Prospective randomized controlled study on improving sleep quality and impact of zolpidem after total hip arthroplasty.

Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a proven surgical option for patients with end-stage osteoarthritis in terms of improved function and pain relief. A prospective study was conducted to examine and evaluate the effect and impact of zolpidem postoperatively on the sleep quality, pain alleviation, and quality of life of patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty.

Methods: A total of 160 patients was randomized 1:1 to receive either zolpidem or placebo 2 days preoperative to 5 days postoperatively.

How to Hide One's Relationships from Link Prediction Algorithms.

Our private connections can be exposed by link prediction algorithms. To date, this threat has only been addressed from the perspective of a central authority, completely neglecting the possibility that members of the social network can themselves mitigate such threats. We fill this gap by studying how an individual can rewire her own network neighborhood to hide her sensitive relationships.

Thermostability of protein nanocages: the effect of natural extra peptide on the exterior surface.

Protein nanocages have been used as functional bio-templates for the synthesis or organization of nanomaterials. However, the stability of these protein nanocages is nonideal, which limits their applications. Herein, we characterized the high thermal stability of plant ferritin, soybean seed H-2 ferritin (SSFH-2), the melting point ( ) of which is 106 °C.

Hierarchically Porous Hydroxyapatite Hybrid Scaffold Incorporated with Reduced Graphene Oxide for Rapid Bone Ingrowth and Repair.

Hydroxyapatite (HA), the traditional bone tissue replacement material was widely used in the clinical treatment of bone defects because of its excellent biocompatibility. However, the processing difficulty and poor osteoinductive ability greatly limit the application of HA. Although many strategies have been reported to improve the machinability and osteointegration ability, the performance including mechanical strength, porosity, cell adhesion, of material still can not meet the requirements.

Influence of Volumetric Damage Parameters on Patch Antenna Sensor-Based Damage Detection of Metallic Structure.

Antenna sensors have been employed for crack monitoring of metallic materials. Existing studies have mainly focused on the mathematical relationship between the surface crack length of metallic material and the resonant frequency. The influence of the crack depth on the sensor output and the difference of whether the crack is depth-penetrated remains unexplored.

Integrated analysis identified core signal pathways and hypoxic characteristics of human glioblastoma.

As a hallmark for glioblastoma (GBM), high heterogeneity causes a variety of phenotypes and therapeutic responses among GBM patients, and it contributes to treatment failure. Moreover, hypoxia is a predominant feature of GBM and contributes greatly to its phenotype. To analyse the landscape of gene expression and hypoxic characteristics of GBM cells and their clinical significance in GBM patients, we performed transcriptome analysis of the GBM cell line U87-MG and the normal glial cell line HEB under normoxia and hypoxia conditions, with the results of which were analysed using established gene ontology databases as well as The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia.

Similar results with kinematic and mechanical alignment applied in total knee arthroplasty.

Purpose: This meta-analysis compared the results of kinematic alignment (KA) and mechanical alignment (MA) applied in total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: Randomized controlled trials and cohort studies comparing functional, radiological, and perioperative results and complications in TKA with KA and MA were collected from databases and included in the analysis.

Results: Nine trials were included.

Enzymatic determination of D-alanine using a cationic poly(fluorenylenephenylene) as the fluorescent probe and MnO2 nanosheets as quenchers.

A sensitive fluorometric assay is described here for sensitive determination of D-alanine (D-Ala). The method is based on the use of poly[9,9-bis(6-N,N,N-trimethylammonium)hexyl]fluorenylene phenylene (PFP) and manganese dioxide (MnO) nanosheets. The blue fluorescence of PFP, peaking at 422 nm, is absorbed by the MnO nanosheets due to an inner filter effect (IFE).

Selective Neural Deletion of the Gene Reduces Irradiation-Induced Cerebellar White Matter Injury in the Juvenile Mouse Brain by Ameliorating Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cell Loss.

Radiotherapy is an effective tool for treating brain tumors, but irradiation-induced toxicity to the normal brain tissue remains a major problem. Here, we investigated if selective neural () deletion has a persistent effect on irradiation-induced juvenile mouse brain injury. Ten-day-old knockout under a nestin promoter (KO) mice and wild-type (WT) littermates were subjected to a single dose of 6 Gy whole-brain irradiation.

High prevalence of a globally disseminated hypervirulent clone, Staphylococcus aureus CC121, with reduced vancomycin susceptibility in community settings in China.

Objectives: Most vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) and heterogeneous VISA (hVISA) are derived from hospital-associated MRSA due to treatment failure; however, the prevalence of hVISA/VISA in community settings remains unclear.

Methods: Four hundred and seventy-six community-associated isolates were collected between 2010 and 2011 during national surveillance for antimicrobial resistance in 31 county hospitals across China. Drug susceptibility evaluation and mecA detection were performed by using broth microdilution and PCR analysis, respectively.

Influence of middle ear disorder in round-window stimulation using a finite element human ear model.

Purpose: The aim of this work was to study the effect of middle ear disorder on round window (RW) stimulation, so as to provide references for the optimal design of RW stimulation type middle ear implants (MEIs).

Methods: A human ear finite-element model was built by reverse engineering technique based on micro-computed tomography scanning images of human temporal bone, and was validated by three sets of comparisons with experimental data. Then, based on this model, typical disorders in otosclerosis and otitis media were simulated.

Measuring the activation energy barrier for the nucleation of single nanosized vapor bubbles.

Heterogeneous bubble nucleation is one of the most fundamental interfacial processes that has received broad interest from diverse fields of physics and chemistry. While most studies focused on large microbubbles, here we employed a surface plasmon resonance microscopy to measure the nucleation rate constant and activation energy barrier of single nanosized embryo vapor bubbles upon heating a flat gold film with a focused laser beam. Image analysis allowed for simultaneously determining the local temperature and local nucleation rate constant from the same batch of optical images.

