Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the heterogeneity of myofibroblasts in wound repair.

Skin wound repair involves myofibroblasts crucial for tissue integrity. This study utilized single-cell RNA sequencing to explore myofibroblast diversity in various wound healing scenarios. Analysis of 89,148 cells from skin ulcers, keloids, and normal scars identified 13 cell clusters.

A Neuron-Mast Cell Axis Regulates Skin Microcirculation in Diabetes.

Changes in microcirculation lead to the progression of organ pathology in diabetes. Although neuroimmune interactions contribute to a variety of conditions, it is still unclear whether abnormal neural activities affect microcirculation related to diabetes. Using laser speckle contrast imaging, we examined the skin of patients with type 2 diabetes and found that their microvascular perfusion was significantly compromised.

Dysregulation of LINC00324 promotes poor prognosis in patients with glioma.

Background: LINC00324 is a long-stranded non-coding RNA, which is aberrantly expressed in various cancers and is associated with poor prognosis and clinical features. It involves multiple oncogenic molecular pathways affecting cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis. However, the expression, function, and mechanism of LINC00324 in glioma have not been reported.

Laser-Activatable In Situ Vaccine Enhances Cancer-Immunity Cycle.

The immune response in cancer reflects a series of carefully regulated events; however, current tumor immunotherapies typically address a single key aspect to enhance anti-tumor immunity. In the present study, a nanoplatform (Fe O @IR820@CpG)-based immunotherapy strategy that targets the multiple key steps in cancer-immunity cycle is developed: 1) promotes the release of tumor-derived proteins (TDPs), including tumor-associated antigens and pro-immunostimulatory factors), in addition to the direct killing effect, by photothermal (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT); 2) captures the released TDPs and delivers them, together with CpG (a Toll-like receptor 9 agonist) to antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to promote antigen presentation and T cell activation; 3) enhances the tumor-killing ability of T cells by combining with anti-programmed death ligand 1 antibody (α-PD-L1), which collectively advances the outstanding of the anti-tumor effects on colorectal, liver and breast cancers. The broad-spectrum anti-tumor activity of Fe O @IR820@CpG with α-PD-L1 demonstrates that optimally manipulating anti-cancer immunity not singly but as a group provides promising clinical strategies.

Red blood cell distribution width improves the prediction of 28-day mortality for patients with sepsis-induced acute kidney injury: A retrospective analysis from MIMIC-IV database using propensity score matching.

Background: The predictive value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) for mortality in patients with sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (SI-AKI) remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the potential association between RDW at admission and outcomes in patients with SI-AKI.

Methods: The Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV (version 2.

Preparation and characterisation of a novel silk fibroin/hyaluronic acid/sodium alginate scaffold for skin repair.

To mimic the natural structure of tissue extracellular matrix, a novel silk fibroin (SF)/hyaluronic acid (HA)/sodium alginate (SA) composite scaffold (92% in porosity) was prepared by freeze-drying. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectra indicated interactions among SF, HA, and SA molecules. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the prepared SF/HA/SA scaffold had soft, elastic characteristics, with an average pore diameter of 93 μm.

Identification of biomarkers associated with progression and prognosis in bladder cancer via co-expression analysis.

Background: Bladder cancer is one of the most common genitourinary malignancies, with a high rate of recurrence and progression. The prognosis for patients with bladder cancer, especially muscle-invasive bladder cancer, remains poor despite systemic therapy.

Objective: To explore the underlying disease mechanisms and identify more effective biomarkers for bladder cancer.

A Novel Well Drill Assisted with High-Frequency Vibration Using the Bending Mode.

It is important for companies to increase the efficiency of drilling as well as prolong the lifetime of the drilling tool. Since some previous investigations indicated that a superposition of well drilling with an additional vibration increases the drilling efficiency, this paper introduces a novel well drill which is assisted with additional vibrations by means of piezoelectric sandwich bending vibration transducer. The proposed drill uses bending vibrations in two different directions to from an elliptical trajectory movement, which can help the drill to break the surface of hard material more efficiently and clean away the lithic fragments more easily.

