Half-spectrum OFDM to quadruple the spectral efficiency of underwater wireless optical communication with digital power division multiplexing.

Improving the spectrum efficiency (SE) is an effective method to further enhance the data rate of bandwidth-limited underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) systems. Non-orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (NOFDM) with a compression factor of 0.5 can save half of the bandwidth without introducing any inter-carrier-interference (ICI) only if the total number of subcarriers is large enough, and we termed it as half-spectrum OFDM (HS-OFDM). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported work on a closed-form HS-OFDM signal in the discrete domain from the perspective of a correlation matrix. Due to the special mathematical property, no extra complex decoding algorithm is required at the HS-OFDM receiver, making it as simple as the conventional OFDM receiver. Compared with traditional OFDM, HS-OFDM can realize the same data rate, but with a larger signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margin. To fully use the SNR resource of the communication system, we further propose a digital power division multiplexed HS-OFDM (DPDM-HS-OFDM) scheme to quadruple the SE of conventional OFDM for the bandwidth-starved UWOCs. The experimental results show that HS-OFDM can improve the receiver sensitivity by around 4 dB as opposed to conventional 4QAM-OFDM with the same data rate and SE. With the help of the DPDM-HS-OFDM scheme, the data rate of multi-user UWOC can reach up to 4.5 Gbps under the hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) limit of a bit error rate (BER) of 3.8×10-3. Although there is some performance degradation in comparison with single-user HS-OFDM, the BER performance of multi-user DPDM-HS-OFDM is still superior to that of conventional single-user 4QAM-OFDM. Both single-user HS-OFDM and multi-user DPDM-HS-OFDM successfully achieve 2 Gbps/75 m data transmission, indicating that the DPDM-HS-OFDM scheme is of great importance in bandwidth-limited UWOC systems and has guiding significance to underwater wireless optical multiple access.

Genes expression profiles in vascular cambium of Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis at different ages.

BACKGROUND: Wood is a secondary xylem generated by vascular cambium. Vascular cambium activities mainly include cambium proliferation and vascular tissue formation through secondary growth, thereby producing new secondary phloem inward and secondary xylem outward and leading to continuous tree thickening and wood formation. Wood formation is a complex biological process, which is strictly regulated by multiple genes. Therefore, molecular level research on the vascular cambium of different tree ages can lead to the identification of both key and related genes involved in wood formation and further explain the molecular regulation mechanism of wood formation. RESULTS: In the present study, RNA-Seq and Pac-Bio Iso-Seq were used for profiling gene expression changes in Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis (E. urograndis) vascular cambium at four different ages. A total of 59,770 non-redundant transcripts and 1892 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The expression trends of the DEGs related to cell division and differentiation, cell wall biosynthesis, phytohormone, and transcription factors were analyzed. The DEGs encoding expansin, kinesin, cycline, PAL, GRP9, KNOX, C2C2-dof, REV, etc., were highly expressed in E. urograndis at three years old, leading to positive effects on growth and development. Moreover, some gene family members, such as NAC, MYB, HD-ZIP III, RPK, and RAP, play different regulatory roles in wood formation because of their sophisticated transcriptional network and function redundantly. CONCLUSIONS: These candidate genes are a potential resource to further study wood formation, especially in fast-growing and adaptable eucalyptus. The results may also serve as a basis for further research to unravel the molecular mechanism underlying wood formation.

Broadband polarization/mode insensitive 3-dB optical coupler for silicon photonic switches.

In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a four-mode polarization/mode insensitive 3-dB coupler based on an adiabatic coupler. The proposed design works for the first two transverse electric (TE) modes and the first two transverse magnetic (TM) modes. Over an optical bandwidth of 70 nm (1500 nm to 1570 nm), the coupler exhibits at most 0.7 dB insertion loss with a maximum crosstalk of -15.7 dB and a power imbalance not worse than 0.9 dB. A multimode photonic switch matrix using this optical coupler is proposed simultaneously exploiting wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), polarization division multiplexing (PDM), and mode division multiplexing (MDM). Based on the coupler experimental measurements, the switching system loss is estimated to be 10.6 dB with crosstalk limited by the MDM (de)multiplexing circuit.

