Acoustic wave velocity has been commonly utilized to predict subsurface geopressure using empirical relations. Acoustic wave velocity is, however, affected by many factors. To estimate pore pressure ...accurately, we here propose to use elastic rock physics models to understand and analyze quantitatively the various contributions from these different factors affecting wave velocity. We report a closed-form relationship between the frame flexibility factor (γ) in a rock physics model and differential pressure, which presents the major control of pressure on elastic properties such as bulk modulus and compressional wave velocity. For a gas-bearing shale with abundant micro-cracks and fractures, its bulk modulus is much lower at abnormally high pore pressure (high γ values) where thin cracks and flat pores are open than that at normal hydrostatic pressure (low γ values) where pores are more rounded on average. The developed relations between bulk modulus and differential pressure have been successfully applied to the Upper Ordovician Wufeng and Lower Silurian Longmaxi formations in the Dingshan area of the Sichuan Basin to map the three-dimensional spatial distribution of pore pressure in the shale, integrating core, log and seismic data. The estimated results agree well with field measurements. Pressure coefficient is positively correlated to gas content. The relations and methods reported here could be useful for hydrocarbon exploration, production, and drilling safety in both unconventional and conventional fields.
Repairing critical bone defects is a complex problem in the clinic. The periosteum rich in nerve plays a vital role in initiating and regulating bone regeneration. However, current studies have paid ...little attention to repairing nerves in the periosteum to promote bone regeneration. Thus, it is essential to construct bionic periosteum with the targeted injured nerves in the periosteum. We coupled phosphatidylserine (PS) targeted aptamers with repair Schwann cell exosomes to construct exosome@aptamer (EA). Then through PEI, EA was successfully built on the surface of the electrospun fiber, which was PCL@PEI@exosome@aptamer (PPEA). Through SEM, TEM, and other technologies, PPEA was characterized. Experiments prove in vivo and in vitro that it has an excellent repair effect on damaged nerves and regeneration of vascular and bones. In vivo, we confirmed that biomimetic periosteum has an apparent ability to promote nerve and bone regeneration by using Microcomputer tomography, hematoxylin-eosin, Masson, and Immunofluorescence. In vitro, we used Immunofluorescence, Real-Time Quantitative PCR, Alkaline phosphatase staining, and other tests to confirm that it has central nerve, blood vessel, and bone regeneration ability. The PPEA biomimetic periosteum has apparent neurogenic, angiogenic, and osteogenic effects. The PPEA biomimetic periosteum will provide a promising method for treating bone defects.
Image 1
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To construct a biomimetic periosteum that can target injured axons and bone regeneration.
•
PS targeted aptamer is coupled with repair Schwann cell exosomes.
•
PEI self-assembly was used for the PCL electrospun biomimetic membrane loading.
•
It targeted and repaired the injured axons and promoted the secretion of CGRP and SP.
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Biomimetic periosteum promotes vascular regeneration and bone regeneration.
Abstract
Background
The relationship between air pollution and atrial fibrillation (AF) recorded by electrocardiograph (ECG) has not yet been illustrated which worsens AF precaution and treatment. ...This research evaluated the association between air pollution and daily hospital visits for AF with ECG records.
Methods
The study enrolled 4933 male and 5392 female patients whose ECG reports indicated AF from 2015 to 2018 in our hospital. Such data were then matched with meteorological data, including air pollutant concentrations, collected by local weather stations. A case-crossover study was performed to assess the relationship between air pollutants and daily hospital visits for AF recorded by ECG and to investigate its lag effect.
Results
Our analysis revealed statistically significant associations between AF occurrence and demographic data, including age and gender. This effect was stronger in female (
k
= 0.02635,
p
< 0.01) and in patients over 65 y (
k
= 0.04732,
p
< 0.01). We also observed a hysteretic effect that when exposed to higher nitrogen dioxide(NO
2
), counting AF cases recorded by ECG may elevate at lag 0 with a maximum odds ratio(OR) of 1.038 (95% CI 1.014–1.063), on the contrary, O
3
reduced the risk of daily visits for AF and its maximum OR was at lag 2, and the OR value was 0.9869 (95% CI 0.9791–0.9948). Other air pollutants such as PM
2.5
, PM
10
, and SO
2
showed no clear relationship with the recorded AF.
