Mechanical Activation of cPLA2 Impedes Fatty Acid β-Oxidation in Vein Grafts.

High-magnitude cyclic stretch from arterial blood pressure significantly contributes to the excessive proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), leading to neointima formation in vein grafts. However, the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study highlights the critical role of cytosolic Phospholipase A2 (cPLA2)/ Yin Yang 1 (YY1)/ carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1b (CPT1B) signaling in coordinating VSMC mechanical activation by inhibiting fatty acid β-oxidation.

Changes in corneal curvature and astigmatism in senile cataract patients after phacoemulsification.

Purpose: Analysis of changes in corneal curvature and astigmatism after phacoemulsification for senile cataracts.

Methods: Retrospective collection of clinical data from patients who underwent uncomplicated phacoemulsification at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. The changes in total corneal curvature, anterior surface curvature, posterior surface curvature, and astigmatism were measured by the Sirius system.

Complex Frontal Bone Reconstruction Using Computer-designed Polyetheretherketone Implant: Case Report and Literature Review.

Calvarial reconstruction of complex frontal bone defects after head trauma surgery is challenging, especially when it coexists with an absence of eyebrow arch and supraorbital wall. Due to various reasons, the patient's bone flap could not be used. Common alternative materials include polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and titanium.

A real-world data analysis of ocular adverse events linked to anti-VEGF drugs: a WHO-VigiAccess study.

Introduction: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is key to wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). Anti-VEGF drugs are the main treatment in clinics. This study assessed ocular adverse events (AE) from anti-VEGF drugs in VigiAccess, WHO's database, and compared adverse drug reaction (ADR) profiles of four drugs to aid personalized treatment choices for optimal benefit and safety.

Study of the relationship between the severity of posterior capsular opacification detected by objective detection techniques and visual acuity.

Purpose: To explore the severity of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) using objective detection techniques and its relationship with visual acuity.

Setting: The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

A dissipative particle dynamics simulation of controlled loading and responsive release of theranostic agents from reversible crosslinked triblock copolymer vesicles.

To control the transport stability and release efficiency of loaded theranostic drugs in triblock copolymer carriers, the reversible crosslinking ability is of great significance. A molecular level exploration of such a function is needed to extend existing stabilizing and responsive dissociation mechanisms of carriers. Here, dissipative particle dynamics simulations were used to first demonstrate the formation of triblock copolymer vesicular carriers.

Endothelial discoidin domain receptor 1 senses flow to modulate YAP activation.

Mechanotransduction in endothelial cells is critical to maintain vascular homeostasis and can contribute to disease development, yet the molecules responsible for sensing flow remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) tyrosine kinase is a direct mechanosensor and is essential for connecting the force imposed by shear to the endothelial responses. We identify the flow-induced activation of endothelial DDR1 to be atherogenic.

Echinatin maintains glutathione homeostasis in vascular smooth muscle cells to protect against matrix remodeling and arterial stiffening.

Decreased vascular compliance of the large arteries as indicated by increased pulse wave velocity is shown to be associated with atherosclerosis and the related cardiovascular events. The positive correlation between arterial stiffening and disease progression derives a hypothesis that softening the arterial wall may protect against atherosclerosis, despite that the mechanisms controlling the cellular pathological changes in disease progression remain unknown. Here, we established a mechanical-property-based screening to look for compounds alleviating the arterial wall stiffness through their actions on the interaction between vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and the wall extracellular matrix (ECM).

Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation of DDR1 Counteracts the Hippo Pathway to Orchestrate Arterial Stiffening.

Background: The Hippo-YAP (yes-associated protein) signaling pathway is modulated in response to various environmental cues. Activation of YAP in vascular smooth muscle cells conveys the extracellular matrix stiffness-induced changes in vascular smooth muscle cells phenotype and behavior. Recent studies have established a mechanoreceptive role of receptor tyrosine kinase DDR1 (discoidin domain receptor 1) in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Clinical and mechanism advances of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease.

