Summary Objective The purposes of this study were to assess whether local anesthetics (LAs), such as ropivacaine and bupivacaine, could induce apoptosis of rabbit annulus fibrosus (AF) cells in vitro ...and further to explore the possible underlying mechanism. Methods Rabbit AF cells at second passage were treated with saline solution and various concentrations of LAs. Apoptosis of AF cells were examined by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), Annexin V assays, Hoechst 33342 staining, and Caspase-3, -9 activity assays. The expression of apoptosis-related markers was detected by real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and Western Blot. The JC-1 staining was used to evaluate the change of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Moreover, the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined with fluorescent probe DCFH-DA. Results The results of flow cytometry indicated that LAs could induce apoptosis of rabbit AF cells in a dose-dependent manner. Apoptosis was confirmed by cell morphology, condensed nuclei and activation of Caspase-3 and -9. In addition, the molecular data showed that LAs could significantly up-regulate the expression of Bax, accompanied by a significant down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression. Furthermore, we also observed that LAs resulted in alteration of MMP and accumulation of intracellular ROS in AF cells. Blockade of ROS production by N-acetyl- l -cysteine (NAC) inhibited LAs-induced apoptosis. Conclusions These findings suggest that LAs in clinically relevant concentrations could induce apoptosis of rabbit AF cells in vitro , and the mitochondrial pathway was, at least in part, involved in the LAs-mediated apoptosis. Further investigations focusing on the potential cytotoxicity of LAs on IVD cells are needed.
AbstractGlued laminated bamboo (glubam) is a type of engineered bamboo that resembles timber-based glued laminated lumber (glulam). The glubam components are made by laminating 20- to 40-mm-thick ...engineered bamboo boards; thus, the performance is determined by the quality and properties of the laminated boards. A comprehensive testing program was conducted on typical engineered bamboo boards. The experiments were performed according to the general requirements given by international standards; however, the size of specimens and loading jigs were redesigned according to the modular thickness of typical bamboo boards. Mechanical behaviors and failure modes of the specimens under 15 stress conditions are reported, along with the surface strain distribution recorded through digital image correlation (DIC). A simple design-oriented axial stress–strain model is proposed, and strength values, including the corresponding coefficient of variance (COV), are calculated and provided. A comparison of characteristic strength values between engineered bamboo and typical wood products is also given in this research.
Aims
Vibrio alginolyticus was frequently isolated from diseased farmed fish in the coaster waters of Hainan Island over the past two decades. In this study, we attempted to identify candidates of ...virulent strain‐specific DNA regions for this pathogen.
Methods and Results
Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) and PCR were successively performed between the typical virulent strain and avirulent strain of V. alginolyticus, in which they shared 99·54% homology of 16S rDNAs. Out of 2873 subtracted clones, nine clones were finally indicated to harbour virulent strain‐specific DNA fragments. The receivable functions of the major fragments in the nine clones were believed to encode methyl‐accepting chemotaxis protein (n = 1), type VI secretion system‐associated FHA domain protein TagH (n = 1), diguanylate cyclase (n = 1), AraC family transcriptional regulator (n = 1), ABC‐type uncharacterized transport system permease component (n = 1) and hypothetical proteins (n = 4). Two hypothetical proteins contain several disordered regions.
Conclusions
Some specific DNA regions existed in the virulent strain of V. alginolyticus, and the SSH assay could be a highly sensitive method for identifying virulent regions in pathogens.
Significance and Impact of the Study
This report is the first to describe the identification of virulent strain‐specific DNA regions in the V. alginolyticus genome, which is helpful in developing virulent strain‐specific rapid detection methods and is a pivotal precondition for clarifying the molecular virulence mechanism of V. alginolyticus.
