Therapeutic effects of combined meloxicam and glucosamine sulfate treatment on patients with osteoarthritis, and its effect on serum CTX-Ⅰ, CTX-Ⅱ, COMP and MMP-3

Purpose: To study the therapeutic influence of meloxicam-glucosamine sulfate combination in patients with osteoarthritis and their effect on serum CTX-I, CTX-II, COMP and MMP-3. Methods: A total of 88 patients with osteoarthritis were assigned to control (n = 44) and treatment groups (n = 44), using the random number table method. Control group was given 7.5 mg of meloxicam, while treatment group received 0.5 g of glucosamine sulfate capsule in addition to meloxicam. Both groups were treated continuously for 8 weeks. Serum levels of C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I), C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen (CTX-II), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) were compared for the two groups after treatment. Results: Lysholm score significantly increased in the two groups after treatment. Serum CTX-I, CTX-II, COMP and MMP-3 in the two groups were significantly lower than before treatment, but the reductions were more pronounced in the treatment group (p < 0.05). During treatment, mild vomiting and pruritus of the skin appeared in both groups, but these were relieved after symptomatic treatment without any serious adverse reactions. Conclusion: Treatment with a combination of meloxicam and glucosamine sulfate produces significant beneficial effects in patients with osteoarthritis by reduction of clinical symptoms, pain relief and reduction of serum CTX-I, CTX-II, MMP-3 and COMP

Plasma Mutagenesis of Haematococcus lacustris and Optimization of Culture Conditions for High-yield Astaxanthin Algae Strains

To further enhance the industrial utilization value of Haematococcus lacustris, the plasma mutagenesis of Haematococcus lacustris was carried out by an atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) mutagenesis equipment. The optimum input power and mutagenesis time for plasma mutagenesis were determined with lethal rate of algal cells as the index. After mutagenesis, high-yield astaxanthin mutant algae strains were obtained through primary screening of solid plate culture and secondary screening of liquid culture. Then, the culture conditions of high yield algal plants at vegetative growth stage were optimized by single-factor and orthogonal experiment with algae cell density as the index, and the suitable high light conditions for astaxanthin accumulation during astaxanthin induction stage were selected. The genetic stability of the high yielding mutant algae strains was observed after multiple subcultures under the optimized culture conditions. The results showed that the optimum conditions for plasma mutagenesis of Haematococcus lacustris were 240 W for 150 s or 400 W for 120 s. 11 Mutant alga strains with fast growth and high astaxanthin yield were obtained through primary screening and rescreening, wherein the strain HP3 grew fastest and had the highest astaxanthin yield. After culture, its cell density and astaxanthin yield were increased by 25.5% and 61.6% respectively compared with the original strain. After two-stage optimization, the cell density and astaxanthin yield of HP3 increased by 14.3% and 19.3% respectively, reaching 7.2×105 cell/mL and 31.264 mg/L. HP3 showed good growth and stable heredity. Its cell density and astaxanthin yield were similar to those of primary culture. The results have practical significance for the breeding of industrial algal strains producing astaxanthin from Haematococcus lacustris

BASP1 is a prognostic biomarker associated with immunotherapeutic response in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

BackgroundsImmunotherapy is effective in a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the unfavorable response rate and inadequate biomarkers for stratifying patients have primarily limited its clinical application. Considering transcriptional factors (TFs) play essential roles in regulating immune activity during HNSCC progression, we comprehensively analyzed the expression alterations of TFs and their prognostic values.MethodsGene expression datasets and clinical information of HNSCC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository. Then, Brain abundant membrane attached signal protein 1 (BASP1) was screened out of differentially expressed TFs by univariate and multivariate survival analysis. Tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) was applied to analyze the response to immunotherapy of BASP1high/low patients. Meanwhile, GO, KEGG and GSEA analyses were used to enrich the pathways between the BASP1high and BASP1low groups. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), CIBERSORT, EPIC and quanTiseq algorithms were applied to explore immune infiltrations. Also, immune cycle analysis was conducted by ssGSEA. Additionally, lipid peroxidation, glutathione and reactive oxygen species were performed to detect the ferroptosis alternations.ResultsBASP1 was upregulated and associated with poor survival in HNSCC patients. BASP1high patients exhibited better response rates to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and higher expressions of immune checkpoint inhibitors. GO, KEGG and GSEA analyses indicated that the expression of BASP1 was related to several immune-related pathways and immunogenic ferroptosis signature. The infiltration of activated CD8+ T cells was authenticated to be decreased in BASP1high patients. Furthermore, BASP1 was identified to be positively correlated with T cell dysfunction and immune escape. Moreover, silencing BASP1 triggered ferroptosis in HNSCC cells, representing as increased LDH, lipid peroxidation and ROS levels, and reduced glutathione synthesisConclusionsWe demonstrated that BASP1 suppressed immunogenic ferroptosis to induce immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. BASP1 plays a critical role in immune response, and might be a promising classifier for selecting HNSCC patients who benefit from current immunotherapy

China's Service-Outsourcing Industry

In light of increasing economic globalization, service outsourcing provides good opportunities for developing countries. At present, this industry in China is relatively backward but is developing fast. In order to speed up the development of outsourcing industries, China's central and local governments have released policies on this issue that encompass infrastructure construction, manpower training, certification, tax incentives, and financial subsidies.

miR-637 Inhibits Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Intervertebral Disc Cartilage Endplate Stem Cells by Targeting WNT5A

