Combination of 308-nm excimer laser and piperine promotes melanocyte proliferation, migration, and melanin content production via the miR-328/SFRP1 axis.

Objective: Both piperine and a 308-nm excimer laser have significant curative effects on vitiligo. This study mainly explored the molecular mechanism of a 308-nm excimer combined with piperine in regulating melanocyte proliferation.

Methods: Epidermal melanocytes were cultured in piperine solution, and the cells were irradiated by an XTRAC excimer laser treatment system at 308-nm output monochromatic light.

Automatic Extraction of Power Lines from Aerial Images of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Automatic power line extraction from aerial images of unmanned aerial vehicles is one of the key technologies of power line inspection. However, the faint power line targets and complex image backgrounds make the extraction of power lines a greater challenge. In this paper, a new power line extraction method is proposed, which has two innovative points.

[Protective effects of dexamethasone combined with valsartan on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in mice and its mechanism].

To investigate the possible protective effects of combined dexamethasone and valsartan against cigarette induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in mice. Forty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, COPD group, dexamethasone treated group, valsartan treated group and dexamethasone + valsartan combined treatment group, with 8 mice in each group. Mice in COPD group were exposed to cigarette for 8 weeks.

Transcriptome analysis of eutopic endometrial stromal cells in women with adenomyosis by RNA-sequencing.

This study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and molecular pathways in eutopic endometrial stromal cells (EuESCs) from adenomyosis (AM) patients and to provide a new insight into the disease mechanisms. The gene expression profiles in adenomyotic EuESCs (A-EuESCs) and normal ESCs (N-ESCs) were analyzed by RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) and validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways enrichment analyses were performed to obtain insights into the functions of DEGs.

Association of common medical comorbidities with early renal damage in the Chinese tropics with essential hypertension.

Background: Urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) is an important marker of early renal damage (ERD) caused by hypertension. Recent studies showed that blood pressure was a significant inverse association with temperature and climate. The purposes of our study were sought to explore the association of common medical comorbidities with ERD, and find independent risk factors to ERD in Chinese tropics with essential hypertension.

Identification of TYR, TYRP1, DCT and LARP7 as related biomarkers and immune infiltration characteristics of vitiligo via comprehensive strategies.

This study aims to explore biomarkers associated with vitiligo and analyze the pathological role of immune cell infiltration in the disease. We used the robust rank aggregation (RRA) method to integrate three vitiligo data sets downloaded from gene expression omnibus database, identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and analyze the functional correlation. Then, the comprehensive strategy of combined weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) and logical regression of the selection operator (LASSO), support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE), and random forest (RF) machine learning algorithm are employed to screen and biomarkers associated with vitiligo.

Elevated vitreous Lipocalin-2 levels of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

Background: Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is a novel adipokine with potential roles in obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammation. This study aims to assess the concentrations of LCN2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expressed in the vitreous humors of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

Methods: The concentrations of LCN2 and VEGF were measured from the vitreous of 67 patients undergoing vitrectomy (20 controls and 47 PDR) via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Clinical and serum lipid profiles and LDLR genetic analysis of xanthelasma palpebrarum with nonfamilial hypercholesterolemia.

Background: XP is a flat xanthoma that usually presents as bilateral, symmetrical, soft, yellowish papules over the eyelids. The etiology of XP is unknown, but it may be related to complex heterozygous mutations.

Aims: To investigate the lipid profiles, important clinical characteristics, and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene mutation in the patients suffering from xanthelasma palpebrarum (XP) with nonfamilial hypercholesterolemia.

[Protective effects of exogenous vitamin D on nerve injury in mice with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion].

Objective: To investigate the effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-VitD3) supplementation on cerebral injury after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in mice with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

Methods: Male C57BL6 mice were randomly divided into Sham group, Vehicle group and 1,25-VitD3 group, with 10 mice in each group. Vehicle group and 1,25-VitD3 group were given MCAO for 1 hour, and then killed after reperfusion for 24 hours.

Colorimetric Ion Sensors Based on Polystyrenes Bearing Side Chain Triazole and Donor-Acceptor Chromophores.

Side chain clicked polystyrene derivatives formed by the Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction showed colorimetric ion sensing behaviors when donor-acceptor chromophores, prepared by a [2+2] cylcoladdition-retroelectrocyclization between electron-rich alkynes and tetracyanoethylene (TCNE)/7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), were attached to the triazole rings. The metal ion sensing behaviors could be explained according to the theory of hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB). Hard acidic metal ions were mainly recognized by the hard basic anilino-nitrogen moieties, resulting in a decrease in the charge-transfer (CT) bands.

Polymeric ion sensors with multiple detection modes achieved by a new type of click chemistry reaction.

The rapid growth of the click chemistry concept enables the production of a wide variety of functional polymers. Among the new generation of click chemistry reactions, the highly efficient addition reactions between electron-rich alkynes and cyano-based acceptors, referred to as alkyne-acceptor click chemistry, have found promising application possibilities as polymeric chemosensors. The donor-acceptor chromophores, formed by this click chemistry reaction, feature intense charge-transfer (CT) bands in the visible region, but they are hardly fluorescent.

Genetic diversity and identification of Chinese-grown pecan using ISSR and SSR markers.

Pecan is an important horticultural nut crop originally from North America and now widely cultivated in China for its high ecological, ornamental and economic value. Currently, there are over one hundred cultivars grown in China, including introduced American cultivars and Chinese seedling breeding cultivars. Molecular markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of these cultivars and to identify the pedigrees of fine pecan plants with good characteristics and no cultivar-related data.

A novel polymeric chemosensor: dual colorimetric detection of metal ions through click synthesis.

A highly colored polystyrene derivative bearing side chain chromophores composed of dialkylanilino donor and cyano-based acceptor groups, prepared by atom-economic click postfunctionalization, displays the dual colorimetric detection behavior of several metal ions based on the specific interactions with different nitrogen atoms. Hard to borderline metal ions, such as Fe(3+) , Fe(2+) , and Sn(2+) , are always recognized by the dialkylanilino nitrogen atom, resulting in a decrease in the charge-transfer (CT) band intensity of the donor-acceptor chromophores. On the other hand, the recognition site of a soft metal ion of Ag(+) is the cyano nitrogen atom due to the readily formed multivalent coordination, which produces a bathochromic shift of the CT band.