Exosomes Derived From Pericytes Improve Microcirculation and Protect Blood–Spinal Cord Barrier After Spinal Cord Injury in Mice

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to severe and permanent paralysis and places a heavy burden on individuals, families, and society. Until now, the therapy of SCI is still a big challenge for the researchers. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a hot spot for the treatment of SCI, but many problems and risks have not been resolved. Some studies have reported that the therapeutic effect of MSCs on SCI is related to the paracrine secretion of cells. The exosomes secreted by MSCs have therapeutic potential for many diseases. There are abundant pericytes which possess the characteristics of stem cells in the neurovascular unit. Due to the close relationship between pericytes and endothelial cells, the exosomes of pericytes can be taken up by endothelial cells more easily. There are fewer studies about the therapeutic potential of the exosomes derived from pericytes on SCI now. In this study, exosomes of pericytes were transplanted into the mice with SCI to study the restoration of motor function and explore the underlying mechanism. We found that the exosomes derived from pericytes could reduce pathological changes, improve the motor function, the blood flow and oxygen deficiency after SCI. In addition, the exosomes could improve the endothelial ability to regulate blood flow, protect the blood-spinal cord barrier, reduce edema, decrease the expression of HIF-1α, Bax, Aquaporin-4, and MMP2, increase the expression of Claudin-5, bcl-2 and inhibit apoptosis. The experiments in vitro proved that exosomes derived from pericytes could protect the barrier of spinal cord microvascular endothelial cells under hypoxia condition, which was related to PTEN/AKT pathway. In summary, our study showed that exosomes of pericytes had therapeutic prospects for SCI

Machine Learning for Prediction of Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Patients With Low Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction: Study Protocol for a Retrospective Multicentre Registry in China

Introduction: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35%, as current significant implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) indication for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in heart failure (HF) patients, has been widely recognised to be inefficient. Improvement of patient selection for low LVEF (≤35%) is needed to optimise deployment of ICD. Most of the existing prediction models are not appropriate to identify ICD candidates at high risk of SCD in HF patients with low LVEF. Compared with traditional statistical analysis, machine learning (ML) can employ computer algorithms to identify patterns in large datasets, analyse rules automatically and build both linear and non-linear models in order to make data-driven predictions. This study is aimed to develop and validate new models using ML to improve the prediction of SCD in HF patients with low LVEF. Methods and analysis: We will conduct a retroprospective, multicentre, observational registry of Chinese HF patients with low LVEF. The HF patients with LVEF ≤35% after optimised medication at least 3 months will be enrolled in this study. The primary endpoints are all-cause death and SCD. The secondary endpoints are malignant arrhythmia, sudden cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and rehospitalisation due to HF. The baseline demographic, clinical, biological, electrophysiological, social and psychological variables will be collected. Both ML and traditional multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models will be developed and compared in the prediction of SCD. Moreover, the ML model will be validated in a prospective study. Ethics and dissemination: The study protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (2017-SR-06). All results of this study will be published in international peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences

Broadband Reflective Liquid Crystal Films Prepared by Rapid Inkjet Printing and Superposition Polymerization

Inkjet printing is a non-contact, material saving and on-demand material manufacturing technology, which is able to be applied to the fabrication of functional materials with high efficiency. A new method for preparing broadband reflective cholesteric films based on inkjet printing and non-stick technology was proposed in this paper. The feasibility of automatic mixing of liquid crystal and doped materials in inkjet printing was studied. The spectral data of samples prepared by manual mixing and automatic mixing by inkjet printing were compared. It was found that the spectral error of the printed film was only less than 0.17 wt%, which reached or even exceeded the effect of manual mixing. The feasibility of preparing liquid crystal films with broadband reflection characteristics by stacking polymerization based on in situ UV polymerization and non-stick technology was verified. By changing the printing amount of chiral doped ink, the bandwidth of PSCLC film can be accurately controlled. This technology is expected to play an important role in scientific research and practical application

Characteristic of Stimulus Frequency Otoacoustic Emissions: Detection Rate, Musical Training Influence, and Gain Function

