparing two major peripheral γδ T cell subsets, the Vγ1 and the Vγ4 cells, we found that the Vγ4 cells were readily activated in B6 mice during experimental autoimmune uveitis development, whereas Vγ1 cells remained nonactivated.

Silver nanoparticles induced reactive oxygen species via photosynthetic energy transport imbalance in an aquatic plant.

The rapid growth in silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) commercialization has increased environmental exposure, including aquatic ecosystem. It has been reported that the AgNPs have damaging effects on photosynthesis and induce oxidative stress, but the toxic mechanism of AgNPs is still a matter of debate. In the present study, on the model aquatic higher plant Spirodela polyrhiza, we found that AgNPs affect photosynthesis and significantly inhibit Photosystem II (PSII) maximum quantum yield (F/F) and effective quantum yield (Φ).

Direct health care costs associated with obesity in Chinese population in 2011.

Aims: Overweight and obesity are established major risk factors for type 2 diabetes, and major public health concerns in China. This study aims to assess the economic burden associated with overweight and obesity in the Chinese population ages 45 and older.

Methods: The Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2011 included 13,323 respondents of ages 45 and older living in 450 rural and urban communities across China.

Complete prefrontal lobe isolation surgery for recurrent epilepsy: A case report.

Epileptogenic focus resection is less effective for the treatment of frontal lobe epilepsy compared with temporal lobe epilepsy. However, there is currently a lack of effective therapeutic options for patients with frontal lobe epilepsy who are unsuitable for epileptogenic focus resection (such patients with epileptogenic foci in one frontal lobe in which the precise epileptic foci cannot be determined), or who experience recurrent epilepsy following epileptogenic focus resection. The present study reports a patient with frontal lobe epilepsy who underwent successful frontal lobe isolation surgery following a previous unsuccessful epileptogenic focus resection surgery.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of dapagliflozin versus glimepiride as monotherapy in a Chinese population with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin (a novel sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor) versus glimepiride (a widely used sulfonylurea), when applied as monotherapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China.

Methods: Literature screening, meta-analysis and indirect comparison were used to compare efficacy and safety between dapagliflozin and glimepiride. Direct medication costs and medical expenditure on treating diabetes related comorbidities were calculated based on published and local sources and reported in 2015 Chinese Renminbi (RMB).

Therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cells administered at later phase of recurrent experimental autoimmune uveitis.

Aim: To test the therapeutic effects of delayed treatment of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in recurrent experimental autoimmune uveitis (rEAU).

Methods: The efficacy of different regimens of MSC administration in rEAU were tested by evaluation of clinical and pathological intraocular inflammation, as well as retinal structural and functional integrity using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and electroretinogram (ERG). The retinal sections were also immunostained with antibodies to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and rhodopsin (RHO).

Ineffectiveness of rabies vaccination alone for post-exposure protection against rabies infection in animal models.

Most reported vaccination failures among rabies-exposed patients were due to fail to timely co-administer rabies immunoglobulin (RIG). Considering that such protection failure might be caused by low antigen titers in the vaccine, scientists improved antigen titers to 4.0 IU or even higher, yet the failure remained.

Anticonvulsant effect of Rhynchophylline involved in the inhibition of persistent sodium current and NMDA receptor current in the pilocarpine rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Rhynchophylline (RIN) is a significant active component isolated from the Chinese herbal medicine Uncaria rhynchophylla. Several studies have demonstrated that RIN has a significant anticonvulsant effect in many types of epilepsy models in vivo. However, the mechanisms of the anticonvulsant effect remain elusive.

CD127 Expression in Naive and Memory T Cells in HIV Patients Who Have Undergone Long-Term HAART.

Objective: To evaluate cluster of differentiation (CD)127 expression in T cells of patients with HIV-1 and the relationship of CD127 expression with disease progression.

