Novel encapsulation of water soluble active ingredients to acheive their controlled release in aqueous environment

Encapsulation technology has been widely researched and applied to different industry sectors. There are vast examples of encapsulation for controlled release of hydrophilic or hydrophobic ingredients to the target place. However, it is still difficult to encapsulate the small water-soluble salts or molecules, achieving long-term sustained release or even no release in water. Herein, a novel type of organic-inorganic composite solid microsphere, comprised of polystyrene sulfonate and silica was developed here to achieve a sustained release of K+ ions in aqueous environment for over 48 hours. Furthermore, a novel type of melamine formaldehyde (MF) based has been developed to encapsulate KCl and allura red, showing a sustained release of KCl and allura red for 12 h and > 10 days in water, respectively. Finally, a novel formulation for encapsulation of KCl and allura red has been developed based on the formation of melamine formaldehydeoctadecyltrichlorosilane- melamine formaldehyde (MOM) microcapsules, achieving no release in aqueous environment for 1 month. It is a breakthrough to prevent the leakage of small water soluble ingredients from the carrier, which is of great significance for their long-term storage until they are delivered to a target place via triggered release in many applications

Retraction: the “other face” of research collaboration?

The last two decades have witnessed the rising prevalence of both co-publishing and retraction. Focusing on research collaboration, this paper utilizes a unique dataset to investigate factors contributing to retraction probability and elapsed time between publication and retraction. Data analysis reveals that the majority of retracted papers are multi-authored and that repeat offenders are collaboration prone. Yet, all things being equal, collaboration, in and of itself, does not increase the likelihood of producing flawed or fraudulent research, at least in the form of retraction. That holds for all retractions and also retractions due to falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism (FFP). The research also finds that publications with authors from elite universities are less likely to be retracted, which is particularly true for retractions due to FFP. China stands out with the fastest retracting speed compared to other countries. Possible explanations, limitations, and policy implications are also discussed

Fully Bayesian Analysis of Relevance Vector Machine Classification With Probit Link Function for Imbalanced Data Problem

The original RVM classification model uses the logistic link function to build the likelihood function making the model hard to be conducted since the posterior of the weight parameter has no closed-form solution. This article proposes the probit link function approach instead of the logistic one for the likelihood function in the RVM classification model, namely PRVM (RVM with the probit link function). We show that the posterior of the weight parameter in PRVM follows the Multivariate Normal distribution and achieves a closed-form solution. A latent variable is needed in our algorithms to simplify the Bayesian computation greatly, and its conditional posterior follows a truncated Normal distribution. Compared with the original RVM classification model, our proposed one is a Fully Bayesian approach, and it has a more efficient computation process. For the prior structure, we first consider the Normal-Gamma independent prior to propose a Generic Bayesian PRVM algorithm. Furthermore, the Fully Bayesian PRVM algorithm with a hierarchical hyperprior structure is proposed, which improves the classification performance, especially in the imbalanced data problem

Novel polystyrene sulfonate–silica microspheres as a carrier of a water soluble inorganic salt (KCl) for its sustained release, via a dual-release mechanism

Polystyrene sulfonate and silica microspheres with potassium chloride encapsulated show a dual-release mechanism of K+ in an aqueous environment.</p

Novel Encapsulation of Water Soluble Inorganic or Organic Ingredients in Melamine Formaldehyde Microcapsules to Achieve Their Sustained Release in Aqueous Environment

A novel type of melamine formaldehyde microcapsule with a desirable barrier has been used to encapsulate water soluble ingredients, including potassium chloride (KCl) and allura red (dye) as models of an inorganic salt and organic molecule, respectively, via a facile method, and it has shown a sustained release of KCl and allura red for 12 h and 10 days in aqueous environment, respectively

PAI-1 secretion of endometrial and endometriotic cells is Smad2/3- and ERK1/2-dependent and influences cell adhesion

In the endometrium transforming growth factor-betas (TGF-ßs) are involved mainly in menstruation and endometriosis. After binding of the ligands to the high-affinity receptors, TGF-ß receptors (TBR1 and TBR2), TGF-ßs activate Smad signaling to modulate gene expression and cellular functions. However, recently also Smad-independent pathways have been studied in more details. To evaluate both pathways, we have analyzed TGF-ß signaling in human endometrial and endometriotic cells. Although endometrial and endometriotic cells secrete TGF-ß1, secretion by stromal cells was higher compared to epithelial cells. In contrast, secretion of TGF-ß2 was higher in endometriotic stromal and endometriotic epithelial cells compared to normal endometrial cells. Treatment of endometrial and endometriotic stromal and epithelial cells with TGF-ß1 or TGF-ß2 increased Smad-dependent secretion of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) dramatically in all three cell lines. Of note, endometriotic cells secreted clearly higher levels of PAI-1 compared to endometrial cells. Whereas a TBR1 kinase inhibitor completely blocked the TGF-ß1 or TGF-ß2-induced PAI-1 secretion, an ERK1/2 inhibitor only partially reduced PAI-1 secretion. This inhibition was not dependent on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation by phosphorylation but on kinase activity of the TBR1. Finally, treatment of endometrial and endometriotic cell lines with recombinant PAI-1 showed reduced cell adhesion, especially of the endometrial cells. In summary, our results demonstrate that both Smad-dependent and TBR1-dependent ERK1/2 pathways are necessary for TGF-ß-dependent high level secretion of PAI-1, which might increase cellular deadhesion

