Digital health integration for noncommunicable diseases: Comprehensive process mapping for full-life-cycle management.

Aim: To create a systematic digital health process mapping framework for full-life-cycle noncommunicable disease management grounded in key stakeholder engagement.

Methods: A triphasic, qualitative methodology was employed to construct a process mapping framework for digital noncommunicable disease management in Shanghai, China. The first phase involved desk research to examine current guidance and practices.

MicroRNA Profiling in the Aqueous Humor of Keratoconus Eyes.

Purpose: To identify differentially expressed (DE) microRNAs (miRNAs) in the aqueous humor (AH) of keratoconus (KC) eyes using next-generation sequencing and to explore whether DE miRNAs might play roles in KC pathophysiology.

Methods: The small RNAs in the AH of 15 KC eyes and 15 myopia eyes (the control group) were sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform. Gene Oncology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome enrichment analyses were performed.

Optical Quality of Highly Myopic Eyes under Different Lighting Conditions and Other Relevant Parameters.

: To evaluate the optical quality of highly myopic eyes under light and dark conditions and correlate it with other relevant parameters. : A cross-sectional, observational study was performed on 180 eyes of 90 highly myopic patients (29 males and 61 females; mean age: 27.833 ± 0.

Optical quality after posterior chamber Phakic implantation of an intraocular Lens with a central hole (V4c implantable Collamer Lens) under different lighting conditions.

Background: The current study compared optical quality before and after implantation of a posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens with a central hole [V4c implantable collamer lens (ICL)] under bright and dark lighting conditions by means of the Optical Quality Analysis System™ (OQAS; Visiometrics, Terrassa, Spain).

Methods: This prospective study involved 91 eyes of 46 consecutive high myopia patients (15 males and 31 females, average spherical equivalent - 10.50 ± 0.

Polydopamine-Assisted Immobilization of Copper Ions onto Hemodialysis Membranes for Antimicrobial.

The hemodialysis therapy is the primary treatment for the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients to extend their lives. To reduce the pathogenic infection during hemodialysis treatment, mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) was self-polymerized onto poly(ether sulfone) (PES) membranes to immobilize copper ions, because PDA coating could firmly adhere to the PES membranes and immobilize antimicrobial metal ions with its functional groups. The immobilized copper ions through PDA can penetrate deeply into the inner surface of the pores of PES membrane.

Polarization of an electroactive functional film on titanium for inducing osteogenic differentiation.

To enhance the surface bioactivity of titanium (Ti) prostheses, an electroactive polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film was prepared on a Ti substrate to provide a mimetic of the electrical microenvironment, which facilitated the performance of cell functions. The results of cell proliferation and differentiation assays indicated that polarization of the PVDF-Ti (PTi) altered its surface charge, thus inducing adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of cells. The polarized PVDF-Ti (PPTi) may therefore find applications in bone regeneration.

Surface-Selective Preferential Production of Reactive Oxygen Species on Piezoelectric Ceramics for Bacterial Killing.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be used to kill bacterial cells, and thus the selective generation of ROS from material surfaces is an emerging direction in antibacterial material discovery. We found the polarization of piezoelectric ceramic causes the two sides of the disk to become positively and negatively charged, which translate into cathode and anode surfaces in an aqueous solution. Because of the microelectrolysis of water, ROS are preferentially formed on the cathode surface.

Ti nanorod arrays with a medium density significantly promote osteogenesis and osteointegration.

Ti implants are good candidates in bone repair. However, how to promote bone formation on their surface and their consequent perfect integration with the surrounding tissue is still a challenge. To overcome such challenge, we propose to form Ti nanorods on their surface to promote the new bone formation around the implants.

Influence of Surrounding Cations on the Surface Degradation of Magnesium Alloy Implants under a Compressive Pressure.

The effect of cations in the surrounding solutions on the surface degradation of magnesium alloys, a well-recognized biodegradable biomaterial, has been neglected compared with the effect of anions in the past. To better simulate the compressive environment where magnesium alloys are implanted into the body as a cardiovascular stent, a device is designed and employed in the test so that a pressure, equivalent to the vascular pressure, can be directly applied to the magnesium alloy implants when the alloys are immersed in a medium containing one of the cations (K(+), Na(+), Ca(2+), and Mg(2+)) found in blood plasma. The surface degradation behaviors of the magnesium alloys in the immersion test are then investigated using hydrogen evolution, mass loss determination, electron microscopy, pH value, and potentiodynamic measurements.

Cancer Associated Fibroblast-Derived Hepatocyte Growth Factor Inhibits the Paclitaxel-Induced Apoptosis of Lung Cancer A549 Cells by Up-Regulating the PI3K/Akt and GRP78 Signaling on a Microfluidic Platform.

Tumor stroma and growth factors provide a survival environment to tumor cells and can modulate their chemoresistance by dysregulating several signal pathways. In this study, we fabricated a three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic chip using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to investigate the impact of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) from cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) on the Met/PI3K/AKT activation, glucose regulatory protein (GRP78) expression and the paclitaxel-induced A549 cell apoptosis. With a concentration gradient generator, the assembled chip was able to reconstruct a tumor microenvironment in vitro.

Chondroitin sulphate-guided construction of polypyrrole nanoarchitectures.

Nanospheres, nanocones, and nanowires are three typical polypyrrole (PPy) nanoarchitectures and electrochemically polymerized with the dope of chondroitin sulphate (CS) in this study. CS, a functional biomacromolecule, guides the formation of PPy nanoarchitectures as the dopant and morphology-directing agent. Combined with our previous reported other PPy nanoarchitectures (such as nanotube arrays and nanowires), this work further proposed the novel mechanism of the construction of PPy/CS nanoarchitectures with the synergistic effect of CS molecular chains structure and the steric hindrance.