Prostaglandin E2 promotes intestinal repair through an adaptive cellular response of the epithelium

Adaptive cellular responses are often required during wound repair. Following disruption of the intestinal epithelium, wound‐associated epithelial (WAE) cells form the initial barrier over the wound. Our goal was to determine the critical factor that promotes WAE cell differentiation. Using an adaptation of our in vitro primary epithelial cell culture system, we found that prostaglandin E2 (PGE (2)) signaling through one of its receptors, Ptger4, was sufficient to drive a differentiation state morphologically and transcriptionally similar to in vivo WAE cells. WAE cell differentiation was a permanent state and dominant over enterocyte differentiation in plasticity experiments. WAE cell differentiation was triggered by nuclear β‐catenin signaling independent of canonical Wnt signaling. Creation of WAE cells via the PGE (2)‐Ptger4 pathway was required in vivo, as mice with loss of Ptger4 in the intestinal epithelium did not produce WAE cells and exhibited impaired wound repair. Our results demonstrate a mechanism by which WAE cells are formed by PGE (2) and suggest a process of adaptive cellular reprogramming of the intestinal epithelium that occurs to ensure proper repair to injury

EFFECTS OF SHOES MASS ON RUNNING GAIT ANALYSIS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the running gait analysis between different mass of shoes. Eleven male college runners from the physical education department participated in this study. The mass of experimental shoes of this study were 175 g, 255 g, 335 g and 41 5 g. When the weight of shoes increased, the maximum vertical ground reaction force increased. and the footstrike patterns changed to mid-foot strike (MFS). The center of pressure shifted forward, and the runner changed to MFS. The strike index of the strike patterns change to MFS pattern that is self-protection mechanism. Heavy shoes increase ground reaction force, thus might increasing lower extremity injuries risk

THE EFFECTS OF COMPRESSION GARMENTS ON SPORTS PERFORMANCE AND FATIQUE

This study is to explore the effects of compression garments on sports performance and fatigue. Testees performed 20-meter sprints in normal shorts and compression garments. Following the sprints, the testees performed vertical jumps before and after the fatigue test. Fatigue test is based on the Opto Jump 60-s CMJ test. Fatigue indices were then calculated. Biomechanics data were collected through two AMTl force plates and an eightcamera motion analysis system. Our research findings indicate that the average sprint times for normal shorts and compression garments are not statistically different, that the fatigue indices for compression garments are significantly lower than those for normal shorts, and, finally, that the jump performance pre- and post- fatigue test for compression garments did not differ statistically. This implies that compression garments can ease fatigue and, consequently, lead to better performance

The detection of extragalactic 15^{15}N: Consequences for nitrogen nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution

Detections of extragalactic $^{15}$N are reported from observations of the rare hydrogen cyanide isotope HC$^{15}$N toward the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the core of the (post-) starburst galaxy NGC 4945. Accounting for optical depth effects, the LMC data from the massive star-forming region N113 infer a $^{14}N/^{15}$N ratio of 111 $\pm$ 17, about twice the $^{12}C/^{13}$C value. For the LMC star-forming region N159HW and for the central region of NGC 4945, $^{14}N/^{15}$N ratios are also $\approx$ 100. The $^{14}N/^{15}$N ratios are smaller than all interstellar nitrogen isotope ratios measured in the disk and center of the Milky Way, strongly supporting the idea that $^{15}$N is predominantly of `primary' nature, with massive stars being its dominant source. Although this appears to be in contradiction with standard stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis calculations, it supports recent findings of abundant $^{15}$N production due to rotationally induced mixing of protons into the helium-burning shells of massive stars.Comment: 15 pages including one postscript figure, accepted for publication by ApJ Letter, further comments: please contact Yi-nan Chi

Herbal Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus:Chemistry, Biology, and Potential Application ofSelected Plants and Compounds