Charged polar interfaces such as charged ferroelectric walls or heterostructured interfaces of ZnO/(Zn,Mg)O and LaAlO3/SrTiO3, across which the normal component of electric polarization changes ...suddenly, can host large two-dimensional conduction. Charged ferroelectric walls, which are energetically unfavourable in general, were found to be mysteriously abundant in hybrid improper ferroelectric (Ca,Sr)3Ti2O7 crystals. From the exploration of antiphase boundaries in bilayer-perovskites, here we discover that each of four polarization-direction states is degenerate with two antiphase domains, and these eight structural variants form a Z4 × Z2 domain structure with Z3 vortices and five distinct types of domain walls, whose topology is directly relevant to the presence of abundant charged walls. We also discover a zipper-like nature of antiphase boundaries, which are the reversible creation/annihilation centres of pairs of two types of ferroelectric walls (and also Z3-vortex pairs) in 90° and 180° polarization switching. Our results demonstrate the unexpectedly rich nature of hybrid improper ferroelectricity.
Summary
The aim of this study was to perform a head‐to‐head comparison of efficacy and safety profile between 60 mg denosumab (Den) subcutaneously (SC) per 6 months (Q6M) and 70 mg alendronate (Aln) ...orally per week (QW) for postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density. We searched electronic databases comparing efficacy and safety of Den SC Q6M and Aln QW in postmenopausal women. The primary outcomes of efficacy evaluation in included trials were incidence of clinical fracture in both groups and bone mineral density (BMD) at different skeletal sites. And adverse events (AEs), including incidence of neoplasms and infections, were considered as secondary outcomes. Following the instructions of ‘Cochrane Handbook for systematic Reviews of Interventions 5.0.2’, we identified eligible studies, evaluated the methodological quality and ed relevant data. Four heterogeneous randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving 1942 women were identified. The results of review showed low evidence quality that supported the hypothesis the denosumab vs. alendronate could reduce risk of fracture OR (95% CI) 1.42 (0.84 to 2.40), 11 more women per 1000 (from 4 fewer to 36 more), p = 0.19 but the moderate to high quality evidence suggesting treatment with 60 mg Den SC Q6M was more effective for postmenopausal women in increasing BMD at distal radius (DR), total hip (TH), lumbar spine (LS), and femoral neck (FN). Hazards of neoplasms OR (95% CI) 1.10 (0.65 to 1.86), 3 more per 1000 (from 10 fewer to 24 more), p = 0.62 or infections OR (95% CI) 0.95 (0.79 to 1.15), 12 fewer per 1000 (from 53 fewer to 33 more,), p = 0.62 were appeared to be similar.Our review suggested within 1 year 60 mg Den SC Q6M treatment was more effective in increasing bone mass but could not reduce the fracture risk to a greater extent than 70 mg Aln QW therapy. Also the Den SC Q6M therapy did not increase the risks of neoplasms and infections compared with Aln QW.
Karst caves are distinctly characterised by darkness, low to moderate temperatures, high humidity, and scarcity of organic matter. During the years of 2014-2015, we explored the mycobiota in two ...unnamed Karst caves in Guizhou province, China, and obtained 563 fungal strains via
the dilution plate method. Preliminary ITS analyses of these strains suggested that they belonged to 246 species in 116 genera, while 23.5 % were not identified to species level. Among these species, 85.8 % (211 species) belonged to Ascomycota; 7.3 % (18 species) belonged to Basidiomycota;
6.9 % (17 species) belonged to Mucoromycotina. The majority of these species have been previously known from other environments, mostly from plants or animals as pathogens, endophytes or via a mycorrhizal association. We also found that 59 % of these species were discovered for the
first time from Karst caves, including 20 new species that are described in this paper. The phylogenetic tree based on LSU sequences revealed 20 new species were distributed in six different orders. In addition, ITS or multi-locus sequences were employed to infer the phylogenetic relationships
of new taxa with closely related allies. We conclude that Karst caves encompass a high fungal diversity, including a number of previously unknown species. Novel species described include: Amphichorda guana, Auxarthronopsis guizhouensis, Biscogniauxia petrensis, Cladorrhinum
globisporum, Collariella quadrum, Gymnoascus exasperatus, Humicola limonisporum, Metapochonia variabilis, Microascus anfractus, Microascus globulosus, Microdochium chrysanthemoides, Paracremonium variiforme, Pectinotrichum chinense,
Phaeosphaeria fusispora, Ramophialophora globispora, Ramophialophora petraea, Scopulariopsis crassa, Simplicillium calcicola, Volutella aeria, and Wardomycopsis longicatenata.
