With the rapid development of implantable biomaterials, the rising risk of bacterial infections has drawn widespread concern. Due to the high recurrence rate of bacterial infections and the issue of ...antibiotic resistance, the common treatments of peri-implant infections cannot meet the demand. In this context, stimuli-responsive biomaterials have attracted attention because of their great potential to spontaneously modulate the drug releasing rate. Numerous smart bacteria-responsive drug delivery systems (DDSs) have, therefore, been designed to temporally and spatially release antibacterial agents from the implants in an autonomous manner at the infected sites. In this review, we summarized recent advances in bacteria-responsive DDSs used for combating bacterial infections, mainly according to the different trigger modes, including physical stimuli-responsive, virulence-factor-responsive, host-immune-response responsive and their combinations. It is believed that the smart bacteria-responsive DDSs will become the next generation of mainstream antibacterial therapies.
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•Molecular designable thermoplastic polyamide elastomer is a new type of flexible humidity sensing material.•Thermoplastic polyamide elastomer-based sensors can be obtained simply by ...heat-melting method.•Sensors have high fitability (R2 > 0.99), wide sensing range (11 %RH ∼ 91 %RH) and stable performance (≥5 weeks).•Thermoplastic polyamide elastomer-based sensors can monitor changes in the human respiratory rate in real time.
Nowadays, there are many researches on flexible humidity sensors based on different composites, such as polymer with graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes as conductive fillers. Herein, a flexible wearable device used for humidity detection and breath monitoring was fabricated based on the molecular designable thermoplastic polyamide elastomer (TPAE). TPAE is block copolymers consisting of the polyamide hard segments and the polyether soft segments. Among them, the hard segments (PA1212 or PA6) form the crosslinking network providing resilience, and the soft segments composed of PPO and PEO endow TPAE with flexibility and solvent-responsiveness. The resistance of TPAE-based humidity sensor decreases with the increase of relative humidity (RH), exhibiting negative humidity sensitivity. Besides, it has a wide humidity monitoring range (11 %RH ∼ 91 %RH) and good fitting degree of R2 > 0.99 which is hardly influenced by bending deformation. When the humidity sensor was exposed to organic vapor (e.g. ethanol), it exhibited a faster response of astonishing 4 s. This novel block copolymer not only shows good humidity sensing performance in many aspects, but also provides a novel strategy and approach for the preparation of the humidity sensing materials afterwards.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Ageing is a natural phenomenon that is inherently complex and remains a mystery. Conceptual model of cellular ageing landscape was proposed for computational studies of ageing. However, there is a ...lack of quantitative model of cellular ageing landscape. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of cellular ageing in a theoretical model using the framework of Waddington's epigenetic landscape. We construct an ageing gene regulatory network (GRN) consisting of the core cell cycle regulatory genes (including p53). A model parameter (activation rate) is used as a measure of the accumulation of DNA damage. Using the bifurcation diagrams to estimate the parameter values that lead to multi-stability, we obtained a conceptual model for capturing three distinct stable steady states (or attractors) corresponding to homeostasis, cell cycle arrest, and senescence or apoptosis. In addition, we applied a Monte Carlo computational method to quantify the potential landscape, which displays: I) one homeostasis attractor for low accumulation of DNA damage; II) two attractors for cell cycle arrest and senescence (or apoptosis) in response to high accumulation of DNA damage. Using the Waddington's epigenetic landscape framework, the process of ageing can be characterized by state transitions from landscape I to II. By in silico perturbations, we identified the potential landscape of a perturbed network (inactivation of p53), and thereby demonstrated the emergence of a cancer attractor. The simulated dynamics of the perturbed network displays a landscape with four basins of attraction: homeostasis, cell cycle arrest, senescence (or apoptosis) and cancer. Our analysis also showed that for the same perturbed network with low DNA damage, the landscape displays only the homeostasis attractor. The mechanistic model offers theoretical insights that can facilitate discovery of potential strategies for network medicine of ageing-related diseases such as cancer.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Objectives
To summarize the experiences of CT-guided microcoil localization before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and to investigate the risk factors associated with pleural marking ...failure.
Methods
Totally, 249 consecutive patients with 279 pulmonary nodules who underwent CT-guided microcoil localization prior to VATS were enrolled in this study. According to intraoperative observation, all the nodules were divided into two groups. The clinical characteristics and microcoil localization procedure-related variables of the nodules were analyzed by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis to screen the independent factors associated with procedure results.
Results
Among the 279 nodules, 28 failed to observe the proximal end of the microcoil deployed on visceral pleura during VATS. The logistic regression revealed that needle-pleura angle (≤ 30°: OR = 39.022,
p
= 0.003), pleura-microcoil distance (≤ 10 mm: OR = 87.054,
p
< 0.001; 10~20 mm: OR = 10.088,
p
= 0.010), and presence of pleural indentation (OR = 21.623,
p
< 0.001) were independent risk factors for pleural marking failure.
Conclusions
CT-guided microcoil localization for pulmonary nodules is a safe and effective procedure. Small needle-pleura angle (≤ 30°), pleura-microcoil distance (≤ 20 mm), and the presence of pleural indentation during the procedure are significant risk factors contributing to microcoil pleura marking failure.
Key Points
• CT-guided microcoil localization for pulmonary nodules was a safe and effective procedure.
• CT-guided microcoil localization for pulmonary nodules yielded low complication rates.
• Small needle-pleura angle, short pleura-microcoil distance, and the presence of pleural indentation were contributing to pleura marking failure.
Short-stem hip arthroplasty (SHA) is characterized by metaphyseal load transfer that effectively preserves the bone stock, but still suffers from stress shielding in the proximal femur. We designed a ...tension screw to mimic tension trabeculae in the new bionic collum femoris preserving (BCFP) short stem for bionic reconstruction, aiming to restore the biomechanics of hip joint.
