The influence of lumbar vertebra and cage related factors on cage-endplate contact after lumbar interbody fusion: An in-vitro experimental study.

Lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) using interbody cages is an established treatment for lumbar degenerative disc disease, but fusion results are known to be affected by risk factors such as bone mineral density (BMD), endplate geometry and cage position. At present, direct measurement of endplate-cage contact variables that affect LIF have not been fully identified. The aim of this study was to use cadaveric experiments to investigate the dependency between BMD, endplate geometry, cage parameters like type, orientation, position, and contact variables like stress and area.

Methyltransferase Like-3-Mediated N6-Methyladenosine Modification of Long Noncoding RNA Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1a Antisense RNA 1/Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4a Antisense RNA 1 Regulates Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Expression.

Interindividual variations in the expression and activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) led to lower therapeutic efficacy or adverse drug events. We previously demonstrated that CYPs are regulated by the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) hepatocyte nuclear factor 1a antisense RNA 1 (HNF1A-AS1) and HNF4A-AS1 via transcription factors (TFs) including hepatocyte nuclear factor 1a (HNF1A), hepatocyte nuclear factor 4a (HNF4A), and pregnane X receptor (PXR). However, the upstream mechanisms regulating HNF1A-AS1 and HNF4A-AS1 are poorly understood.

Mn(II)-Based Metal Halide with Near-Unity Quantum Yield for White LEDs and High-Resolution X-ray Imaging.

Metal halides have drawn great interest as luminescent materials and scintillators due to their outstanding optical properties. Exploring new types of phosphors with easy production processes, excellent photophysical properties, high light yields, and environmentally friendly compositions is crucial and quite challenging. Herein, a novel Mn(II)-based metal halide (4-BTP)MnBr was produced using a facile solvent evaporation method, which exhibited a strong green emission peaking at 524 nm from the d-d transition of tetrahedral-coordinated Mn ion and a near-unity quantum yield.

Exosomes From Human Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Suppress Macrophage-to-myofibroblast Transition, Alleviating Renal Fibrosis.

Renal fibrosis, a progressive scarring of the kidney, lacks effective treatment. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (HucMSC-Exos) hold promise for treating kidney diseases due to their anti-inflammatory properties. This study investigates their potential to lessen renal fibrosis by targeting macrophage-to-myofibroblast transformation (MMT), a key driver of fibrosis.

Molecular dynamics simulation of the effect of temperature on the conformation of ubiquitin protein.

Content: Ubiquitin, a ubiquitous small protein found in all living organisms, is crucial for tagging proteins earmarked for degradation and holds pivotal importance in biomedicine. Protein functionality is intricately linked to its structure. To comprehend the impact of diverse temperatures on ubiquitin protein structure, our study delved into the energy landscape, hydrogen bonding, and overall structural stability of ubiquitin protein at varying temperatures.

General Synthesis of Composition-Tunable High-Entropy Amorphous Oxides Toward High Efficiency Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

High-entropy materials have attracted much attention in the electrocatalysis field due to their unique structure, high chemical activity, and compositional tunability. However, the harsh and complex synthetic methods limit the application of such materials. Herein, a universal non-equilibrium liquid-phase synthesis strategy is reported to prepare high-entropy amorphous oxide nanoparticles (HEAO-NPs), and the composition of HEAO-NPs can be precisely controlled from tri- to ten-component.

Ultralong Red Room-Temperature Phosphorescence of 2D Organic-Inorganic Metal Halide Perovskites for Afterglow Red LEDs and X-ray Scintillation Applications.

Organic-inorganic metal hybrid perovskites (OIHPs) have emerged as a promising class of materials for next-generation optoelectronic applications. However, the realization of red and near-infrared (NIR) room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) in these materials remains limited. In this study, a very strong red RTP emission centered at 610 nm is achieved by doping Mn ions into Cd-based 2D OIHPs.

Achieving Ultralong Room-Temperature Phosphorescence in Two-Dimensional Metal Halide Perovskites by Alkyl Chain Engineering.

Two-dimensional (2D) metal halide perovskites with highly efficient ultralong room-temperature phosphorescence (URTP) are rare due to their uncertain structures and complicated intermolecular interactions. Herein, by varying the alkyl length of organic units, we synthesized two single-component 2D metal hybrid perovskites, i.e.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell exosomes alleviate acute kidney injury by inhibiting pyroptosis in rats and NRK-52E cells.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs) have been shown to improve kidney injury. Exosomes have been indicated to be important mediators of renal protection in MSC therapy. In spite of this, the mechanism remains unclear.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell exosome-derived miR-874-3p targeting RIPK1/PGAM5 attenuates kidney tubular epithelial cell damage.

Background: Kidney insults due to various pathogenic factors, such as trauma, infection, and inflammation, can cause tubular epithelial cell injury and death, leading to acute kidney injury and the transformation of acute kidney injury to chronic kidney disease. There is no definitive treatment available. In previous studies, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells have been shown to promote kidney injury.