Do factors associated with older pedestrian crash severity differ? A causal factor analysis based on exposure level of pedestrians.

OBJECTIVE: Older pedestrians are more likely to have severe or fatal consequences when involved in traffic crashes. Identifying the factors contributing to the severity and possible interdependencies between factors in specific exposure areas is the first step to improving safety. Therefore, examining the causal factors' impact on pedestrian-vehicle crash severity in a given area is vital for formulating effective measures to reduce the risk of pedestrian fatalities and injuries. METHODS: This study implements the Thiessen polygon algorithm deployed to define older pedestrians' exposure influence area. Enabling trip characteristics and built environment information as exposure index settings for the background of the pedestrian severity causal analysis. Then, structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to conduct a factor analysis of the crash severity in high- and low-exposure areas. The SEM evaluates latent factors such as driver risk attitude, risky driving behavior, lack of risk perception among older pedestrians, natural environment, adverse road conditions for driving or walking, and vehicle conditions. The SEM crash model also establishes the relationship between each latent factor. RESULTS: In total, drivers' risky driving behavior (0.270, p < 0.05) in low-exposure areas significantly impacts older pedestrian crash severity more than in high-exposure areas. Lack of risk perception among older pedestrians (0.232, p < 0.05) is the most critical factor promoting crash severity in high-exposure areas. The natural environment (0.634, p < 0.05) in high-exposure areas positively influences older pedestrians' lack of risk perception more than in low-exposure areas. CONCLUSIONS: Significant group differences (p-values ∼ 0.001-0.049) existed between the causal factors of the high-exposure risk areas and the low-exposure risk factors. Different exposure intervals require detailed scenarios based on the critical risks identified. The crash severity promotion measures in different exposure areas can be focused on according to the critical causes analyzed. Those clues, in turn, can be used by transportation authorities in prioritizing their plans, policies, and programs toward improving the safety and mobility of older pedestrians.

Experimental demonstration of real-time optical DFT-S DMT signal transmission for a blue-LED-based UWOC system using spatial diversity reception.

Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) has broad prospects in underwater real-time applications. We design and experimentally demonstrate a real-time discrete Fourier transform spread discrete multi-tone (DFT-S DMT) signal transmission based on a field programmable gate array for a blue-LED-based UWOC system with a data rate of up to 30 Mbps over a 15-m underwater channel. The architecture and usage of an on-chip resource as well as power consumption are analyzed and discussed. To reduce the impacts of multipath fading and received intensity fluctuation, spatial diversity reception is also introduced. Furthermore, the receiver sensitivity at a specified bit error rate (BER) threshold and the quality of the images are evaluated using three types of Reed-Solomon (RS) codes. At the BER threshold of 10-4, over 2.8-dB receiver sensitivity improvement is obtained by the DFT-S DMT scheme with the RS (64, 56) code as compared to the uncoded one at the data rate of 30 Mbps. The performance of BER, color difference, and structural similarity in the image transmission of DFT-S DMT is superior to that of the conventional hard clipping quadrature amplitude modulation DMT in a high-data-rate region because of the low peak-to-average-power ratio and ability to mitigate high-frequency fading in a band-limited UWOC system. With schemes of the RS code, DFT-S, and diversity reception, error-free transmission of images is achieved over a 15-m water channel. The proposed UWOC system has the advantages of low power consumption and portability, which foresees a bright future in underwater applications over short to moderate distances.