Native femur finite element model was constructed to investigate the biomechanics of hip joint based on computed tomography (CT) data. The maximum absolute principal stress/strain cloud chart allowed the direction of stress/strain to be assessed. Six BCFP models with different screw angles (5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, and 30°) and the Corail model were created. The stress/strain distribution and overall stiffness were compared between each of the BCFP and Corail implanted models.
The native model visualized the transfer pathways of tensile and compressive stress. The BCFP stems showed significantly higher stress and strain distribution in the greater trochanteric region compared to conventional total hip arthroplasty (THA). In particular, the BCFP-5° stem demonstrated the highest average strain in both medial and lateral regions and the overall stiffness was closest to the intact femur.
Stress transfer pathways of trabecular architecture provide biomechanical insight that serves as the basis for bionic reconstruction. The tension screw improves load transfer pattern in the proximal femur and prevents stress reduction in the greater trochanteric region. The BCFP-5° stem minimizes the stress shielding effect and presents a more bionic mechanical performance.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Targeting sustainable and eco-friendly polymer synthesis, we demonstrate here a synergistically catalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) induced and controlled by interplay between ball ...milling (BM) and piezoelectric nanoparticles (piezoNPs). BM-induced electron transfer can be achieved through piezoNPs deformation under impact force, serving as an external stimulus to mediate polymerization. The ppm level of copper loading is sufficient in fabrication of a polymer with well-defined molecular weight and low polydispersity. High-molecular-weight polymers ranging from 33 to 74 kDa were prepared successfully through DMSO-assisted grinding. Besides, its good performance on availability of water as liquid-assisted grinding additive, the recyclability of piezoNPs, and the formation of cross-linker-free composite resin make our ATRP approach a green and practical option alongside the existent heat-, electro-, and photo-induced methods.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Periodontitis is a complicated inflammatory disease that damages the tooth-supporting tissues, with limited pharmacotherapy available. Macrophage-targeting therapy is promising for inflammatory ...diseases. Resveratrol (RSV), a nonflavonoid polyphenol, is known for its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. However, its medical application is limited by its poor stability and water-solubility, as well as its low bioavailability.
A therapeutic resveratrol-loaded liposomal system (Lipo-RSV) was developed to treat periodontitis. The physical properties of Lipo-RSV and its ability to regulate macrophages were investigated. The results showed that Lipo-RSV had good biocompatibility and could re-educate the inflammatory macrophages from M1- to M2-like phenotype through activating p-STAT3 and downregulating p-STAT1. Besides, the Lipo-RSV could scavenge ROS and inhibit the NF-κB signal and inflammasomes, thereby reducing the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α.
These results revealed that Lipo-RSV could be a potential therapeutic system for the antibiotic-free treatment for periodontal diseases.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Driving the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with solar-energy cells is considered a green and sustainable way to produce H
2
. Herein, CoO-Mo
2
N hollow heterojunctions ...were designed for effective HER based on the combined virtues of the hollow structure and heterojunctions. The hollow CoMoO
4
-Co(OH)
2
precursor was first synthesized via the reaction of Co
2+
from ZIF-67 with MoO
4
2−
and OH
−
in a Na
2
MoO
4
solution. A series of experiments indicate the formation of the hollow Co-Mo-O precursor followed a mechanism analogous to the nanoscale “Kirkendall Effect”. After heating in NH
3
, the CoO-Mo
2
N hollow heterostructure was obtained. The Mo species in the precursor played an important role in maintaining the morphology under nitridation treatment. The hollow structure is favorable for contact and diffusion of electrolyte with (in) catalysts, while the CoO in CoO-Mo
2
N is favorable for the dissociation of water. Both promote the HER. Under optimized conditions, the hollow catalyst exhibited good HER performance with an overpotential of 65 mV at 10 mA cm
−2
in 1 M KOH. The performance is better than that of many nonprecious metal-based catalysts. An electrolyzer composed of CoO-Mo
2
N heterojunctions as the cathode and NiFe-LDH as the anode can be driven by a solar cell to achieve effective overall water splitting. The adjudication of MOFs makes the route promising for the design of robust catalysts for advanced application.
We aimed to map and describe the current state of Mendelian randomization (MR) literature on cancer risk and to identify associations supported by robust evidence.
We searched PubMed and Scopus up to ...06/10/2020 for MR studies investigating the association of any genetically predicted risk factor with cancer risk. We categorized the reported associations based on a priori designed levels of evidence supporting a causal association into four categories, namely robust, probable, suggestive, and insufficient, based on the significance and concordance of the main MR analysis results and at least one of the MR-Egger, weighed median, MRPRESSO, and multivariable MR analyses. Associations not presenting any of the aforementioned sensitivity analyses were not graded.
We included 190 publications reporting on 4667 MR analyses. Most analyses (3200; 68.6%) were not accompanied by any of the assessed sensitivity analyses. Of the 1467 evaluable analyses, 87 (5.9%) were supported by robust, 275 (18.7%) by probable, and 89 (6.1%) by suggestive evidence. The most prominent robust associations were observed for anthropometric indices with risk of breast, kidney, and endometrial cancers; circulating telomere length with risk of kidney, lung, osteosarcoma, skin, thyroid, and hematological cancers; sex steroid hormones and risk of breast and endometrial cancer; and lipids with risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer.
Despite the large amount of research on genetically predicted risk factors for cancer risk, limited associations are supported by robust evidence for causality. Most associations did not present a MR sensitivity analysis and were thus non-evaluable. Future research should focus on more thorough assessment of sensitivity MR analyses and on more transparent reporting.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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