Due to the high clinical heterogeneity of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID), it is easy to misdiagnose this condition and is considered to be a rare progressive neurodegenerative disease. More evidence demonstrates that NIID involves not only the central nervous system but also multiple systems of the body and shows a variety of symptoms, which makes a clinical diagnosis of NIID more difficult. This review summarizes the clinical symptoms in different systems and demonstrates that NIID is a multiple-system intranuclear inclusion disease.

Geometric Constraints Regulate Energy Metabolism and Cellular Contractility in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells by Coordinating Mitochondrial DNA Methylation.

Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) can adapt to changes in cellular geometric cues; however, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Using 2D micropatterned substrates to engineer cell geometry, it is found that in comparison with an elongated geometry, a square-shaped geometry causes the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic redistribution of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), hypermethylation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), repression of mtDNA gene transcription, and impairment of mitochondrial function. Using irregularly arranged versus circumferentially aligned vascular grafts to control cell geometry in 3D growth, it is demonstrated that cell geometry, mtDNA methylation, and vessel contractility are closely related.

Recent Progress in Electrospun Nanofiber-Based Degenerated Intervertebral Disc Repair.

Annulus fibrosus fissure and fibrosis of nucleus pulposus are severe morphological characteristics of intervertebral disc degeneration. Currently, surgery or drugs are used to relieve pain in such cases. Tissue engineering is a new multidisciplinary strategy with great potential for use in joint replacement and organ regeneration.

A Participation Degree-Based Fault Detection Method for Wireless Sensor Networks.

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), there are many challenges for outlier detection, such as fault detection, fraud detection, intrusion detection, and so on. In this paper, the participation degree of instances in the hierarchical clustering process infers the relationship between instances. However, most of the existing algorithms ignore such information.

In Situ Observation of Light Illumination-Induced Degradation in Organometal Mixed-Halide Perovskite Films.

Organometal mixed-halide perovskite materials hold great promise for next-generation solar cells, light-emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors. Except for the rapid progress in the efficiency of perovskite-based devices, the stability issue over prolonged light illumination has severely hindered their practical application. The deterioration mechanism of organometal halide perovskite materials under light illumination has seldom been conducted to date, which is indispensable to the understanding and optimization of photon-harvesting process inside perovskite-based optoelectronic devices.

Plasma low-density lipoprotein immobilized silica as stationary phase in nano-liquid chromatography.

The feasibility to attach plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles covalently onto 5 μm silica particles and use them as stationary phase in nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC) for interaction and oxidation studies was clarified. Before the immobilization, both epoxy silica and aldehyde-activated particles were synthesized, LDL was immobilized to the particles via its protein component and capillary columns were packed with LDL-modified silica materials. The performance of the capillary columns was tested with neutral steroids, and the column with LDL immobilized to aldehyde-activated silica was selected for further studies due to its stronger retention toward steroids.

Amylose-3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate immobilized on monolithic silica stationary phases for chiral separations in capillary electrochromatography.

Chiral monolithic silica capillary columns were prepared by immobilization of amylose-3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate (ADMPC) bearing a small fraction of 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl residues through intermolecular polycondensation of the triethoxysilyl groups. The obtained columns were used for chiral separations in capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The effects of the silica monolith nature and the used chiral selector concentration on the resulting enantiomeric separations were investigated.

Enantioselectivity of monolithic silica stationary phases immobilized with different concentrations cellulose tris (3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate), analyzed with different mobile phases in capillary electrochromatography.

The 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate derivatives of cellulose bearing 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl residues were immobilized in a capillary format onto a monolithic silica support by intermolecular polycondensation of the triethoxysilyl groups. The resulting columns were used for chiral separations using capillary electrochromatography. The effects of the synthesizing solvent, the selector coating procedure, the chiral selector concentration onto the silica monolith and the mobile phase pH value, on the separation of enantiomers were studied.

Monodispersed, molecularly imprinted polymers for cinchonidine by precipitation polymerization.