Background: Degenerative disk disease (DDD) remains the leading incentive of severe lumbago. DDD is mainly caused by degeneration of cartilage endplate (CEP). Cartilage endplate stem cells (CESCs) are essential in chondrogenesis and osteogenesis of CEP. This study investigated the mechanism of miR-637 inhibiting osteogenic differentiation of human CESC by regulating WNT5A. Methods: The degenerative CEP (N = 10) and non-degenerative CEP (N = 6) were obtained from patients undergoing disk fusion surgery. CESCs were examined for surface stem cell markers, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, osteogenic differentiation, osteogenic genes (Runx2, COL1), and chondrogenic gene (COL2). The miR-637 expression in CESCs was detected. The targeting relationship of miR-637 and WNT5A was confirmed. After miR-637 overexpression/WNT5A down-regulation, the action of miR-637/WNT5A on osteogenic differentiation of CESCs was evaluated. After simultaneous overexpression of miR-637/WNT5A, the effect of miR-637 on osteogenic differentiation of CESCs was assessed. Results: miR-637 was down-expressed in degenerative CESCs (D-CESCs), and miR-637 overexpression inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of D-CESCs, while inhibition of miR-637 promoted the osteogenic differentiation ability of D-CESCs. miR-637 targeted WNT5A and down-regulation of WNT5A inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of D-CESCs. Up-regulated WNT5A partially annulled the inhibitory action of miR-637 overexpression on osteogenic differentiation of D-CESCs. Conclusion: miR-637 inhibited osteogenic differentiation of D-CESCs via targeting WNT5A

An MFF-SLIC Hybrid Superpixel Segmentation Method with Multi-Source RS Data for Rock Surface Extraction

Multi-Source RS data integration is a crucial technology for rock surface extraction in geology. Both Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and Photogrammetry are primary non-contact active measurement techniques. In order to extract comprehensive and accurate rock surface information by the integration of TLS point cloud and digital images, the segmentation based on the integrated results generated by registration is the crux. This paper presents a Multi-Features Fusion for Simple Linear Iterative Clustering (MFF-SLIC) hybrid superpixel segmentation algorithm to extract the rock surface accurately. The MFF-SLIC algorithm mainly includes three contents: (1) Mapping relationship construction for TLS point cloud and digital images; (2) Distance measure model establishment with multi-features for initial superpixel segmentation; (3) Hierarchical and optimized clustering for superpixels. The proposed method was verified with the columnar basalt data, which is acquired in Guabushan Geopark in China. The results demonstrate that the segmentation method could be used for rock surface extraction with high precision and efficiency, the result of which would be prepared for further geological statistics and analysis

The most influential articles on stem cells in intervertebral disc degeneration

Abstract Background Stem cell-related studies have been increasingly conducted to facilitate the regeneration of degenerative discs. However, analyses of high-impact articles focused on this topic are rare. This study aimed to determine and summarize the most-cited studies examining stem cells in the context of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Methods We searched the Web of Science (WoS) database for stem cell-related articles in IDD, and the 50 highest-cited papers were summarized. A correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relationship among WoS citations, Altmetric Attention Score (AAS), and Dimensions. Results The number of citations of the top 50 manuscripts ranged from 92 to 370. The top three countries were the United States (14), China (10), and Japan (9). Spine (12) was the most prevalent journal, and this was followed by Biomaterials (6). Bone marrow-derived stem cells were the most common subject (38), and they were followed by nucleus pulposus-derived stem cells (4) and annulus fibrosus-derived stem cells (4). Humans were the most studied species (31), and the next most studied were rabbits (9) and rats (7). There was a very high correlation between WoS and Dimension citations (p < 0.001, r = 0.937). Conclusions For the first time, the highest impact articles examining stem cells in the context of IDD were assessed together. The current study provides a deepened understanding of historical studies focused on stem cells in IDD and is beneficial for future studies in this field

2H Solid-State NMR Analysis of the Dynamics and Organization of Water in Hydrated Chitosan

Understanding water–biopolymer interactions, which strongly affect the function and properties of biopolymer-based tissue engineering and drug delivery materials, remains a challenge. Chitosan, which is an important biopolymer for the construction of artificial tissue grafts and for drug delivery, has attracted extensive attention in recent decades, where neutralization with an alkali solution can substantially enhance the final properties of chitosan films cast from an acidic solution. In this work, to elucidate the effect of water on the properties of chitosan films, we investigated the dynamics and different states of water in non-neutralized (CTS-A) and neutralized (CTS-N) hydrated chitosan by mobility selective variable-temperature (VT) 2H solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Four distinct types of water exist in all of the samples with regards to dynamic behavior. First, non-freezable, rigid and strongly bound water was found in the crystalline domain at low temperatures. The second component consists of weakly bound water, which is highly mobile and exhibits isotropic motion, even below 260 K. Another type of water undergoes well-defined 180° flips around their bisector axis. Moreover, free water is also present in the films. For the CTS-A sample in particular, another special water species were bounded to acetic acid molecules via strong hydrogen bonding. In the case of CTS-N, the onset of motions of the weakly bound water molecules at 260 K was revealed by 2H-NMR spectroscopy. This water is not crystalline, even below 260 K, which is also the major contribution to the flexibility of chitosan chains and thus toughness of materials. By contrast, such motion was not observed in CTS-A. On the basis of the 2H solid-state NMR results, it is concluded that the unique toughness of CTS-N mainly originates from the weakly bound water as well as the interactions between water and the chitosan chains