The incorporation of tendon graft into bone tunnel is one of the most challenging clinical issues in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. As a biodegradable metal, Mg has appropriate ...mechanical strength and osteoinductive effects, thus may be a promising alternative to commercialized products used for graft fixation. Therefore, it was hypothesized that Mg based interference screws would promote tendon graft-bone junction healing when compared to Ti screws. Herein, we compared the effects of Mg and Ti screws on tendon graft healing in rabbits with ACL reconstruction via histological, HR-pQCT and mechanical analysis. The histological results indicated that Mg screws significantly improved the graft healing quality via promoting mineralization at the tendon graft enthesis. Besides, Mg screws significantly promoted bone formation in the peri-screw region at the early healing stage. Importantly, Mg screws exhibited excellent corrosion resistance and the degradation of Mg screws did not induce bone tunnel widening. In tensile testing, there were no significant differences in the load to failure, stress, stiffness and absorption energy between Mg and Ti groups due to the failure mode at the midsubstance. Our findings demonstrate that Mg screws can promote tendon graft healing after ACL reconstruction, implying a potential alternative to Ti screws for clinical applications.
The Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey (BASS) is a wide-field two-band photometric survey of the northern Galactic Cap using the 90Prime imager on the 2.3 m Bok telescope at Kitt Peak. It is a four-year ...collaboration between the National Astronomical Observatory of China and Steward Observatory, the University of Arizona, serving as one of the three imaging surveys to provide photometric input catalogs for target selection of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project. BASS will take up to 240 dark/gray nights to cover an area of about 5400 deg2 in the g and r bands. The 5 limiting AB magnitudes for point sources in the two bands, corrected for the Galactic extinction, are 24.0 and 23.4 mag, respectively. BASS, together with other DESI imaging surveys, will provide unique science opportunities that cover a wide range of topics in both Galactic and extragalactic astronomy.
Inflammatory bowel disease is a relapsing chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory disease. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a rare but serious extraintestinal pulmonary manifestation of inflammatory ...bowel disease. However, the relationship between these two conditions is unclear. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate this relationship through a systematic review and meta-analysis, focusing on the risk of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The systematic review will be outlined according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Protocols and its extension statement for reporting systematic reviews incorporating network meta-analyses of healthcare interventions: checklist and explanations. Original articles published in any language will be searched in the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Ovid. Observational studies that reveal an association measure between idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and inflammatory bowel disease will be included (cross sectional, cohort, and case-control trials). Two independent reviewers will be assigned to evaluate study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for assessing the quality of non-randomized studies in meta-analyses. Sensitivity analyses will be conducted based on the quality of included studies. All relevant studies will be assessed based on the study type, sample size, inflammatory bowel disease subtype, odds ratio, confidence interval, treatment strategy, and follow-up. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach will be used to rate the quality of the evidence. The results of this meta-analysis may show that patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at higher risk of developing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This study will be the first meta-analysis to focus on the association between inflammatory bowel disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Exploring the relationship between the two conditions may further enhance our understanding of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and promote the development of related research fields.
Cis-diamminedichloro-platinum (CDDP)-based chemotherapy regimens are the most predominant treatment strategies for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Dysregulated long ...non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) contribute to CDDP resistance, which results in treatment failure in ESCC patients. However, the majority of lncRNAs involved in CDDP resistance in ESCC remain to be elucidated.
The public Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset GSE45670 was analysed to reveal potential lncRNAs involved in CDDP resistance of ESCC. Candidate upregulated lncRNAs were detected in ESCC specimens by qRT-PCR to identify crucial lncRNAs. Non-coding RNA activated by DNA damage (NORAD) was selected for further study. Kaplan-Meier analysis and a COX proportional regression model were performed to analyse the potential of NORAD for predicting prognosis of ESCC patients. The role of NORAD in CDDP resistance were determined by conducting gain and loss-of-function experiments in vitro. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to determine the subcellular location of NORAD in ESCC cells. A public GEO dataset and bioinformatic algorithms were used to predict the microRNAs (miRNAs) that might be latently sponged by NORAD. qRT-PCR was conducted to verify the expression of candidate miRNAs. Luciferase reporter and Argonaute-2 (Ago2)-RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays were conducted to evaluate the interaction between NORAD and candidate miRNAs. A miRNA rescue experiment was performed to authenticate the NORAD regulatory axis and its effects on CDDP resistance in ESCC cells. Western blotting was conducted to confirm the precise downstream signalling pathway of NORAD. A xenograft mouse model was established to reveal the effect of NORAD on CDDP resistance in vivo.