Development of a bi-directional standing wave linear piezoelectric actuator with four driving feet.

A bi-directional standing wave linear piezoelectric ultrasonic actuator with four driving feet is proposed in this work. Two sandwich type transducers operated in longitudinal-bending hybrid modes are set parallelly. The working mode of the transducer is not simple hybrid vibrations of a longitudinal one and a bending one, but a special coupling vibration mode contained both longitudinal and bending components.

Research on a Novel Exciting Method for a Sandwich Transducer Operating in Longitudinal-Bending Hybrid Modes.

A novel exciting method for a sandwich type piezoelectric transducer operating in longitudinal-bending hybrid vibration modes is proposed and discussed, in which the piezoelectric elements for the excitations of the longitudinal and bending vibrations share the same axial location, but correspond to different partitions. Whole-piece type piezoelectric plates with three separated partitions are used, in which the center partitions generate the first longitudinal vibration, while the upper and lower partitions produce the second bending vibration. Detailed comparisons between the proposed exciting method and the traditional one were accomplished by finite element method (FEM) calculations, which were further verified by experiments.

A ring-type multi-DOF ultrasonic motor with four feet driving consistently.

A new type of multiple-degree-of-freedom (multi-DOF) ultrasonic motor was developed aiming at high output torque and compact structure. To reach this purpose, a ring type composite stator was proposed with four driving feet uniformly arranged in the inner circumference of the ring stator. The stator employs two orthogonal axial bending modes and a radial bending mode, by exciting two of them simultaneously, to generate elliptic trajectories on driving feet tips and to push sphere rotor around x, y and z axis respectively.

An electromechanical coupling model of a bending vibration type piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer.

An electromechanical coupling model of a bending vibration type piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer is proposed. The transducer is a Langevin type transducer which is composed of an exponential horn, four groups of PZT ceramics and a back beam. The exponential horn can focus the vibration energy, and can enlarge vibration amplitude and velocity efficiently.

Surface Chemical Gradient Affects the Differentiation of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells via ERK1/2 Signaling Pathway.

To understand the role of surface chemistry on cell behavior and the associated molecular mechanisms, we developed and utilized a surface chemical gradient of amine functional groups by carefully adjusting the gas composition of 1,7-octadiene (OD) and allylamine (AA) of the plasma phase above a moving substrate. The chemical gradient surface used in the present work shows an increasing N/C ratio and wettability from the OD side toward the AA side with no change in surface topography. Under standard culture conditions (with serum), human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) adhesion and spreading area increased toward the AA side of the gradient.

Collagen/chitosan based two-compartment and bi-functional dermal scaffolds for skin regeneration.

Inspired from the sophisticated bilayer structures of natural dermis, here, we reported collagen/chitosan based two-compartment and bi-functional dermal scaffolds. Two functions refer to mediating rapid angiogenesis based on recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor (rhVEGF) and antibacterial from gentamicin, which were encapsulated in PLGA microspheres. The gentamicin and rhVEGF encapsulated PLGA microspheres were further combined with collagen/chitosan mixtures in low (lower layer) and high (upper layer) concentrations, and molded to generate the two-compartment and bi-functional scaffolds.

Accelerated regeneration of skin injury by co-transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton's jelly of the human umbilical cord mixed with microparticles.

This study was set to explore a new strategy for repairing skin wounds, co-transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton's Jelly of the human umbilical cord (hUC-Wharton's jelly-MSCs) and microparticles. A mixture of hUC-Wharton's jelly-MSCs and microparticles was co-transplanted to 10-mm diameter, full-thickness, mid-dorsal, excisional skin wounds of mice. After 7, 14, and 21 days, the tissue sections were sampled for reconstruction analysis and histological examination.

Continuous renal replacement therapy as a supportive treatment for acute pediatric necrotizing fasciitis.

Acute necrotizing fasciitis (NF) in children is a dangerous illness characterized by progressive necrosis of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The present study summarizes our recent experience with the treatment of pediatric patients with severe NF. Between 2000 and 2009, eight children suffering from NF were admitted to our department.