Ribosomal Protein-A2 Peptide/Silk Fibroin Nanofibrous Composites as Potential Wound Dressing.

Although different kinds of antibacterial formulas have been explored against bacterial infections, the development of both biocompatible and efficiently antibacterial matrices is still a challenge. In this study, we report a novel HPRP-A2 antimicrobial peptide/silk fibroin (SF) composite nanofibrous matrix fabricated by an all-aqueous electrospinning process (HPRP-A2 is an antibacterial peptide originated from ). The HPRP-A2/SF composite nanofibers had a round and smooth morphology.

Designed Two- and Three-Dimensional Protein Nanocage Networks Driven by Hydrophobic Interactions Contributed by Amyloidogenic Motifs.

Precise manipulation of protein self-assembly by noncovalent interactions into programmed networks to mimic naturally occurring nanoarchitectures in living organisms is a challenge due to its structural heterogeneity, flexibility, and complexity. Herein, by taking advantage of both the hydrophobic forces contributed by the "GLMVG" motif, a kind of amyloidogenic motif (AM), and the high symmetry of protein nanocages, we have built an effective protein self-assembly strategy for the construction of two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) protein nanocage arrays. According to this strategy, "GLMVG" AMs from β-amyloid 42 were grafted onto the outer surface of a 24-mer ferritin nanocage close to its C symmetry channels, initially resulting in the production of subgrade 2D nanocage arrays and ultimately generating 3D highly ordered arrays with a simple cubic packing pattern as the reaction time increases.

Altered microbiomes distinguish Alzheimer's disease from amnestic mild cognitive impairment and health in a Chinese cohort.

Objective: (Background): Alzheimer's disease (AD), clinically characterized by the progressive neurodegenerative condition and cognitive impairment, is one of the main causes of disability in elder people worldwide. Recently, several animal studies indicated that the 'gut-brain' axis might contribute to the amyloid deposition of AD. However, data about gut dysbiosis in human AD remains scarce in the literature, especially including the whole process of AD.

Influenza virus matrix protein M1 interacts with SLD5 to block host cell cycle.

Influenza virus matrix 1 protein (M1) is highly conserved and plays essential roles at many stages of virus life cycle. Here, we used a yeast two-hybrid system to identify the host protein SLD5, a component of the GINS complex, which is essential for the initiation of DNA replication in eukaryotic cells, as a new M1 interacting protein. M1 from several different influenza virus strains all interacted with SLD5.

Young plasma ameliorates aging-related acute brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage.

Aging has been shown to contribute to both the declined biofunctions of aging brain and aggravation of acute brain damage, and the former could be reversed by young plasma. These results suggest that young plasma treatment may also reduce the acute brain damage induced by intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In the present study, we first found that the administration of young plasma significantly reduced the mortality and neurological deficit score in aging ICH rodents, which might be due to the decreased brain water content, damaged neural cells, and increased survival neurons around the perihematomal brain tissues.

Formation of Ethyl Carbamate during the Production Process of Cantonese Soy Sauce.

The aim of this work was to clarify the formation of ethyl carbamate (EC) and its influence factors throughout the production process of Cantonese soy sauce. The results showed that EC was not detected in the -making and early fermentation stages, but started to be generated when pH of the decreased to about 4.9-at the same time, the levels of ethanol, urea and citrulline increased significantly.

Dielectric Properties of Epoxy Resin Impregnated Nano-SiO₂ Modified Insulating Paper.

Epoxy resin-impregnated insulation paper (RIP) composites are used as the inner insulation of dry condenser bushing in the ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) power transmission system. To improve the dielectric properties of RIP, nano-SiO₂ is added to the insulation paper at concentrations of 0⁻4wt % before impregnation with pure epoxy resin. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy observations as well as the typical dielectric properties of relative permittivity, DC volume conductivity, DC breakdown strength, and thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC), were obtained.

GOF/LOF knowledge inference with tensor decomposition in support of high order link discovery for gene, mutation and disease.

For discovery of new usage of drugs, the function type of their target genes plays an important role, and the hypothesis of "Antagonist-GOF" and "Agonist-LOF" has laid a solid foundation for supporting drug repurposing. In this research, an active gene annotation corpus was used as training data to predict the gain-of-function or loss-of-function or unknown character of each human gene after variation events. Unlike the design of(entity, predicate, entity) triples in a traditional three way tensor, a four way and a five way tensor, GMFD-/GMAFD-tensor, were designed to represent higher order links among or among part of these entities: genes(G), mutations(M), functions(F), diseases( D) and annotation labels(A).

Oncogenic role of ABHD5 in endometrial cancer.

Background: Abhydrolase domain containing 5 (ABHD5) functions as a tumor suppressor in colorectal and prostate cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of ABHD5 in endometrial cancer.

Materials And Methods: ABHD5 expression was detected in clinical samples by immunohistochemical staining.

A Simple Method for the Complete Performance Recovery of Degraded Ni-rich LiNiCoMnO Cathode via Surface Reconstruction.

The highly active surfaces of Ni-rich cathodes usually result in rapid surface degradation, which is manifested by poor cycle and rate capabilities. In this work, we propose a simple method to restore those degraded surfaces after storage. More importantly, the mechanism of surface degradation and recovery are investigated thoroughly.

Sea cucumber extract TBL-12 inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of human prostate cancer cells through the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and intrinsic caspase apoptosis pathway.

Background: Sea cucumber is a kind of nutritious echinoderm that has multiple biological activities, including antioxidant, antibacterial, and antitumor activities. However, there is no extensive study on the antitumor effect of sea cucumber extract on prostate cancer (PCa). TBL-12 is a new sea cucumber extract.