Manual acupuncture ameliorates inflammatory pain by upregulating adenosine A3 receptor in complete Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis rats.

BACKGROUND: Adenosine A3 receptor (A3R) exerts analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-nociceptive effects. In this study, we determined the analgesic mechanism of manual acupuncture (MA) in rats with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis and explored whether MA ameliorates inflammation in these rats by upregulating A3R. METHODS: Sixty Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into the following groups: Control, CFA, CFA + MA, CFA + sham MA, CFA + MA + DMSO, CFA + MA + IB-MECA, and CFA + MA + Reversine groups. The arthritis rat model was induced by injecting CFA into the left ankle joints. Thereafter, the rats were subjected to MA (ST36 acupoint) for 3 days. The clinical indicators paw withdrawal latency (PWL), paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), and open field test (OFT) were used to determine the analgesic effect of MA. In addition, to explore the effect of A3R on inflammation after subjecting arthritis rats to MA, IB-MECA (A3R agonist) and Reversine (A3R antagonist) were injected into ST36 before MA. RESULTS: MA ameliorated the pathological symptoms of CFA-induced arthritis, including the pain indicators PWL and PWT, number of rearing, total ambulatory distance, and activity trajectory. Furthermore, after MA, the mRNA and protein expression of A3R was upregulated in CFA-induced arthritis rats. In contrast, the protein levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, Rap1, and p-p65 were downregulated after MA. Interestingly, the A3R agonist and antagonist further downregulated and upregulated inflammatory cytokine expression, respectively, after MA. Furthermore, the A3R antagonist increased the degree of ankle swelling after MA. CONCLUSION: MA can alleviate inflammatory pain by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway via upregulating A3R expression of the superficial fascia of the ST36 acupoint site in CFA-induced arthritis rats.

An injectable collagen peptide-based hydrogel with desirable antibacterial, self-healing and wound-healing properties based on multiple-dynamic crosslinking.

Conventional collagen-based hydrogels as wound dressing materials are usually lack of antibacterial activity and easily broken when encountering external forces. In this work, we developed a collagen peptide-based hydrogel as a wound dressing, which was composed of adipic acid dihydrazide functionalized collagen peptide (Col-ADH), oxidized dextran (ODex), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and borax via multiple-dynamic reversible bonds (acylhydrazone, amine, borate ester and hydrogen bonds). The injectable hydrogel exhibited satisfactory self-healing ability, antibacterial activity, mechanical strength, as well as good biocompatibility and biodegradability. In vivo experiments demonstrated the rapid hemostasis, accelerated cell migration, and promoted wound healing capacities of the hydrogel. These results indicate that the multifunctional collagen peptide-based hydrogel has great potentials in the field of wound dressings.

Penicopeptide A (PPA) from the deep-sea-derived fungus promotes osteoblast-mediated bone formation and alleviates ovariectomy-induced bone loss by activating the AKT/GSK-3ß/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

The potential of marine natural products as effective drugs for osteoporosis treatment is an understudied area. In this study, we investigated the ability of lead compounds from deep-sea-derived Penicillium solitum MCCC 3A00215 to promote bone formation in vitro and in vivo. We found that penicopeptide A (PPA) promoted osteoblast mineralization among bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in a concentration-dependent manner, and thus, we selected this natural peptide for further testing. Our further experiments showed that PPA significantly promoted the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs while inhibiting their adipogenic differentiation and not affecting their chondrogenic differentiation. Mechanistic studies showed that PPA binds directly to the AKT and GSK-3ß and activates phosphorylation of AKT and GSK-3ß, resulting in the accumulation of ß-catenin. We also evaluated the therapeutic potential of PPA in a female mouse model of ovariectomy-induced systemic bone loss. In this model, PPA treatment prevented decreases in bone volume and trabecular thickness. In conclusion, our in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that PPA could promote osteoblast-related bone formation via the AKT, GSK-3ß, and ß-catenin signaling pathways, indicating the clinical potential of PPA as a candidate compound for osteoporosis prevention.

Influence of a topological artificial atom chain on the transmission properties of a cavity.

We explore the influence of the artificial atomic chain on the input-output relation of the cavity. Specifically, we extend the atom chain to the one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain to check the role of atomic topological non-trivial edge state on the transmission characteristics of the cavity. The superconducting circuits can realize the artificial atomic chain. Our results show that the atom chain is not equivalent to atom gas, and the transmission properties of the cavity containing the atom chain are entirely different from that of the cavity containing atom gas. When the atom chain is arranged in the form of topological non-trivial SSH model, the atom chain can be equivalent to the three-level atom, in which the edge state contributes to the second level and is resonant with the cavity, while the high-energy bulk state contributes to form the third level and is greatly detuned with the cavity. Therefore, the transmission spectrum shows no more than three peaks. This allows us to infer the topological phase of the atomic chain and the coupling strength between the atom and the cavity only from the profile of the transmission spectrum. Our work is helping to understand the role of topology in quantum optics.