Inhibitory effects of diarsenic trioxide (As2O3) on hepatocellular carcinoma cells exerted by regulation of promyelocytic leukemia protein levels

Previous Chinese research revealed that diarsenic trioxide (As2O3) inhibits acute promyelocytic leukemia (PML) cell proliferation and initiates apoptosis through degradation of the PML-retinoic acid receptor protein. This study was to analyse whether As2O3 also had an effect on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. As2O3 effects on various HCC cell lines and primary HCC cells were investigated in time and dose series, including measurements of cell growth, PML mRNA and protein expression, xenografted tumor formation, and the self-renewal Oct4 and hepatocyte marker expressions in mouse model xenografts or cells treated with PML siRNA. The results were analyzed by immunocytochemistry, quantitative reverse transcription PCR and western blotting as well as indocyanine green and Periodic Acid Schiff staining. As2O3 inhibited HCC cell and HCC cell-derived xenograft tumor formation in a time-dependent manner and reduced PML protein expression in HCC cells, but had limited effects on PML mRNA levels in cell nuclei. The HCC cell line HuH7 treated with As2O3 showed a decreased expression of alpha-fetoprotein and increased expression and transcription of mature hepatocyte markers, indicating differentiation of HCC cells into hepatocytes. Cytokeratin 18 protein and mRNA levels as well as tyrosine aminotransferase and apolipoprotein B mRNA transcriptions were enhanced by As2O3 as were the numbers of indocyanine green and Periodic Acid Schiff stained cells. In addition, As2O3 downregulated the expression of Oct4. In conclusion, since As2O3 inhibited HCC cell proliferation and HCC cell-derived xenograft tumor formation it is suggested that an appropriate concentration of As2O3 might be a promising therapy to treat HCC.

Biological Characteristics of Recombinant Arthrobotrys oligospora Chitinase AO-801.

Chitinase AO-801 is a hydrolase secreted by Arthrobotrys oligospora during nematode feeding, while its role remained elusive. This study analyzed the molecular characteristics of recombinant chitinase of Arthrobotrys oligospora (reAO-801). AO-801 belongs to the typical glycoside hydrolase 18 family with conserved chitinase sequence and tertiary structure of (α/ß)8 triose-phosphate isomerase (TIM) barrel. The molecular weight of reAO-801 was 42 kDa. reAO-801 effectively degraded colloidal and powdered chitin, egg lysate, and stage I larval lysate of Caenorhabditis elegans. The activity of reAO-801 reached its peak at 40˚C and pH values between 4-7. Enzyme activity was inhibited by Zn2+, Ca2+, and Fe3+, whereas Mg2+ and K+ potentiated its activity. In addition, urea, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and 2-mercaptoethanol significantly inhibited enzyme activity. reAO-801 showed complete nematicidal activity against C. elegans stage I larvae. reAO-801 broke down the C. elegans egg shells, causing them to die or die prematurely by hatching the eggs. It also invoked degradation of Haemonchus contortus eggs, resulting in apparent changes in the morphological structure. This study demonstrated the cytotoxic effect of reAO-801, which laid the foundation for further dissecting the mechanism of nematode infestation by A. oligospora.

Fabrication error tolerant broadband mode converters and their working principles.

Computational inverse design techniques have shown potential to become reliable means for designing compact nanophotonic devices without compromising the performance. Much effort has been made to reduce the computation cost involved in the optimization process and obtain final designs that are robust to fabrication imperfections. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate TE0-TE1 and TE1-TE3 mode converters (MCs) on the silicon-on-insulator platform designed using the computationally efficient shape optimization method. These MCs have mode conversion efficiencies above 95%, and the insertion loss ranges from 0.3 dB to 1 dB over a wavelength span of 80 nm ranging from 1.5 µm to 1.58 µm. Maximum modal crosstalk found experimentally in the C-band is -19 dB. The conversion efficiency drops at most by 2.2% at 1.55 µm for 10 nm over/under etch, implying good robustness to dimensional variations. We present the mode conversion mechanism of these MCs by studying the simulated electromagnetic field patterns and validate with supportive data. We also demonstrate their performance in the time domain with a 28 Gbps OOK and a 20 GBaud PAM-4 payload transmissions, which supports their utility for high throughput data communications. The open eye diagrams exhibit Q-factors of 8 dB.

Efficient mode exchanger-based silicon photonic switch enabled by inverse design.

