Nacre-inspired graphene oxide/chitosan supported Pd species composite paper-like membrane with superior catalytic performance.

Recent studies have shown that graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets can form a nacre-like bioinspired layered structure with polysaccharide of chitosan (CS), leading to composites with excellent mechanical properties. In this study, we go further steps by immobilization of Pd species (both Pd and Pd) within nacre-like bioinspired layered GO-CS composite paper-like membranes by vacuum-assisted self-assembly process to fabricate novel GO-CS-Pd composite membrane catalysts for the first time. Synergistic interactions from hydrogen bonding (between the GO nanosheets and CS chains) and ionic bonding (between the GO nanosheets and Pd ions) have been efficiently achieved, resulting in significantly improvement of the mechanical properties.

Acceptance status and influencing factors of advance care planning among elderly patients with chronic disease.

The aging population has become a severe public health issue both in China and globally. Over 180 million elderly people in China have chronic diseases, with 75% of them suffering from 2 or more chronic diseases, posing significant threats to their independence and quality of life, and imposing immense mental and disease burdens on patients and their families. So our research analyzes the influencing factors based on the current acceptance status of advance care planning (ACP) among elderly patients with chronic diseases.

pH-responsive size-adjustable liposomes induce apoptosis of fibroblasts and macrophages for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), macrophages infiltrate joints, while fibroblast-like synovial cells proliferate abnormally, forming a barrier against drug delivery, which hinders effective drug delivery to joint focus. Here we firstly designed a pH-responsive size-adjustable nanoparticle, composed by methotrexate (MTX)-human serum albumin (HSA) complex coating with pH-responsive liposome (Lipo/MTX-HSA) for delivering drugs specifically to inflamed joints in acidic environments. We showed in vitro that the nanoparticles can induce mitochondrial dysfunction, promote apoptosis of fibroblast-like synoviocytes and macrophages, further reduce the secretion of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β, MMP-9), and regulate the inflammatory microenvironment.

Association of the second birth mode of delivery and interval with maternal pelvic floor changes: a prospective cohort study.

Background: This study aimed to explore the association of the second birth delivery mode and interval with maternal pelvic floor changes.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included women who had a first delivery and were in weeks 36-41 of a subsequent pregnancy at Panzhihua Central Hospital between July 2017 and June 2018. The primary outcomes of the study were the hiatus area at 6 months postpartum and bladder neck (mm) at rest and during a maximum Valsalva maneuver.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practice of pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic floor ultrasound among women of childbearing age in Sichuan, China.

Objective: Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is highly prevalent among women. Pelvic floor ultrasound (PFU) is a critical method for assessing PFD. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) of women of childbearing age regarding PFD and PFU.

Recent progress in therapeutic strategies and biomimetic nanomedicines for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune systemic disease in which inflammatory and immune cells accumulate in inflamed joints. Researchers aimed at the characteristics of RA to achieve the effect of treating RA through different therapeutic strategies, and have used various endogenous materials to design drug-loaded nanoparticles that can target RA by binding to cell adhesion molecules or chemokines. In some cases, the nanoparticles can respond to the characteristics of the microenvironment.

Role of NLRP3 Inflammasome on Different Phenotypes of Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

Background: The pathophysiologic mechanisms of human chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) are highly complex, and sinonasal colonization with pathogens is the first and most important step in this process. NLRP3, the main receptor activated by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), is associated with a variety of inflammatory diseases, including airway inflammation; however, the understanding of its role in CRS is limited.

Objective: By detecting the differential expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome and its downstream cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 between CRS patients and controls, between different CRS phenotypes (CRSsNP and CRSwNP), between mucosal tissue and polyp tissue, and further its relationship with neutrophilic/eosinic infiltration, we aimed to elucidate the biological role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathophysiologic mechanisms of CRS.

Microvesicle-camouflaged biomimetic nanoparticles encapsulating a metal-organic framework for targeted rheumatoid arthritis therapy.

Background: Methotrexate (MTX) has been highlighted for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment, however, MTX does not accumulate well at inflamed sites, and long-term administration in high doses leads to severe side effects. In this study, a novel anti-RA nanoparticle complex was designed and constructed, which could improve the targeted accumulation in inflamed joints and reduce side effects.

