pH and charge reversal-driven nanoplatform for efficient delivery of therapeutics

Nanomedicine which delivers therapeutics to tumours holds great potential for cancer treatment. However, endosomal trapping and uncontrollable release usually limit the efficiency of nanomedicine. Herein, a smart mesoporous silica based nanoplatform was constructed, in which mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) serve as the core, capped with pH-induced charge-reversal polymer -PAH-cit- and cationic polyelectrolyte polyethyleneimine (PEI). The oppositely charged polymer can not only act as a gatekeeper for controlled release, but also mediated efficient endosomal escape of the therapeutics. Under the acidic endosomal environment, the hydrolysis of acid-cleavable bonds in PAH-Cit would trigger the charge reversal and endosomal escape of the nanoplatform for efficient drug release. Furthermore, the prepared nanoplatform demonstrated a higher tumor cell proliferation inhibition rate than free theruputics in vitro assays and significantly inhibited tumour growth in the 4T1 tumour model in mice. Therefore, our strategy offers a simple and general nanoplatform to delivery therapeutics to tumours with efficient endosomal escape and controlled release.

The role of miR-199b-3p in regulating Nrf2 pathway by dihydromyricetin to alleviate septic acute kidney injury

The pathophysiology of septic acute kidney injury (AKI) is very complex and the fatality is high. Nrf2 is crucial for septic AKI, and dihydromyricetin (DMY) has a protective effect on LPS-induced AKI. We aimed to explore whether DMY could affect Nrf2 pathway by regulating miR-199b-3p and played a protective role in septic AKI. The mouse model was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and the cell model was stimulated by LPS. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to examine MDA, SOD, LDH, GSH, TNF-α, kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), and IL-6 levels. The pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The targeted relationship between miR-199b-3p and Nrf2 was verified by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Levels of SOD, GSH, NQO-1, Nrf2, and HO-1 were decreased, MDA, LDH, TNF-α, IL-6, and KIM-1, and miR-199b-3p were increased in the CLP group and LPS-induced HK-2 cells, while the effect was reversed after DMY treatment. There existed renal tubule cell edema and necrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration in the CLP group, the situation was partially improved by DMY. MiR-199b-3p bound to Nrf2. Nrf2 levels were increased, TNF-α, IL-6, and KIM-1 were decreased after transfected with miR-199b-3p inhibitor, these effects were reversed when co-transfected with si-Nrf2. TNF-α, IL-6, KIM-1, and miR-199b-3p levels were increased; Nrf2, NQO-1, and HO-1 levels were decreased in the LPS + DMY + mimics-miR group. MiR-199b-3p was increased in septic AKI models, DMY might alleviate septic AKI by regulating miR-199b-3p to affect the Nrf2 pathway.

Primary Laparoscopic Surgery Does Not Affect the Prognosis of Early-Stage Ovarian Clear Cell Cancer

Purpose

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is performed frequently in early-stage ovarian cancer patients, especially in ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC). The aim of this study was to investigate whether primary laparoscopic surgery influences prognosis in patients with early-stage OCCC.

Patients and Methods

Patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage I  OCCC were retrospectively reviewed in two hospitals between April 2010 and August 2020. Clinical data were abstracted, and patients were followed up until February 2021. Patients were divided into open surgery (laparotomy) and laparoscopy groups, and the Kaplan–Meier method was applied to compare progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between the groups. Statistical differences were determined by the Log rank test.

Results

Eighty-nine patients were included in the study; 20 (22.5%) and 69 (77.5%) patients underwent laparoscopic and open surgery, respectively. The patients’ characteristics were well-balanced except that patients in the laparoscopy group tended to have smaller tumors and lower frequency of omentectomy and lymphadenectomy compared with the open surgery group. The median follow-up duration was 42.6 and 36.5 months in the laparoscopy and open surgery groups, respectively. Nine (10.1%) patients developed recurrence, and 4 (4.5%) died of the disease; all in the open surgery group. The estimated 2-year PFS rates were 100.0% and 90.1%, and the estimated 5-year OS rates were 100.0% and 91.9% in the laparoscopy and open surgery groups, respectively. No significant survival differences were found between the groups.