Conclusion
The associations between air pollution and AF recorded with ECG were preliminarily discovered. Short-term exposure to NO
2
was significantly associated with daily hospital visits for AF management.
To explore the genetic effects of CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2J2, and EPHX2, the key genes involved in epoxyeicosatrienoic acid processing and degradation pathways in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and ...metabolic traits in Chinese pregnant women.
A total of 2548 unrelated pregnant women were included, of which 938 had GDM and 1610 were considered as controls. Common variants were genotyped using the Infinium Asian Screening Array. Association studies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with GDM and related traits were performed using logistic regression and multivariable linear regression analyses. A genetic risk score (GRS) model based on 12 independent target SNPs associated with GDM was constructed. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for potential confounders including age, pre-pregnancy body mass index, history of polycystic ovarian syndrome, history of GDM, and family history of diabetes, with GRS entered both as a continuous variable and categorized groups. The relationship between GRS and quantitative traits was also evaluated.
The 12 SNPs in CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2J2, and EPHX2 were significantly associated with GDM after adjusting for covariates (all P < 0.05). The GRS generated from these SNPs significantly correlated with GDM. Furthermore, a significant interaction between CYP2J2 and CYP2C8 in GDM (P
= 0.014, OR
= 0.61, 95%CI 0.41-0.90) was observed.
We found significant associations between GDM susceptibility and 12 SNPs of the four genes involved in epoxyeicosatrienoic acid processing and degradation pathways in a Chinese population. Subjects with a higher GRS showed higher GDM susceptibility with higher fasting plasma glucose and area under the curve of glucose and poorer β-cell function.
Objectives:
Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) activation is involved in ameliorating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis (UC), and inflammatory regulation may be involved in its ...mechanism. Ginsenoside Rc (Rc) is a major component of
Panax ginseng
, and it plays an excellent role in the anti-inflammatory processes. Our aim is to explore the alleviative effect of Rc on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced inflammation and deficiencies in barrier function based on FXR signaling.
Materials and Methods:
In vitro
, we treated human intestinal epithelial cell lines (LS174T) with LPS to explore the anti-inflammatory effect of Rc supplementation.
In vivo
, a DSS-induced IBD mice model was established, and the changes in inflammatory and barrier function in colons after Rc treatment were measured using the disease activity index (DAI), hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunofluorescence, ELISA, and qPCR. Molecular docking analysis, luciferase reporter gene assay, and qPCR were then used to analyze the binding targets of Rc. DSS-induced FXR-knockout (FXR
−/-
) mice were used for further validation.
Results:
Rc significantly recovered the abnormal levels of inflammation indexes (
TNF-α
,
IL-6
,
IL-1β
, and
NF-KB
) induced by LPS in LS174T. DSS-induced C57BL/6 mice exhibited a significantly decreased body weight and elevated DAI, as well as a decrease in colon weight and length. Increased inflammatory markers (
TNF-α
,
IL-6
,
IL-1β
,
ICAM1
,
NF-KB
, F4/80, and CD11b displayed an increased expression) and damaged barrier function (
Claudin-1
,
occludin,
and
ZO-1
displayed a decreased expression) were observed in DSS-induced C57BL/6 mice. Nevertheless, supplementation with Rc mitigated the increased inflammatory and damaged barrier function associated with DSS. Further evaluation revealed an activation of FXR signaling in Rc-treated LS174T, with
FXR
,
BSEP,
and
SHP
found to be upregulated. Furthermore, molecular docking indicated that there is a clear interaction between Rc and FXR, while Rc activated transcriptional expression of FXR in luciferase reporter gene assay. However, these reversal abilities of Rc were not observed in DSS-induced FXR
−/-
mice.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that Rc may ameliorate inflammation and barrier function in the intestine, which in turn leads to the attenuation of DSS-induced UC, in which Rc may potentially activate FXR signaling to protect the intestines from DSS-induced injury.