A novel and energy efficient mode insensitive switch building block is proposed and experimentally demonstrated on a silicon-on-insulator platform. Based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, the switch uses a relatively compact mode insensitive phase shifter which includes a mode exchanger. The novel structure realizes the exact same phase shift for all modes by exchanging the modes midway within the phase shifter. The design approach leads to reduced power consumption otherwise not possible. Switching the first two quasi transverse electric (TE) modes simultaneously consumes 25.6 mW of power, an approximately 30% reduction from previous reported demonstrations. The measured insertion loss is 3.1 dB on average with a worst-case crosstalk of -14.9 dB over a 40 nm optical bandwidth from 1530 nm to 1570 nm. The design methodology enables scalability up to four optical modes.

Underwater wireless optical communication utilizing low-complexity sparse pruned-term-based nonlinear decision-feedback equalization.

The nonlinearity of the light-emitting diode (LED) in underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) systems is considered the one major limiting factor that degrades the system's performance. Volterra series-based nonlinear equalization is widely employed to mitigate such nonlinearity in communication systems. However, the conventional Volterra series-based model is of high complexity, especially for the nonlinearity of higher-order terms or longer memory lengths. In this paper, by pruning away some negligible beating terms and adaptively picking out some of the dominant terms while discarding the trivial ones, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a sparse pruned-term-based nonlinear decision-feedback equalization (SPT-NDFE) scheme for the LED-based UWOC system with an inappreciable performance degradation as compared to systems without the pruning strategy. Meanwhile, by replacing the self/cross beating terms with the terms formed by the absolute operation of a sum of two input samples instead of the product operation terms, a sparse pruned-term-based absolute operation nonlinear decision-feedback equalization (SPT-ANDFE) scheme is also introduced to further reduce complexity. The experimental results show that the SPT-NDFE scheme exhibits comparable performance as compared to the conventional NDFE (nonlinear decision-feedback equalization) scheme with lower complexity (the nonlinear coefficients are reduced by 63.63% as compared to the conventional NDFE scheme). While the SPT-ANDFE scheme yields suboptimal performance with further reduced complexity at the expense of a slight performance degradation, the robustness of the proposed schemes in different turbidity waters is experimentally verified. The proposed channel equalization schemes with low complexity and high performance are promising for power/energy-sensitive UWOC systems.

Molecular Characteristics and Potent Immunomodulatory Activity of Fasciola hepatica Cystatin.

Cystatin, a cysteine protease inhibitor found in many parasites, plays important roles in immune evasion. This study analyzed the molecular characteristics of a cystatin from Fasciola hepatica (FhCystatin) and expressed recombinant FhCystatin (rFhcystatin) to investigate the immune modulatory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced proliferation, migration, cytokine secretion, nitric oxide (NO) production, and apoptosis in mouse macrophages. The FhCystatin gene encoded 116 amino acids and contained a conserved cystatin-like domain. rFhCystatin significantly inhibited the activity of cathepsin B. rFhCystatin bound to the surface of mouse RAW264.7 cells, significantly inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis. Moreover, rFhCystatin inhibited the expression of cellular nitric oxide, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, and promoted the expression of transforming growth factor-ß and interleukin-10. These results showed that FhCystatin played an important role in regulating the activity of mouse macrophages. Our findings provide new insights into mechanisms underlying the immune evasion and contribute to the exploration of potential targets for the development of new drug to control F. hepatica infection.

Molecular characterization of a novel GSTO2 of Fasciola hepatica and its roles in modulating murine macrophages.

Fascioliasis is an important zoonotic helminthic disease caused by Fasciola hepatica and poses a serious threat to global public health. To evade the immune response of its host (humans or animals), F. hepatica secretes various antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione transferase (GST) to facilitate its invasion, migration and parasitism in vivo. To investigate the biological functions of a novel omega-class GST (GSTO), the molecular features of GSTO2 of F. hepatica were analyzed by online software, and the biochemical properties in vitro of recombinant GSTO2 (rGSTO2) were dissected. Then, the regulatory roles of rGSTO2 protein in murine macrophages in vitro were further explored. The results revealed that the GSTO2 gene encodes 254 amino acids, which harbor the characteristic N-terminal domain (ßαßαßßα) and C-terminal domain (α-helical) of the cytoplasmic GST superfamily. GSTO2 was mainly expressed in F. hepatica vitelline follicles, intestinal tract, excretory pores and vitelline cells, with thioltransferase and dehydroascorbate reductase activities. Moreover, rGSTO2 protein could be taken up by murine macrophages and significantly inhibit the viability of macrophages. In addition, rGSTO2 protein could significantly promote apoptosis and modulate the expression of cytokines in macrophages. These findings suggested that F. hepatica GSTO2 plays an important role in modulating the physiological functions of macrophages, whereby this protein might be involved in immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory roles during infection. This study provided new insights into the immune-evasion mechanism of F. hepatica and may contribute to the development of a potential anti-inflammatory agent.