Conclusion

Survival was not compromised when primary laparoscopic surgery was performed in early-stage OCCC patients. A well-designed randomized controlled trial is warranted.

A Wide-Range Stiffness-Tunable Soft Actuator Inspired by Deep-Sea Glass Sponges

Achieving both high compliance and stiffness is a key issue in stiffness-tunable soft robots. A wide-range variable-stiffness method keeping pure soft characteristic is proposed by bioinspired design of deep-sea glass sponges adopting thermoplastic starch. The stiffness-tunable mechanism is designed through force analysis and optimization of its bionic cellular structure. It is fabricated with load-weight ratio exceeding 470. Then, a wide-range stiffness-tunable omnidirectional-bending soft actuator (WOSA) is realized, and the bending stiffness model is established. Comparative experiments of stiffness and deformation are conducted on WOSA and a pure soft actuator (PSA) with the same size. Results show that the WOSA can get 92.3 times initial bending and 70.8 times torsional stiffness variation range, of which the flexibility is even better than PSA. A gripper assembled by three WOSAs is verified through stiffness adjustment that it can grasp different weight fragile, soft items from the unshelled fresh egg, boiled egg yolk to grapes. It can even lift a dumbbell weighting 3.32 kg. Finally, a manipulator demonstrated its potential in future minimally invasive surgical applications due to its wide stiffness range and large deformation capacity.

A Human-Inspired Soft Finger with Dual-Mode Morphing Enabled by Variable Stiffness Mechanism

Elevating stiffness without compromising compliance and agility is a key problem for soft finger applications, especially for articulate ones. Inspired by human finger, a multijoint soft finger with dual morphing through active/passive variable rigidity is proposed. The fabricated soft finger weighs 27.4 g. Conductive thermoplastic starch polymers (CTPSs) are embedded in a U-shape-joint pneumatic soft actuator segmentally like biological phalanges. Their stiffness can be independently adjusted utilizing customized thermomechanical property. Yoshimura origami imitating ligaments can passively match deformation and stiffness of the joints. Through electrothemal activation of CTPSs, the finger can realize dual independent articulate morphing: stiffened phalanges (mode 1) for dexterous manipulation and heavy load, softened phalanges (mode 2) for large deformation contact and light load. Comparative experiments of bending angle, output force, and stiffness are carried out between the active and passive stiffness adjustment of mode 1 and mode 2. The results show that the output force and stiffness of the finger adopting mode 1 can be improved more than two times and five times, and its compliance using mode 2 is almost similar, compared with the pure soft one. To further demonstrate performances of dual-mode morphing, a three-fingered gripper is assembled for grasping and manipulating targets with different shapes, sizes, rigidity, and weight, including playing card, unshelled raw egg, grapes, and unscrewing the bottle cap. It can successfully lift a dumbbell weighing 1460 g with a 7.6 load/weight ratio through a two-mode switch.

A remote gain controlled and polarization angle tunable Doppler backward scattering reflectometer

Remote control of the diagnostic systems is the basic requirement for the high performance plasma operation in a fusion device. This work presents the development of the remote control system for the multichannel Doppler backward scattering (DBS) reflectometers. It includes a remote controlled quasi-optical system and a remote intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier gain control system. The quasi-optical system contains a rotational polarizer, its polarization angle is tunable through a remote controlled motor, and it could combine the microwave beams with a wide frequency range into one focused beam. The remote IF gain control system utilizes the digital microcontroller (MCU) technique to regulate the signal amplitude for each signal channel. The gain parameters of amplifiers are adjustable, and the feedback of working status in the IF system will be sent to MCU in real time for safe operation. The gain parameters could be controlled either by the Ethernet remote way or directly through the local control interface on the system. Preliminary experimental results show the effectiveness of the remote controlled multichannel DBS system.

MiR-485-5p Promotes Neuron Survival through Mediating Rac1/Notch2 Signaling Pathway after Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion

Objective:

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a pathological feature of ischemic stroke. This study investigated the regulatory role of miR-485-5p in I/R injury.

