Tensile force on human macrophage cells promotes osteoclastogenesis through receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand induction.

Little is known about the effects of tensile forces on osteoclastogenesis by human monocytes in the absence of mechanosensitive cells, including osteoblasts and fibroblasts. In this study we consider the effects of tensile force on osteoclastogenesis in human monocytes. The cells were treated with receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) to promote osteoclastogenesis.

Human Dental Pulp Cells Responses to Apatite Precipitation from Dicalcium Silicates.

Unraveling the mechanisms behind the processes of cell attachment and the enhanced proliferation that occurs as a response to the presence of calcium silicate-based materials needs to be better understood so as to expand the applications of silicate-based materials. Ions in the environment may influence apatite precipitation and affect silicate ion release from silicate-based materials. Thus, the involvement of apatite precipitate in the regulation of cell behavior of human dental pulp cells (hDPCs) is also investigated in the present study, along with an investigation of the specific role of cell morphology and osteocalcin protein expression cultured on calcium silicate (CS) with different Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM).

Poly(Dopamine)-Assisted Immobilization of Xu Duan on 3D Printed Poly(Lactic Acid) Scaffolds to Up-Regulate Osteogenic and Angiogenic Markers of Bone Marrow Stem Cells.

Three-dimensional printing is a versatile technique to generate large quantities of a wide variety of shapes and sizes of polymer. The aim of this study is to develop functionalized 3D printed poly(lactic acid) (PLA) scaffolds and use a mussel-inspired surface coating and Xu Duan (XD) immobilization to regulate cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of human bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). We prepared PLA scaffolds and coated with polydopamine (PDA).

Highly Sensitive CO₂-Responsive Polymeric Microgels That Respond Within Seconds.

In this work, polymeric microgels with swift response to CO2 are synthesized by polymerization of tertiary-amine containing methacrylate monomers (N,N-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, DEAEMA) and polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether acrylate (PEGMA) as stabilizers. The obtained microgels are stable but very sensitive to CO2, which can rapidly swell and further collapse within 5 s upon bubbling of CO2, or within minutes in an atmosphere of gaseous CO2. The protonation of the tertiary amine groups in the presence of CO2 induces sensitive swelling and further irreversible collapse of the microgels due to the internal charge repulsion and relatively low cross-linking density in the core area of microgels.

Callosal damage and cognitive deficits in chronic carbon monoxide intoxication: A diffusion tensor imaging study.

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between microstructural damage in the corpus callosum (CC) and the cognitive performance of patients with or without delayed encephalopathy (DE) after carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication in the chronic stage.

Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed more than 6 months after CO intoxication for 10 patients with DE and 10 patients without DE recruited from out-patient clinics, as well as for 15 normal controls (NCs). Using a probabilistic tractography method to parcel the CC based on fiber projections to cortical connectivity patterns, the DTI indices were calculated in the CC subregions and further correlated with cognitive performance.

Culture Conditions Affect Expression of DUX4 in FSHD Myoblasts.

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is believed to be caused by aberrant expression of double homeobox 4 (DUX4) due to epigenetic changes of the D4Z4 region at chromosome 4q35. Detecting DUX4 is challenging due to its stochastic expression pattern and low transcription level. In this study, we examined different cDNA synthesis strategies and the sensitivity for DUX4 detection.

Enlargement of Axo-Somatic Contacts Formed by GAD-Immunoreactive Axon Terminals onto Layer V Pyramidal Neurons in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex of Adolescent Female Mice Is Associated with Suppression of Food Restriction-Evoked Hyperactivity and Resilience to Activity-Based Anorexia.

Many, but not all, adolescent female mice that are exposed to a running wheel while food restricted (FR) become excessive wheel runners, choosing to run even during the hours of food availability, to the point of death. This phenomenon is called activity-based anorexia (ABA). We used electron microscopic immunocytochemistry to ask whether individual differences in ABA resilience may correlate with the lengths of axo-somatic contacts made by GABAergic axon terminals onto layer 5 pyramidal neurons (L5P) in the prefrontal cortex.