Title: Caractérisation moléculaire d'une nouvelle GSTO2 de Fasciola hepatica et ses rôles dans la modulation des macrophages murins. Abstract: La fasciolase est une importante maladie helminthique zoonotique causée par Fasciola hepatica, qui constitue une menace sérieuse pour la santé publique mondiale. Pour échapper à la réponse immunitaire de son hôte (humain ou animal), F. hepatica sécrète diverses enzymes antioxydantes telles que la glutathion transférase (GST) pour faciliter son invasion, sa migration et son parasitisme in vivo. Pour étudier les fonctions biologiques d'une nouvelle GST de classe oméga (GSTO), les caractéristiques moléculaires de la GSTO2 de F. hepatica ont été analysées par un logiciel en ligne et les propriétés biochimiques in vitro de sa protéine recombinante (rGSTO2) ont été disséquées. Ensuite, les rôles régulateurs de la protéine rGSTO2 sur les macrophages murins in vitro ont été explorés plus avant. Les résultats ont révélé que le gène GSTO2 code pour 254 acides aminés, qui abritent le domaine N-terminal caractéristique (ßαßαßßα) et le domaine C-terminal (α-hélicoïdal) de la superfamille GST cytoplasmique. Chez F. hepatica, GSTO2 était principalement exprimée dans les follicules vitellins, le tractus intestinal, les pores excréteurs et les cellules vitellines, avec des activités de thioltransférase et de déhydroascorbate réductase. De plus, la protéine rGSTO2 a pu être absorbée par les macrophages murins et inhiber de manière significative la viabilité des macrophages. Enfin, la protéine rGSTO2 a pu favoriser de manière significative l'apoptose et moduler l'expression des cytokines dans les macrophages. Ces résultats suggèrent que la GSTO2 de F. hepatica joue un rôle important dans la modulation des fonctions physiologiques des macrophages, cette protéine pouvant être impliquée dans des rôles immunomodulateurs et anti-inflammatoires au cours de l'infection. Cette étude a fourni de nouvelles informations sur le mécanisme d'évasion immunitaire de F. hepatica et pourrait contribuer au développement d'un agent anti-inflammatoire potentiel.

100-m/3-Gbps underwater wireless optical transmission using a wideband photomultiplier tube (PMT).

In this paper, a wideband photomultiplier tube (PMT)-based underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) system is proposed and a comprehensive experimental study of the proposed PMT-based UWOC system is conducted, in which the transmission distance, data rate, and attenuation length (AL) is pushed to 100.6 meters, 3 Gbps, and 6.62, respectively. The receiver sensitivity at 100.6-meter underwater transmission is as low as -40 dBm for the 1.5-Gbps on-off keying (OOK) modulation signal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Gbps-class UWOC experimental demonstration in >100-meter transmission that has ever been reported. To further minimize the complexity of channel equalization, a sparsity-aware equalizer with orthogonal matching pursuit is adopted to reduce the number of the filter coefficients by more than 50% while keeping slight performance penalty. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed PMT-based UWOC system in different turbidity waters is investigated, which shows the robustness of the proposed scheme. Thanks to the great sensitivity (approaching the quantum limit) and a relatively larger effective area, benefits of misalignment tolerance contributed by the PMT is verified through a proof-of-concept UWOC experiment.

