Smoking affects gene expression in blood of patients with ischemic stroke.

ObjectiveThough cigarette smoking (CS) is a well-known risk factor for ischemic stroke (IS), there is no data on how CS affects the blood transcriptome in IS patients.MethodsWe recruited IS-current smokers (IS-SM), IS-never smokers (IS-NSM), control-smokers (C-SM), and control-never smokers (C-NSM). mRNA expression was assessed on HTA-2.0 microarrays and unique as well as commonly expressed genes identified for IS-SM versus IS-NSM and C-SM versus C-NSM.ResultsOne hundred and fifty-eight genes were differentially expressed in IS-SM versus IS-NSM; 100 genes were differentially expressed in C-SM versus C-NSM; and 10 genes were common to both IS-SM and C-SM (P < 0.01; |fold change| ≥ 1.2). Functional pathway analysis showed the 158 IS-SM-regulated genes were associated with T-cell receptor, cytokine-cytokine receptor, chemokine, adipocytokine, tight junction, Jak-STAT, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, and adherens junction signaling. IS-SM showed more altered genes and functional networks than C-SM.InterpretationWe propose some of the 10 genes that are elevated in both IS-SM and C-SM (GRP15, LRRN3, CLDND1, ICOS, GCNT4, VPS13A, DAP3, SNORA54, HIST1H1D, and SCARNA6) might contribute to increased risk of stroke in current smokers, and some genes expressed by blood leukocytes and platelets after stroke in smokers might contribute to worse stroke outcomes that occur in smokers

Correction Self-Healing and Injectable Hydrogel for Matching Skin Flap Regeneration

Several images in Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure S7, Supporting Information, accidentally presented duplicate samples in the original article. The correct figures are presented below. The authors apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.Peer reviewe

Self-healing and injectable hydrogel for matching skin flap regeneration

The fabrication of highly biocompatible hydrogels with multiple unique healing abilities for the whole healing process, for example, multifunctional hydrogels with injectable, degradation, antibacterial, antihypoxic, and wound healing–promoting properties that match the dynamic healing process of skin flap regeneration, is currently a research challenge. Here, a multifunctional and dynamic coordinative polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel with mangiferin liposomes (MF‐Lip@PEG) is developed for clinical applications through Ag–S coordination of four‐arm‐PEG‐SH and Ag+. Compared to MF‐PEG, MF‐Lip@PEG exhibits self‐healing properties, lower swelling percentages, and a longer endurance period. Moreover, the hydrogel exhibits excellent drug dispersibility and release characteristics for slow and persistent drug delivery. In vitro studies show that the hydrogel is biocompatible and nontoxic to cells, and exerts an outstanding neovascularization‐promoting effect. The MF‐Lip@PEG also exhibits a strong cytoprotective effect against hypoxia‐induced apoptosis through regulation of the Bax/Bcl‐2/caspase‐3 pathway. In a random skin flap animal model, the MF‐Lip@PEG is injectable and convenient to deliver into the skin flap, providing excellent anti‐inflammation, anti‐infection, and proneovascularization effects and significantly reducing the skin flap necrosis rate. In general, the MF‐Lip@PEG possesses outstanding multifunctionality for the dynamic healing process of skin flap regeneration.Peer reviewe