HucMSC exosomes attenuate partial bladder outlet obstruction-induced renal injury and cell proliferation via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) can cause serious complications including kidney damage; nevertheless, there are currently no animal models for studying BOO-induced kidney damage. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely used in therapeutic studies of renal fibrosis. However, MSC-derived exosomes show improved safety profile and more controllable characteristics compared with those of MSCs.

Additively manufactured controlled porous orthopedic joint replacement designs to reduce bone stress shielding: a systematic review.

Background: Total joint replacements are an established treatment for patients suffering from reduced mobility and pain due to severe joint damage. Aseptic loosening due to stress shielding is currently one of the main reasons for revision surgery. As this phenomenon is related to a mismatch in mechanical properties between implant and bone, stiffness reduction of implants has been of major interest in new implant designs.

Hypoxia-Induced HIF-1α Expression Promotes Neurogenic Bladder Fibrosis via EMT and Pyroptosis.

Background: Neurogenic bladder (NB) patients exhibit varying degrees of bladder fibrosis, and the thickening and hardening of the bladder wall induced by fibrosis will further affect bladder function and cause renal failure. Our study aimed to investigate the mechanism of bladder fibrosis caused by a spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: NB rat models were created by cutting the bilateral lumbar 6 (L6) and sacral 1 (S1) spinal nerves.

MK-2206 Alleviates Renal Fibrosis by Suppressing the Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway In Vivo and In Vitro.

Renal fibrosis is a common pathological feature of various kidney diseases, leading to irreversible renal failure and end-stage renal disease. However, there are still no effective treatments to reverse renal fibrosis. This study aimed to explore the potential mechanism of a targeted drug for fibrosis.

A novel cuproptosis-related subtypes and gene signature associates with immunophenotype and predicts prognosis accurately in neuroblastoma.

Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most frequent solid tumor in pediatrics, which accounts for roughly 15% of cancer-related mortality in children. NB exhibited genetic, morphologic, and clinical heterogeneity, which limited the efficacy of available therapeutic approaches. Recently, a new term 'cuproptosis' has been used to denote a unique biological process triggered by the action of copper.

The association of chemical composition particularly the heavy metals with the oxidative potential of ambient PM in a megacity (Guangzhou) of southern China.

Atmospheric fine particulate matters (PM) can cause adverse health effects through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is normally characterized by the oxidative potential (OP). However, the particulate components that are mainly responsible for the ROS-induced OP remain controversial and warrant further investigation, especially in megacities where high exposure exists and particulate composition is complex. In this study, we measured the OP of PM using the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay with and without chelation of metals in a megacity in southern China, Guangzhou, in January and April.

The Regulatory Network and Role of the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA Network in the Progression and the Immune Response of Wilms Tumor Based on RNA-Seq.

Circular RNA (circRNA), which is a newly discovered non-coding RNA, has been documented to play important roles in miRNA sponges, and the dysregulation of which is involved in cancer development. However, circRNA expression profiles and their role in initiation and progression of Wilms tumor (WT) remain largely unclear at present. Here, we used paired WT samples and high-throughput RNA sequencing to identify differentially expressed circRNAs (DE-circRs) and mRNAs (DE-mRs).

Theoretical Mechanism on the Cellulose Regeneration from a Cellulose/EmimOAc Mixture in Anti-Solvents.

The experiments on cellulose dissolution/regeneration have made some achievements to some extent, but the mechanism of cellulose regeneration in ionic liquids (ILs) and anti-solvent mixtures remains elusive. In this work, the cellulose regeneration mechanism in different anti-solvents, and at different temperatures and concentrations, has been studied with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The IL considered is 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EmimOAc).

Long Noncoding RNAs Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4A Antisense RNA 1 and Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1A Antisense RNA 1 Are Involved in Ritonavir-Induced Cytotoxicity in Hepatoma Cells.

Ritonavir (RTV), a pharmacoenhancer used in anti-HIV regimens, can induce liver damage. RTV is primarily metabolized by cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) in the liver. HNF4A antisense RNA 1 (HNF4A-AS1) and HNF1A antisense RNA 1 (HNF1A-AS1) are long noncoding RNAs that regulate the expression of pregnane X receptor (PXR) and CYP3A4.

Erratum: Exosomes released by human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells protect against renal interstitial fibrosis through ROS-mediated P38MAPK/ERK signaling pathway.

[This corrects the article on p. 4998 in vol. 12, PMID: 33042402.

Retinoic acid can improve autophagy through depression of the PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway via RARα to restore spermatogenesis in cryptorchid infertile rats.

Cryptorchidism-caused adult infertility is a common component of idiopathic reasons for male infertility. Retinoic acid (RA) has a vital effect on the spermatogenesis process. Here, we found that the expression of c-Kit, Stra8, and Sycp3 could be up-regulated via the activation of retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) after RA supplementation in neonatal cryptorchid infertile rats.