Recent advances in CRISPR-based genome editing technology and its applications in cardiovascular research.

The rapid development of genome editing technology has brought major breakthroughs in the fields of life science and medicine. In recent years, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based genome editing toolbox has been greatly expanded, not only with emerging CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) nucleases, but also novel applications through combination with diverse effectors. Recently, transposon-associated programmable RNA-guided genome editing systems have been uncovered, adding myriads of potential new tools to the genome editing toolbox. CRISPR-based genome editing technology has also revolutionized cardiovascular research. Here we first summarize the advances involving newly identified Cas orthologs, engineered variants and novel genome editing systems, and then discuss the applications of the CRISPR-Cas systems in precise genome editing, such as base editing and prime editing. We also highlight recent progress in cardiovascular research using CRISPR-based genome editing technologies, including the generation of genetically modified in vitro and animal models of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) as well as the applications in treating different types of CVD. Finally, the current limitations and future prospects of genome editing technologies are discussed.

Association between Serum Uric Acid and Hypertension in a Large Cross-Section Study in a Chinese Population.

Background: The association of serum uric acid (SUA) with hypertension has been well established in Caucasian populations. However, its association with hypertension in Chinese remained to be clarified. Methods: Consecutive patients, homogeneous in Chinese Han ethnicity, aged ≥18 years, abstracted from the database, admitted from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2013, were included for potential analysis. The patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of hypertension. Unconditional logistic regression was performed to estimate the association between SUA and hypertension. Its possible interactions with risk factors on hypertension were also explored. Results: A total of 9587 patients were finally analyzed in the current study, where 5692 were with hypertension and 3895 were without hypertension. Per 100 µmol/L higher SUA concentration was associated with multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) of 1.25 (1.08−1.22) in males, 1.10 (1.01−1.20) in females, and 1.19 (1.13−1.24) in total. On a categorical scale, when compared with the first quintile, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) were 1.40 (1.20−1.64) for the 2nd quintile, 1.48 (1.27−1.74) for the 3rd quintile, 1.55 (1.32−1.82) for the 4th quintile, and 1.92 (1.63−2.26) for the 5th quintile, with a p for trend < 0.01. Conclusions: SUA is associated with hypertension in a dose-response manner among the Chinese hospitalized population. Management of SUA could help to the prevention and control of hypertension.

MoS2transistors gated by ferroelectric HfZrO2with MoS2/mica heterojunction interface.

Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) field-effect transistor (FET) gated by negative capacitance (NC) is a promising architecture to overcome the thermionic limit and thus reduce device consumption. Here, top-gated MoS2NCFETs have been prepared by transferring a mica flake on MoS2channel to form a van der Waals heterojunction interface, together with a ferroelectric HfZrO2(HZO) deposited on mica. Stable NC effects are demonstrated for MoS2NCFETs. The MoS2NCFETs integrated with mica/HZO gate stack provide competitive electrical characteristics when they are applied with a gate voltage sweep-width in the range of 1-3 V and a sweep-rate from 0.01 to 0.2 V s-1, including steep-slope of sub 60 mV dec-1in four orders of magnitude of drain current, on/off current ratio over 106, and small hysteresis-width less than 50 mV. Outstanding performance should be ascribed to damage-free properties of mica/MoS2van der Waals interface and capacitance matching between the HZO ferroelectric and mica dielectric. The results confirm the promising nature of mica/HZO gate stack and potential applications for future electronics.

Impacts of HfZrO thickness and anneal temperature on performance of MoS2negative-capacitance field-effect transistors.

The MoS2negative-capacitance field-effect transistor (NCFET) with the ultra-thin (3 nm) HfZrO (HZO) as NC layer and 2 nm Al2O3as dielectric layer is successfully fabricated by optimizing the annealing temperature and the HZO thickness. Excellent subthreshold swing (SS = 33.1 mV dec-1) is achieved, with an on/off current ratio of 1.16 × 107. The relevant negative-drain-induced barrier lowing effect and the negative differential resistance effect are observed in the MoS2NCFET. Such low SS implies that only a small gate-voltage increment can transfer the transistor from off state to on state, i.e. an excellent switching and low power-consumption characteristics. The involved mechanisms lie in a suitable anneal temperature for ferroelectric phase transition and a reasonably ultra-thin HZO thickness for the optimum capacitance matching.