Lightly stroking the lips or gently poking some skin regions can evoke mechanical itch in healthy human subjects. Sensitization of mechanical itch and persistent spontaneous itch are intractable ...symptoms in chronic itch patients. However, the underlying neural circuits are not well defined. We identified a subpopulation of excitatory interneurons expressing Urocortin 3::Cre (Ucn3+) in the dorsal spinal cord as a central node in the pathway that transmits acute mechanical itch and mechanical itch sensitization as well as persistent spontaneous itch under chronic itch conditions. This population receives peripheral inputs from Toll-like receptor 5-positive (TLR5+) Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors and is directly innervated by inhibitory interneurons expressing neuropeptide Y::Cre (NPY+) in the dorsal spinal cord. Reduced synaptic inhibition and increased intrinsic excitability of Ucn3+ neurons lead to chronic itch sensitization. Our study sheds new light on the neural basis of chronic itch and unveils novel avenues for developing mechanism-specific therapeutic advancements.
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•Spinal Ucn3+ neurons transmit both mechanical itch and persistent spontaneous itch•Spinal Ucn3+ neurons receive inputs from TLR5+ LTMRs•Spinal NPY+ inhibitory interneurons gate Ucn3+ neurons•Sensitization of mechanical itch pathway contributes to chronic itch
Pan et al. identify a microcircuit in the dorsal spinal cord that transmit mechanically evoked itch. Sensitization of this pathway is required for chronic itch development.
Objectives
We aimed to evaluate the relationship between baseline renal function and changes in telomere length in Han Chinese.
Methods
The telomere restriction fragment (TRF) length of leukocytes in ...the peripheral blood was measured in healthy volunteers recruited in 2014. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated based on serum creatinine (Scr) and serum cystatin C (CysC)-eGFRcys and eGFRScr-cys through the Cockcroft-Gault formula (eGFRC-G) or the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI / eGFRCKD-EPI) equation. The correlation between telomere length changes over time and renal function was analyzed.
Results
Leukocyte TRF lengths were negatively correlated to age (r = -0.393, p < 0.001) and serum CysC (r = -0.180, p < 0.01), while positively associated with eGFRCKD-EPI, eGFRC-G, eGFRcys, and eGFRScr-cys (r = 0.182, 0.122, 0.290, and 0.254 respectively, p < 0.01). The 3-year change of telomere length was 46 bp/years. When adjusted for age, the associations between telomere length changes and baseline, subsequent TRF lengths, and serum CysC were no longer present. No association was observed between TRF length changes and renal function.
Conclusion
The rate of telomere length changes was affected by age and baseline telomere length. The telomere length changes might be important markers for aging.
We demonstrate spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching of amorphous CoTb single-layer films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). The switching sustains even the film thickness is above 10 nm, ...where the critical switching current density stays almost constant. Without the need of overcoming the strong interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction caused by the heavy metal, a quite low assistant field of ∼20 Oe is sufficient to realize the full switching. The SOT effective field decreases and undergoes a sign change with the decrease of the Tb concentration, implying that a combination of the spin Hall effect from both Co and Tb as well as an asymmetric spin current absorption accounts for the SOT switching mechanism. Our findings advance the use of magnetic materials with bulk PMA for energy-efficient and thermally stable nonvolatile memories, and add a different dimension for understanding the ordering and asymmetry in amorphous thin films.
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