Abstract This paper reports the fabrication of biomimetic nanofibrous matrices via co-electrospinning of polycaprolactone (PCL)/cellulose acetate (CA) and layer-by-layer self-assembly (LBL) of ...positively charged chitosan (CS) and negatively charged Type Ⅰ collagen on the nanofibrous matrix. FE-SEM images indicate that the average fiber diameter increased from 392 to 541 nm when the coating bilayers varied from 5 to 20.5. Besides, the excellent biocompatibility and enhanced attachment and spreading of normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) of prepared nanofibrous mats are confirmed by MTT and SEM results. Furthermore, the LBL structured (CS/collagen)n nanofibrous mats greatly improve the cell migration in vitro , promote re-epithelialization and vascularization in vivo , and up-regulate the expression of collagen Ⅳ and α-tubulin, as well as the Integrin β1 and phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) at Tyr-397. The levels of expressed protein are significantly enhanced with increasing coating bilayers via immunohistochemistry and western blotting analyses. Collectively, these results suggest that the LBL structured biomimetic nanofibrous matrices may enhance cell migration and further promote the skin regeneration by up-regulating the secretion of ECM protein and triggering Integrin/FAK signaling pathway, which demonstrate the potential use of the nanofibrous mats to rapidly restore the structural and functional properties of wounded skin.
Map-matching technology is a key and difficult technology in the development of vehicle navigation systems. Only by correctly identifying the road segment on which the vehicle is traveling can the ...navigation system make the right decision. At the same time, the complexity of the road network structure and a variety of error factors have introduced great challenges to map matching and have attracted the attention of many researchers as well. This paper analyzes various map-matching algorithms, determines that the key to the matching performance is the junction matching, performs an in-depth study on the junction-matching problem, and puts forward the junction decision domain model. The model mainly involves information regarding the width of the road segment, the angle between two road segments, the accuracy of GPS and the accuracy of the road network. In this paper, we use this model to improve the map-matching algorithm based on a hidden Markov model (HMM). The experimental results show that the improved matching algorithm can effectively reduce the error rate of junction matching and improve the matching performance of a navigation system.
Medical images contain a large amount of patients' private information. The theft and destruction of medical images will cause irreparable losses to patients and medical institutions. In order to ...detect the region of interest(ROI) accurately, avoid leakage of ROI position information, and realize lossless recovery of transform domain encryption, we propose a novel lossless medical image encryption scheme based on game theory with optimized ROI parameters and hidden ROI position. In the encryption process, the ROI is a pixel-level transformed to achieve the lossless decryption of medical images and protect medical image information from loss. At the same time, the position information of the ROI is effectively hidden, and leakage of the position information during transmission is avoided. In addition, the quantum cell neural network(QCNN) hyperchaotic system generates random sequence to scramble and diffuse the ROI. Most important of all, the quantitative analysis method of ROI parameters is given, and the optimal balance between encryption speed and encryption security performance is achieved by using game theory. Simulation experiments and numerical analysis verify that the scheme achieves optimized and lossless encryption and decryption of images, and can flexibly and reliably protect the medical images of different types and structures against various attacks.
Hyperuricemia has become a common metabolic disease, and is a risk factor for multiple diseases, including chronic kidney disease. Our recent study indicated that following persistent uric acid ...stimulation, autophagy was activated in rats of hyperuricemic nephropathy (HN) and facilitated the development of renal fibrosis. Nevertheless, the potential mechanism by which autophagy promoted the progression of HN is still not fully elucidated. Thus, in the current study, we investigated the mechanisms of autophagy inhibition on the development of HN. Our data showed that autophagy was activated in human renal tubular cell lines (HK-2) exposure to uric acid. Inhibition of autophagy with 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and transfected with Beclin-1 siRNA prevented uric acid-induced upregulation of α-SMA, Collagen I and Collagen III in HK-2 cells. Moreover, uric acid upregulated autophagy
promoting the p53 pathway.