Diabetes mellitus has been recognized since antiquity. It currently affects as many as 285 million people worldwide and results in heavy personal and national economic burdens. Considerable progress has been made in orthodox antidiabetic drugs. However, new remedies are still in great demand because of the limited efficacy and undesirable side effects of current orthodox drugs. Nature is an extraordinary source of antidiabetic medicines. To date, more than 1200 flowering plants have been claimed to have antidiabetic properties. Among them, one-third have been scientifically studied and documented in around 460 publications. In this review, we select and discuss blood glucose-lowering medicinal herbs that have the ability to modulate one or more of the pathways that regulate insulin resistance, -cell function, GLP-1 homeostasis, and glucose (re)absorption. Emphasis is placed on phytochemistry, anti-diabetic bioactivities, and likely mechanism(s). Recent progress in the understanding of the biological actions, mechanisms, and therapeutic potential of compounds and extracts of plant origin in type 2 diabetes is summarized. This review provides a source of up-to-date information for further basic and clinical research into herbal therapy for type 2 diabetes. Emerging views on therapeutic strategies for type 2 diabetes are also discussed

Long-term culture captures injury-repair cycles of colonic stem cells

The colonic epithelium can undergo multiple rounds of damage and repair, often in response to excessive inflammation. The responsive stem cell that mediates this process is unclear, in part because of a lack of in vitro models that recapitulate key epithelial changes that occur in vivo during damage and repair. Here, we identify a Hop

Does preoperative dipyridamole-thallium scanning reduce 90-day cardiac complications and 1-year mortality in patients with femoral neck fractures undergoing hemiarthroplasty?

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of dipyridamole-thallium scanning (DTS) on the rates of 90-day cardiac complications and 1-year mortality in patients with a femoral neck fracture treated with hemiarthroplasty. METHODS: Between 2008 and 2015, 844 consecutive patients who underwent cemented or cementless hemiarthroplasty were identified from the database of a single level-one medical center. One-hundred and thirteen patients (13%) underwent DTS prior to surgery, and 731 patients (87%) did not. Patient characteristics, comorbidities, surgical variables, and length of the delay until surgery were recorded. A propensity score-matched cohort was utilized to reduce recruitment bias in a 1:3 ratio of DTS group to control group, and multivariate logistic regression was performed to control confounding variables. RESULTS: The incidence of 90-day cardiac complications was 19.5% in the DTS group and 15.6% in the control group (p = 0.343) among 452 patients after propensity score-matching. The 1-year mortality rate (10.6% vs 13.3%, p = 0.462) was similar in the two groups. In the propensity score-matched patients, utilization of DTS was not associated with a reduction in the rate of 90-day cardiac complications (matched cohort, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.75-2.33, p = 0.332) or the 1-year mortality rate (aOR = 0.62; 95% CI 0.27-1.42, p = 0.259). Risk factors for cardiac complications included an American Society of Anesthesiologists grade ≥ 3 (OR 3.19, 95% CI 1.44-7.08, p = 0.004) and pre-existing cardiac comorbidities (OR 5.56, 95% CI 3.35-9.25, p \u3c 0.001). Risk factors for 1-year mortality were a long time to surgery (aOR 1.15, 95% CI 1.06-1.25, p = 0.001), a greater age (aOR 1.05, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.10, p = 0.040), a low body mass index (BMI; aOR 0.89, 95% CI 0.81-0.98, p = 0.015), and the presence of renal disease (aOR 4.43, 95% CI 1.71-11.46, p = 0.002). DISCUSSION: Preoperative DTS was not associated with reductions in the rates of 90-day cardiac complications or 1-year mortality in patients with a femoral neck fracture undergoing hemiarthroplasty. The necessity for DTS should be re-evaluated in elderly patients with femoral neck fractures, given that this increases the length of the delay until surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic level III

Anti-AIDS agents 88. Anti-HIV conjugates of betulin and betulinic acid with AZT prepared via click chemistry

In the present study, a new strategy to link AZT with betulin/betulinic acid (BA) by click chemistry was designed and achieved. This conjugation via a triazole linkage offers a new direction for modification of anti-HIV triterpenes. Click chemistry provides an easy and productive way for linking two molecules, even when one of them is a large natural product. Among the newly synthesized conjugates, compounds 15 and 16 showed potent anti-HIV activity with EC50 values of 0.067 and 0.10 µM, respectively, which are comparable to that of AZT (EC50: 0.10 µM) in the same assay