As a member of the fibronectin leucine-rich transmembrane (flrt) gene family, fibronectin leucine-rich transmembrane 2 (flrt2) is strongly expressed in a subset of sclerotome cells, and the resultant ...protein interacts with FGFR1 in the FGF signaling pathway during development. Studies on flrt2 have focused mainly on its roles in the brain, heart and chondrogenesis. However, reports on its expression and function in the zebrafish retina are lacking. Here, we detected the high expression of flrt2 in zebrafish retina using in situ hybridization technique and developed an flrt2-knockout (KO) zebrafish line using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the expression levels of flrt2, which results in an approximately 60% mRNA reduction. The flrt2-KO zebrafish eyes' altered morphological, cellular, and molecular events were identified using BrdU labeling, TUNEL assay, immunofluorescent staining, fluorescent dye injection and RNA sequencing. Abnormal eye development, known as microphthalmia, was found in flrt2-KO larvae, and the retinal progenitor cells exhibited increased apoptosis, perhaps owing to the combined effects of crx, neurod4, atoh7, and pcdh8 downregulation and Casp3a and Caspbl upregulation. In contrast, the retinal neural development, as well as retinal progenitor cell differentiation and proliferation, were not affected by the flrt2 deletion. Thus, flrt2 appears to play important roles in retinal development and function, which may provide the basis for further investigations into the molecular mechanisms of retinal development and evolution.
An efficient approach was presented to prepare polyaniline/polypyrrole (PANi/PPy) composite nanofibers by growing PPy layers on the surface of PANi nanofibrous seeds as electrode materials for ...supercapacitors in neutral electrolyte. Core layer of PANi nanofiber was firstly synthesized by the chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline monomers under free melting condition of reaction solutions in fully aqueous system without the assistance of any templates or organic solvents. Then the shell layer of PPy was fabricated by in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole monomers with the above-mentioned PANi nanofiber as a seed, and the PPy shell layer thicknesses were tuned by changing the molar ratio of aniline to pyrrole. The resulting PANi/PPy composites were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectrometry. Furthermore, electrochemical behaviors in Na
2
SO
4
electrolyte were tested by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It turned out that low molar ratio of aniline to pyrrole is helpful to increase the PPy shell layer thicknesses, yield and conductivity of PANi/PPy composite nanofibers. A great improvement on the capacitive properties could be achieved by choosing appropriate PPy shell layer thickness. The results showed that benefiting from strong synergy effect and π-π interaction between PANi core and PPy shell layer as well as low electrochemical impedance, PANi/PPy composite nanofibers prepared with the molar ratio of 1:1 (PPy shell layer thickness of about 12.5 nm) displayed the highest specific capacitance of 1550.2 F g
−1
at scan rate of 5 mV s
−1
and 758.8 F g
−1
at the current density of 1 A g
−1
with the best cycling stability of 70.3 % after 500 cycles in 0.5 M Na
2
SO
4
electrolyte, which exhibited a great potential in the development of high-performance electrode materials operated in environmentally friendly electrolyte.
Acetaminophen (APAP) intake leads to excessive NAPQI deposition, stimulating inflammatory and oxidative stress and causing fatal liver injury. However, the detailed molecular mechanism involved is ...unknown, and effective therapeutic approaches remain insufficient. In this study, we discovered that treatment with ginsenoside Rc can prevent the inflammatory response caused by APAP and oxidative stress in mouse primary hepatocytes (MPHs), along with the corresponding changes in related genes. Additionally, Ginsenoside Rc effectively alleviates APAP-induced cellular apoptosis and NAPQI accumulation in MPHs.
In vivo
, Ginsenoside Rc administration remarkably attenuates APAP-induced hepatotoxicity, repairing liver damage and improving survival. Moreover, Ginsenoside Rc treatment modulates genes involved in APAP metabolism, leading to a decrease in NAPQI and resulting in the alleviation of fatal oxidative stress and inflammatory response after APAP exposure, along with the expression of their related indicators. Furthermore, our RNA-seq and molecular docking analysis implies that FXR expression and FXR transcriptional activity are stimulated by Ginsenoside Rc treatment. Notably, due to the lack of FXR in mice and MPHs, ginsenoside Rc can no longer play its original protective role against hepatotoxicity and cell damage caused by APAP, and it is difficult to improve the corresponding survival rate and prevent hepatic apoptosis, NAPQI generation, fatal oxidative stress, and the inflammatory response induced by APAP and the expression of related genes. In summary, our results indicate that Ginsenoside Rc could act as an effective FXR activator and effectively regulate FXR-induced antioxidant stress and eliminate inflammation while also having an anti-apoptotic function.
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