, we showed that hyperuricemic injury induced the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis, as evidenced by cleavage of caspase-1 and caspase-11, activation of gasdermin D (GSDMD) and the release of IL-1β and IL-18. Treatment with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA alleviated aforementioned phenomenon. Stimulation with uric acid in HK-2 cells also resulted in NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptotic cell death, however treatment with 3-MA prevented all these responses. Mechanistically, we showed that the elevation of autophagy and degradation of autophagolysosomes resulted in the release of cathepsin B (CTSB), which is related to the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. CTSB siRNA can inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis. Collectively, our results indicate that autophagy inhibition protects against HN through inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis. What's more, blockade the release of CTSB plays a crucial role in this process. Thus, inhibition of autophagy may be a promising therapeutic strategy for hyperuricemic nephropathy.
Oxidative stress is implicated in cardiac insulin resistance, a critical risk factor for cardiac failure, but the direct evidence remains missing. This study explored a causal link between oxidative ...stress and insulin resistance with a focus on a regulatory role of redox sensitive transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in the cardiac cells in vitro and in vivo.
Chronic treatment of HL-1 adult cardiomyocyte with hydrogen peroxide led to insulin resistance, reflected by a significant suppression of the insulin-induced glucose uptake. This was associated with an exaggerated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK). Although U0126, an ERK inhibitor, enhanced insulin sensitivity and attenuated oxidative stress-induced insulin resistance, LY294002, an inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), worsened the insulin resistance. Moreover, insulin increased Nrf2 transcriptional activity, which was blocked by LY294002 but enhanced by U0126. Forced activation of Nrf2 by adenoviral over-expression of Nrf2 inhibited the increased ERK activity and recovered the blunted insulin sensitivity on glucose uptake in cardiomyocytes that were chronically treated with H(2)O(2). In the hearts of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice and diabetic patients Nrf2 expression significantly decreased along with significant increases in 3-nitrotyrosine accumulation and ERK phosphorylation, whereas these pathogenic changes were not observed in the heart of diabetic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of a potent antioxidant metallothionein. Upregulation of Nrf2 by its activator, Dh404, in cardiomyocytes in vitro and in vivo prevented hydrogen peroxide- and diabetes-induced ERK activation and insulin-signaling downregulation.
ERK-mediated suppression of Nrf2 activity leads to the oxidative stress-induced insulin resistance in adult cardiomyocytes and downregulated glucose utilization in the diabetic heart.
Summary
Wound infection is a challenging clinical problem that imposes substantial economic and psychological burdens on patients. However, the wound covered by a dressing is in an ‘unknown’ state. ...Recently, researchers have focused on understanding the condition of the wound without removing the dressing. Here, we presented a flexible integrated sensing platform (FISP) that can monitor multiple indicators, including local temperature. The platform consists of a flexible sensor chip (FSC), a controlled printed circuit board (CPCB) and a customized application installed on a smartphone that can receive and display data from the sensor chip through Bluetooth Low Energy 4.0 (BLE4.0) and upload real‐time wound information. This device exhibits satisfactory measurement accuracy, stability, durability, skin compliance and biocompatibility. It was applied to infected wounds on the back of rabbits to reveal the temperature changes characteristic of wounds infected with different bacteria, and this information was compared with the changes in the core body temperature of animals. We found differences in the temperature among wounds infected with different pathogens and the temperature of the wound infection occurred earlier than the change in anal temperature. The combined application of the FISP and dressings might help identify the ‘unknown’ state of wounds in the clinic.
We presented a flexible integrated sensing platform that can monitor multiple indicators, including local temperature. We found differences in the temperature among wounds infected with different pathogens and the temperature of the wound infection occurred earlier than the change in anal temperature. The combined application of the FISP and dressings might help identify the ‘unknown’ state of wounds in the clinic.
