Photometric and Spectroscopic Studies of V582 Lyr and V1016 Oph

We present new CCD photometric light curves about two eclipsing binaries of V582 Lyr and V1016 Oph. Our observations were carried out by the SARA 91.4 cm telescope of America in 2016 and the 60 cm telescope of Chile in 2018. V582 Lyr’s spectra type was classified as K5, and its radial velocity was determined using the LAMOST spectral survey. There are absorptions in the observed Hα line and excess emissions in the subtracted Hα line, which show weak chromospheric activity. We obtained the updated ephemeris information for V582 Lr and V1016 Oph, and found that their orbital periods are both decreasing.We concluded that the decreased rate is −0.474 (±0.011)Å~10−7 days yr−1 for V582 Lyr and 3.460 (±0.014)Å~10−7 days yr−1 for V1016 Oph. For V582 Lyr, the period variation was interpreted as a mass transfer from the secondary component to the primary one, and the corresponding rate is dM2/dt=−1.10 (±0.03)Å~10−7 Me yr−1. For V1016 Oph, we explain it by transferring from the primary component to the secondary one, and the corresponding rate is dM1/dt=−2.69 (±0.04)Å~10−7 Me yr−1. The photometric solution of V1016 Oph was obtained by analyzing the CCD photometry with the Wilson–Devinney program. We also obtained the orbital parameters of V1016 Oph by simultaneously analyzing our BVRI light curves and radial-velocity curve from the LAMOST low-resolution spectral survey. Finally, our orbital solution shows that they are contact eclipsing binaries with contact factors of 3.35 (±0.08)% for V582 Lyr and 41.0 (±0.1)% for V1016 Oph

Early malperfusion, ischemia reperfusion injury, and respiratory failure in acute complicated type B aortic dissection after thoracic endovascular repair

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the early mortality and major complications of acute complicated type B aortic dissection (ACBD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). METHODS: Twenty-six consecutive patients with ACBD who underwent TEVAR were included. Clinical indications before TEVAR and in-hospital mortality and major complications after TEVAR were analyzed and compared with similar reports. RESULTS: TEVAR was technically successful in all cases. In-hospital mortality occurred in four patients (15%), and major complications occurred in an additional four patients (15%). Three of the four (75%) of the deaths were associated with malperfusion and ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI), and 3/4 (75%) of the major complications were caused by respiratory failure (RF). CONCLUSIONS: In-hospital mortality associated strongly with severe end-organ malperfusion and IRI, while major complications associated with RF, during TEVAR. Our results indicate that malperfusion, IRI and respiratory failure during TEVAR should be carefully monitored and aggressively treated

Mulberry Extracts Alleviate A β

Mulberry, which contained high amounts of anthocyanins, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Mulberry fruit extracts (ME) have demonstrated the antioxidant activity and neuroprotection. The study was to investigate the neuroprotective efficacy of ME against β-amyloid 25–35- (Aβ25–35-) induced PC12 cells injury. Cells preincubated with or without ME (200 μg/mL) for 24 h were treated with Aβ25–35 (20 μmol/L) for another 24 h. Cell viability was assessed by MTT, gene expression profiles were examined by cDNA microarrays, and RT-PCR were used to confirm the results of microarray assays. ME pretreatment was found to neutralize the cytotoxicity and prevent Aβ25–35-induced cells injury. Analyses of gene expression profile revealed that genes involving cell adhesion, peptidase activity, cytokine activity, ion binding activity, and angiogenesis regulation were significantly modulated by ME pretreatment. Among those genes, Apaf1, Bace2, and Plcb4 were enriched in the “Alzheimer’s disease-reference pathway” and downregulated after ME intervention. RT-PCR results showed that ME preincubation could significantly inhibit Aβ25–35 increased mRNA levels of these three genes. Overall, ME pretreatment could substantially alleviate PC12 cells injury and downregulate expression of AD-related genes, such as Apaf1, Bace2, and Plcb4. This study has a great nutrigenomics interest and brings new and important light in the field of AD intervention

Autologous Skin Fibroblast-Based PLGA Nanoparticles for Treating Multiorgan Fibrosis

Fibrotic diseases remain a substantial health burden with few therapeutic approaches. A hallmark of fibrosis is the aberrant activation and accumulation of myofibroblasts, which is caused by excessive profibrotic cytokines. Conventional anticytokine therapies fail to undergo clinical trials, as simply blocking a single or several antifibrotic cytokines cannot abrogate the profibrotic microenvironment. Here, biomimetic nanoparticles based on autologous skin fibroblasts are customized as decoys to neutralize multiple fibroblast-targeted cytokines. By fusing the skin fibroblast membrane onto poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid cores, these nanoparticles, termed fibroblast membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles (FNPs), are shown to effectively scavenge various profibrotic cytokines, including transforming growth factor-beta, interleukin (IL)-11, IL-13, and IL-17, thereby modulating the profibrotic microenvironment. FNPs are sequentially prepared into multiple formulations for different administration routines. As a proof-of-concept, in three independent animal models with various organ fibrosis (lung fibrosis, liver fibrosis, and heart fibrosis), FNPs effectively reduce the accumulation of myofibroblasts, and the formation of fibrotic tissue, concomitantly restoring organ function and indicating that FNPs are a potential broad-spectrum therapy for fibrosis management.Peer reviewe

Pre-clinical efficacy evaluation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells for ischemic stroke

