Mechanochromic Organic Micro-Laser.

This work presents the first demonstration of a mechanochromic organic micro-laser, which exhibits remarkable wide range pressure sensing characteristics. The gain material, pinacolato boronate ester functionalized anthanthrene (AnBPin), is designed by incorporating mechanofluorochromic (MFC) properties into organic laser dye. The AnBPin exhibits a reversible transition between green and orange fluorescence upon grinding annealing and recrystallization cycle, and its micro-crystal exhibits typical organic micro-laser behaviors.

Multifunctional electrospun asymmetric wettable membrane containing black phosphorus/Rg1 for enhancing infected wound healing.

Bacterial infection is one of the most frequent complications in the burn and chronic wounds. Inspired by natural existing superhydrophobic surface structures, a novel asymmetric wettable membrane was prepared using the electrospinning technique for facilitating the bacteria-infected wound healing. Herein, the prepared membrane consists of two layers: The hydrophobic outer layer was composed of poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) and black phosphorus-grafted chitosan (HACC-BP), while the hydrophilic inner layer was composed by using a mixture of gelatin (Gel) with ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1).

Erratum to microRNA-188 aggravates contrast-induced apoptosis by targeting SRSF7 in novel isotonic contrast-induced acute kidney injury rat models and renal tubular epithelial cells.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.21037/atm.2019.

Maf1 Ameliorates Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy by Suppressing the NF-B/NLRP3 Inflammasome Signaling Pathway.

Background: The NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome has been identified as an important mediator of blood-brain-barrier disruption in sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE). However, no information is available concerning the critical upstream regulators of SAE.

Methods: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to establish an model of blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and an model of SAE.

Revising ventricular septal defect residual shunts without aortic re-cross-clamping: a safe and effective surgical procedure.

Background: The conventional approach to revising a residual shunt following ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure is to re-occlude the aorta and repair the residual shunt under cardioplegic arrest. The present study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of a new approach for revising residual shunts following VSD repair without re-occluding the aorta. This approach is known as on beating heart surgery.

Effects of dexmedetomidine on heart rate control and pre-operative outcome in patients with acute aortic dissection: a propensity-matched analysis.

Background: The total survival rate in patients with acute aortic dissection (AAD) has been greatly improved because of surgical technique advances. However, the pre-operative mortality rate remained high. In this study, we sought to evaluate the effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on heart rate control and preoperative outcome in AAD.

Dexmedetomidine Attenuates LPS-Induced Monocyte-Endothelial Adherence via Inhibiting Cx43/PKC-/NOX2/ROS Signaling Pathway in Monocytes.

Dexmedetomidine is widely used for sedating patients in operation rooms or intensive care units. Its protective functions against oxidative stress, inflammation reaction, and apoptosis have been widely reported. In present study, we explored the effects of dexmedetomidine on monocyte-endothelial adherence.

Three-dimensional printed navigational template for localizing small pulmonary nodules: A case-controlled study.

Background: Localization of small pulmonary nodules is an inevitable challenge for the thoracic surgeon. This study aimed to investigate the accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology for localizing small pulmonary nodules, especially ground-glass nodules (GGNs).

Methods: This study enrolled patients with peripheral small pulmonary nodules (≤ 2 cm) who required preoperative localization.

Dihydroquercetin Activates AMPK/Nrf2/HO-1 Signaling in Macrophages and Attenuates Inflammation in LPS-Induced Endotoxemic Mice.

Dihydroquercetin (DHQ) is a flavonoid compound known for its anti-oxidant effects. Oxidative stress plays a dominant role in regulating the pathways associated with systemic inflammatory immune activation during endotoxemia. Whether and how DHQ regulates inflammatory responses in endotoxemia remains elusive.

Dexmedetomidine Attenuates Monocyte-Endothelial Adherence via Inhibiting Connexin43 on Vascular Endothelial Cells.

Current studies have identified the multifaceted protective functions of dexmedetomidine on multiple organs. For the first time, we clarify effects of dexmedetomidine on monocyte-endothelial adherence and whether its underlying mechanism is relative to connexin43 (Cx43), a key factor regulating monocyte-endothelial adherence. U937 monocytes and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used to explore monocyte-endothelial adherence.

MicroRNA-188 aggravates contrast-induced apoptosis by targeting SRSF7 in novel isotonic contrast-induced acute kidney injury rat models and renal tubular epithelial cells.

Background: Contrast media (CM) is widely used in cardiac catheterization; however, it may cause contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) which severely increases mortality. MicroRNA (miRNA) has been found to participate in the process of acute kidney injury (AKI), and this discovery has great potential for diagnosis and treatment. However, the role of miRNA in CI-AKI is still unclear.

Accidental awareness while under general anaesthesia.

Accidental awareness during general anaesthesia may cause many intraoperative discomforts and bring further moderate to severe long-term symptoms including flashbacks, nightmares, hyperarousal or post-traumatic stress disorder. The incidence of awareness varied from 0.017% to 4% among studies.

Pyrazine-fused isoindigo: a new building block for polymer solar cells with high open circuit voltage.

Pyrazine-fused isoindigo (PzIIG) was designed and synthesized as a novel electron acceptor to construct two D-A conjugated polymers, PzIIG-BDT2TC8 and PzIIG-BTT2TC10. Both the polymers were successfully applied in polymer solar cells, and the PzIIG-BDT2TC8 based solar cell device exhibited a PCE of 5.26% with a high V over 1.

