Cotton Fabric-Reinforced Hydrogels with Excellent Mechanical and Broad-Spectrum Photothermal Antibacterial Properties.

Antibacterial hydrogel wound dressings hold great potential in eliminating bacteria and accelerating the healing process. However, it remains a challenge to fabricate hydrogel wound dressings that simultaneously exhibit excellent mechanical and photothermal antibacterial properties. Here we report the development of polydopamine-functionalized graphene oxide (rGO@PDA)/calcium alginate (CA)/Polypyrrole (PPy) cotton fabric-reinforced hydrogels (abbreviated as rGO@PDA/CA/PPy FHs) for tackling bacterial infections. The mechanical properties of hydrogels were greatly enhanced by cotton fabric reinforcement and an interpenetrating structure, while excellent broad-spectrum photothermal antibacterial properties based on the photothermal effect were obtained by incorporating PPy and rGO@PDA. Results indicated that rGO@PDA/CA/PPy FHs exhibited superior tensile strength in both the warp (289 ± 62.1 N) and weft directions (142 ± 23.0 N), similarly to cotton fabric. By incorporating PPy and rGO@PDA, the swelling ratio was significantly decreased from 673.5% to 236.6%, while photothermal conversion performance was significantly enhanced with a temperature elevated to 45.0 °C. Due to the synergistic photothermal properties of rGO@PDA and PPy, rGO@PDA/CA/PPy FHs exhibited excellent bacteria-eliminating efficiency for S. aureus (0.57%) and E. coli (3.58%) after exposure to NIR for 20 min. We believe that the design of fabric-reinforced hydrogels could serve as a guideline for developing hydrogel wound dressings with improved mechanical properties and broad-spectrum photothermal antibacterial properties for infected-wound treatment.

Fc receptor-like 5 gene polymorphisms and mRNA expression are associated with liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B.

Objective: To investigate the associations of Fc receptor-like 5 (FCRL5) gene polymorphisms and mRNA expression with liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods: A total of 114 CHB patients with liver fibrosis and 120 CHB patients without liver fibrosis were selected for this study. The gender, age, body mass index (BMI), alanine transaminase (ALT) value, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) value, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis index based on 4 factors (FIB-4) were recorded. Two polymorphisms of the FCRL5 gene (rs6427384 and rs6692977) were genotyped. The mRNA expression level of FCRL5 in peripheral blood monocytes was determined. Results: ALT, AST, APRI, and FIB-4 in patients with fibrosis were significantly higher than those in non-fibrosis patients. There was statistically significant difference between fibrosis and non-fibrosis groups in the genotype distribution (χ2 = 7.805, p = 0.020) and allele frequencies (χ2 = 13.252, p < 0.001) at FCRL5 rs6692977. When compared with CC genotype, the genotype CT or TT at rs6692977 was significantly associated with a increased risk of liver fibrosis in CHB patients (CT vs. CC: OR = 1.921, 95% CI = 1.093-3.375, p = 0.023; TT vs. CC: OR = 2.598, 95% CI = 1.067-6.324, p = 0.031). The mRNA relative expression levels of FCRL5 in patients with liver fibrosis were significantly higher than those in the non-fibrosis group (t = 13.456, p < 0.001). The fibrosis patients carried TT or CT genotype of rs6692977 had significantly higher FCRL5 mRNA expression levels than those carried CC genotype (t = 2.859, p = 0.005). The mRNA expression levels of FCRL5, APRI, and FIB-4 index showed predictive efficacy in liver fibrosis with cut-off values of 0.75 (AUC = 0.896, 95% CI = 0.856-0.935), 0.45 (AUC = 0.852, 95% CI = 0.802-0.902) and 1.84 (AUC = 0.765, 95% CI = 0.703-0.826), respectively. Conclusion: FCRL5 gene rs6692977 polymorphisms and mRNA expression levels are associated with liver fibrosis in CHB patients.

Relationship between the Height of Alveolar Bone Resorption and Sex and Age in Adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between the height of alveolar bone resorption and sex and age in the adolescent dentition. METHODS: Multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) was used to measure the height of alveolar bone resorption at labial, lingual, mesial and distal sites of teeth in 149 adolescents aged from 10 to 20 years. SPSS 25.0 software was used to analyze the relationship between the height of alveolar bone resorption and sex and age. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the height of alveolar bone resorption between sex (P>0.05). The height of alveolar bone resorption was positively correlated with age in all types of teeth. The model constructed by combining the alveolar bone resorption height data of four sites (y=2.569x1+3.106x2+4.108x3+1.451x4-0.082, R2max=0.756)had a better ability to infer age than that of combining two sites (y=5.942x1+4.489x2+0.612, R2max=0.706) and a single site (R2max=0.638). CONCLUSIONS: The height of alveolar bone resorption is positively correlated with the age of adolescents. The combination of four sites has a stronger ability to infer the relationship between the height of alveolar bone resorption and age in adolescents and has higher accuracy in practical application.

miR­302c­3p and miR­520a­3p suppress the proliferation of cervical carcinoma cells by targeting CXCL8.

The aim of the present study was to identify the differentially expressed microRNAs (miRs) in cervical carcinoma (CC) tissues and cells and to explore the function of miR­302c­3p and miR­520a­3p in the proliferation of CC cells. Potential dysregulated miRNAs in CC tissues and tumour­adjacent tissues were detected. Reverse transcription­quantitative PCR (RT­qPCR) was performed to determine the expression of miR­302c­3p, miR­520a­3p and CXCL8 in CC tissues and cell lines. The target genes of the miRNAs were predicted using miRTarBase and verified by luciferase reporter assays. RT­qPCR and western blotting were performed to measure the expression of C­X­C motif ligand (CXCL)8 after transfection. The effect on proliferation was verified by Cell Counting Kit assay and ethynyl­2­deoxyuridine staining. Flow cytometry was utilised to assess the effect on apoptosis. In the present study, miR­302c­3p and miR­520a­3p were markedly downregulated in CC cell lines compared to the normal cervical cell line H8. Functionally, overexpression of miR­302c­3p and/or miR­520a­3p inhibited proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of CC cell lines in vitro, while the knockdown of miR­302c­3p and/or miR­520a­3p had the opposite effect. Furthermore, miR­302c­3p and miR­520a­3p could both bind to CXCL8. Inhibition of CXCL8 in combination with miR­302c­3p and/or miR­520a­3p overexpression exerted proliferation­suppressive and apoptosis­stimulating effects on CC cells, whereas restoring CXCL8 attenuated the miR­302c­3p­ and miR­520a­3p­induced anti­proliferative and pro­apoptotic effects. miR­302c­3p and miR­520a­3p suppress the proliferation of CC cells by downregulating the expression of CXCL8, which may provide a novel target for the treatment of CC.