ObjectiveThis study explored the underlying therapeutic mechanism of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) for ischemic stroke (IS), and determined the optimal administration time windows and dose-effect relationship.MethodsThe levels of SDF-1α, IL-10, IL-6, TNF-α, BDNF, IL-1β, and VEGF-A factors in serum and brain tissue lysate were measured by ELISA. The pathological status of brain tissues was evaluated by Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining, and apoptosis of nerve cells was detected by tunel. The protein expression of CXCR-4, NeuN, and Nestin in the brain tissues was assessed through immunofluorescence. The balance beam, forelimb muscle strength, and limb placement were tested on MCAO rats at different time points and doses. The infarct area of the rat brain tissues was measured at the end of the experiment.ResultsThe hUCMSC treatment during the acute phase of MCAO significantly reduced the secretion of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β but increased IL-10 in serum, and the levels of SDF-α and BDNF in serum and brain tissues lysate were also increased. The pathological results showed that there were more neurons in the treatment group compared to the model group. Immunofluorescence assays showed that the expression of CXCR4、Nestin、NeuN was relatively higher than that in the model group. The d4 and d7 treatment significantly improves the motor function, promotes the recovery of forelimb muscle strength, increases the forelimb placement rate and reduces the scope of cerebral infarction, but the d14 treatment group has less therapeutic effect compared to the d4 and d7 treatment. The 2×107/kg treatment showed the best therapeutic effect, followed by the 1×107/kg treatment, and the worst is 0.5×107/kg treatment from the test of balance beam, forelimb muscle strength, limb placement and the infarct area of the rat brain tissues.ConclusionThe hUCMSCs can inhibit the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the brain tissue, and promote the repair of brain tissue structure and function. Early intervention by injecting high-dose of hUCMSCs can significantly improve the recovery of neurological/motor function and reduce the size of cerebral infarction in rats

Effects of egg and vitamin A supplementation on hemoglobin, retinol status and physical growth levels of primary and middle school students in

Lack of protein and vitamin A influences the growth of student in impoverished mountain areas. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of egg and vitamin A supplementation on hemoglobin, serum retinol and anthropometric indices of 10-18 years old students of a low socioeconomic status. A total number of 288 students from four boarding schools were randomly selected by using cluster sampling method in Chongqing, and they were assigned into supplement group and control group non-randomly. Students in supplement group received a single 200,000 international units vitamin A and 1 egg/day (including weekends) for 6 months. The control group did not receive any supplementation. We measured hemoglobin, serum retinol and height and weight at baseline and after supplementation. The supplementation increased the mean hemoglobin concentration by 7.13 g/L compared with 1.38 g/L in control group (p<0.001), the mean serum retinol concentration by 0.31 μmol/L compared with 0.09 μmol/L in the control group (p=0.005), the mean height-for-age z score by 0.05 compared with 0.03 in the control group (p=0.319), the mean weight-for-age z score by 0.05 compared with -0.12 in the control group (p<0.001). Our results revealed that egg and vitamin A supplementation is an effective, convenient, and practical method to improve the levels of hemoglobin, serum retinol and prevent the deterioration of growth in terms of weight for primary and middle school students from outlying poverty-stricken areas. Our intervention did not have a beneficial effect on linear growth

Radium isotopes distribution and submarine groundwater discharge in the Bohai Sea

In order to characterize the radium distribution and submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the Bohai Sea area, the three isotopes 223Ra, 224Ra and 228Ra in different water bodies were measured in a 4-year period with the radium-delayed coincidence counting (RaDeCC) system. The results indicated that radium activities take an order of groundwater > coastal seawater > river water > central seawater. The radium activities of groundwater were controlled by the lithology, human activities and salinity. Groundwater in aquifers with higher content of Th and U like igneous and metamorphic has higher radium activities, high salinity and oil exploitation which leads to groundwater contamination can also cause the higher radium activities. The radium isotopes of offshore waters were controlled by their respective onshore groundwater and SGD flux rates. The relative level of radium Ra isotope activity of coastal groundwater and nearshore seawater is determined by the interaction between groundwater and seawater. It is concluded that smaller radium mass transport from bottom sediments and the majority radium were supplied from landward groundwater from horizontal and vertical distribution of Ra isotope. The seasonal investigation showed that the seawater radium activities of 223Ra, 224Ra and 228Ra in autumn were higher than that in spring. Based on the seasonal variation of radium activities and the mass balance of radium, SGD of the Bohai Sea during rainy season were calculated to be 1.43 × 108 m3/d (3.73 × 10−3 m3/m2/d) in northern region and 2.84 × 107 (1.76 × 10−3 m3/m2/d) in western region by 228Ra

Formability improvement of hot embossing for functional micro-array structures with a novel exhaust punch

Surface microstructures can endow materials with excellent functions such as enhanced heat transfer. However, with the continuous improvement of function enhancement, it is urgent to develop the manufacturing technology of more complex multiscale functional microstructures. Herein, an exhaust hot embossing based on a novel multi-block assembled punch is developed to fabricate micro-array structures, and the microformability of conventional process and exhaust process is compared. The combined processing technology of slow-feeding wire cut electrical discharge machining and micro electrical discharge machining is adopted to manufacturing the assembled exhaust punch with numerous micro-holes and complex multiscale features. The processing quality of the assembled punch is better than the integrated punch, and the surface roughness of each position of the assembled punch is Ra ＜ 0.2 μm. During hot embossing experiments, it is found that the exhaust process could significantly improve the filling performance. At 300 °C, the exhaust process realizes complete filling of the microstructures under the maximum load of 25 kN, whereas the conventional process requires 50 kN. Meanwhile, it is also found that the exhaust process can significantly improve warping and surface coarsening defects compared to the conventional process. The pool boiling test was carried out on the fabricated micro-array structures, and it was found that its heat transfer performance is significantly enhanced compared with other tested surfaces, which will be applied in enhanced heat transfer