Nanomedicines Promote Cartilage Regeneration in Osteoarthritis by Synergistically Enhancing Chondrogenesis of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Regulating Inflammatory Environment.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by progressive erosion of the articular cartilage and inflammation. Mesenchymal stem cells' (MSCs) transplantation in OA treatment is emerging, but its clinical application is still limited by the low efficiency in oriented differentiation. In our study, to improve the therapeutic efficiencies of MSCs in OA treatment by carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9) siRNA (siCA9)-based inflammation regulation and Kartogenin (KGN)-based chondrogenic differentiation, the combination strategy of MSCs and the nanomedicine codelivering KGN and siCA9 (AHK-CaP/siCA9 NPs) was used.

Nanomedicines Reprogram Synovial Macrophages by Scavenging Nitric Oxide and Silencing CA9 in Progressive Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive joint disease characterized by inflammation and cartilage destruction, and its progression is closely related to imbalances in the M1/M2 synovial macrophages. A two-pronged strategy for the regulation of intracellular/extracellular nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen protons for reprogramming M1/M2 synovial macrophages is proposed. The combination of carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9) siRNA and NO scavenger in "two-in-one" nanocarriers (NAHA-CaP/siRNA nanoparticles) is developed for progressive OA therapy by scavenging NO and inhibiting CA9 expression in synovial macrophages.

[Convergent cross mapping method and its application in ecology].

The convergent cross mapping (CCM) is a method to analyze causality of nonlinear time series variables. Different from the traditional linear system analysis method, CCM gets historical information based on their state space reconstruction. The presence of causality can be confirmed when the estimated values perform convergent with time series extension.

Enhanced cancer therapeutic efficiency of NO combined with siRNA by caspase-3 responsive polymers.

The combination of nitric oxide (NO) and siRNA is highly desirable for cancer therapy. Here, the furoxans-grafted PEI polymer (FDP) with caspase-3 responsive cleavable DEVD linker was synthesized, and used to bind siRNAs via electrostatic interaction and self-assembled into FDP/siRNA nanoplexes by hydrophobic force. After cellular uptake and lysosomal escape, the FDP/siRNA nanoplexes could achieve GSH-triggered NO release, and then increase the activity of caspase-3.

Advances in joint species distribution models to reveal community structure and its environmental response.

Species distribution models are commonly used in basic and applied ecological research to examine the factors driving the distribution and abundance of organisms. They are employed to quantify species’ relationships with abiotic conditions, to predict species’ response to land-use and climatic change, and to identify potential conservation areas. Biotic interactions have been rarely included in traditional species distribution models, wherein joint species distribution models (JSDMs) emerge as a feasible approach to simultaneously incorporate environmental factors and interspecific interactions, making it a powerful tool for analyzing the structure and assembly of biotic communities.

Improved Cell Transfection of siRNA by pH-Responsive Nanomicelles Self-Assembled with mPEG- b-PHis- b-PEI Copolymers.

Here, the novel pH-responsive nanomicelles self-assembled with amphipathic meo-poly(ethylene glycol)- b-poly(l-histidine)- b-polyethylenimine (mPEG- b-PHis- b-PEI, EHE) copolymers based on hydrophobic interaction of PHis with deprotonation of imidazoles were developed for siRNA transfection. The cationic nanomicelles could electrostatically compact siRNA into stable EHE/siRNA nanoplexes with a hydrodynamic diameter of ∼190 nm and present a low toxicity in normal physiological condition (pH ∼ 7.4).

Species-abundance--seed-size patterns within a plant community affected by grazing disturbance.

Seed size has been advanced as a key factor that influences the dynamics of plant communities, but there are few empirical or theoretical predictions of how community dynamics progress based on seed size patterns. Information on the abundance of adults, seedlings, soil seed banks, seed rains, and the seed mass of 96 species was collected in alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (China), which had different levels of grazing disturbance. The relationships between seed-mass-abundance patterns for adults, seedlings, the soil seed bank, and seed rain in the plant community were evaluated using regression models.