PLLA-PEG-TCH-labeled bioactive molecule nanofibers for tissue engineering

By mimicking the native extracellular matrix, electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds (ENSs) can provide both chemical and physical cues to modulate cell adherence and differentiation and to promote tissue regeneration while retaining bioresorbable and biocompatible properties. In this study, ENSs were developed to deliver multiple biomolecules by loading them into the core-sheath structure and/or by conjugating them to the nanofiber surfaces. In this work, poly(L-lactide)-poly(ethylene glycol)-NH2 and poly(L-lactide) were emulsion electrospun into nanofibers with a core-sheath structure. A model drug, tetracycline hydrochloride, was loaded within the nanofibers. Amino and carboxyl reactive groups were then activated on the fiber surfaces using saturated water vapor exposure and base hydrolysis, respectively. These reactive groups allowed the surface of the ENS to be functionalized with two other bioactive molecules, fluorescein isothiocyanate- and rhodamine-labeled bovine serum albumins, which were used as model proteins. The ENSs were shown to retain their antimicrobial capacity after two functionalization reactions, indicating that multifunctional nanofibers can potentially be developed into functional wound dressings or periodontal membranes or used in more complicated tissue systems where multiple growth factors and anti-infection precautions are critical for the successful implantation and regeneration of tissues

Depression is the Strongest Independent Risk Factor for Poor Social Engagement Among Chinese Elderly Veteran Assisted-living Residents

BackgroundSocial engagement prolongs the lifespan and preserves cognition in the elderly. However, most studies concerning social engagement have been conducted in Western countries; few have been performed in the Chinese population. This study attempted to identify the risk factors for poor social engagement among elderly veterans in Taiwan.MethodsA total of 597 male veterans were enrolled, with a mean age of 80.8 ± 5.0 years. This cross-sectional study employed the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) Minimum Data Set (MDS), the Geriatric Depression Scale–Short Form (GDS-SF), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to investigate significant independent risk factors for poor social engagement, which were identified using the MDS Index of Social Engagement (ISE).ResultsMean ISE score was 1.5 ± 1.3 (range, 0–5); 52% of subjects had poor levels of social engagement (ISE < 2; 312/597). Regression analyses suggested that depression (OR, 6.6; 95% CI, 2.7–16.1; p < 0.001), illiteracy (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.3–3.8; p = 0.003), the presence of unsettled relationships (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.5–8.7; p = 0.004), and cognitive impairment (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1–3.9; p = 0.03) were significant independent risk factors for poor social engagement, after controlling for age, marital status, level of daily living activity and degree of sensory impairment.ConclusionPoor social engagement is common among Chinese assisted-living veteran home residents. Depression is the greatest risk factor of poor social engagement in this population

Three-dimensional ultrasound-based radiomics nomogram for the prediction of extrathyroidal extension features in papillary thyroid cancer

PurposeTo develop and validate a three-dimensional ultrasound (3D US) radiomics nomogram for the preoperative prediction of extrathyroidal extension (ETE) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).MethodsThis retrospective study included 168 patients with surgically proven PTC (non-ETE, n = 90; ETE, n = 78) who were divided into training (n = 117) and validation (n = 51) cohorts by a random stratified sampling strategy. The regions of interest (ROIs) were obtained manually from 3D US images. A larger number of radiomic features were automatically extracted. Finally, a nomogram was built, incorporating the radiomics scores and selected clinical predictors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to validate the capability of the nomogram on both the training and validation sets. The nomogram models were compared with conventional US models. The DeLong test was adopted to compare different ROC curves.ResultsThe area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the radiologist was 0.67 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.580–0.757] in the training cohort and 0.62 (95% CI, 0.467–0.746) in the validation cohort. Sixteen features from 3D US images were used to build the radiomics signature. The radiomics nomogram, which incorporated the radiomics signature, tumor location, and tumor size showed good calibration and discrimination in the training cohort (AUC, 0.810; 95% CI, 0.727–0.876) and the validation cohort (AUC, 0.798; 95% CI, 0.662–0.897). The result suggested that the diagnostic efficiency of the 3D US-based radiomics nomogram was better than that of the radiologist and it had a favorable discriminate performance with a higher AUC (DeLong test: p &lt; 0.05).ConclusionsThe 3D US-based radiomics signature nomogram, a noninvasive preoperative prediction method that incorporates tumor location and tumor size, presented more advantages over radiologist-reported ETE statuses for PTC

Changes in Volatile Profiles and Activity of Hydroperoxide Lyase and Alcohol Dehydrogenase During the Development of Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.)