Induction of Non-Targeted Stress Responses in Mammary Tissues by Heavy Ions.

Purpose: Side effects related to radiation exposures are based primarily on the assumption that the detrimental effects of radiation occur in directly irradiated cells. However, several studies have reported over the years of radiation-induced non-targeted/ abscopal effects in vivo that challenge this paradigm. There is evidence that Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) plays an important role in modulating non-targeted effects, including DNA damages in vitro and mutagenesis in vivo.

Evaluation of the antinociceptive effects of lidocaine and bupivacaine on the tail nerves of healthy rats.

This study was designed to develop a simple and effective model of tail nerve block without general anaesthesia and surgical incision, to assist in exploring and studying new local anaesthetics. Tail nerves of adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats were blocked by injecting 1% lidocaine and 0.5% bupivacaine, respectively.

Protective role of curcumin in oxidative stress of breast cells.

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a well known antioxidant that exerts anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects. The effects of curcumin were evaluated in a breast cancer model that was developed with the immortalized breast epithelial cell line, MCF-10F after exposure to low doses of high LET (linear energy transfer) α particles (150 keV/µm) of radiation, and subsequently cultured in the presence of 17β-estradiol (estrogen). This model consisted of human breast epithelial cells in different stages of transformation: i) a control cell line, MCF-10F, ii) an estrogen-treated cell line, named Estrogen, iii) a malignant cell line, named Alpha3 and iv) a malignant and tumorigenic, cell line named Alpha5.

The interaction between emulsified isoflurane and lidocaine is synergism in intravenous regional anesthesia in rats.

Background: Our previous studies have demonstrated that emulsified isoflurane (EI) produced epidural anesthesia and blockade of nerve conduction. We designed this study to observe whether EI could produce an anesthetic effect in IV regional anesthesia (IVRA) and to investigate the underlying interaction between EI and lidocaine when they were combined in IVRA.

Methods: IVRA was evaluated using tail-flick and tail-clamping tests in a rat model.

Radiation response and regulation of apoptosis induced by a combination of TRAIL and CHX in cells lacking mitochondrial DNA: a role for NF-κB-STAT3-directed gene expression.

Mitochondrial DNA depleted (ρ(0)) human skin fibroblasts (HSF) with suppressed oxidative phosphorylation were characterized by significant changes in the expression of 2100 nuclear genes, encoding numerous protein classes, in NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways, and by decreased activity of mitochondrial death pathway, compared to the parental ρ(+) HSF. In contrast, the extrinsic TRAIL/TRAIL-Receptor mediated death pathway remained highly active, and exogenous TRAIL in a combination with cycloheximide (CHX) induced higher levels of apoptosis in ρ(0) cells compared to ρ(+) HSF. Global gene expression analysis using microarray and qRT-PCR demonstrated that mRNA expression levels of many growth factors and their adaptor proteins (FGF13, HGF, IGFBP4, IGFBP6, and IGFL2), cytokines (IL6, ΙL17Β, ΙL18, ΙL19, and ΙL28Β) and cytokine receptors (IL1R1, IL21R, and IL31RA) were substantially decreased after mitochondrial DNA depletion.

Radiation induced non-targeted response: mechanism and potential clinical implications.

Generations of students in radiation biology have been taught that heritable biological effects require direct damage to DNA. Radiation-induced non-targeted/bystander effects represent a paradigm shift in our understanding of the radiobiological effects of ionizing radiation in that extranuclear and extracellular effects may also contribute to the biological consequences of exposure to low doses of radiation. Although radiation induced bystander effects have been well documented in a variety of biological systems, including 3D human tissue samples and whole organisms, the mechanism is not known.

A model for the preferential delivery of isoflurane to the spinal cord of the goat.

To identify the blood supply of the caprine central nervous system, six anaesthetised goats were perfused with coloured suspension into the brachiocephalic artery, the aorta, the iliac artery and the femoral artery. The subsequent distribution indicated that the brain and the main segments of the spinal cord were supplied by the brachiocephalic artery and aorta, respectively. Ten similarly anaesthetised goats then received emulsified isoflurane randomly via either the proximal part of the descending aorta (arterial group) or an ear vein (venous group).

[Preferential delivery of emulsified isoflurane to peripheral nerves in goats].

Objective: To develop a new model for preferential delivery of isoflurane to peripheral nerves in goats, and to identify preliminarily volatile anesthetic action sites.

Methods: Eighteen goats were randomly and equally divided into arterial group, control group and venous group. In the arterial group, emulsified isoflurane was infused into the femoral artery of the goats to deliver isoflurane to the peripheral nerves.

A model of intravenous regional anesthesia in rats.

Background: We developed an IV regional anesthesia (IVRA) model using the tails of rats to allow preclinical evaluation of the safety and efficacy of drugs used in IVRA and analgesia.

Methods: Three sequential experiments were designed to determine local anesthetic and analgesic effects of drugs injected IV in the tail. The anesthesia was assessed by monitoring the response of the tail-clamp (RTC) test on the tail, whereas the analgesia was assessed by recording the latency in the tail-flick test on the tail.