Three monodispersed, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for cinchonidine (CD) have been synthesized by precipitation polymerization. MIP1 was prepared using methacrylic acid (MAA) as a functional monomer and divinylbenzene (DVB) as a cross-linker and MIP2 was prepared with further addition of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) as a co-monomer. For the preparation of MIP3, core-shell type MIP, monodispersed DVB homopolymers, which are prepared by precipitation polymerization, were used as a core and CD-imprinted MAA-DVB copolymer phases were coated onto the core.

Number of and distance between response elements in Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus ORF57 promoter influence its activation by replication and transcription activator and its repression by interferon regulatory factor 7.

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus ORF57 expression is highly responsive to replication and transcription activator (RTA) and interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF-7). Three RTA response elements (RREs) have been identified in the ORF57 promoter. Here, we show evidence of another functional RRE located between nt 82003 and 82081, which can complement the loss of RTA activation resulting from RRE1 deletion.

High-performance liquid chromatographic evaluation of a coated cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase having a small-pore silica support.

A two-step coating/precipitation synthetic procedure has been developed for the preparation of cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase (CSP) having a small-pore silica support. With this synthetic strategy, monodisperse, spherical CSP particles can be produced without the need for a wasteful and time-consuming sieving process. The performance of the synthesized CSP towards a variety of racemates was evaluated in the normal-phase HPLC mode.

Preparation and evaluation of a novel chiral stationary phase based on covalently bonded chitosan for ligand-exchange chromatography.

A novel chiral stationary phase based on chitosan covalently bonded onto silica gels has been prepared and used for the separation of various alpha-amino acid enantiomers as well as alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acid enantiomers by chiral ligand-exchange chromatography with copper(II) as a complexing ion. The methanol content and copper(II) ion concentration in the eluent affected retentivity and enantioselectivity. Furthermore, a plausible chiral recognition mechanism for resolution of alpha-amino acids was proposed.

Application of cross-linked beta-cyclodextrin polymer for adsorption of aromatic amino acids.

Beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CyD) was cross-linked by hexamethylene diisocyanate and the polymer was investigated for adsorption of aromatic amino acids (AAA) from phosphate buffer. High adsorption rates were observed at the beginning and the adsorption equilibrium was then gradually achieved in about 45 min. The adsorption of AAA decreased with the increase of initial concentration and also temperature.

Capillary electrochromatographic separation of enantiomers under aqueous mobile phases on a covalently bonded cellulose derivative chiral stationary phase.

A chemically bonded cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase (CSP) was prepared by a radical polymerization reaction. The prepared CSP was packed into fused-silica capillaries with inner diameter of 75 microm to perform enantiomer separations in CEC. The electrochromatographic behavior of the CSP was investigated.

[Preparation of covalently bonded cellulose tris (4-methylbenzoate) derivative chiral stationary phases through a polymerization reaction].

Cellulose tris (4-methylbenzoate) derivatives (CTMB) having methacryloyl groups were synthesized with regio-selective or nonselective procedures, and were immobilized on gamma-methacrylatepropylated silica (gamma-MAPS) through a polymerization reaction. The obtained chiral stationary phases ( CSPs) were evaluated by high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) resolution of 9 racemates (3-butyl-phthalide, ketoprofen, trans-stilbene oxide, benzoin, benzoin analogue, Tröger' s base, warfarin, 4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethylenedioxy-biphenyl-2,2'-dicarboxylate and 4,4'-dimethoxy-5,6,5',6'-dimethylenedioxy-biphenyl-2-methylcarboxylate-2'-ethylcarboxylate). For regio-nonselective procedure, increasing the content of vinyl group on CTMB would lead to higher immobilization efficiency and enantio-selectivity.

Enantiomer separation of dimethyl dicarboxy alpha-biphenyl (DDB) and its analogues on a covalently bonded cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) CSP.

Dimethyl dicarboxy alpha-biphenyl (DDB) and its analogues represent atropisomers which have been resolved on the covalently bonded cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (CDMPC) CSP. Different kinds of alcohols, tetrahydrofuran (THF), and chloroform were employed as mobile phase modifiers (MPMs), and their influence on the retention and separation of the enantiomers was investigated. Ternary mobile phases (hexane/2-propanol/THF, hexane/2-propanol/chloroform) were employed to investigate the separation of the five enantiomers.