64 research outputs found
Analysis of maxillary teeth and soft tissue profiles among Tibetan and Han Chinese females with facial symmetry for orthodontic treatment planning
The evaluation of maxillary teeth and soft tissue profiles is a critical component of orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between the sagittal position of maxillary anterior teeth and facial profile esthetics among Tibetan and Han Chinese adult females for optimizing orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. A total of 100 Tibetan Chinese and 100 Han Chinese adult females with good facial symmetry were recruited. The smiling facial profile images with the maxillary central incisors and forehead in full view were taken based totally on the same standard. The photo measurement and head position were adjusted using the picture-enhancing software. The reference traces associated with forehead inclinations were utilized to assess the anteroposterior (AP) positions of the maxillary central incisors. The results showed that a round forehead was the dominant forehead shape for Tibetan (93%) and Han (55%) Chinese females. In Tibetan females, 85% of the maxillary central incisors were found to be located between the forehead's anterior limit line (the Gall line) and the goal anterior limit line (the Fall line), with 15% located posterior to the Fall line. This distribution manifested a strong association with incisor position and forehead inclination (R2 = 0.742). In Han females, 83% of the maxillary central incisors were located between the Fall line and the Gall line, with 12% posterior to the Fall line and 5% anterior to the Gall line. The positions of the maxillary central incisors exhibited a strong relationship with forehead inclination (R2 = 0.827). The maxillary central incisors were close to the aesthetic line in both ethnic groups, while forehead inclinations were correlated with AP maxillary incisor position. These findings demonstrated that there was a close relationship between the incisor position of Tibetan and Han females with facial symmetry and the forehead FFA factor, indicating a reference in oral hard and soft tissues for optimizing orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning in terms of facial contour
Efficient Transduction of Feline Neural Progenitor Cells for Delivery of Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Using a Feline Immunodeficiency Virus-Based Lentiviral Construct
Work has shown that stem cell transplantation can rescue or replace neurons in models of retinal degenerative disease. Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) modified to overexpress neurotrophic factors are one means of providing sustained delivery of therapeutic gene products in vivo. To develop a nonrodent animal model of this therapeutic strategy, we previously derived NPCs from the fetal cat brain (cNPCs). Here we use bicistronic feline lentiviral vectors to transduce cNPCs with glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) together with a GFP reporter gene. Transduction efficacy is assessed, together with transgene expression level and stability during induction of cellular differentiation, together with the influence of GDNF transduction on growth and gene expression profile. We show that GDNF overexpressing cNPCs expand in vitro, coexpress GFP, and secrete high levels of GDNF protein—before and after differentiation—all qualities advantageous for use as a cell-based approach in feline models of neural degenerative disease
Validation of the Chinese version of the diabetes health profile to predict the impact of mobile health education on quality of life in type 2 diabetes patients
PurposeThe Diabetes Health Profile (DHP18), initially created in the United Kingdom, currently lacks a Chinese version. This study endeavors to authenticate the Chinese adaptation of the DHP18 and assess the influence of mobile health (mHealth) education intervention on the quality of life of individuals living with diabetes.Patients and methodsThe study included 470 Type 2 diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients (204 men, 266 women), spanning an age range of 19–79 years, with an average age of 54 ± 12.40 years. Data analysis employed Jamovie and Mplus software. Moreover, test–retest reliability was evaluated in 52 hospitalized T2DM patients through two repeated measurements taken 4 weeks apart.ResultsThe Chinese version DHP18 scale exhibited high reliability, evidenced by a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88, and coefficient of test–retest reliability of 0.84. Individual subscales also demonstrated strong reliability, ranging from 0.76 to 0.84, with test–retest reliability spanning from 0.71 to 0.74. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) employing a three-factor structure (χ2 = 294.69, GFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.05, SRMR = 0.06) validated the scale’s construct validity. Notably, there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in the quality of life between Type 2 diabetes patients using mHealth education intervention and those without mHealth education intervention. Mediation analysis revealed that Appraisal of Diabetes (ADS) and Self-Management Efficacy (SED) mediated the effects of Psychological Distress (PD) and Behavior Adherence (BA) on quality of life, both significant direct and indirect effects (p < 0.001). In addition, Dietary Abstinence (DE) displayed significant overall impact (β = −0.13, p < 0.001) and indirect influence (β = −0.10, p < 0.01) on diabetic patients’ quality of life, though lacking a significant direct effect (β = −0.03, p = 0.38).ConclusionThe Chinese version of the Diabetes Health Profile Scale meets stringent psychometric standards and stands as an appropriate measurement tool for Chinese T2DM patients, maintaining comparable results to the original scale’s structure. The mHealth education intervention yielded a notably positive impact on the quality of life among T2DM patients. Mediation analysis revealed that the three dimensions of the DHP were mediated by Appraisal of Diabetes and Diabetes Self-Management Efficacy, partially mediated by Psychological Distress and Behavior Adherence, and fully mediated by Dietary Abstinence, providing insight into the positive effects of the mHealth model on the quality of life of diabetic patients