Methods:

SH-SY5Y cells were induced with oxygen and glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) to mimic I/R injury in vitro. Cells were transfected with designated constructs (miR-485- 5p mimics, miR-485-5p inhibitor, lentiviral vectors overexpressing Rac1 or their corresponding controls). Cell viability was evaluated using the MTT assay. The concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase, malondialdehyde, and reactive oxygen species were detected to indicate the degree of oxidative stress. Flow cytometry and caspase-3 activity assay were used for apoptosis assessment. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm that Rac family small GTPase 1 (Rac1) was a downstream gene of miR-485-5p.

Results:

OGD/R resulted in decreased cell viability, elevated oxidative stress, increased apoptosis, and downregulated miR-485-5p expression in SH-SY5Y cells. MiR-485-5p upregulation alleviated I/R injury, evidenced by improved cell viability, decreased oxidative markers, and reduced apoptotic rate. OGD/R increased the levels of Rac1 and neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 2 (Notch2) signaling-related proteins in cells with normal miR-485-5p expression, whereas miR- 485-5p overexpression successfully suppressed OGD/R-induced upregulation of these proteins. Furthermore, the delivery of vectors overexpressing Rac1 in miR-485-5p mimics-transfected cells reversed the protective effect of miR-485-5p in cells with OGD/R-induced injury.

Conclusion:

This study showed that miR-485-5p protected cells following I/R injury via targeting Rac1/Notch2 signaling suggest that targeted upregulation of miR-485-5p might be a promising therapeutic option for the protection against I/R injury.

MiR-122-3p regulates the osteogenic differentiation of mouse adipose-derived stem cells via Wnt/β catenin signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE

To explore the regulatory mechanism of micro-ribonucleic acid (miR)-122-3p in the osteogenic differentiation of mouse adipose-derived stem cells (mADSCs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The regulatory mechanism of miR-122-3p in the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells was investigated through its overexpression and knockdown.

RESULTS

The overexpression of miR-122-3p inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of mADSCs. On the contrary, its knockdown promoted the osteogenic differentiation of mADSCs. The further study on the molecular mechanism of miR-122-3p regulating mADSCs' osteogenic differentiation showed that the overexpression of miR-122-3p could activate the Wingless and int-1 (WNT)/β-catenin signaling pathway, but the knockdown of miR-122-3p could repress this signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-122-3p influences the osteogenic differentiation of mADSCs by modulating the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway.

LncRNA PVT1 Suppresses the Progression of Renal Fibrosis via Inactivation of TGF-β Signaling Pathway

BACKGROUND

Renal fibrosis is a frequent pathway leading to end-stage kidney dysfunction. In addition, renal fibrosis is the ultimate manifestation of chronic kidney diseases (CKD). Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to be involved in occurrence of renal fibrosis, and lncRNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) has been reported to act as a key biomarker in renal diseases. However, the role of PVT1 in renal fibrosis remains unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

HK-2 cells were treated with TGF-β1 to mimic renal fibrosis in vitro. Gene and protein expressions in HK-2 cells were measured by qRT-PCR and Western-blot, respectively. ELISA was used to test the level of creatinine (CR) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in serum of mice. Additionally, unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO)-induced renal fibrosis mice model was established to investigate the effect of PVT1 on renal fibrosis in vivo.

RESULTS

PVT1 was upregulated in TGF-β1-treated HK-2 cells. In addition, TGF-β1-induced upregulation of α-SMA and fibronectin in HK-2 cells was significantly reversed by PVT1 knockdown. Meanwhile, PVT1 bound to miR-181a-5p in HK-2 cells. Moreover, miR-181a-5p directly targeted TGF-βR1. Furthermore, miR-181a-5p antagonist could significantly reverse the anti-fibrotic effect of PVT1 knockdown. Besides, knockdown of PVT1 notably attenuated the symptom of renal fibrosis in vivo.

CONCLUSION

Knockdown of PVT1 significantly inhibited the progression of renal fibrosis in vitro and in vivo. Thus, PVT1 may serve as a potential target for the treatment of renal fibrosis.