A rectangle-type linear ultrasonic motor using longitudinal vibration transducers with four driving feet.

To make full use of the vibrational energy of a longitudinal transducer, a rectangle-type linear ultrasonic motor with four driving feet is proposed in this paper. This new motor consists of four longitudinal vibration transducers which are arranged in a rectangle and form an enclosed construction. Lead zirconate titanate ceramics are embedded into the middle of the transducer and fastened by a wedge-caulking mechanism.

A U-shaped linear ultrasonic motor using longitudinal vibration transducers with double feet.

A U-shaped linear ultrasonic motor using longitudinal vibration transducers with double feet was proposed in this paper. The proposed motor contains a horizontal transducer and two vertical transducers. The horizontal transducer includes two exponential shape horns located at the leading ends, and each vertical transducer contains one exponential shape horn.

A cylindrical standing wave ultrasonic motor using bending vibration transducer.

A cylindrical standing wave ultrasonic motor using bending vibration transducer was proposed in this paper. The proposed stator contains a cylinder and a bending vibration transducer. The two combining sites between the cylinder and the transducer locate at the adjacent wave loops of bending vibration of the transducer and have a distance that equal to the half wave length of bending standing wave excited in the cylinder.

A rotary ultrasonic motor using bending vibration transducers.

A rotary ultrasonic motor using bending vibration transducers is proposed. In each transducer, two orthogonal bending vibrations are superimposed and an elliptical trajectory is generated at the driving foot. Typical output of the prototype is a no-load speed of 58 rpm and maximum torque of 9·5 Nm under an exciting voltage of 200 V(rms).

A high-power linear ultrasonic motor using longitudinal vibration transducers with single foot.

A high-power linear ultrasonic motor using longitudinal vibration transducers with single foot was proposed in this paper. The stator of proposed motor contains a horizontal transducer and a vertical transducer. Longitudinal vibrations are superimposed in the stator and generate an elliptical trajectory at the driving foot.

A new traveling wave ultrasonic motor using thick ring stator with nested PZT excitation.

To avoid the disadvantages of conventional traveling wave ultrasonic motors--lower efficiency PZT working mode of d(31), fragility of the PZT element under strong excitation, fatigue of the adhesive layer under harsh environmental conditions, and low volume of the PZT material in the stator--a new type of traveling wave ultrasonic motor is presented in this paper. Here we implement the stator by nesting 64 PZT stacks in 64 slots specifically cut in a thick metal ring and 64 block springs nested within another 64 slots to produce preloading on the PZT stacks. In this new design, the d33 mode of the PZT is used to excite the flexural vibrations of the stator, and fragility of the PZT ceramics and fatigue of the adhesive layer are no longer an issue.

Actuating mechanism and design of a cylindrical traveling wave ultrasonic motor using cantilever type composite transducer.

Background: Ultrasonic motors (USM) are based on the concept of driving the rotor by a mechanical vibration excited on the stator via piezoelectric effect. USM exhibit merits such as simple structure, quick response, quiet operation, self-locking when power off, nonelectromagnetic radiation and higher position accuracy.

Principal Findings: A cylindrical type traveling wave ultrasonic motor using cantilever type composite transducer was proposed in this paper.

[Clinical application of composite skin graft consisting of acellular allogenic dermis and autologous skin].

Objective: To study the procedures of applying composite skin graft consisting of acellular allogenic dermis and autologous skin in the treatment of full-thickness burns and scar formation.

Methods: Fifteen burn wounds in 8 patients were treated with the composite skin graft using one-stage grafting.

Results: Complete wound healing was achieved in 13 wounds.

[Effect of protein kinase on endothelial cytoskeleton induced by septic shock].

Objective: To study the effect of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) on the pathogenesis of septic shock.

Methods: Confluent endothelial cells were disintegrated and centrifugated to obtain cell lysates after being treated with LPS or PKG activator 8-Br-cGMP. PKG activity of lysates was measured with radioactive isotope label method in a reaction system of phosphorylation of specific substrate H2B by PKG, and the shape and the distribution of intracellular filamentous actin were detected by specific fluorescence staining.