Structural basis of ion – substrate coupling in the Na+-dependent dicarboxylate transporter VcINDY
The Na+-dependent dicarboxylate transporter from Vibrio cholerae (VcINDY) is a prototype for the divalent anion sodium symporter (DASS) family. While the utilization of an electrochemical Na+ gradient to power substrate transport is well established for VcINDY, the structural basis of this coupling between sodium and substrate binding is not currently understood. Here, using a combination of cryo-EM structure determination, succinate binding and site-directed cysteine alkylation assays, we demonstrate that the VcINDY protein couples sodium- and substrate-binding via a previously unseen cooperative mechanism by conformational selection. In the absence of sodium, substrate binding is abolished, with the succinate binding regions exhibiting increased flexibility, including HPinb, TM10b and the substrate clamshell motifs. Upon sodium binding, these regions become structurally ordered and create a proper binding site for the substrate. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that VcINDY’s conformational selection mechanism is a result of the sodium-dependent formation of the substrate binding site
Characterization of a novel N-acetylneuraminic acid lyase favoring industrial N-acetylneuraminic acid synthesis process
N-Acetylneuraminic acid lyase (NAL, E.C. number 4.1.3.3) is a Class I aldolase that catalyzes the reversible aldol cleavage of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) from pyruvate and N-acetyl-D-mannosamine (ManNAc). Due to the equilibrium favoring Neu5Ac cleavage, the enzyme catalyzes the rate-limiting step of two biocatalytic reactions producing Neu5Ac in industry. We report the biochemical characterization of a novel NAL from a “GRAS” (General recognized as safe) strain C. glutamicum ATCC 13032 (CgNal). Compared to all previously reported NALs, CgNal exhibited the lowest kcat/Km value for Neu5Ac and highest kcat/Km values for ManNAc and pyruvate, which makes CgNal favor Neu5Ac synthesis the most. The recombinant CgNal reached the highest expression level (480 mg/L culture), and the highest reported yield of Neu5Ac was achieved (194 g/L, 0.63 M). All these unique properties make CgNal a promising biocatalyst for industrial Neu5Ac biosynthesis. Additionally, although showing the best Neu5Ac synthesis activity among the NAL family, CgNal is more related to dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) by phylogenetic analysis. The activities of CgNal towards both NAL's and DHDPS' substrates are fairly high, which indicates CgNal a bi-functional enzyme. The sequence analysis suggests that CgNal might have adopted a unique set of residues for substrates recognition
Safety, Immunogenicity, and Mechanism of a Rotavirus mRNA-LNP Vaccine in Mice
Rotaviruses (RVs) are a major cause of diarrhea in young children worldwide. The currently available and licensed vaccines contain live attenuated RVs. Optimization of live attenuated RV vaccines or developing non-replicating RV (e.g., mRNA) vaccines is crucial for reducing the morbidity and mortality from RV infections. Herein, a nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNP) and encoding the VP7 protein from the G1 type of RV was developed. The 5\u27 untranslated region of an isolated human RV was utilized for the mRNA vaccine. After undergoing quality inspection, the VP7-mRNA vaccine was injected by subcutaneous or intramuscular routes into mice. Mice received three injections in 21 d intervals. IgG antibodies, neutralizing antibodies, cellular immunity, and gene expression from peripheral blood mononuclear cells were evaluated. Significant differences in levels of IgG antibodies were not observed in groups with adjuvant but were observed in groups without adjuvant. The vaccine without adjuvant induced the highest antibody titers after intramuscular injection. The vaccine elicited a potent antiviral immune response characterized by antiviral clusters of differentiation CD
ML241 Antagonizes ERK 1/2 Activation and Inhibits Rotavirus Proliferation
Rotavirus (RV) is the main pathogen that causes severe diarrhea in infants and children under 5 years of age. No specific antiviral therapies or licensed anti-rotavirus drugs are available. It is crucial to develop effective and low-toxicity anti-rotavirus small-molecule drugs that act on novel host targets. In this study, a new anti-rotavirus compound was selected by ELISA, and cell activity was detected from 453 small-molecule compounds. The anti-RV effects and underlying mechanisms of the screened compounds were explored. In vitro experimental results showed that the small-molecule compound ML241 has a good effect on inhibiting rotavirus proliferation and has low cytotoxicity during the virus adsorption, cell entry, and replication stages. In addition to its in vitro effects, ML241 also exerted anti-RV effects in a suckling mouse model. Transcriptome sequencing was performed after adding ML241 to cells infected with RV. The results showed that ML241 inhibited the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in the MAPK signaling pathway, thereby inhibiting IκBα, activating the NF-κB signaling pathway, and playing an anti-RV role. These results provide an experimental basis for specific anti-RV small-molecule compounds or compound combinations, which is beneficial for the development of anti-RV drugs
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