Mapping the near-field spin angular momenta in the structured surface plasmon polariton field

Optical spin angular momenta in a confined electromagnetic field exhibit a remarkable difference with their free space counterparts; in particular, the optical transverse spin that is locked with the energy propagating direction lays the foundation for many intriguing physical effects such as unidirectional transportation, quantum spin Hall effects, photonic Skyrmions, etc. In order to investigate the underlying physics behind the spin-orbit interactions as well as to develop the optical spin-based applications, it is crucial to uncover the spin texture in a confined field, yet it faces challenges due to their chiral and near-field vectorial features. Here, we propose a scanning imaging technique which can map the near-field distributions of the optical spin angular momenta with an achiral dielectric nanosphere. The spin angular momentum component normal to the interface can be uncovered experimentally by employing the proposed scanning imaging technique and the three-dimensional spin vector can be reconstructed theoretically with the experimental results. The experiment is demonstrated on the example of surface plasmon polaritons excited with various vector vortex beams under a tight-focusing configuration, where the spin-orbit interaction emerges clearly. The proposed method, which can be utilized to reconstruct the photonic Skyrmion and other photonic topological structures, is straightforward and of high precision, and hence it is expected to be valuable for the study of near-field spin optics and topological photonics.

MiR-543 functions as tumor suppressor in ovarian cancer by targeting TWIST1

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to have promoting or inhibiting effects on the tumorigenesis of multiple cancers, including ovarian cancer (OC), by regulating its downstream target genes. In the presented experiment, our aim was to explore the role of miR-543 in OC cell proliferation and invasion. Results of quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot revealed that miR-543 have lower expression levels, while Twist homolog 1 (TWIST1) was expressed with higher levels in OC tissues and cells. Furthermore, the effects of abnormal miR-543 expression in OC cell proliferation and invasion were detected by CCK-8 and Transwell assay. According to luciferase reporter assay results, TWIST1 was identified as a downstream target of miR-543 in OC, and a negative correlation was observed between TWIST1 and miR-543 expression by Spearman's correlation analysis in OC tissues. In addition, TWIST1 may reverse the miR-543 suppression effect on OC cell proliferation and invasion. To sum up, miR-543 may promote OC cell proliferation and invasion by targeting TWIST1.

[Clinical efficacy of damage control orthopaedics in treatment of patients with severe traumatic brain injury combined with limb fracture]

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy of damage control orthopaedics in treatment of patients with severe traumatic brain injury combined with limb fracture. Methods: Total 149 patients with sTBI combined with limb fracture treated in Emergency Surgery Department of Shandong University Qilu Hospital from January, 2011 to December, 2018 were collected. Patients that were treated with immediate definitive fixation before March 31st, 2013 were included into the routine treatment group (group A, 47 cases), and that were treated with damage control orthopaedics (DCO) after April 1st, 2013 were included into the DCO group (group B, 102 cases). The clinical data during hospitalization and prognosis 3 months after injury was analyzed retrospectively. Then according to the risk of postoperative ICP increase, the two groups were divided into low risk subgroup and high risk subgroup. The postoperative ICP, length of stay and GOS score were statistically analyzed. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in sex, age, preoperative GCS score, imaging type of lesion and initial intraoperative ICP between the two groups. The postoperative ICP and incidence of coagulation dysfunction were significantly higher in group A [(17.1±4.6) mmHg, 29.8%] than that in group B[(15.0±4.3) mmHg, 13.7%] separately(P<0.05), and there was no significant difference of length of stay and GOS score between the two groups (P=0.475 and 0.097, respectively). As for the subgroup with low risk of postoperative ICP increase, there was no significant difference in postoperative ICP and GOS score between group A and B, and the length of stay of group B was significantly longer than that of group A (P<0.05). As for the subgroup with high risk of postoperative ICP increase, there was no significant difference in the length of stay between group A and B (P=0.667), and for group A the postoperative ICP was higher and GOS score was lower than that of group B (P<0.05). Conclusions: For patients with sTBI combined with limb fracture, the application of DCO should be based on the severity of traumatic brain injury. For patients with high risk of postoperative ICP increase, DCO can significantly improve the prognosis of patients.