Prevalences and Characteristics of Trichuris Spp. Infection in Sheep in Pastoral Areas of the Tianshan, Xinjiang, China.

Introduction: Nematodes of the Trichuris genus are commonly reported parasites that can cause trichuriasis in many animals, which leads to inflammation, intestinal bleeding and reductions of productivity in livestock. Knowledge of the prevalence of Trichuris infestation in the Tianshan ovine population and of the nematode species parasitising the population is not exhaustive, and this study aimed to expand the knowledge. Material and Methods: A total of 1,216 sheep slaughtered in five pasture areas in the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang were investigated and a phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial cox1 gene was performed to clarify the genetic relationships of the various Trichuris species. Results: Sheep totalling 1,047 were infected with Trichuris spp. establishing the rate at 86.1%. Using a morphological protocol, six documented and one undefined species were identified, namely T. gazellae, T. lani, T. ovina, T. longispiculus, T. concolor, T. discolor and Trichuris sp. Among them, T. gazellae and T. lani were the dominant species, accounting for 34.5% and 31.0% of Trichuris spp., respectively. Phylogenetic analysis divided the detected species of Trichuris spp. into two genetic clades (clade I and clade II). The six documented species that can infect sheep and the undefined species were clustered into clade I, with inter- and intra-species genetic diversity apparent. Conclusion: This survey described in detail the morphological characteristics of six known and one undefined species of Trichuris, which not only enriched the taxonomic information on record regarding Trichuris spp., but also provided valuable epidemiological data for the prevention and control of trichuriasis in sheep.

Dual-mode broadband compact 2 × 2 optical power splitter using sub-wavelength metamaterial structures.

The multimode power splitter is a fundamental component in mode-division multiplexed systems. In this paper, we design and characterize a broadband compact dual-mode multimode interferometer (MMI) optical power splitter based on subwavelength grating (SWG) structures. The optimized dual-mode MMI is three times more compact than its conventional mode insensitive MMIs and shows low loss and low crosstalk flat response over 100 nm bandwidth. Characterizations of the fabricated dual-mode splitter show that the total excess loss in the experiment is less than 0.1 dB and 0.65 dB for TE0 and TE1, respectively, and the modal crosstalk is less than -17 dB for both input modes.

Topological inverse design of nanophotonic devices with energy constraint.

In this paper, we introduce an energy constraint to improve topology-based inverse design. Current methods typically place the constraints solely on the device geometry and require many optimization iterations to converge to a manufacturable solution. In our approach the energy constraint directs the optimization process to solutions that best contain the optical field inside the waveguide core medium, leading to more robust designs with relatively larger minimum feature size. To validate our method, we optimize two components: a mode converter (MC) and a wavelength demultiplexer. In the MC, the energy constraint leads to nearly binarized structures without applying independent binarization stage. In the demultiplexer, it also reduces the appearance of small features. Furthermore, the proposed constraint improves the robustness to fabrication imperfections as shown in demultiplexer design. With energy constraint optimization, the corresponding spectrum shifts under ±10 nm dimensional variations are reduced by 17% to 30%. The proposed constraint is unique in simultaneously taking both geometry and electric field into account, opening the door to new ideas and insights to further improve the computationally intensive topology-based optimization process of nanophotonic devices.

Experimental demonstration of 50-m/5-Gbps underwater optical wireless communication with low-complexity chaotic encryption.

In this paper, a low-complexity two-level chaotic encryption scheme is introduced and experimentally demonstrated to improve the physical layer security of a 450-nm laser underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) system using discrete Fourier transform spread discrete multi-tone (DFT-S DMT) modulation. In the first encryption stage, the original bit stream is encrypted with a chaotic sequence based on a one-dimensional Logistic map. In the second encryption stage, the real and imaginary components of the DFT-S symbols are further encrypted with a pair of separate chaotic sequences, which are generated from a two-dimensional Logistic iterative chaotic map with infinite collapse (2D-LICM). The experimental results indicate that the encryption operation has no negative effect on the performance of the proposed UOWC system. For chaotic encryption, the DFT-S DMT gives a better performance than the DMT scheme under different water turbidities. 55-m/4.5-Gbps and 50-m/5-Gbps underwater transmissions are successfully demonstrated by the chaotic encrypted DFT-S DMT scheme. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to verify the feasibility of chaotic encryption in a high-speed UOWC system.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-Chitosan-Gelatin Composite Nanomaterials for the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcer Wound Infection.