In this study we focused on the development of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and investigated changes in theactivity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and hydroperoxide lyase (HPL) in different tissues. We sampledgrape skin at four, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 12, 14 and 16 weeks after anthesis; developing flowers whenblooming at 0%, 5%, 50%, and 90%; and leaves at two and four weeks before anthesis and at two, four,six, eight, nine, and 10 weeks after anthesis. We also examined the type and fluctuation of volatile contents.ADH activity increased with the development of flowers and grape skins, which led to the increasing oftypes and concentration of alcohols. Low levels of 9-HPL led to low concentrations of C9 compounds.According to this paper, C6 compounds became abundant with the development of grape berries, while theactivity of 13-HPL kept at a low level in the flowers and grape skins. There might have been a high level of13-HPL activity from the end of flowering until fruit setting that we did not detect. Furthermore, similarC6 and C5 compounds were detected across all tissues, including hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenal,(Z)-2-penten-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol and 3-hexen-1-ol. Generally speaking, the concentrations ofC6 and C5 compounds could be used as the criterion of maturation of the three grape tissues

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation complex regulates NLRP3 inflammasome activation and predicts patient survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

© 2020 Chung et al. We previously reported that tumor inflammasomes play a key role in tumor control and act as favorable prognostic markers in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Activated inflammasomes frequently form distinguishable specks and govern the cellular secretion of IL-1β. However, we know little about the biological and biochemical differences between cells with and without apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-recruitment domain (ASC) speck formation. In this study, we used proteomic iTRAQ analysis to analyze the proteomes of NPC cells that differ in their ASC speck formation upon cisplatin treatment. We identified proteins that were differentially over-expressed in cells with specks, and found that they fell into two Gene ontology (GO) pathways: mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) and ubiquinone metabolism. We observed up-regulation of various components of the OxPhos machinery (including NDUFB3, NDUFB8 and ATP5B), and subsequently found that these changes lead to mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) production, which promotes the formation and activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and subsequent pyroptosis. In NPC patients, better local recurrence-free survival was significantly associated with high-level expression of NDUFB8 (p = 0.037) and ATP5B (p = 0.029), as examined using immunohistochemistry. However, there were no significant associations between the expression of NDUFB8 and ATP5B with overall survival of NPC patients. Together, our results demonstrate that up-regulated mitochondrial OxPhos components are strongly associated with NLRP3 inflammasome activation in NPC. Our findings further suggest that high-level expression of OxPhos components could be markers for local recurrence and/or promising therapeutic targets in patients with NPC

A New Benzofuran Glucoside from Ficus Tikoua Bur

From the water-soluble portion of the methanol extract of stems of Ficus tikoua Bur., a new benzofuran glucoside, named 6-carboxyethyl-5-hydroxybenzofuran 5-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), together with one known benzofuran glucoside (2) were isolated. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D (1H-1H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) NMR spectroscopy and HRMS techniques. The antioxidant activities of the isolated compounds were assayed based on the scavenging activities of DPPH free radical. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited moderate antioxidant activities, and the IC50 values were 242.8 μg·mL−1 and 324.9 μg·mL−1, respectively

Electroanatomical Characteristics of Idiopathic Left Ventricular Tachycardia and Optimal Ablation Target during Sinus Rhythm: Significance of Preferential Conduction through Purkinje Fibers

∙ The authors have no financial conflicts of interest. © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2012 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licens

Renaming dementia - an East Asian perspective

Worldwide, the number of individuals with dementia is growing in an epidemic manner, with an estimated 35.6 million people affected in 2010 (Prince et al., 2013). With the population aging in Asia, dementia care will become a major public health challenge in this region in the coming decades. Over half of the patients with dementia in the world will live in Asia by 2030. In China alone, a recent review of dementia studies showed that there were 9.2 million dementia patients in 2010 (Chan et al., 2013). These figures are staggering. In many Asian countries, dementia is regarded as a shameful illness, and the local terms for dementia are derogatory. Dementia carries a stigma that may lead to patients' reluctance in seeking treatment and delay in diagnosis. In addition, local names for dementia frequently conjure up pictures of severe stage of dementia, and may lead to therapeutic nihilism, discouraging mental health professionals from working with elderly patients with dementia. As Asia faces the challenges of a rapidly aging population and provisions of care for growing number of dementia patients, change in local names for dementia has become an issue of attentio