Reliabiliteettitutkimus : havainnoijien välinen yhteneväisyys observoinnissa

Tavoitteet. Kehittävä palaute varhaiskasvatuksessa on 12 kunnan varhaiskasvatuksen kehittämishanke, jossa aineistoa kerätään lasten observoinnin sekä kasvattajien ja esimiehen itsearvioinnin kautta. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tarkastella hankkeen observointien yhteneväisyyttä eli samasta tilanteesta tehtyjen merkintöjen samankaltaisuutta. Havainnoijien välinen yhteneväisyys on yleinen tapa arvioida havaintoon pohjautuvan aineistonkeruumenetelmän reliabiliteettia ja validiteettia. Menetelmät. Tämän tutkimuksen aineistona käytettiin hankkeen kautta kerättyä pariobservointidataa. Aineisto koostui 9 parin observoinneista, joita oli yhteensä 411 kappaletta. Aineisto koodattiin yhteneväisyysanalyysia varten kvantitatiiviseksi aineistoksi, ja sen analysointiin käytettiin kvantitatiivisia menetelmiä. Yhteneväisyys selvitettiin laskemalla jokaiselle observointimittarille ja observoijaparille Cohenin kappa -kerroin. Cohenin kappa laskee havainnoinnin yhteneväisyyden asteen ja ottaa sattuman vaikutuksen huomioon yhtälössä. Observointimerkintöjen jakautumista mittareiden kategorioihin tutkittiin ristiintaulukoinnin kautta. Ristiintaulukoinnin avulla oli mahdollista tarkastella, miten yhteneväisesti ja tasapainoisesti observoijat käyttävät mittareiden kategorioita. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Landisin ja Kochin (1977) määrittelyn perusteella yhteneväisyys oli yhdellä mittarilla lähes täydellinen, kahdella huomattava, kolmella keskinkertainen ja kolmella kohtalainen. Merkintöjen eriäväisyys oli joillakin mittareilla suurta, ja mittareiden sekä parien yhteneväisyydessä oli selviä eroja. Tulosten ja lähdekirjallisuuden perusteella observointimenetelmän luotettavuutta tulisi pyrkiä jatkossa kehittämään. Kehittämisessä tulisi painottaa koulutuksen lisäämistä, observoinnin sisältöjen arviointia sekä mittareiden kalibroimista. Cohenin kappan käyttö tässä tutkimuksessa ei ollut ongelmatonta, ja tulevissa tutkimuksissa tulisi painottaa usean eri menetelmän käyttöä tasapainoisen tuloksen takaamiseksi. Tutkimuksen loppuosassa on esitetty erilaisia tapoja laajentaa hankkeen observointimenetelmän yhteneväisyyden tutkimusta, ja pohdittu yleistettävyysteorian sekä argumenttipohjaisen validiteettimallin mahdollisuuksia havainnointipohjaisten arviointimenetelmien reliabiliteetin ja validiteetin tutkimuksessa.Objectives. Progressive Feedback in Early Childhood Education is a project for development of early childhood education in 12 Finnish municipalities. The data in the project is collected through child observation and staff and manager self-evaluation. The objective of this study was to assess the inter-rater agreement of the project’s observation method. Inter-rater agreement is a common way of assessing the reliability and validity of a method that is based on observational data collection. Methods. This study used paired observation data that was collected through the project. The data consisted of observations conducted by 9 different pairs of observers, generating 411 paired observations in total. The data was coded as quantitative data and quantitative methods were used for the reliability analysis. Cohen’s kappa was used to calculate the level of agreement for the rating system scales and for all the paired observers using the rating system. Cohen’s kappa calculates the level of agreement among raters and accounts for agreement based on chance. Cross-tabulation was used to examine the distribution of agreement and disagreement of the observational data on the rating scales. Results. Based on labels assigned by Landis and Koch (1977) the level of agreement for one rating scale was almost perfect, for two rating scales substantial, for three rating scales moderate and for three rating scales fair. The disagreement was notable on certain scales and there were clear differences between scales and raters. Based on the results and sources the reliability of the observational method should be improved in the future. The improvement should focus on increasing the training of the observers, evaluating the objectives of the observation and calibrating the observation rating scales. Using Cohen’s kappa was not problem-free, so in future research multiple methods should be used to ensure balanced results. Further studies include ways to follow up on the reliability of the project’s observation method and the possibilities of generalizability theory and argument based validity as part of the research on reliability and validity of observation based quality assessment methods

A Biomimetic 3D-Self-Forming Approach for Microvascular Scaffolds

The development of science and technology often drew lessons from natural phenomena. Herein, inspired by drying-driven curling of apple peels, hydrogel-based micro-scaled hollow tubules (MHTs) are proposed for biomimicking microvessels, which promote microcirculation and improve the survival of random skin flaps. MHTs with various pipeline structures are fabricated using hydrogel in corresponding shapes, such as Y-branches, anastomosis rings, and triangle loops. Adjustable diameters can be achieved by altering the concentration and cross-linking time of the hydrogel. Based on this rationale, biomimetic microvessels with diameters of 50-500 mu m are cultivated in vitro by coculture of MHTs and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In vivo studies show their excellent performance to promote microcirculation and improve the survival of random skin flaps. In conclusion, the present work proposes and validifies a biomimetic 3D self-forming method for the fabrication of biomimetic vessels and microvascular scaffolds with high biocompatibility and stability based on hydrogel materials, such as gelatin and hyaluronic acid.Peer reviewe