In this experiment, a solid carrier was prepared with PLGA, gelatin, and chitosan as the main raw materials, so that BMSCs could exert their repairing effect directly in the ulcer area under the stimulation of Klotho protein. We chose to use electrospun PLGA as the main technical means to provide suitable adhesion growth environment for BMSCs by preparing PLGA nanofibers. At the same time, PLGA nanofibers are also a controlled release material, so that Klotho protein can remain active, thereby achieving the purpose of stimulating BMSCs for a long time. Through the nano-scale porous structure provided on the surface of the PLGA film, BMSCs can adhere well to the surface of the material and continuously receive stimulation from the inner Klotho protein. We applied this composite to mice with diabetic ulcers, and verified the effects of Klotho protein and BMSCs on DFU healing in five groups of mice. From the results, the Klotho+BMSCs group achieved the best healing effect, followed by the Klotho group alone, while the other three groups had no significant difference in healing effects. It is proved that both Klotho and BMSCs can help the healing of diabetic ulcers, but BMSCs alone cannot survive in harsh environments, and it is difficult to play a normal repair role. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Klotho protein on BMSCs and ECs under high glucose conditions, and to find a suitable carrier for planting BMSCs on it. At the same time, the material also has a certain sustained release function. We have concluded that Klotho protein can promote the proliferation and migration of BMSCs and ECs under high glucose conditions. When combined with electrospinning technology to prepare a protein that can release Klotho, it also provides a microstructure suitable for BMSCs adhesion, thereby ensuring that BMSCs can successfully survive. In the end, we artificial Klotho protein can promote angiogenesis in diabetic ulcer areas by protecting BMSCs and ECs, thereby promoting healing of ulcer areas.

Research on the Treatment of Diabetic Foot with Ulcer Based on Nano-Silver Antibacterial Dressing.

The incidence of diabetes has been increasing year by year. Long-term growth in blood sugar causes complications such as diabetic foot ulcer and infections, which will increase the difficulty of ulcer treatment. The diabetes brings great pain and heavy economic burden to patients and their families. In view of the above problems, a nano-silver antibacterial dressing is synthesized in this paper to control bacterial infection on the ulcer surface and promote wound healing. This paper describes the preparation process and morphological characterization of nano-silver antibacterial dressings. 100 patients were selected, which divided into two groups for comparative experiments. The conventional group used conventional vaseline dressing, and the control group was nano-silver antibacterial dressing. The ulcer surface healing time, the number of dressing changes, and the control of infection were analyzed separately, and statistical analysis was performed with SPSS19.0. The experimental results are as follows. The use of nano-silver antibacterial dressing can significantly reduce the incidence of infection in diabetic foot patients, which is helpful to reduce the number of dressing changes, shorten the healing time of ulcer, and accelerate the turnover rate. It helps to shorten the course of diabetic foot, and it is recommended to promote its clinical application.

MicroRNA-125b reduces glucose uptake in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells.

Previous studies have shown that microRNA (miR)-125b plays important roles in several human cancer types. The aim of the present study was to analyze the potential roles of miR-125b in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). It was found that miR-125b was downregulated in PTC and its expression was affected by clinical stages. Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) was upregulated in PTC and was negatively correlated with miR-125b. In PTC cells, overexpression of miR-125b suppressed glucose uptake and downregulated GLUT1. Furthermore, GLUT1 overexpression reduced the effects of miR-125b overexpression on glucose uptake. Moreover, miR-125b overexpression suppressed PTC cell proliferation. GLUT1 overexpression promoted the proliferation of PTC cells and reduced the effects of miR-125b overexpression on cancer cell proliferation. Overall, miR-125b decreased glucose uptake in PTC cells by downregulating GLUT1.