The expression of NORAD was higher in CDDP-resistant ESCC tissues and cells than in CDDP-sensitive tissues and cells. NORAD expression was negatively correlated with the postoperative prognosis of ESCC patients who underwent CDDP-based chemotherapy. NORAD knockdown partially arrested CDDP resistance of ESCC cells. FISH showed that NORAD was located in the cytoplasm in ESCC cells. Furthermore, overlapping results from bioinformatic algorithms analyses and qRT-PCR showed that NORAD could sponge miR-224-3p in ESCC cells. Ago2-RIP demonstrated that NORAD and miR-224-3p occupied the same Ago2 to form an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and subsequently regulated the expression of metadherin (MTDH) in ESCC cells. The NORAD/miR-224-3p/MTDH axis promoted CDDP resistance and progression in ESCC cells by promoting nuclear accumulation of β-catenin in vitro and in vivo.
NORAD upregulates MTDH to promote CDDP resistance and progression in ESCC by sponging miR-224-3p. Our results highlight the potential of NORAD as a therapeutic target in ESCC patients receiving CDDP-based chemotherapy.
Poor tendon–bone interface (TBI) integration is one of the major causes contributing to unsatisfactory healing quality in patients after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Type H ...vessels have been recently found to closely modulate bone formation via regulation of the osteo-angiogenic crosstalk, so the strategies favoring type H vessel formation may be promising therapeutic approaches for improved graft osteointegration. In this study, we reported for the first time the treatment outcome of slit guidance ligand 3 (slit3), a novel proangiogenic factor favoring type H vessel formation, in TBI healing in mice with ACL reconstruction. The mice (n = 87) were divided into three groups for various treatments: hydrogel microparticles (HMP, control group), slit3@HMP, and slit3 neutralizing antibody@HMP (slit3-AB@HMP). Histological analysis, gait performance, radiographic measurement, and biomechanical testing were performed to assess the TBI healing quality. Increased bony ingrowth and reduced fibrous scar tissue was formed at the TBI in the slit3@HMP group when compared to the HMP group. Meanwhile, the slit3-AB@HMP inhibited the osseous ingrowth and increased fibrous scar tissue formation relative to the HMP group. Compared to the HMP group, the slit3@HMP favored type H vessel formation at the TBI while the slit3-AB@HMP impeded it. According to micro-CT assessment, compared to the HMP group, the slit3@HMP significantly increased the peri-tunnel bone mass while the slit3-AB@HMP significantly reduced the peri-tunnel bone mass. The mice in the slit3@HMP group showed the best gait performance in terms of stance time, stride length, paw print area, and stance pressure. Dynamic laxity measurement and tensile testing showed the slit3@HMP group exhibited significantly reduced laxity displacement and improved failure load and stiffness relative to the other two groups. Collectively, the injection of slit3 could be used to enhance tendon–bone integration, which may be ascribed to modulation of angiogenesis–osteogenesis crosstalk coupled by type H vessels.
Highlights
The traditional and novel etching methods are summarized and compared, especially fluorine-free method. The methods for accelerating exfoliation of Ti
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are classified.
The energy ...storage mechanisms of Ti
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in different electrolytes are compared. Based on energy storage mechanisms, the influencing factors of morphology and surface functional groups are discussed.
In response to the problems of the Ti
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, strategies for improving capacitance from structure modulation to composite structure construction are summarized and compared.
Ti
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, a novel two-dimensional layer material, is widely used as electrode materials of supercapacitor due to its good metal conductivity, redox reaction active surface, and so on. However, there are many challenges to be addressed which impede Ti
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obtaining the ideal specific capacitance, such as restacking, re-crushing, and oxidation of titanium. Recently, many advances have been proposed to enhance capacitance performance of Ti
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. In this review, recent strategies for improving specific capacitance are summarized and compared, for example, film formation, surface modification, and composite method. Furthermore, in order to comprehend the mechanism of those efforts, this review analyzes the energy storage performance in different electrolytes and influencing factors. This review is expected to predict redouble research direction of Ti
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materials in supercapacitors.