Biodegradable hybrid mesoporous silica nanoparticles for gene/chemo-synergetic therapy of breast cancer

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been extensively explored in anticancer nanomedicine due to their excellent biodegradability, which is one important focus in their further clinical translations. However, the traditional design concepts based on the functional modification with active groups cannot significantly improve the controlled drug release efficiency and anticancer effect. Herein, a molecularly organic–inorganic hybrid mesoporous silica nanoparticle (HMSN) nanocarrier coated with hyaluronic acid (HA) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) was constructed for the gene/chemo-synergetic therapy of breast cancer. Notably, HMSN with tumor-sensitive disulfide bond and targeting ligand HA can be decomposed when it encounters high concentration of glutathione (GSH) and hyaluronidase (HAase). The biodegradability of host molecules and the fast disintegration of the framework in tumor microenvironment can also accelerate the stimuli responsive release of cargos inside the pore space. Furthermore, the grafting of polyethyleneimine (PEI) could increase gene loading efficiency. From the above, the smart approach involves a combination of biodegradability and biological effect and results in synergetic antitumor effect of gene and chemical drug on breast cancer. All these findings demonstrated that HMSN/HA/PEI nanocarriers can be suitable for biomedical application, paving the way to fast development of multi-functional nano-biomedicine.

MiR-214-3p delays fracture healing in rats with osteoporotic fracture through inhibiting BMP/Smad signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism of micro-ribonucleic acid (miR)-214-3p in regulating fracture healing in rats with osteoporosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 30 female Sprague-Dawley rats were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups, including group A [phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), n=10], group B (AntagomiR-NC, n=10), and group C (AntagomiR-214-3p, n=10). All rats underwent ovariectomy, and the osteoporosis rat model was verified by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry 8 weeks after the operation. Then the osteoporotic fracture was established in rats via a second operation. From the successful modeling until the 6th week, 50 μL PBS (2 nmoL) was intraperitoneally injected in group A, an equal amount of AntagomiR-NC was injected in group B, and an equal amount of AntagomiR-214-3p was injected in group C once a week. At the 6th week, fracture healing of osteoporosis rats was evaluated. At the same time, the expression of miR-214-3p in the three groups was detected via reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Furthermore, the protein expressions of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) and Smad4 in the three groups were detected via Western blotting (WB).

RESULTS

After ovariectomy, the bone mineral density in each group was significantly lower than that before ovariectomy, and the differences were statistically significant (p<0.05). Imaging evaluation demonstrated that compared with group A and B, there were significantly more callus tissues in group C. Meanwhile, the fracture line healing was better and blurred, and the internal fixation had no displacement and loosening. RT-PCR results indicated that the expression level of miR-214-3p in group C was significantly lower than that of the other two groups (p<0.05). WB results showed that the protein expression levels of BMP2 and Smad4 in group C were significantly higher than those of group A and group B (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-214-3p delays fracture healing in rats with osteoporotic fracture by inhibiting the BMP/Smad signaling pathway.

Differential analysis of quantitative proteome and acetyl-proteome profiling between premenopausal and postmenopausal ovarian tissues

BACKGROUND

Natural menopause is always accompanied by specific signs and symptoms, suggesting physiological changes in this peoriod. However, no systematic study has assessed the changes at molecular level in the ovaries during the menopausal transition so far. This study integrated quantitative proteome and acetyl-proteome to comprehensively uncover the changes of ovarian protein and protein-acetylation profiles in this transitional period. The findings would provide novel insights into the biology of menopause and help relieve and treat the associated signs and symptoms, further improving the women's health care.

METHODS

Freshly thawed ovarian tissue samples obtained from premenopausal and postmenopausal women were assessed with Tandem Mass Tags for the quantitative analysis of the global profile and acetyl-proteomes by 2-dimensional separation and LC-MS/MS.

