Publications by authors named "Wenwu Gao"
Military personnel transitioning to civilian life have reported significant challenges in reintegrating into civilian culture. Filmmaking has been used as a therapeutic intervention to enhance the community reintegration of veterans, but there are no published quantitative data documenting its impact. The present study provides outcome data on 40 veterans who participated in the I Was There (IWT) filmmaking workshop.
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- - Polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSQ) is a promising filler for electronic circuit board substrates due to its hybrid structure, low dielectric constant, and excellent thermal stability.
- - PMSQ microspheres were created using a two-step sol-gel method, with experiments determining optimal conditions for size uniformity and shape.
- - The analysis revealed PMSQ has a ladder-dominant structure and superior thermal stability, with a dielectric constant of about 3.7 at high frequencies, which is lower than traditional silicon oxide, suggesting improved performance for high-frequency electronic applications.
Article Synopsis
- This study aimed to evaluate how often clinicians recommend follow-up care after patients screen positive for unhealthy drug use in a Veterans Health Administration setting with mandatory screenings.
- Data analysis showed that 66% of patients received no follow-up recommendation, and among those referred to specialty substance use disorder treatment, only 25% attended their appointment within 60 days.
- The findings suggest that even with mandatory screenings, the follow-up care and patient engagement are insufficient, indicating a need for better support systems for both clinicians and patients.
Article Synopsis
- - Soil zinc (Zn) is essential for plant growth but can cause environmental pollution when it accumulates excessively; understanding the factors that influence its levels is crucial.
- - A study conducted in Beijing, China, analyzed 1497 soil samples to assess how various nutrients and geographic factors affect soil Zn content using a generalized additive model (GAM) and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) for factor selection.
- - Results show that Zn levels peak at specific geographic coordinates, increase with available phosphorus (up to 150 mg/kg), and decrease with high organic matter content; the most significant influencing factors on Zn content were identified as available phosphorus, latitude, alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen, available potassium, and organic matter
Background: Unhealthy drug use is a concern in many settings, including military and veteran populations. In 2013, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center in Bedford, Massachusetts, started requiring routine screening for unhealthy drug use in outpatient primary care and mental health settings, using a validated single question.
Methods: This study used descriptive and multivariable analyses of VHA electronic records for patients eligible for the screening program (N = 16,118).
Effects of Angelicae Pubescentis and Loranthi Decotion on repairing knee joint cartilages in rats.
J Orthop Surg Res
December 2017
Article Synopsis
- Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is characterized by damage to the cartilage, and this study compares the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulas, specifically Angelicae Pubescentis and Loranthi decoction (APLD), to a common western medication, glucosamine sulfate (GS), in treating KOA in rat models.
- Thirty-two rats were divided into four groups, including a control group and groups receiving APLD or GS after surgically inducing arthritis, with assessments made after 14 weeks on cartilage health and gene expression related to cartilage repair.
- Results indicated that both APLD and GS treatments improved cartilage structure and gene expression, with APLD showing slight superiority in promoting cartilage chondro
Article Synopsis
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) is linked to atherosclerosis, an inflammatory condition causing arterial wall thickening and plaque formation.
- The study investigated circulating CD4CXCR5 T cells in CAD patients, revealing an enriched PD-1CCR7 subset that is effective in aiding B cell responses and secretes higher levels of inflammatory cytokines compared to healthy individuals.
- Findings suggest that the activated CD4CXCR5 T cell subset in CAD contributes to inflammation, indicating that targeting these cells may offer new therapeutic strategies for treating CAD.
Interleukin 21 (IL-21) is crucial for the development of a robust CD8 T cell response and has been shown to promote antitumor immunity. Despite the fact that osteosarcoma presents significant genetic instability with a high immunogenic potential, the antitumor immune response in osteosarcoma is ineffective. We investigated whether this was due to impaired IL-21 responses.
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- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that leads to chronic inflammation, with Treg cells involved in managing this immune response.
- The study found that a specific type of Treg cells, Tim3Foxp3 Tregs, were less frequent in RA patients and linked to higher disease activity, indicating they are less effective in controlling inflammation.
- Unlike healthy individuals, RA patients showed lower functionality in these Treg cells, emphasizing the need for Tim3 to enhance their ability to suppress inflammatory responses.
Overrepresentation of Th1- and Th17-like Follicular Helper T Cells in Coronary Artery Disease.
J Cardiovasc Transl Res
December 2015
Article Synopsis
- T cells and B cells are crucial in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD), with a focus on how circulating follicular helper T (Tfh) cells are involved.