A de novo floral transcriptome reveals clues into Phalaenopsis orchid flower development.

Phalaenopsis has a zygomorphic floral structure, including three outer tepals, two lateral inner tepals and a highly modified inner median tepal called labellum or lip; however, the regulation of its organ development remains unelucidated. We generated RNA-seq reads with the Illumina platform for floral organs of the Phalaenopsis wild-type and peloric mutant with a lip-like petal. A total of 43,552 contigs were obtained after de novo assembly.

[Serological tests of the truncated TTSuV2 ORF1 recombinant proteins with the porcine sera].

Objective: We studied the serological response between the special regions on the Torque teno sus virus 2 (TTSuV2) ORF1 coded protein and the porcine sera from conventional pigs.

Methods: Based on a Chinese TTSuV2 strain from Guangdong province, two overlapped virus proteins were expressed from Escherichia coli. Then, purified recombinant TTSuV2 ORF1a and TTSuV2 ORF1ab proteins were used as the antigens in the Western Blotting and ELISA assay.

Antibacterial and Odontogenesis Efficacy of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate Combined with CO2 Laser Treatment.

Introduction: Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) has been successfully used in clinical applications in endodontics. Studies show that the antibacterial effects of CO2 laser irradiation are highly efficient when bacteria are embedded in biofilm because of a photothermal mechanism. The aim of this study was to confirm the effects of CO2 laser irradiation on MTA with regard to both material characterization and cell viability.

High prevalence of lower extremity peripheral artery disease in type 2 diabetes patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

Little is known about the relationship between lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, we explored the relationship between sight-threatening PDR and PAD. We screened for diabetic retinopathy (DR) and PAD in hospitalized patients with T2D.

β2-Glycoprotein I-Dependent Anti-Cardiolipin Antibodies Associated With Periodontitis in Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Background: It was reported that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) exhibited increased levels of anticardiolipin (anti-CL) antibodies, a class of antiphospholipid antibodies associated with thrombosis. β2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI) has been considered as the actual target antigen for anti-CL antibodies. This study investigates the association of periodontal infection with anti-CL antibodies in patients with SLE.

The synergistic effects of Chinese herb and injectable calcium silicate/β-tricalcium phosphate composite on an osteogenic accelerator in vitro.

This study investigates the physicochemical and biological effects of traditional Chinese medicines on the β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP)/calcium silicate (CS) composites of bone cells using human dental pulp cell. CS is an osteoconductive and bioactive material. For this research we have combined β-TCP and CS and check its effectiveness, a series of β-TCP/CS composites with different ratios of Xu Duan (XD) were prepared to make new bioactive and biodegradable biocomposites for bone repair.

Positive selection and functional divergence of R2R3-MYB paralogous genes expressed in inflorescence buds of Scutellaria species (Labiatae).

Anthocyanin is the main pigment forming floral diversity. Several transcription factors that regulate the expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes belong to the R2R3-MYB family. Here we examined the transcriptomes of inflorescence buds of Scutellaria species (skullcaps), identified the expression R2R3-MYBs, and detected the genetic signatures of positive selection for adaptive divergence across the rapidly evolving skullcaps.

Clinical competency in child maltreatment for community nurses in Taiwan.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine aspects of competency in child abuse among community nurses in Taiwan. A sample of 650 community nurses were recruited from public health centres (PHC) and outpatient clinics in Southern Taiwan. A structured questionnaire with five subscales, knowledge, skills, empowerment, team collaboration and self-reflection was developed and used for data collection.

Anxiety is correlated with running in adolescent female mice undergoing activity-based anorexia.

Activity-based anorexia (ABA) is a widely used animal model for identifying the biological basis of excessive exercise and starvation, 2 hallmarks of anorexia nervosa (AN). Anxiety is correlated with exercise in AN. Yet the anxiety level of animals in ABA has not been reported.

