Effect of vitamin K2 on bone mineral density and serum cathepsin K in female osteoporosis patients

Purpose: To investigate the influence of vitamin K2 on bone mineral density, bone metabolism and serum tissue protease K (cathepsin K) in female patients with osteoporosis.Method: A total of 210 osteoporosis patients in Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine who met the inclusion criteria were selected from January 2017 to January 2018. The patients were randomly divided into vitamin K2 group, strontium renate group and blank control group (70 patients/group). Strontium ranelate group was orally given 2 g of strontium ranelate daily, while vitamin K2 group received 15 mg of Gulikang capsule 3 times a day. Bone mineral density (BMD) and serum osteocalcin (BGP), β-collagen degradation product (β-crosslaps), type I procollagen amino terminal propeptide (PINP), cathepsin K (cathe K) and TRAP were measured prior to drug treatment, and six months after surgery, using standard procedures.Results: Relative to the blank control, hip and lumbar spine density of vitamin K2 and strontium ranelate groups increased to varying degrees. Strontium ranelate group had significantly higher bone mineral density (BMD) than any other groups (p < 0.05), and also had the lowest osteoclast activity (β-crosslaps and TRAP) and the highest osteogenic activity (BGP and PINP). On the other hand, osteoclast and osteogenic activities increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the vitamin K2 group.Conclusion: Appropriate vitamin K2 treatment improves BMD in the hip and waist of women with osteoporosis by promoting osteogenic activity, and by reducing osteoclast activity and cathepsin K expression.Keywords: Osteoporosis, Bone mineral density, Strontium ranelate, Vitamin K

Elucidating Charge Separation Dynamics in a Hybrid Metal–Organic Framework Photocatalyst for Light-Driven H\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Evolution

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as novel scaffolds for artificial photosynthesis due to their unique capability in incorporating homogeneous photosensitizer and catalyst to their robust heterogeneous matrix. In this work, we report the charge separation dynamics between molecular Ru-photosensitizer and Pt-catalyst, both of which were successfully incorporated into a Zr-MOF that demonstrates excellent activity and stability for light-driven H2 generation from water. Using optical transient absorption (OTA) spectroscopy, we show that charge separation in this hybrid MOF occurs via electron transfer (ET) from Ru-photosensitizer to Pt-catalyst. Using Pt L3-edge X-ray transient absorption (XTA) spectroscopy, we observed the intermediate reduced Pt site, directly confirming the formation of charge separated state due to ET from Ru-photosensitizer and unraveling their key roles in photocatalysis

Positive outcomes with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the management of colovesical fistula in cancer: a case report and literature review

Colovesical fistula (CVF) is usually developed from colonic diverticulitis, followed by tumor. Traditional surgery is usually completed in one or more stages. For complex cancerous CVF, radical resection is more difficult. We report a 62-year-old male patient diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer combined with sigmoid vesical fistula. In the course of treatment, in addition to conventional surgery, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was innovatively used. The sigmoid tumor and fistula were significantly shrunken. Radical surgery achieved negative margins

Multiobjective optimization algorithm for accurate MADYMO reconstruction of vehicle-pedestrian accidents

In vehicle–pedestrian accidents, the preimpact conditions of pedestrians and vehicles are frequently uncertain. The incident data for a crash, such as vehicle deformation, injury of the victim, distance of initial position and rest position of accident participants, are useful for verification in MAthematical DYnamic MOdels (MADYMO) simulations. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of an improved optimization algorithm combined with MADYMO multibody simulations and crash data to conduct accurate reconstructions of vehicle–pedestrian accidents. The objective function of the optimization problem was defined as the Euclidean distance between the known vehicle, human and ground contact points, and multiobjective optimization algorithms were employed to obtain the local minima of the objective function. Three common multiobjective optimization algorithms—nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II), neighbourhood cultivation genetic algorithm (NCGA), and multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO)—were compared. The effect of the number of objective functions, the choice of different objective functions and the optimal number of iterations were also considered. The final reconstructed results were compared with the process of a real accident. Based on the results of the reconstruction of a real-world accident, the present study indicated that NSGA-II had better convergence and generated more noninferior solutions and better final solutions than NCGA and MOPSO. In addition, when all vehicle-pedestrian-ground contacts were considered, the results showed a better match in terms of kinematic response. NSGA-II converged within 100 generations. This study indicated that multibody simulations coupled with optimization algorithms can be used to accurately reconstruct vehicle-pedestrian collisions

The role of basic health insurance on depression: an epidemiological cohort study of a randomized community sample in Northwest China

BACKGROUND: Little research has focused on the relationship between health insurance and mental health in the community. The objective of this study is to determine how the basic health insurance system influences depression in Northwest China. METHODS: Participants were selected from 32 communities in two northwestern Chinese cities through a three-stage random sampling. Three waves of interviews were completed in April 2006, December 2006, and January 2008. The baseline survey was completed by 4,079 participants. Subsequently, 2,220 participants completed the first follow-up, and 1,888 completed the second follow-up. Depression symptoms were measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). RESULTS: A total of 40.0% of participants had at least one form of health insurance. The percentages of participants with severe depressive symptoms in the three waves were 21.7%, 22.0%, and 17.6%. Depressive symptoms were found to be more severe among participants without health insurance in the follow-up surveys. After adjusting for confounders, participants without health insurance were found to experience a higher risk of developing severe depressive symptoms than participants with health insurance (7 months: OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.09-1.82; p = 0.01; 20 months: OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.37-2.61; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A lack of basic health insurance can dramatically increase the risk of depression based on northwestern Chinese community samples

