Conference 2024: Building an innovative scientific research ecosystem for microbiome and One Health.

The Conference 2024 provides a platform to promote the development of an innovative scientific research ecosystem for microbiome and One Health. The four key components - Technology, Research (Biology), Academic journals, and Social media - form a synergistic ecosystem. Advanced technologies drive biological research, which generates novel insights that are disseminated through academic journals.

Clinical application values of a novel synthetic training simulator for bulbar urethral anastomosis.

Purpose: This study aimed to report a newly developed, high-fidelity synthetic simulator to simulate excision and primary anastomotic (EPA) bulbar urethroplasty and its clinical use for new practitioners in shortening the learning curve.

Material And Methods: The bulbar urethral anastomosis simulator consists of several standardized components created according to the actual size of the male patient. Interns, novice residents, and fellows inexperienced with urethral reconstruction ( = 10, 5, 5) from different medical centres were invited to participate in the training programme.

Ferrite bismuth-based nanomaterials: From ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties to nanomedicine applications.

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO), a perovskite-type oxide, possesses unique morphology and multiferroicity, rendering it highly versatile for various applications. Recent investigations have demonstrated that BiFeO exhibits enhanced Fenton-like and photocatalytic behaviors, coupled with its piezoelectric/ferroelectric properties. BiFeO can catalytically generate highly oxidative reactive oxygen species (ROS) when exposed to hydrogen peroxide or light irradiation.

Engineering pedicled vascularized bladder tissue for functional bladder defect repair.

An engineered bladder construct that mimics the structural and functional characteristics of native bladder is a promising therapeutic option for bladder substitution. We previously showed that pedicled vascularized smooth muscle tissue fabricated by grafting smooth muscle cell (SMC) sheets onto an axial capsule vascular bed had the potential for reliable bladder reconstruction. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of buccal mucosa graft (BMG) integration with the pedicled vascularized smooth muscle tissue to generate a full-layer pedicled vascularized bladder construct.

Design and development of novel 1,2,3-triazole chalcone derivatives as potential anti-osteosarcoma agents inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is an uncommon tumour that mainly affects bone in children and adolescents. The current treatment options of OS are of limited significance due to their immense side effects. In the present manuscript, we have developed a novel series of 1,2,3-triazole chalcone derivatives as potential agents against OS.

Cardiac Overexpression of Chil1 Improves Wound Healing to Prevent Cardiac Rupture After Myocardial Infarction.

Timely formation of collagen-rich-scar is of importance to prevent ventricular rupture after myocardial infarction (MI). Chil1 (Chitinase 3-like 1) is a secreted protein associated with tissue remodeling response. However, its function in MI progression remains elusive.

Evaluation of acoustic changes in and the healing outcomes of rat eardrums with pars tensa and pars flaccida perforations.

Objectives: To systematically explore the differences in acoustic changes and healing outcomes of tympanic membranes (TMs) with pars flaccida perforation (PFP) and pars tensa perforation (PTP).

Methods: We created PFPs and PTPs of various sizes in Sprague-Dawley rats, and evaluated TM umbo velocity and hearing function using laser Doppler vibrometry and auditory brainstem response (ABR) measurement before and immediately after perforation. Two weeks later, hearing was reevaluated and TMs were investigated by immunohistochemical staining.

A prospective, randomized, single-blind study comparing coblation and monopolar extracapsular tonsillectomy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare intraoperative blood loss, postoperative pain, post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage (PTH), and medical costs associated with extracapsular tonsillectomy between coblation and monopolar electrocautery in children.

Materials And Methods: This study included 293 patients aged 6-15 years planned to undergo extracapsular tonsillectomy. Data on estimated blood loss, postoperative pain score, operation time, PTH, and the cost of disposable equipment were collected.

Novel compound heterozygous mutations in a GNE myopathy with congenital thrombocytopenia: A case report and literature review.

We reported a GNE myopathy with congenital thrombocytopenia on a young male patient. He presented with a 3-year history of lower distal extremity weakness initially affecting his legs. The weakness slowly progressed to lower proximal legs and upper arms last 6 months.

Drug-grafted DNA as a novel chemogene for targeted combinatorial cancer therapy.

Combinatorial therapy based on chemotherapeutic drugs and gene agents to achieve synergistic antitumor effects has emerged as a new direction for cancer treatment. However, simple and efficient co-delivery of those two drug categories remains a key challenge in this hot area owing to their substantially different pharmacodynamics, impeding the translational potentials of combinatorial approaches. To address this issue, herein we propose a simple strategy to site-specifically graft camptothecins (CPTs, a representative chemodrug) onto a DNA with dual functional segments, including an AS1411 aptamer sequence to target the cancer cell and a BCL-2 antisense sequence to down-regulate the anti-apoptotic gene.