Microsatellite instability in the peripheral blood leukocytes of HNPCC patients.

Most hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) patients inherit a defective allele of a mismatch repair (MMR) gene, usually MLH1 or MSH2, resulting in high levels of microsatellite instability (MSI-H) in the tumors. Presence of MSI in the normal tissues of mutation carriers has been controversial. Here we directly compare MSI in the peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) DNA of seven HNPCC patients carrying different types of pathogenic MMR mutations in MLH1 and MSH2 genes with the PBL DNA of normal age-matched controls and of patients with sporadic colorectal cancer (SCRC). Small pool PCR (SP-PCR) was used studying three microsatellite loci for at least 100 alleles each in most samples. The average frequencies of mutant microsatellite fragments in each HNPCC patient (0.04-0.24) were significantly higher (p<0.01) relative to their age-matched normal controls with mutant frequencies (MF) from 0.00 to 0.06, or SCRC patients (MF from 0.01-0.03). The data support the conclusions that higher MF in the PBL DNA of HNPCC patients is real and reproducible, may vary in extent according to the type of germline MMR mutation and the age of the individual, and provide a possible genetic explanation for anticipation in HNPCC families.

Quantum interference between two orthogonal transitions of an atom in one-dimensional photonic crystals.

We find that the V-type three-level Zeeman atom has the complete quantum interference when it is embedded in one-dimensional photonic crystals (1D PCs) possessing the TM-polarized complete gap. To avoid the nonradiative decay related to dissipation and the decay through surface exciton, we add two phase compensators made of ideal left-handed materials on two sides of atom, and then the total structure is equivalent to a 1D PC supporting only the radiative modes. The parameter regions (epsilon, mu) leading to the TM-polarized complete gap have been sketched out, and the influence of absorption on the quantum interference is discussed.

[Bio-optical model of total suspended matter based on reflectance in the near infrared wave band for case-II waters].

From August to October, 2006, reflectance spectra were measured in a turbid Case-Il waters condition with an ASD FieldSpec spectrometer for a total of 58 samples. Based on the observation of reflectance curves, spectral analysis was carried out over 400-1200 nm. Showing the typical character of Case-II waters, the reflectance values were generally higher than those in other similar studies. Strong backscattering of high concentration total suspended matter (TSM) contributed considerably to the total reflectance spectra in water. Two obvious TSM reflectance peaks were observed in the near infrared wave bands, i.e., 808 and 1067 nm, especially the latter one that was never reported before. The highest correlation coefficient between reflectance and concentrations of TSM existed at 873 nm. Based on the simplification of water inherent optical parameters in the near-infrared wave band, including absorption of TSM, Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and backscattering of pure water, Chl-a and CDOM, three empirical equations of the bio-optical model using reflectance at 808, 873 and 1067 nm respectively were established to estimate the concentrations of TSM. Compared with linear and exponential models, the bio-optical model showed fairly good performance with comparatively high determination coefficient (r2) and low root mean squared error (RMSE), which confirmed the applicability of the bio-optical model to retrieve concentrations of TSM effectively in turbid Case-II waters.

Spontaneous emission field of a two-level atom embedded in one-dimensional left-handed- and right-handed-material photonic crystals.

We investigate the spontaneous emission (SpE) of a two-level atom embedded in one-dimensional photonic crystals composed of left-hand material (LHM) and right-hand material. A complete set of mode functions is constructed for quantizing the radiation field. The radiated field distribution under the condition of impedance matching is calculated. The radiated field is focused in each layer and propagates along the direction normal to each layer due to the LHM. With such a structure we can control the propagation of the SpE field without changing the SpE rate.

Negative Hartman effect in one-dimensional photonic crystals with negative refractive materials.

The Hartman effect inside the one-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPC's) composed of negative index materials (NIM's) is always negative and is reversed to the Hartman effect inside the 1DPC's composed of positive index materials (PIM's). By calculating the phases of Fourier components of a pulse accumulated inside the 1DPC's of NIM's and the evolution of the pulse inside the 1DPC's of NIM's, the origin of the negative phase time is explained. The evolution of the electromagnetic fields inside the 1DPC's of NIM's is time reversal with conjugate to that inside the 1DPC's of PIM's for real spectral pulses. An example for the practical applications to obtain the negative phase time is illustrated.