Methods: We divided 139 patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) who had undergone highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) into 3 groups: patients with poor recovery (CD4T < 350/μ;L, patients with general recovery (CD4T =  350 - ∼600/μL) and patients with good recovery (CD4T > 600/μL). Counts and percentages of naïve (CD45RA) and memory (CD45RO) T cells and CD127 expression were determined using flow cytometry.

Gastrodin Reduces the Severity of Status Epilepticus in the Rat Pilocarpine Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy by Inhibiting Nav1.6 Sodium Currents.

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is one of the most refractory types of adult epilepsy, and treatment options remain unsatisfactory. Gastrodin (GAS), a phenolic glucoside used in Chinese herbal medicine and derived from Gastrodia elata Blume, has been shown to have remarkable anticonvulsant effects on various models of epilepsy in vivo. However, the mechanisms of GAS as an anticonvulsant drug remain to be established.

Correction: CD73 Expressed on γδ T Cells Shapes Their Regulatory Effect in Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Exosomes derived from MSCs ameliorate retinal laser injury partially by inhibition of MCP-1.

Although accumulated evidence supports the notion that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) act in a paracrine manner, the mechanisms are still not fully understood. Recently, MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-Exos), a type of microvesicle released from MSCs, were thought to carry functional proteins and RNAs to recipient cells and play therapeutic roles. In the present study, we intravitreally injected MSCs derived from either mouse adipose tissue or human umbilical cord, and their exosomes to observe and compare their functions in a mouse model of laser-induced retinal injury.

Estimating the costs of supporting safety-net transformation into patient-centered medical homes in post-Katrina New Orleans.

There is a need to understand the costs associated with supporting, implementing, and maintaining the system redesign of small and medium-sized safety-net clinics. The authors aimed to understand the characteristics of clinics that transformed into patient-centered medical homes and the incremental cost for transformation.The sample was 74 clinics in Greater New Orleans that received funds from the Primary Care Access and Stabilization Grant program between 2007 and 2010 to support their transformation.

Chronic social defeat stress leads to changes of behaviour and memory-associated proteins of young mice.

It is well known that social defeat stress can induce depressive behaviours and cognitive impairment. However, the molecular mechanism by which only a minority of stress-exposed individuals are affected is not clear. In this study, thirty 3-week-old male c57BL/6 mice were exposed to 30 days of social defeat stress, following which susceptible (socially avoidant) and unsusceptible (socially interactive) mice were identified using social investigation.

A Triangle Mesh Standardization Method Based on Particle Swarm Optimization.

To enhance the triangle quality of a reconstructed triangle mesh, a novel triangle mesh standardization method based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed. First, each vertex of the mesh and its first order vertices are fitted to a cubic curve surface by using least square method. Additionally, based on the condition that the local fitted surface is the searching region of PSO and the best average quality of the local triangles is the goal, the vertex position of the mesh is regulated.

Beneficial Effects of Dry Needling for Treatment of Chronic Myofascial Pain Persist for 6 Weeks After Treatment Completion.

Background: Dry needling is an effective treatment for reducing pain associated with active myofascial trigger points (a-MTrPs) in the short term. The duration of the benefits of this treatment have not been fully assessed.

Objective: To determine whether the benefits of dry needling (DN) of a-MTrPs are sustained 6 weeks posttreatment.

[EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THREE DIMENSINONAL CULTURE OF RABBIT ANNULUS FIBROSUS CELLS ON KLD-12 POLYPEPTIDE NANOFIBER GEL IN VlTRO].

Objective: To investigate the feasibility to culture rabbit annulus fibrosus cells on the KLD-12 polypeptide nanofiber gel so as to search for the seed cells and the scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Methods: The rabbit annulus fibrosus cells were isolated with pancreatin and cultured; the cells at passage 3 were seeded on the KLD-12 polypeptide nanofiber gel to prepare the KLD-12 polypeptide/annulus fibrosus cells gel. The cell morphology change was observed by inverted microscope.