Environmental and sensitization variations among asthma and/or rhinitis patients between 2008 and 2018 in China.

Background: Little is known about the changes in allergen sensitization in China secondary to the environmental variations over the past decade. We aimed at investigating the variations in sensitization among asthma and/or rhinitis patients in China between 2008 and 2018.

Methods: This study analyzed cross-sectional data from national surveys conducted in China in 2008 and 2018.

Predictors of posttraumatic growth of the family members of neurosurgical intensive care unit patients: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Confronted with the potentially traumatic experience of a patients intensive care unit hospitalisation, family members may show positive changes associated with growth in addition to negative impact. This study aimed to identify the level of posttraumatic growth of the family members of neurosurgical intensive care unit patients and to explore its relation to positive personality characteristics, such as gratitude, resilience and hope.

Design And Setting: A cross-sectional study involving 340 family members of patients admitted to the neurosurgical intensive care unit at a general tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China.

Marriage of Virus-Mimic Surface Topology and Microbubble-Assisted Ultrasound for Enhanced Intratumor Accumulation and Improved Cancer Theranostics.

The low delivery efficiency of nanoparticles to solid tumors greatly reduces the therapeutic efficacy and safety which is closely related to low permeability and poor distribution at tumor sites. In this work, an "intrinsic plus extrinsic superiority" administration strategy is proposed to dramatically enhance the mean delivery efficiency of nanoparticles in prostate cancer to 6.84% of injected dose, compared to 1.

Mechanism underlying the regulation of lncRNA ACTA2-AS1 on CXCL2 by absorbing miRNA-532-5p as ceRNA in the development of ovarian cancer.

Objective: To explore the mechanism underlying the regulation of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) ACTA2-AS1 on CXCL2 as a ceRNA of miR-532-5p in the progression of ovarian cancer (OC).

Methods: A qRT-PCR assay was carried out for analyzing the expression changes of ACTA2-AS1, miR-532-5p, as well as CXCL2 in OC tissues and corresponding healthy paracancerous tissues HOSEpiC (human ovarian epithelial cells), and OC cells. OC cells were grouped and transfected, and the fluorescent in situ hybridization was adopted for evaluating ACTA2-AS1 in the cells.

Deficiency of ITGAM Attenuates Experimental Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Mice.

Background Integrin αM (CD11b), which is encoded by the Integrin Subunit Alpha M (ITGAM) gene, is not only a surface marker of monocytes but also an essential adhesion molecule. In this study, we investigated the effect of CD11b on experimental abdominal aortic aneurysm and the potential underlying mechanisms. Methods and Results The incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm was not significantly lower in ITGAM(-/-) mice than in control mice.

Magneto-Based Synergetic Therapy for Implant-Associated Infections via Biofilm Disruption and Innate Immunity Regulation.

Implant-associated infections (IAIs) are a common cause of orthopedic surgery failure due to microbial biofilm-induced antibiotic-resistance and innate immune inactivation. Thus, the destruction of microbial biofilm plays a key role in reducing IAIs. Herein, first, a magneto-based synergetic therapy (MST) is proposed and demonstrated against IAIs based on biofilm destruction.

Pancreatic β cells control glucose homeostasis via the secretion of exosomal miR-29 family.

Secreted microRNAs (miRNAs) are novel endocrine factors that play essential pathological and physiological roles. Here, we report that pancreatic β cell-released exosomal miR-29 family members (miR-29s) regulate hepatic insulin sensitivity and control glucose homeostasis. Cultured pancreatic islets were shown to secrete miR-29s in response to high levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) in vitro.

Chemoreactive Nanotherapeutics by Metal Peroxide Based Nanomedicine.

The advances of nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine enable the triggering of in situ chemical reactions in disease microenvironment for achieving disease-specific nanotherapeutics with both intriguing therapeutic efficacy and mitigated side effects. Metal peroxide based nanoparticles, as one of the important but generally ignored categories of metal-involved nanosystems, can function as the solid precursors to produce oxygen (O) and hydrogen peroxide (HO) through simple chemical reactions, both of which are the important chemical species for enhancing the therapeutic outcome of versatile modalities, accompanied with the unique bioactivity of metal ion based components. This progress report summarizes and discusses the most representative paradigms of metal peroxides in chemoreactive nanomedicine, including copper peroxide (CuO), calcium peroxide (CaO), magnesium peroxide (MgO), zinc peroxide (ZnO), barium peroxide (BaO), and titanium peroxide (TiO) nanosystems.

A Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease case misdiagnosed with acute cerebral infarction and review of the literature.

It was critical for the clinician to be aware of the neuroimaging and early-onset symptoms of this fatal neurodegenerative disease, and avoid initiating inappropriate therapy. Neuroimaging plays a key role in differentiating it from other mimics.

Co-Immobilization of Ce6 Sono/Photosensitizer and Protonated Graphitic Carbon Nitride on PCL/Gelation Fibrous Scaffolds for Combined Sono-Photodynamic Cancer Therapy.

Aiming at developing a moderate and efficient sono-photodynamic therapy for breast cancer, tissue engineering scaffolds may provide an easy and efficient strategy to eliminate serious side effects in conventional surgery or chemotherapy, and thus, they are highly desired. However, the development of ideal sono-photodynamic therapeutic scaffolds is always hindered by the poor stability and incompatibility between the different biomaterial components. Herein, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved sono/photosensitizer Chlorin e6 (Ce6) was successfully and tightly incorporated into electrospun polycaprolactone/gelatin (PG) scaffolds via positively charged protonated g-CN nanosheets (pCN).

Ultrasound and Near-Infrared Light Dual-Triggered Upconversion Zeolite-Based Nanocomposite for Hyperthermia-Enhanced Multimodal Melanoma Therapy via a Precise Apoptotic Mechanism.

High reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation efficiency and induction of targeted cell apoptosis are recognized as key objectives to achieve a highly efficient strategy for cancer therapy with minimum side effects of inflammatory reactions. However, it is still a challenge to realize higher therapeutic efficiency with a cell apoptosis model. Herein, we present strong upconversion luminescent biosafe cores derived from Linde Type A (LTA) zeolites and modification with targeted/therapeutic drugs for multimodal therapy, in which sonodynamic therapy (SDT) combined with photodynamic therapy (PDT) increases therapeutic efficiency especially in deep sites of tumor via producing cytoplasmic ROS and mitochondrial superoxide and photothermal therapy (PTT) enhances PDT effects via higher fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficacy attributed to an increased temperature.

Differential diagnosis of <3 cm renal tumors by ultrasonography: a rapid, quantitative, elastography self-corrected contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging mode beyond screening.

Objectives: To assess the combined diagnostic strategy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) in the precise differential diagnosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) and urothelium carcinoma of the renal pelvis (UCRP) with other small renal tumors (SRTs) ＜3 cm in size.

Methods: The elastography self-corrected CEUS (ESC) mode was established to perform the quantitative differential diagnosis of SRTs (<3 cm). The kidney shear wave velocity (SWV) value recorded by ARFI showed substantial variability in patients with CCRCC (high elasticity value) and UCRP (low elasticity value) compared with other renal masses, thus providing critical self-correction information for the ultrasound differential diagnosis of SRTs.

ESC-sEVs Rejuvenate Senescent Hippocampal NSCs by Activating Lysosomes to Improve Cognitive Dysfunction in Vascular Dementia.

Vascular dementia (VD) is one of the most common types of dementia, however, the intrinsic mechanism is unclear and there is still lack of effective medications. In this study, the VD rats exhibit a progressive cognitive impairment, as well as a time-related increasing in hippocampal neural stem cells (H-NSCs) senescence, lost and neurogenesis decline. Then, embryonic stem cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (ESC-sEVs) are intravenously injected into VD rats.

Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 is Related to Atherosclerosis Independent of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Predicts Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Events.

Background FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21), a novel hepatokine regulating lipid metabolism, has been linked to atherosclerotic disease. However, whether this relationship exists in patients without nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is unclear. We assessed the association between serum FGF21 levels and atherosclerosis in patients without nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and investigated whether baseline FGF21 could predict incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in a 7-year prospective cohort.

Autologous platelet-rich plasma treatment for patients with diabetic foot ulcers: a meta-analysis of randomized studies.

Background: This study will explore the effectiveness and safety of autologous PRP in the treatment of patients with DFU.

Methods: The electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, BIOSIS, Cochrane central, and Google Scholar internet were searched updated on Jan 30, 2020. Evaluated outcomes included rate of complete ulcer healing, time to healing and adverse events.