RESULTS

Comprehensively, 4210 types of protein, with 3551 types quantifiable were detected. 3047 acetylated sites in 1583 types of protein with 2256 quantifiable in 1248 proteins were detected. By comparing the global and acetylated proteome profiles for postmenopausal women and premenopausal women, 151 types of proteins were found upregulated and 65 were downregulated, along with 23 acetylated sites upregulated and 220 sites downregulated. For Immune response, the complement and coagulation cascades plus the citrate cycle and cellular detoxification were found to be significantly enhanced, while the extracellular structure and matrix organization, ECM-receptor interactions plus the infections were markedly suppressed. In addition, the amino acids around the acetylated sites were enriched by motif analysis, which can help us uncover amino acid sequence and search for the specific target in the subsequent study.

CONCLUSION

Global and acetylated proteome Profiles in ovary differ between the premenopausal and postmenopausal groups. These proteomic-level changes may offer some potential biological markers to identify the pathological changes in ovary and help relieve and treat the associated signs and symptoms, and ultimately improve women's health care.

Measurement of density fluctuation propagation direction via the far-forward collective scattering diagnostic based on polarimeter-interferometer

Previously, the 17-channel three-wave polarimeter-interferometer system (POLARIS) on the J-TEXT tokamak has been implemented to measure far-forward collective scattering (FFCS) from electron density fluctuations. Recently, this system has been exploited to measure the propagation direction of density fluctuation. After considering the refraction of the laser probe beam passing through plasma, the ray tracing result shows that the detector of POLARIS may receive asymmetric far-forward scattering beams. Thus, the heterodyne detection of FFCS is available to identify the propagation direction of density fluctuation by resolving the asymmetric scattering spectrum. Experimentally, the transform of the heterodyne scattering spectrum from symmetry to asymmetry has been observed, while the refraction effect becomes strong demonstrating the capacity of measuring the propagation direction of fluctuation. Furthermore, by changing the plasma potential through the use of an applied positive electrode biasing, the reverse of frequency shift for the heterodyne scattering spectrum is identified, confirming the validity of direction discrimination of density fluctuation.

Loss of NLRP3 Function Alleviates Murine Hepatic Graft-versus-Host Disease

NLRP3 is associated with multiple risks in graft-versus-host disease, though unifying principles for these findings remain largely unknown. To explore the effects and mechanisms of the absence of NLRP3 function on hepatic graft-versus-host-disease, we established an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation mice model by infusing bone marrow mononuclear cells and spleno-T cells of the BALB/c mouse into either NLRP3 knockout (NLRP3^-/- ) or wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Elevated inflammatory cell infiltration, liver fibrosis, and secretions of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST), together with weight loss, were observed in C57BL/6 recipients after transplantation. However, moderate injury pathology was detected in the liver of NLRP3^-/- recipients at day 14, which gradually improved over time. Likewise, proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β, a downstream effecter of NLRP3 inflammasome activation, showed significantly lower expression (P < .05) in the liver of NLRP3^-/- recipients relative to C57BL/6 recipients at day 7 and day 21. Moreover, compared with C57BL/6 recipients, the expression of both TNF-α and IL-1β were decreased 3-fold and 4.7-fold, respectively, at day 21 in NLRP3^-/- recipients. Interestingly, NLRP1a was expressed at a significantly reduced level in the liver of NLRP3^-/- recipients (P < .001). Furthermore, systemic inflammation was analyzed by measuring the concentration of IL-1β and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in serum. The concentration of IL-1β achieved a maximum at day 14, then decreased at day 21 and day 28 in NLRP3^-/- recipients. In contrast, the concentration of IL-1β in C57BL/6 recipients gradually increased from day 7 to day 28. ATP levels reduced from day 7 to day 28 in NLRP3^-/- recipients, but were extremely high in C57BL/6 recipients from day 14 to day 28 (P < .01). The decreased levels of P2X7R were connected to less ATP in NLRP3^-/- recipients at day 21 and day 28. In conclusion, NLRP3 knockout in recipients could significantly relieve liver injury after transplantation and block the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway, thus providing a promising strategy for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis.