- CAD patients showed higher levels of Tfh cells in their bloodstream, which had altered characteristics, including increased Th1 and Th17 phenotypes and abnormal cytokine profiles.
- The interaction between Tfh cells and B cells in CAD patients led to enhanced antibody production and changes in B cell differentiation, suggesting that the altered Tfh composition is linked to inflammation and higher levels of LDL cholesterol in CAD.
This study aimed to investigate whether inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) could promote chondrocytes proliferation. The expression pattern of GSK-3β was firstly determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in normal mouse. Tibias were then isolated and cultured for 6 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere has been more and more evidence to confirm the essential role of inflammatory processes in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). Interleukin-21 (IL-21), the most recently discovered CD132-dependent cytokine, plays a key role in regulating inflammation. The aim of the study was to understand the effect of peripheral IL-21 on the pathogenesis and progression of CAD.
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- Inflammation is crucial in the development of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD), with Interleukin-2 (IL-2) being a key proinflammatory cytokine that promotes T cell growth.
- The study investigated the relationship between IL-2 genetic variations (specifically -330T/G and +114T/G polymorphisms) and CAD by comparing 692 CAD patients with 723 healthy individuals.
- Results indicated that the IL-2 -330GG genotype was more common among CAD patients, who also had higher serum IL-2 levels than controls, suggesting that IL-2 may increase susceptibility to CAD and correlate with its severity.
Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 genetic variants and risk of Ewing's sarcoma.
Genet Test Mol Biomarkers
June 2013
Despite the knowledge of many genetic alterations present in Ewing's sarcoma (ES), the complexity of this disease precludes placing its biology into a simple conceptual framework. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) can decrease T-cell activation and attenuate antitumor responses. Polymorphisms in the CTLA-4 gene have been shown to be associated with different diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[A preliminary report of open reduction and Numelock II polyaxial system fixation for type C fracture of distal radius].
Zhongguo Xiu Fu Chong Jian Wai Ke Za Zhi
May 2009
Objective: To study the clinical outcomes of Numelock II polyaxial system in treatment of type C fractures of the distal radius.
Methods: From March 2006 to June 2007, 12 cases of type C distal radial fractures (6 males and 6 females) were treated with open reduction and internal fixation. The mean age of the patients was 48.
Consecutive homologous codons that are rarely used in E. coli are known to inhibit translation to varying degrees. As few as two consecutive rare arginine codons exhibit a profound inhibition of translation when they are located in the 5' portion of a gene in E.
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- Insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) is found in the brain and helps break down amyloid beta peptide (Abeta), which is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
- Human cerebrovascular endothelial cells (HCECs), essential for the blood-brain barrier, increase IDE expression when exposed to low levels of Abeta, and they quickly degrade radiolabeled Abeta into smaller pieces.
- This degradation mainly occurs on the outer side of the cell and is significantly influenced by the presence of insulin, indicating that IDE could be a potential target for therapies aimed at reducing Abeta levels in the brain.
Article Synopsis
- Insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) is located in various cellular components and primarily breaks down insulin, but can also affect other proteins like amyloid beta peptide.
- In the human brain, IDE is mainly found in neurons but was also detected in cerebrovascular endothelial cells.
- The study utilized laser capture microdissection and PCR to confirm IDE mRNA presence in human brain blood vessels, and advanced imaging techniques localized IDE within the endothelium of these vessels.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a slowly progressing neurodegenerative disorder with no clear etiology. Pathological hallmarks of the disease include the loss of dopaminergic neurons from the substantia nigra (SN) and the presence of Lewy bodies (LBs) (alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin-positive, eosinophilic, cytoplasmic inclusions) in many of the surviving neurons. Experimental modeling of PD neurodegeneration using the neurotoxins 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-pyridinium (MPP(+)) has identified changes in gene expression of different endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress proteins associated with MPTP- and PD-related neurodegeneration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGrowth arrest DNA damage-inducible 153 (GADD153) expression was increased in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-pyridinium (MPP(+))-treated human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells as determined by gene microarray analysis. GADD153 expression increased after 24 hr of MPP(+) (1 mM) exposure and preceded activation of caspase 3. Comparison of GADD153 expression among cultures treated with other toxins whose primary mode of action is either via mitochondrial impairment (rotenone) or via oxidative stress (6-hydroxydopamine or hydrogen peroxide) showed that GADD153 was uniquely up-regulated by MPP(+).
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