The effects of surface neuromuscular electrical stimulation on post-stroke dysphagia: a systemic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: In this study, we intended to evaluate whether swallow treatment with neuromuscular electrical stimulation is superior to that without neuromuscular electrical stimulation, and whether neuromuscular electrical stimulation alone is superior to swallow therapy.

Methods: We searched the PubMed and Scopus databases from their earliest record to 31 December 2014 for randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials that used neuromuscular electrical stimulation to treat post-stroke dysphagia. The Jadad scale was used to assess the quality of the included studies.

Investigation of gene effects and epistatic interactions between Akt1 and neuregulin 1 in the regulation of behavioral phenotypes and social functions in genetic mouse models of schizophrenia.

Accumulating evidence from human genetic studies has suggested several functional candidate genes that might contribute to susceptibility to schizophrenia, including AKT1 and neuregulin 1 (NRG1). Recent findings also revealed that NRG1 stimulates the PI3-kinase/AKT signaling pathway, which might be involved in the functional outcomes of some schizophrenic patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Akt1-deficiency and Nrg1-deficiency alone or in combination in the regulation of behavioral phenotypes, cognition, and social functions using genetically modified mice as a model.

A novel BLAST-Based Relative Distance (BBRD) method can effectively group members of protein arginine methyltransferases and suggest their evolutionary relationship.

We developed a novel BLAST-Based Relative Distance (BBRD) method by Pearson's correlation coefficient to avoid the problems of tedious multiple sequence alignment and complicated outgroup selection. We showed its application on reconstructing reliable phylogeny for nucleotide and protein sequences as exemplified by the fmr-1 gene and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase, respectively. We then used BBRD to resolve 124 protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) that are homologues of nine mammalian PRMTs.

Antibody profiling of bipolar disorder using Escherichia coli proteome microarrays.

To profile plasma antibodies of patients with bipolar disorder (BD), an E. coli proteome microarray comprising ca. 4200 proteins was used to analyze antibody differences between BD patients and mentally healthy controls (HCs).

Proteomic analysis of rhein-induced cyt: ER stress mediates cell death in breast cancer cells.

Rhein is a natural product purified from herbal plants such as Rheum palmatum, which has been shown to have anti-angiogenesis and anti-tumor metastasis properties. However, the biological effects of rhein on the behavior of breast cancers are not completely elucidated. To evaluate whether rhein might be useful in the treatment of breast cancer and its cytotoxic mechanism, we analyzed the impact of rhein treatment on differential protein expression as well as redox regulation in a non-invasive breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, and an invasive breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, using lysine- and cysteine-labeling two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry.

An analysis of anesthesia-controlled operating room time after propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia compared with desflurane anesthesia in ophthalmic surgery: a retrospective study.

Background: Anesthetic techniques can contribute to reduction of anesthesia-controlled time to improve operating room (OR) efficiency. However, little is known about the difference in anesthesia-controlled time between propofol-based total IV anesthesia (TIVA) and desflurane anesthesia (DES) techniques for ophthalmic surgery under general anesthesia.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis using hospital databases to compare the anesthesia-controlled times of ophthalmic surgery patients receiving either TIVA via target-controlled infusion with propofol/fentanyl or desflurane/fentanyl-based anesthesia between January 2010 and December 2011.

Construction of human Fab library and screening of a single-domain antibody of amyloid-beta 42 oligomers.

Screening humanized antibodies from a human Fab phage display library is an effective and quick method to obtain beta-amyloid oligomers. Thus, the present study prepared amyloid-beta 42 oli-gomers and constructed a naïve human Fab phage display library based on blood samples from six healthy people. After three rounds of biopanning in vitro, a human single-domain antibody that specifically recognized amyloid-beta 42 oligomers was identified.