Stimulus frequency otoacoustic emission (SFOAE) is an active acoustic signal emitted by the inner ear providing salient information about cochlear function and dysfunction. To provide a basis for laboratory investigation and clinical use, we investigated the characteristics of SFOAEs, including detection rate, musical training influence, and gain function. Sixty-five normal hearing subjects (15 musicians and 50 non-musicians, aged 16–45 years) were tested and analyzed at the probe level of 30 and 50 dB sound pressure levels (SPL) in the center frequency of 1 and 4 kHz in the study. The results indicate that (1) the detection rates of SFOAE are sensitive to the gender, (2) musicians reveal enhanced hearing capacity and SFOAE amplitudes compared with non-musicians, and (3) probe frequency has a significant effect on the compression threshold of SFOAE. Our findings highlight the importance of SFOAE in the clinical hearing screening and diagnosis and emphasize the use of musical training for the rehabilitation enhancement of the auditory periphery and hearing threshold

Identification of lncRNAs associated with lung squamous cell carcinoma prognosis in the competitive endogenous RNA network

Background Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a role in the formation, development, and prognosis of various cancers. Our study aimed to identify prognostic-related lncRNAs in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), which may provide new perspectives for individualized treatment of patients. Materials and Methods The RNA sequencing (lncRNA, microRNA (miRNA), mRNA) data and clinical information related to LUSC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differentially expressed RNA sequences were used to construct the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. In present study, we mainly used two prognostic verification methods, Cox analysis and survival analysis, to identify the prognostic relevance of specific lncRNAs and construct prognostic model of lncRNA. Results Datasets on 551 samples of lncRNA and mRNA and 523 miRNA samples were retrieved from the TCGA database. Analysis of the normal and LUSC samples identified 170 DElncRNAs, 331 DEmiRNAs, and 417 DEmRNAs differentially expressed RNAs. The ceRNA network contained 27 lncRNAs, 43 miRNAs, and 11 mRNAs. Furthermore, we identified seven specific lncRNAs (ERVH48-1, HCG9, SEC62-AS1, AC022148.1, LINC00460, C5orf17, LINC00261) as potential prognostic factors after correlation analysis, and five of the seven lncRNAs (AC022148.1, HCG9, LINC00460, C5orf17, LINC00261) constructed a prognostic model of LUSC. Conclusion In present study, we identified seven lncRNAs in the ceRNA network that are associated with potential prognosis in LUSC patients, and constructed a prognostic model of LUSC which can be used to assess the prognosis risk of clinical patients. Further biological experiments are needed to elucidate the specific molecular mechanisms underlying them

Electrospun PCL/Gelatin composite fibrous scaffolds: mechanical properties and cellular responses

<p>Electrospinning of hybrid polymer has gained widespread interest by taking advantages of the biological property of the natural polymer and the mechanical property of the synthetic polymer. However, the effect of the blend ratio on the above two properties has been less reported despite the importance to balance these two properties in various tissue engineering applications. To this aim, we investigated the electrospun PCL/Gelatin composite fibrous scaffolds with different blend ratios of 4:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, respectively. The morphology of the electrospun samples was observed by SEM and the result showed that the fiber diameter distribution became more uniform with the increase of the gelatin content. The mechanical testing results indicated that the 2:1 PCL/Gelatin sample had both the highest tensile strength of 3.7 MPa and the highest elongation rate of about 90%. Surprisingly, the 2:1 PCL/Gelatin sample also showed the best mesenchymal stem cell responses in terms of attachment, spreading, and cytoskeleton organization. Such correlation might be partly due to the fact that the enhanced mechanical property, an integral part of the physical microenvironment, likely played an important role in regulating the cellular functions. Overall, our results indicated that the PCL/Gelatin sample with the blend ratio of 2:1 was a superior candidate for scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.</p

CeO₂-Supported TiO₂−Pt Nanorod Composites as Efficient Catalysts for CO Oxidation

Supported Pt-based catalysts have been identified as highly selective catalysts for CO oxidation, but their potential for applications has been hampered by the high cost and scarcity of Pt metals as well as aggregation problems at relatively high temperatures. In this work, nanorod structured (TiO2−Pt)/CeO2 catalysts with the addition of 0.3 at% Pt and different atomic ratios of Ti were prepared through a combined dealloying and calcination method. XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, and STEM measurements were used to confirm the phase composition, surface morphology, and structure of synthesized samples. After calcination treatment, Pt nanoparticles were semi-inlayed on the surface of the CeO2 nanorod, and TiO2 was highly dispersed into the catalyst system, resulting in the formation of (TiO2−Pt)/CeO2 with high specific surface area and large pore volume. The unique structure can provide more reaction path and active sites for catalytic CO oxidation, thus contributing to the generation of catalysts with high catalytic activity. The outstanding catalytic performance is ascribed to the stable structure and proper TiO2 doping as well as the combined effect of Pt, TiO2, and CeO2. The research results are of importance for further development of high catalytic performance nanoporous catalytic materials