Glutamate transporters maintain a large glutamate concentration gradient across synaptic membranes and are, thus, critical for functioning of the excitatory synapse. Mammalian glutamate transporters ...concentrate glutamate inside cells through energetic coupling of glutamate flux to the transmembrane concentration gradient of Na+. Structural models based on an archeal homologue, GltPh, suggest an elevator-like carrier mechanism. However, the energetic determinants of this carrier-based movement are not well understood. Although electrostatics play an important role in governing these energetics, their implication on transport dynamics has not been studied. Here, we combine a pre-steady-state kinetic analysis of the translocation equilibrium with electrostatic computations to gain insight into the energetics of the translocation process. Our results show the biphasic nature of translocation, consistent with the existence of an intermediate on the translocation pathway. In the absence of voltage, the equilibrium is shifted to the outward-facing configuration. Electrostatic computations confirm the intermediate state and show that the elevator-like movement is energetically feasible in the presence of bound Na+ ions, whereas a substrate-hopping model is energetically prohibitive. Our results highlight the critical contribution of charge compensation to transport and add to results from previous molecular dynamics simulations for improved understanding of the glutamate translocation process.
Abstract
Realizing viable electrocatalytic processes for energy conversion/storage strongly relies on an atomic-level understanding of dynamic configurations on catalyst-electrolyte interface. X-ray ...absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has become an indispensable tool to in situ investigate dynamic natures of electrocatalysts but still suffers from limited energy resolution, leading to significant electronic transitions poorly resolved. Herein, we highlight advanced X-ray spectroscopies beyond conventional XAS, with emphasis on their unprecedented capabilities of deciphering key configurations of electrocatalysts. The profound complementarities of X-ray spectroscopies from various aspects are established in a probing energy-dependent “in situ spectroscopy map” for comprehensively understanding the solid-liquid interface. This perspective establishes an indispensable in situ research model for future studies and offers exciting research prospects for scientists and spectroscopists.
Evidence from human cohorts indicates that chronic insomnia is associated with higher risk of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD), yet whether gut microbiota plays a role is unclear. Here, in a ...longitudinal cohort (n = 1809), we find that the gut microbiota-bile acid axis may link the positive association between chronic insomnia and CMD. Ruminococcaceae UCG-002 and Ruminococcaceae UCG-003 are the main genera mediating the positive association between chronic insomnia and CMD. These results are also observed in an independent cross-sectional cohort (n = 6122). The inverse associations between those gut microbial biomarkers and CMD are mediated by certain bile acids (isolithocholic acid, muro cholic acid and nor cholic acid). Habitual tea consumption is prospectively associated with the identified gut microbiota and bile acids in an opposite direction compared with chronic insomnia. Our work suggests that microbiota-bile acid axis may be a potential intervention target for reducing the impact of chronic insomnia on cardiometabolic health.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) refers to the presence of structural or functional abnormalities in the kidneys that affect health, lasting for more than 3 months. CKD is not only the direct cause of ...global incidence rate and mortality, but also an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Persistent microinflammatory state has been recognized as an important component of CKD, which can lead to renal fibrosis and loss of renal function, and plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology and progression of the disease. Simultaneously, compound α-Ketoacid can bind nitrogen-containing metabolites in the blood and accelerate their excretion from the body, thereby reducing the level of metabolic waste, alleviating gastrointestinal reactions in patients, and reducing the inflammatory response and oxidative stress state of the body. Compound α-Ketoacid contains amino acids required by CKD patients. In this review, we explore the relationship between compound α-Ketoacid and microinflammation in patients with CKD. The review indicated that compound α-Ketoacid can improve the microinflammatory state in CKD patients by improving the nutritional status of CKD patients, improving patient's acid-base balance disorder, regulating oxidative stress, improving gut microbiota, and regulating abnormal lipid metabolism.
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