Efficacy of autologous bone marrow buffy coat grafting combined with core decompression in patients with avascular necrosis of femoral head: a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, controlled study

Introduction Avascular necrosis of femoral head (ANFH) is a progressive disease that often leads to hip joint dysfunction and even disability in young patients. Although the standard treatment, which is core decompression, has the advantage of minimal invasion, the efficacy is variable. Recent studies have shown that implantation of bone marrow containing osteogenic precursors into necrotic lesion of ANFH may be promising for the treatment of ANFH. Methods A prospective, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the effect of bone-marrow buffy coat (BBC) grafting combined with core decompression for the treatment of ANFH. Forty-five patients (53 hips) with Ficat stage I to III ANFH were recruited. The hips were allocated to the control group (core decompression + autologous bone graft) or treatment group (core decompression + autologous bone graft with BBC). Both patients and assessors were blinded to the treatment options. The clinical symptoms and disease progression were assessed as the primary and secondary outcomes. Results At the final follow-up (24 months), there was a significant relief in pain (P \u3c0.05) and clinical joint symptoms as measured by the Lequesne index (P \u3c0.05) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (P \u3c0.05) in the treatment group. In addition, 33.3% of the hips in the control group have deteriorated to the next stage after 24 months post-procedure, whereas only 8% in the treatment group had further deterioration (P \u3c0.05). More importantly, the non-progression rates for stage I/II hips were 100% in the treatment group and 66.7% in the control group. Conclusion Implantation of the autologous BBC grafting combined with core decompression is effective to prevent further progression for the early stages of ANFH. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01613612. Registered 13 December 2011

Manipulating Multiple Order Parameters via Oxygen Vacancies: The case of Eu0.5Ba0.5TiO3-{\delta}

Controlling functionalities, such as magnetism or ferroelectricity, by means of oxygen vacancies (VO) is a key issue for the future development of transition metal oxides. Progress in this field is currently addressed through VO variations and their impact on mainly one order parameter. Here we reveal a new mechanism for tuning both magnetism and ferroelectricity simultaneously by using VO. Combined experimental and density-functional theory studies of Eu0.5Ba0.5TiO3-{\delta}, we demonstrate that oxygen vacancies create Ti3+ 3d1 defect states, mediating the ferromagnetic coupling between the localized Eu 4f7 spins, and increase an off-center displacement of Ti ions, enhancing the ferroelectric Curie temperature. The dual function of Ti sites also promises a magnetoelectric coupling in the Eu0.5Ba0.5TiO3-{\delta}.Comment: Accepted by Physical Review B, 201

Vertical Interface Induced Dielectric Relaxation in Nanocomposite (BaTiO3)1-x:(Sm2O3)x Thin Films

Vertical interfaces in vertically aligned nanocomposite thin films have been approved to be an effective method to manipulate functionalities. However, several challenges with regard to the understanding on the physical process underlying the manipulation still remain. In this work, because of the ordered interfaces and large interfacial area, heteroepitaxial (BaTiO(3))(1-x):(Sm(2)O(3))(x) thin films have been fabricated and used as a model system to investigate the relationship between vertical interfaces and dielectric properties. Due to a relatively large strain generated at the interfaces, vertical interfaces between BaTiO(3) and Sm(2)O(3) are revealed to become the sinks to attract oxygen vacancies. The movement of oxygen vacancies is confined at the interfaces and hampered by the misfit dislocations, which contributed to a relaxation behavior in (BaTiO(3))(1-x):(Sm(2)O(3))(x) thin films. This work represents an approach to further understand that how interfaces influence on dielectric properties in oxide thin films

Oxygen-vacancy-mediated dielectric property in perovskite Eu0.5Ba0.5TiO3-δ epitaxial thin films

Dielectric relaxation in ABO3 perovskite oxides can result from many different charge carrier-related phenomena. Despite a strong understanding of dielectric relaxations, a detailed investigation of the relationship between the content of oxygen vacancies (VO) and dielectric relaxation has not been performed in perovskite oxide films. In this work, we report a systematic investigation of the influence of the VO concentration on the dielectric relaxation of Eu0.5Ba0.5TiO3-δ epitaxial thin films. Nuclear resonance backscattering spectrometry was used to directly measure the oxygen concentration in Eu0.5Ba0.5TiO3-δ films. We found that dipolar defects created by VO interact with the off-centered Ti ions, which results in the dielectric relaxation in Eu0.5Ba0.5TiO3-δ films. Activation energy gradually increases with the increasing content of VO. The present work significantly extends our understanding of relaxation properties in oxide films

N-Doped Sub-3 nm Co Nanoparticles as Highly Efficient and Durable Aerobic Oxidative Coupling Catalysts

A nano-coating associated with sulfuric acid leaching protocol was developed to prepare N-doped sub-3 nm Co-based nanoparticle catalyst (Co-N/C) using melamine-formaldehyde resin as the N-containing precursor, active carbon as the support, and Co(NO3)(2) as the Co-containing precursor. By thermal treatment under nitrogen atmosphere at 800 degrees C and leached with sulfuric acid solution, a stable and highly dispersive Co-N coordination structure was uniformly dispersed on the formed Co-N/C catalyst with a Co loading of 0.47 wt% and Co nanoparticle size of 2.55 nm. The Co-N/C catalyst was characterized with XRD, XPS, Raman, SEM, TEM, ICP, and elemental analysis. The Co-N/C catalyst showed extremely high catalytic efficiency with a TON of 257 for the aerobic oxidative coupling of aldehydes with methanol to directly synthesize methyl esters with molecular oxygen as the final oxidant. The Co-N/C catalyst also showed broad substrate range and stable recyclability. After recycling for 7 times, no obvious deactivation was detected. It was confirmed that the sub-3 nm Co-N coordination structure formed between metallic Co nanoparticles and pyridinic nitrogen doping into graphitic layers functions as the active site to activate molecular oxygen for the b-H elimination from generated hemiacetal intermediates to produce methyl esters. The nano-coating associated with acid leaching protocol provides a novel strategy to prepare highly efficient non-precious metal-based catalysts.</p