Results: Here, we prepared a pH-sensitive biomimetic drug delivery system based on macrophage-derived microvesicle (MV)-coated zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 nanoparticles that encapsulated the drug methotrexate (hereafter MV/MTX@ZIF-8).

ZIF-8 nanoparticles coated with macrophage-derived microvesicles for sustained, targeted delivery of dexamethasone to arthritic joints.

Dexamethasone sodium phosphate (Dex) is widely used in the clinic for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, it circulates in the blood for a short time and it is linked to a high risk of severe side effects caused by repeated dosing. Here, we encapsulated Dex onto zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) to prepare metal-organic framework nanoparticles with high drug loading efficiency.

Targeted co-delivery biomimetic nanoparticles reverse macrophage polarization for enhanced rheumatoid arthritis therapy.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, which is characterized by synovial inflammation and autoimmunity. The main cause of the disease is the imbalance of the proportion of pro-inflammatory macrophages (M1-type) and anti-inflammatory macrophages (M2-type) in the synovial tissues of the joint. To restore this balance, in our study, the interleukin-10 encoding anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 pDNA) and chemotherapeutic drug dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DSP) were co-loaded into human serum albumin (HSA) preparing pDNA/DSP-NPs to actively target macrophages in synovium tissue to promote M1-M2 polarization.

M2-type exosomes nanoparticles for rheumatoid arthritis therapy via macrophage re-polarization.

Imbalance between the activities of pro-inflammatory M1 and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) induces synovial inflammation and autoimmunity, leading to joint damage. Here we encapsulated a plasmid DNA encoding the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10 pDNA) and the chemotherapeutic drug betamethasone sodium phosphate (BSP) into biomimetic vector M2 exosomes (M2 Exo) derived from M2-type macrophages. We demonstrate that the loaded exosomes target and reduce inflammation for combined therapy against RA.

Electromyographic Biofeedback for Stress Urinary Incontinence or Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Electromyographic biofeedback (EMG-BF) can be regarded as an adjuvant to pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training (PFMT) for the management of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). This meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy of PFMT with and without EMG-BF on the cure and improvement rate, PFM strength, urinary incontinence score, and quality of sexual life for the treatment of SUI or pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang, and CNKI were systematically searched for studies published up to January 2021.

Novel bio-inspired three-dimensional nanocomposites based on montmorillonite and chitosan.

In this study, inspired by nacre-like structural natural shells, novel three-dimensional (3D) nanocomposites based on natural nanoplatelets of montmorillonite (MMT) and polysaccharide of chitosan (CS) were prepared with solution intercalation and self-assembly process. The CS-intercalated-MMT nanoplatelets units acted as "bricks" and CS molecules acted as "mortar", arranging in fairly well-ordered layered structure. With addition of glutaraldehyde (GA) and Pd cations, synergistic toughening and strengthening effects of covalent and ionic bonds could be achieved.

Chitosan modified Ti-PILC supported PdO catalysts for coupling reactions of aryl halides with terminal alkynes.

Biopolymer of chitosan (CS) and titanium pillared clays (Ti-PILCs) have been combined in a hybrid as advanced supports for immobilization of PdO species to prepare novel PdO@Ti-PILC/CS nano-composite catalysts. The Ti-PILC materials showed high specific surface areas and abundant meso-porous structure with many irregular pore channels caused by collapses of layered structure of clay during Ti pillaring process. Both CS chains and sub-nano sized PdO particles were successfully incorporated into the pore channels of Ti-PILC, resulting in a decrease in both the specific surface areas and uniform distribution of pore size.

A model-based method with geometric solutions for gaze correction in eye-tracking.

The eyeball distortions caused by eye diseases, such as myopia and strabismus, can lead to the deviations of eye-tracking data. In this paper, a model-based method with geometric solutions is proposed for gaze correction. The deviations of estimated gaze points are geometrically analyzed based on the individual eyeball models with considerations of the distortions caused by myopia and strabismus.

Preparation of porous chitosan/reduced graphene oxide microspheres supported Pd nanoparticles catalysts for Heck coupling reactions.