Two major goals of hierarchically porous metal–organic frameworks (HP-MOFs) research are the reduction of energy consumption and the enhancement of production rate. Here, we develop a simple and ...versatile method for the rapid synthesis of three HP-MOFs (Cu-BTC, Cu-BDC, and ZIF-8) through introducing zinc oxide (ZnO) and template simultaneously. The synthesis condition was facile, and the synthesis time could be shortened to 30 min. Moreover, the porosity and morphology of HP-MOFs could be adjustable with variable amounts and types of template. A synergistic effect of the hydroxy double salt (HDS) and template is crucial for the synthesis, whereas no meso- and macropores were formed in the individual employing of either the HDS or the template. The rapid synthesis mechanism was further elucidated by the mesoscopic dynamics simulation. Furthermore, the synthetic approach of HP-MOFs was readily scalable with a space-time yield (STY) of up to 1322 kg·m–3·d–1, which allowed the large-scale production. The prepared HP-MOFs exhibited improved catalytic activity as compared with microporous MOFs for the Henry reaction involving large molecules. This synthetic route with low energy consumption and high production rate may open a door for the large-scale production and a wide range of application of HP-MOFs.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with significant morbidity and its chronic inflammation contributes to subsequent chronic kidney disease (CKD) development. Yes-associated protein (YAP), the ...major transcriptional coactivator of the Hippo pathway, has been shown associated with chronic inflammation, but its role and mechanism in AKI-CKD transition remain unclear. Here we aimed to investigate the role of YAP in AKI-induced chronic inflammation. Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) was used to induce a mouse model of AKI-CKD transition. We used verteporfin (VP), a pharmacological inhibitor of YAP, to treat post-IRI mice for a period, and evaluated the influence of YAP inhibition on long-term outcomes of AKI. In our results, severe IRI led to maladaptive tubular repair, macrophages infiltration, and progressive fibrosis. Following AKI, the Hippo pathway was found significantly altered with YAP persistent activation. Besides, tubular YAP activation was associated with the maladaptive repair, also correlated with interstitial macrophage infiltration. Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) was found notably upregulated with YAP activation. Of note, pharmacological inhibition of YAP in vivo attenuated renal inflammation, including macrophage infiltration and MCP-1 overexpression. Consistently, in vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) induced YAP activation and MCP-1 overproduction whereas these could be inhibited by VP. In addition, we modulated YAP activity by RNA interference, which further confirmed YAP activation enhances MCP-1 expression. Together, we concluded tubular YAP activation with maladaptive repair exacerbates renal inflammation probably via promoting MCP-1 production, which contributes to AKI-CKD transition.
In this paper, a hyperchaotic four-dimensional fractional discrete Hopfield neural network system (4D-FDHNN) with four positive Lyapunov exponents is proposed. Firstly, the chaotic dynamics’ ...characteristics of the system are verified by analyzing and comparing the iterative trajectory diagram, phase diagram, attractor diagram, 0-1 test, sample entropy, and Lyapunov exponent. Furthermore, a novel image encryption scheme is designed to use the chaotic system as a pseudo-random number generator. In the scenario, the confusion phase using the fractal idea proposes a fractal-like model scrambling method, effectively enhancing the complexity and security of the confusion. For the advanced diffusion phase, we proposed a kind of Hilbert dynamic random diffusion method, synchronously changing the size and location of the pixel values, which improves the efficiency of the encryption algorithm. Finally, simulation results and security analysis experiments show that the proposed encryption algorithm has good efficiency and high security, and can resist common types of attacks.
Both symmetric and asymmetric color image encryption have advantages and disadvantages. In order to combine their advantages and try to overcome their disadvantages, chaos synchronization is used to ...avoid the key transmission for the proposed semi-symmetric image encryption scheme. Our scheme is a hybrid chaotic encryption algorithm, and it consists of a scrambling stage and a diffusion stage. The control law and the update rule of function projective synchronization between the 3-cell quantum cellular neural networks (QCNN) response system and the 6th-order cellular neural network (CNN) drive system are formulated. Since the function projective synchronization is used to synchronize the response system and drive system, Alice and Bob got the key by two different chaotic systems independently and avoid the key transmission by some extra security links, which prevents security key leakage during the transmission. Both numerical simulations and security analyses such as information entropy analysis, differential attack are conducted to verify the feasibility, security, and efficiency of the proposed scheme.
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