Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. The incidence of CRC in the Chinese population has increased dramatically during the last two decades; however, nonrandom ...chromosomal alterations in Chinese patients have not been described. In the present study, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was applied to detect recurrent chromosome alterations in 26 primary colorectal carcinomas and 21 colorectal adenomas from Chinese patients. In CRC, several recurrent chromosomal changes were found, including gains of 8q (14/26 cases, 54%), 20q (54%), 3q (50%), 13q (50%), 5p (46%), 7p (42%), 7q (42%), and 12p (38%) and losses of 18q (65%) and 17p (42%). From comparison with previous CGH studies, the frequent gains of 3q and 12p might be distinctive occurrences in Chinese patients. The distribution of frequently found chromosomal alterations in different locations was studied. The gain of 20q was more frequently found in colon cancer (
P<0.01) and the gain of 12p was more frequently found in rectal cancer. Chromosomal alterations were found in 19/21 of adenomas; the most frequent chromosomal alteration was the loss of 18q (9/21 cases, 43%). These recurrent alterations provide several starting points for the isolation of candidate oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.
Despite advances in wound closure techniques and devices, there is still a critical need for new methods of enhancing the healing process to achieve optimal outcomes. Recently, stem cell therapy has ...emerged as a new approach to accelerate wound healing. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) hold great promise for wound healing, because they are multipotential stem cells capable of differentiation into various cell lineages and secretion of angiogenic growth factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of ASCs on wound healing and then investigate the probable mechanisms. ASCs characterized by flow cytometry were successfully isolated and cultured. An excisional wound healing model in rat was used to determine the effects of locally administered ASCs. The gross and histological results showed that ASCs significantly accelerated wound closure in normal and diabetic rat, including increased epithelialization and granulation tissue deposition. Furthermore, we applied GFP-labeled ASCs on wounds to determine whether ASCs could differentiate along multiple lineages of tissue regeneration in the specific microenvironment. Immunofluorescent analysis indicated that GFP-expressing ASCs were costained with pan-cytokeratin and CD31, respectively, indicating spontaneous site-specific differentiation into epithelial and endothelial lineages. These data suggest that ASCs not only contribute to cutaneous regeneration, but also participate in new vessels formation. Moreover, ASCs were found to secret angiogenic cytokines in vitro and in vivo, including VEGF, HGF, and FGF2, which increase neovascularization and enhance wound healing in injured tissues. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that ASC therapy could accelerate wound healing through differentiation and vasculogenesis and might represent a novel therapeutic approach in cutaneous wounds.
Mg/Fe bimetallic oxide-modified biochar (Fe/Mg-BC) derived from Eupatorium adenophorum was prepared by the co-pyrolysis of magnesium nitrate and ferric chloride for Pb(II) and Cd(II) removal from ...wastewater. The physicochemical properties of the Fe/Mg-BC were analyzed by several characterization methods such as XRD, XPS, SEM and FTIR. Pb(II) and Cd(II) adsorption amounts of Fe/Mg-BC in monometallic systems is larger than those in bimetallic systems owing to competitive adsorption. The adsorption mechanism analysis indicated that ion exchange and mineral precipitation were responsible for Pb(II) and Cd(II) adsorption. The overlap of electron clouds and orbits between MgO and Pb(II) is denser than that of Cd(II), indicating that Fe/Mg-BC has a stronger affinity for Pb(II) than for Cd(II) based on density functional theory calculations. The reusability result indicates that Fe/Mg-BC shows excellent Pb(II) and Cd(II) adsorption performance. Fe/Mg-BC presented remarkable adsorption capability, excellent recoverability, and high throughput, indicating its potential application in the treatment of wastewater containing heavy metals.
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•Bio-gas contains large amounts of combustible gas with the maximum content of 72.27%.•Bio-oil produced from poplar waste pyrolysis has 47.15% of aldehyde.•Biochar can adsorb and ...reduce Ag+ to form value-added Ag-Biochar.•Ag-Biochar could be used in energy storage with the specific capacity of 345 mAh/g.