Novel porous chitosan/reduced graphene oxide microspheres supported Pd nanoparticles catalysts (Pd@CS/RGO) were prepared by a combination of silica nanoparticles etching and freeze-drying treatments of CS/RGO/silica/PdCl composite microspheres. The microstructure of the Pd@CS/RGO microspheres catalysts have been investigated by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), etc. The results revealed that: the novel catalysts showed open porous structure; CS had good miscibility with RGO nanosheets; Pd nanoparticles were well incorporated within CS/RGO matrix; the thermal stabilities of the catalysts were improved significantly over CS.

Prediction of Early Recurrence of Solitary Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Orthotopic Liver Transplantation.

Hepatocellular carcinomas(HCC) consisted of heterogeneous subtypes with different recurrence probabilities after liver transplantation(LT). Our study aimed to develop an improved model for predicting the recurrence of solitary HCC after LT. In this retrospective study, 151 solitary HCC patients who received orthotopic LT over a period of 10 consecutive years were included.

Modification of Montmorillonite with Polyethylene Oxide and Its Use as Support for Pd Nanoparticle Catalysts.

In this study, montmorillonite (MMT) was modified by intercalating polyethylene oxide (PEO) macromolecules between the interlayer spaces in an MMT-water suspension system. X-ray diffraction results revealed that the galleries of MMT were expanded significantly after intercalation of different loading of PEO. MMT/PEO 80/20 composite was chosen as the support platform for immobilization of Pd species in preparing novel heterogeneous catalysts.

Effects of RNAi-induced Skp2 inhibition on cell cycle, apoptosis and proliferation of endometrial carcinoma cells.

The aim of the current study was to investigate the underlying mechanism of S-phase kinase associated protein 2 (Skp2) gene inhibition by lentivirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) on the cell cycle, apoptosis and proliferation of endometrial carcinoma HEC-1-A cells. A lentivirus shRNA vector targeting Skp2 was constructed and transfected into HEC-1-A cells. HEC-1-A cells transfected with a scramble sequence were used as negative controls.

One-pot carbonization of chitosan/P123/PdCl blend hydrogel membranes to N-doped carbon supported Pd catalytic composites for Ullmann reactions.

Novel porous nitrogen-doped carbon supported Pd (Pd@N-C) catalytic composites were prepared by one-pot thermal carbonization of chitosan/poly(ethylene glycol)‑block‑poly(propylene glycol)‑block‑poly(ethylene glycol)/PdCl (CS/P123/PdCl) blend hydrogel membranes at different temperature in N atmosphere. The porous structure of the Pd@N-C catalytic composite was governed by both the addition of P123 and the carbonization temperature. At highest carbonization temperature of 900 °C, the prepared Pd@N-C catalytic composite from CS/P123/PdCl blend membrane showed the highest specific area (S) of 293.

Clinical significance of Twist, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin protein expression in endometrioid adenocarcinoma.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of Twist, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin both in normal endometrium and in endometrioid adenocarcinoma tissues (NET and EAT), and further discuss the relationship between the proteins expression and the clinical parameters.

Methods: Seventy-six EAT and 50 NET were collected from endometrioid adenocarcinoma patients and patients who received hysterectomy. We used immunohistochemistry (two steps methods) to detect the expression of Twist, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin proteins in EAT and NET.

40 Gb/s all-optical unicast and multicast wavelength converter array on an InP monolithically integrated chip fabricated by MPW technology.

We present an InP monolithically integrated all-optical wavelength converter array chip and experimentally validate its performance for unicast (single output wavelength) and multicast (multiple output wavelengths) wavelength conversion. The monolithically integrated chip includes four semiconductor optical amplifiers with an arrayed-waveguide grating and two delayed interferometers. The chip is fabricated on a multi-project wafer (MPW) platform, which allows multiple designers to share space on the same wafer exploiting a generic integration platform.

Expression patterns of maspin and mutant p53 are associated with the development of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.

Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) is a group of conditions that originate from the abnormal proliferation of trophoblastic cells. GTDs encompass hydatidiform moles (HMs) and gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). GTNs are a group of malignant diseases that require chemotherapy, or more aggressive treatment.