Self‐Healing and Injectable Hydrogel for Matching Skin Flap Regeneration

The fabrication of highly biocompatible hydrogels with multiple unique healing abilities for the whole healing process, for example, multifunctional hydrogels with injectable, degradation, antibacterial, antihypoxic, and wound healing–promoting properties that match the dynamic healing process of skin flap regeneration, is currently a research challenge. Here, a multifunctional and dynamic coordinative polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel with mangiferin liposomes (MF-Lip@PEG) is developed for clinical applications through Ag–S coordination of four-arm-PEG-SH and Ag+. Compared to MF-PEG, MF-Lip@PEG exhibits self-healing properties, lower swelling percentages, and a longer endurance period. Moreover, the hydrogel exhibits excellent drug dispersibility and release characteristics for slow and persistent drug delivery. In vitro studies show that the hydrogel is biocompatible and nontoxic to cells, and exerts an outstanding neovascularization-promoting effect. The MF-Lip@PEG also exhibits a strong cytoprotective effect against hypoxia-induced apoptosis through regulation of the Bax/Bcl-2/caspase-3 pathway. In a random skin flap animal model, the MF-Lip@PEG is injectable and convenient to deliver into the skin flap, providing excellent anti-inflammation, anti-infection, and proneovascularization effects and significantly reducing the skin flap necrosis rate. In general, the MF-Lip@PEG possesses outstanding multifunctionality for the dynamic healing process of skin flap regeneration.</p

A Biomimetic 3D-Self-Forming Approach for Microvascular Scaffolds

The development of science and technology often drew lessons from natural phenomena. Herein, inspired by drying-driven curling of apple peels, hydrogel-based micro-scaled hollow tubules (MHTs) are proposed for biomimicking microvessels, which promote microcirculation and improve the survival of random skin flaps. MHTs with various pipeline structures are fabricated using hydrogel in corresponding shapes, such as Y-branches, anastomosis rings, and triangle loops. Adjustable diameters can be achieved by altering the concentration and cross-linking time of the hydrogel. Based on this rationale, biomimetic microvessels with diameters of 50-500 mu m are cultivated in vitro by coculture of MHTs and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In vivo studies show their excellent performance to promote microcirculation and improve the survival of random skin flaps. In conclusion, the present work proposes and validifies a biomimetic 3D self-forming method for the fabrication of biomimetic vessels and microvascular scaffolds with high biocompatibility and stability based on hydrogel materials, such as gelatin and hyaluronic acid

Controlled synthesis of carbon nanotubes: from mechanisms to applications

Carbon nanotubes exhibit exceptional properties in many different aspects. However, harnessing those properties in real applications is challenging mainly due to the structural heterogeneity, high impurity contents, and architectural defects that originate in the synthesis. In this dissertation, I aim to understand the nucleation and growth mechanisms of both the catalyst and carbon nanotubes in chemical vapor deposition processes and establish a relationship between the structure and properties of the synthesized carbon nanotubes. I will also discuss applications enabled by some of the nanotubes that I synthesized. First, I will discuss the structure control of vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays to show that the nanotube diameter, density, and growth pattern are correlated with the migration and aggregation behavior of the catalyst across the substrate. Then, I will present experimental studies revealing new insights into the nucleation of the catalyst particles in the gas phase. Based on the new fundamental understanding of the nucleation and growth of both metal catalysts and carbon nanotubes, we have developed a new method to produce semi-aligned high-quality nanotube films, with a tunable number of walls, continuously at an ambient atmosphere with a record high production rate of 1400 m h-1. With this technique, we have reduced the catalyst impurity content and increased the production rate of the carbon nanotubes while simultaneously maintaining a high Raman G/D ratio of >70. The carbon-catalyst interaction during carbon nanotube growth is also studied by planting and etching the carbon nanotubes on a metal melt. We found that the carbon was readily removed by H2 from the growing front of the carbon nanotubes. Finally, we exploited the applications of these synthesized carbon nanotubes in achieving high power thin-film thermoacoustics, high power battery, and dynamic mechanical interface