A flexible piezoelectric power generator based on self-assembled, highly oriented BaTiO3 micro platelet thin layer

Conference Name:2013 Joint IEEE International Symposium on Applications of Ferroelectric and Workshop on Piezoresponse Force Microscopy, ISAF/PFM 2013. Conference Address: Prague 4, Czech republic. Time:July 21, 2013 - July 25, 2013.Perovskite ferroelectric materials present evidently anisotropic characteristics on piezoelectricity. Here we successfully controlled the morphology and orientations of BaTiO3 particles and obtained the highly oriented film by a facile interfacial self-assembled method. A high output flexible piezoelectric generator based on highly oriented BaTiO3 film was reported. The oriented BaTiO3 film based piezoelectric generator were used to harvest the energy of human body movement and the generator fixed on finger provided the highest open circuit output voltage of 0.53 V and short-circuit current of 70nA, respectively. ? 2013 IEEE

The effect of robot-assisted gait training for patients with spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundWith the aging of the global population, Spinal injuries are often prone to occur and affect human health. The development of technology has put robots on the stage to assist in the treatment of spinal injuries.MethodsA comprehensive literature search were carried out in multiple databases, including PubMed, Medline (Ovid), Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase, Scopus, CKNI, Wang fang, VIP database, Sino Med, Clinical Trails until 20th, June, 2023 to collect effect of robot-assisted gait training for patients with spinal cord injury patients. Primary outcome includes any changes of gait distance and gait speed. Secondary outcomes include any changes in functions (Such as TUG, Leg strength, 10 MWT) and any advent events. Data were extracted from two independent individuals and Cochrane Risk of Bias tool version 2.0 was assessed for the included studies. Systematic review and meta-analysis were performed by RevMan 5.3 software.Results11 studies were included in meta-analysis. The result showed that gait distance [WMD = 16.05, 95% CI (−15.73, 47.83), I2 = 69%], gait speed (RAGT vs. regular treatment) [WMD = 0.01, 95% CI (−0.04, 0.05), I2 = 43%], gait speed (RAGT vs. no intervention) [WMD = 0.07, 95% CI (0.01, 0.12), I2 = 0%], leg strength [WMD = 0.59, 95% CI (−1.22, 2.40), I2 = 29%], TUG [WMD = 9.25, 95% CI (2.76, 15.73), I2 = 74%], 10 MWT [WMD = 0.01, 95% CI (−0.15, 0.16), I2 = 0%], and 6 MWT [WMD = 1.79, 95% CI (−21.32, 24.90), I2 = 0%].ConclusionRobot-assisted gait training seems to be helpful for patients with spinal cord to improve TUG. It may not affect gait distance, gait speed, leg strength, 10 MWT, and 6 MWT

Nanostructured Al-ZnO/CdSe/Cu2O ETA solar cells on Al-ZnO film/quartz glass templates

The quartz/Al-ZnO film/nanostructured Al-ZnO/CdSe/Cu2O extremely thin absorber solar cell has been successfully realized. The Al-doped ZnO one-dimensional nanostructures on quartz templates covered by a sputtering Al-doped ZnO film was used as the n-type electrode. A 19- to 35-nm-thin layer of CdSe absorber was deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, coating the ZnO nanostructures. The voids between the Al-ZnO/CdSe nanostructures were filled with p-type Cu2O, and therefore, the entire assembly formed a p-i-n junction. The cell shows the energy conversion efficiency as high as 3.16%, which is an interesting option for developing new solar cell devices

Novel Myh11 Dual Reporter Mouse Model Provides Definitive Labeling and Identification of Smooth Muscle Cells—Brief Report

Objective: Myh11 encodes a myosin heavy chain protein that is specifically expressed in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and is important for maintaining vascular wall stability. The goal of this study is to generate a Myh11 dual reporter mouse line for definitive visualization of MYH11+ SMCs in vivo. Approach and Results: We generated a Myh11 knock-in mouse model by inserting LoxP-nlacZ-4XpolyA-LoxP-H2B-GFP-polyA-FRT-Neo-FRT reporter cassette into the Myh11 gene locus. The nuclear (n) lacZ-4XpolyA cassette is flanked by 2 LoxP sites followed by H2B-GFP (histone 2B fused green fluorescent protein). Upon Cre-mediated recombination, nlacZ-stop cassette is removed thereby permitting nucleus localized H2B-GFP expression. Expression of the nuclear localized lacZ or H2B-GFP is under control of the endogenous Myh11 promoter. Nuclear lacZ was expressed specifically in SMCs at embryonic and adult stages. Following germline Cre-mediated deletion of nuclear lacZ, H2B-GFP was specifically expressed in the nuclei of SMCs. Comparison of nuclear lacZ expression with Wnt1Cre and Mef2cCre mediated-H2B-GFP expression revealed heterogenous origins of SMCs from neural crest and second heart field in the great arteries and coronary vessels adjacent to aortic root. Conclusions: The Myh11 knock-in dual reporter mouse model offers an exceptional genetic tool to visualize and trace the origins of SMCs in mice