New reduced-temperature ceramic fuel cells with dual-ion conducting electrolyte and triple-conducting double perovskite cathode

As a new electrolyte category, dual-ion electrolytes show the advantages of both oxygen ion conducting electrolytes and proton-conducting electrolytes to provide favorably low ohmic resistance at 450-650 °C without external gas humidification, while the insufficient activity of conventional cathodes has become the main concern for practical applications. Here, we report a triple-conducting double perovskite oxide SrScNbCoFeO (SSNCF) as a novel cathode for dual-ion solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). We further report a method based on an oxygen ion blocking technique in combination with a hydrogen permeability test for determining the proton conductivity in SSNCF. The results indicate the triple-conducting (HOe) capability of the perovskite with a Grotthuss mechanism for the proton diffusion. A cell with a thin-film BZCYYb electrolyte and an SSNCF cathode delivered peak power densities (PPDs) of 840 and 732 mW cm, respectively, at 650 and 600 °C, superior to most other similar cells with different cathodes. Compared with BaSrCoFeO (BSCF), the non-conflicting oxygen ion and proton diffusion channels in the SSNCF cathode significantly improved the performance of dual-ion SOFCs, where oxygen ions and protons diffuse through oxygen vacancies (vehicle mechanism) and lattice oxygen (Grotthuss mechanism), respectively. This finding highlights the potential to attain further performance enhancements for reduced-temperature SOFCs through the adoption of dual-ion electrolyte and triple-conducting cathode

ALDH2 rs671 and MTHFR rs1801133 polymorphisms are risk factors for arteriosclerosis in multiple arteries

Abstract Background Arteriosclerosis in multiple arteries has long been associated with heightened cardiovascular risk. Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) play an important role in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis by participating in the oxidation and reduction reactions in vascular endothelial cells. The purpose was to investigate the relationship of ALDH2 and MTHFR gene polymorphisms with arteriosclerosis in multiple arteries. Methods 410 patients with arteriosclerosis in single artery and 472 patients with arteriosclerosis in multiple arteries were included. The relationship between ALDH2 rs671 and MTHFR rs1801133 polymorphisms and arteriosclerosis in single artery and arteriosclerosis in multiple arteries was analyzed. Results The proportion of ALDH2 rs671 A allele (35.6% vs. 30.9%, P = 0.038) and MTHFR rs1801133 T allele (32.6% vs. 27.1%, P = 0.012) in patients with arteriosclerosis in multiple arteries was significantly higher than that in arteriosclerosis in single artery, respectively. The proportion of history of alcohol consumption in patients with ALDH2 rs671 G/G genotype was higher than those in ALDH2 rs671 G/A genotype and A/A genotype (P < 0.001). The results of logistic regression analysis indicated that ALDH2 rs671 A/A genotype (A/A vs. G/G: OR 1.996, 95% CI: 1.258–3.166, P = 0.003) and MTHFR rs1801133 T/T genotype (T/T vs. C/C: OR 1.943, 95% CI: 1.179–3.203, P = 0.009) may be independent risk factors for arteriosclerosis in multiple arteries (adjusted for age, sex, smoking, drinking, hypertension, and diabetes). Conclusions ALDH2 rs671 A/A and MTHFR rs1801133 T/T genotypes may be independent risk factors for arteriosclerosis in multiple arteries

Identification and Genome-Wide Gene Expression Perturbation of a Trisomy in Chinese Kale (<i>Brassica oleracea</i> var. <i>alboglabra</i>)

Trisomy harbouring an extra copy of the chromosome generally causes a variety of physical and intellectual disabilities in mammals but is an extremely rare and important genetic stock in plants. In this study, a spontaneous trisomy plant in a Chinese kale accession (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra, CC, 2n = 18) that showed significantly smaller plant architecture when compared to other normal plants was found and subsequently confirmed by cytological analysis in which the chromosome set of 2n = 19 and abnormal chromosome behaviour were observed. Then, based on the gene expression deviation determined by RNA-seq, the extra chromosome copy in this trisomy was identified as chromosome C2 (TC2). Compared to normal plants, TC2 not only showed generally upregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) on chromosome C2 (97.21% of 573 DEGs in chromosome C2) but also exhibited a whole-genome expression perturbation, in which 1329 DEGs (69.87% of total DEGs) were observed along two-copy chromosomes (trans-effect). The genes in the high (gene expression value > 100) and medium (100 > gene expression value > 10) groups were more prone to decreased gene expression, but the genes in the low group (10 > gene expression value > 0.1) showed upregulated expression deviation. In addition, GO (Gene ontology) annotation analysis revealed that the upregulated DEGs in the trans-effect group were overrepresented by the genes involved in the response to stress category, while the downregulated DEGs in the trans-effect group were mostly enriched in pathways related to DNA synthesis. In conclusion, we think our results can provide important resources for genetic analysis in B. oleracea and show some novel insights for understanding trisomy plant biology