Poplar waste is used as feedstock to prepare valuable pyrolysis products by pyrolysis under different temperature. The bio-oil is rich in aldehyde with the maximum relative content of 47.15%, which has potential application in chemical industries. Pyrolysis temperature has significantly influenced the composition and heating value of bio-gas. The maximum heating value of bio-gas is 14.56 MJ/Nm3. Biochar is used as an adsorbent to adsorb Ag+ from aqueous solution with the adsorption capacity of 76.09 mg/g. Biochar forms the value-added Ag-Biochar composite by reduction after adsorption Ag+. While, Ag-Biochar composite can be used as catalyst for methyl orange removal with the maximum removal of 94.08%. Ag-Biochar composite is also used as lithium ion battery cathode material for energy storage with the specific capacity of 345 mAh/g. Besides, preliminary economic analysis is used to evaluate the economics of pyrolysis process with the total annual revenue of $115, 725/year.
Summary Wounds, characterized by leading to a loss of integrity of the skin and a major cause of morbidity and mortality, are common challenges encountered in plastic and reconstructive surgery. The ...primary goals of treatment are rapid closure, restoration of function, and aesthetical satisfaction. Adult stem cells may provide new strategies to treat cutaneous wounds because of their prolonged self-renewal capacity and ability to differentiate into various tissues. In the past five years, some researches discovered bone marrow mesenchymal cells (BMSCs) could accelerate wound healing. However, there exist several disadvantages of BMSCs mainly including the limitation of the obtainable amount and the impairment of their differentiation abilities with the increasing age. Due to the limitation of BMSCs in clinical application, we turn to consider adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) as seeding cells in tissue repair for their own advantages. ASCs could not only possess capacity to differentiate into various lineages under appropriate conditions, but also release angiogenic factors that stimulate angiogenesis in ischemia injury models. Here we propose the hypothesis that ASCs locally delivered via acellular dermal matrix as a scaffold would enhance wound healing through both differentiation into endothelial and epithelial cells and production of angiogenic growth factors in cutaneous wounds. Furthermore, ASCs seeded acellular scaffold can be believed to offer more benefits for introducing stem cells to the local ischemia environment as it provides a framework for the support of their regenerative capacity. Therefore, if the hypothesis is proved to be practical, it might represent a novel therapeutic approach and enhance cutaneous wound healing more effectively.
Soft-tissue wounds of the foot and especially the heel are challenging problems for reconstructive surgeons. An important principle that guides heel reconstruction is to provide sensate skin with a ...similar thickness to resurface the weight-bearing heel and avoid late flap ulceration. Among various techniques to achieve this result, the sensate medial plantar perforator flap is an excellent option, which provides durability to friction, a cushioning effect, and sensation. An anatomic study was performed to clarify the anatomy of the cutaneous perforators of the medial plantar artery and to determine the optimal method of medial plantar artery perforator flap harvest. Fifteen cases of heel reconstruction with the sensate medial plantar perforator flap are presented. The outcome of surgery at a mean follow-up of 12 months is reported. The indications for surgery, operative procedures, advantages and disadvantages, and results are presented. Satisfactory results were obtained with a good color and texture match for heel repair and a good sensory recovery. No functional deficit was found at the donor site.
Regeneration of segmental bone defects has been a clinical challenge. Recent advances in the field of tissue engineering have developed new procedures enabling bone regeneration. Small animal models ...capable of supporting weight-bearing femoral defects are integral parts of orthopedic biomedical research. However, a drawback of bone healing research is the lack of stable and adaptable fixation devices for small animals. Therefore, we developed and evaluated an adjustable external fixation device in the maintenance of non-healable (ie critical-sized) segmental defects, and in the fixation of tissue-engineered bone grafts in a rat model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 24) underwent a femoral osteotomy to create a non-healing segmental defect (6 mm size), which was stabilized with the fixator. A treatment group (12 rats) received tissue-engineered bone graft implants consisting of biphasic calcium phosphate blocks seeded with bone mesenchymal stem cells, while other 12 animals received no bone graft (non-treatment group). The osteotomy gap remained unchanged in the non-treatment group over the 12-week period, indicating that the 6-mm bone defect is really non-healable in the rat femur and that the device has sufficient stability for the management of critical-sized femoral defects. At 12 weeks, the treatment group maintained the bone length throughout the study period and showed bridging of the defect, with remarkable new bone formation. In contrast, the non-treatment group showed marginal new bone formation, but no apparent healing. In conclusion, the novel device provides substantial benefits in the maintenance of critical-sized femoral defects and tissue-engineered bone grafts in a rat model.