Therapeutic Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Female Reproductive Diseases

Reproductive disorders, including intrauterine adhesion (IUA), premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), are great threats to female reproduction. Recently, mesenchymal stem cells derived–extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) have presented their potentials to cure these diseases, not only for the propensity ability they stemmed from the parent cells, but also for the higher biology stability and lower immunogenicity, compared to MSCs. EVs are lipid bilayer complexes, functional as mediators by transferring multiple molecules to recipient cells, such as proteins, microRNAs, lipids, and cytokines. EVs appeared to have a therapeutic effect on the female reproductive disorder, such as repairing injured endometrium, suppressing fibrosis of endometrium, regulating immunity and anti-inflammatory, and repressing apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs) in ovaries. Although the underlying mechanisms of MSC-EVs have reached a consensus, several theories have been proposed, including promoting angiogenesis, regulating immunity, and reducing oxidate stress levels. In the current study, we summarized the current knowledge of functions of MSC-EVs on IUA, POI, and PCOS. Given the great potentials of MSC-EVs on reproductive health, the critical issues discussed will guide new insights in this rapidly expanding field

Value of loop electrosurgical excision procedure conization and imaging for the diagnosis of papillary squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix

BackgroundLoop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) conization and hysterectomy are performed for some patients with papillary squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC), whereas only hysterectomy is performed for others. We aimed to determine the optimal management for PSCC.MethodsPatients diagnosed with PSCC by colposcopy-directed biopsy between June 2008 and January 2020 who underwent LEEP conization and hysterectomy or only hysterectomy at our hospital were enrolled. Results of cervical cytology, high-risk human papillomavirus testing, transvaginal sonography, pelvic magnetic resonance imaging, LEEP, hysterectomy, and pathology testing of colposcopy-directed biopsy samples were analyzed.ResultsA total of 379 women were diagnosed with PSCC by colposcopy-directed biopsy; 174 underwent LEEP before hysterectomy and 205 underwent only hysterectomy. Patients underwent and did not undergo LEEP were aged 47 ± 11 years and 52 ± 11 years, respectively. Among women who underwent LEEP, the agreement between LEEP and hysterectomy pathology was 85.1%. For women who underwent only hysterectomy, the agreement between preoperative clinical staging and pathological staging after hysterectomy was 82.4%. For patients with preoperative imaging indicative of malignancy, the accuracy of LEEP for diagnosing and staging PSCC was 88.5%, whereas for the hysterectomy-only group, it was 86.2%. For patients without malignancy detected with imaging, the accuracy of LEEP for diagnosing and staging PSCC was 81.6%; however, for those who did not undergo LEEP, it was 70.0%.ConclusionFor women diagnosed with PSCC by colposcopy-directed biopsy, LEEP conization is necessary for an accurate diagnosis when imaging does not indicate cancer; however, LEEP is not necessary when imaging indicates cancer

A shared genetic contribution to osteoarthritis and COVID-19 outcomes: a large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis

BackgroundPatients with osteoarthritis (OA) are exposed to an increased risk of adverse outcomes of COVID-19, and they tend to experience disruption in access to healthcare services and exercise facilities. However, a deep understanding of this comorbidity phenomenon and the underlying genetic architecture of the two diseases is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to untangle the relationship between OA and COVID-19 outcomes by conducting a large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis.MethodsGenetic correlation and causal relationships between OA and COVID-19 outcomes (critical COVID-19, COVID-19 hospitalization, and COVID-19 infection) were estimated by linkage disequilibrium score regression and Mendelian Randomization approaches. We further applied Multi-Trait Analysis of GWAS and colocalization analysis to identify putative functional genes associated with both OA and COVID-19 outcomes.ResultsSignificant positive genetic correlations between OA susceptibility and both critical COVID-19 (rg=0.266, P=0.0097) and COVID-19 hospitalization (rg=0.361, P=0.0006) were detected. However, there was no evidence to support causal genetic relationships between OA and critical COVID-19 (OR=1.17[1.00-1.36], P=0.049) or OA and COVID-19 hospitalization OR=1.08[0.97-1.20], P=0.143). These results were robustly consistent after the removal of obesity-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Moreover, we identified a strong association signal located near the FYCO1 gene (lead SNPs: rs71325101 for critical COVID-19, Pmeta=1.02×10-34; rs13079478 for COVID-19 hospitalization, Pmeta=1.09×10-25).ConclusionOur findings further confirmed the comorbidity of OA and COVID-19 severity, but indicate a non-causal impact of OA on COVID-19 outcomes. The study offers an instructive perspective that OA patients did not generate negative COVID-19 outcomes during the pandemic in a causal way. Further clinical guidance can be formulated to enhance the quality of self-management in vulnerable OA patients