[Correlation of baseline serum interleukin-6, 10 and its ratio with 7-year all-cause mortality in 11 communities of Beijing]

Objective: To evaluate whether baseline interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10) as well as their ratio was associated with overall mortality risk over 7 years of follow-up in 11 communities of Beijing. Methods: Data from a prospective cohort study conducted between 2005 and 2012 in 11 communities of Beijing was analyzed to examine the above associations. Serum IL-6 and IL-10 were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Follow-up surveys were conducted in 2007, 2010 and 2012 to collect data about participant's survival. Cox regression model was used to estimate the impact of IL-6, IL-10 and their ratio on overall mortality risk. Results: Among 1 539 eligible participants (10 263 total person-years), 77 deaths occurred in 7 years of follow-up. The rates of all-cause death were 4.86, 7.24, and 10.56 per 1 000 person-years (P=0.009) in the first, second, and third tertile of IL-6, respectively. The corresponding age-sex-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) were 1.00, 1.18 (95% CI: 0.64-2.19), and 1.80 (95% CI: 1.01-3.23) and full-adjusted HR were 1.00, 1.17 (95% CI: 0.63-2.19) and 1.87 (95% CI: 1.04-3.36). The corresponding rates of all-cause deaths were not significantly different among three tertiles of IL-10. The age-sex and full-adjusted HR were not significantly different in Cox model. The rates of all-cause death were 4.63, 8.99, and 8.93 per 1 000 person-years (P=0.043) in the first, second, and third tertile of IL-6/IL-10 ratio, respectively. The corresponding age-sex-adjusted HR were 1.00, 1.67 (95% CI: 0.91-3.06), and 1.98 (95% CI: 1.08-3.64) and full-adjusted HR were 1.00, 1.66 (95% CI: 0.90-3.06), and 2.09 (95% CI: 1.13-3.87). Conclusion: High IL-6 and IL-6/IL-10 ratio may be new risk factors to all-cause death. However, IL-10 is not significantly associated with death.

[Genetic characterization of norovirus isolated in an outbreak of gastroenteritis in Jiangsu province]

Objective: To analyze the genetic characterization of norovirus isolated in an outbreak of gastroenteritis in Jiangsu province. Methods: Extracted viral RNA from the swab samples of cases of acute gastroenteritis outbreak in Jiangsu province on December 16-27, 2016 was reversely transcribed to cDNA, and partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase sequence and complete capsid sequence (VP1) were amplified by RT-PCR. Amplification products were sequenced for the analysis of genetic characteristics. Results: Based on sequence alignment, the variant shared a high level of identity with the strain GⅡ.g isolated in Spain and Finland (98.7%) in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase region, and with the strain GⅡ.1 isolated in American (99.4%) in the VP1. The recombination was determined by using software Simplot, and the breakpoint of recombination was located in the ORF1/2 overlap region at position 5 106 of VP1. The result of amino acids alignment in capsid region showed that there were no mutations in the amino acids of the predicted epitopes and receptor binding site Ⅰ-Ⅲ, but a unique amino acid change was detected at position 132 (N-S). Conclusion: The norovirus isolated in the outbreak of gastroenteritis in Jiangsu province was a rare recombinant norovirus variant GⅡ.g-GⅡ.1.

Design of a wearable and shape-memory fibriform sensor for the detection of multimodal deformation

A wearable and shape-memory strain sensor with a coaxial configuration is designed, comprising a thermoplastic polyurethane fiber as the core support, well-aligned and interconnected carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as conductive filaments, and polypyrrole (PPy) coating as the cladding layer. In this design, the stress relaxation between CNTs is well confined by the outer PPy cladding layer, which endows the fibriform sensor with good reliability and repeatability. The microcracks generated when the coaxial fiber is under strain guarantee the superior sensitivity of this fibriform sensor with a gauge factor of 12 at 0.1% strain, a wide detectable range (from 0.1% to 50% tensile strain), and the ability to detect multimodal deformation (tension, bending, and torsion) and human motions (finger bending, breathing, and phonation). In addition, due to its shape-memory characteristic, the sensing performance of the fibriform sensor is well retained after its shape recovers from 50% deformation and the fabric woven from the shape-memory coaxial fibers can be worn on the elbow joints in a reversible manner (original-enlarged-recovered) and fitted tightly. Thus, this sensor shows promising applications in wearable electronics.