Study on the Bouncing Behaviors of a Non-Newtonian Fluid Droplet Impacting on a Hydrophobic Surface.

The control of a droplet bouncing on a substrate is of great importance not only in academic research but also in practical applications. In this work, we focus on a particular type of non-Newtonian fluid known as shear-thinning fluid. The rebound behaviors of shear-thinning fluid droplets impinging on a hydrophobic surface (equilibrium contact angle θeq ≈ 108°and contact angle hysteresis Δθ ≈ 20°) have been studied experimentally and numerically. The impact processes of Newtonian fluid droplets with various viscosities and non-Newtonian fluid droplets with dilute xanthan gum solutions were recorded by a high-speed imaging system under a range of Weber numbers (We) from 12 to 208. A numerical model of the droplet impact on the solid substrate was also constructed using a finite element scheme with the phase field method (PFM). The experimental results show that unlike the Newtonian fluid droplets where either partial rebound or deposition occurs, complete rebound behavior was observed for non-Newtonian fluid droplets under a certain range of We. Moreover, the minimum value of We required for complete rebound increases with xanthan concentration. The numerical simulations indicate that the shear-thinning property significantly affects the rebound behavior of the droplets. As the amount of xanthan increases, the high shear rate regions shift to the bottom of the droplet and the receding of the contact line accelerates. Once the high shear rate region appears only near the contact line, the droplet tends to fully rebound even on a hydrophobic surface. Through the impact maps of various droplets, we found that the maximum dimensionless height Hmax* of the droplet increases almost linearly with We as Hmax* ∼ αWe. In addition, a critical value Hmax, c* for the distinction between deposition and rebound for droplets on the hydrophobic surface has been theoretically derived. The prediction of the model shows good consistency with the experimental results.

Prognostic significance of expression of myogenin and OCT4 in glioma.

BACKGROUND: Glioma is the most common extracranial solid tumor of children. The malignant (cancer) cells form in neural crest cell of the adrenal gland. In this study we investigate the expressions of myogenin and OCT4 in Glioma which might be used as prognostic makers for this deteriorated disease. METHODS: We used Quantitative Fluorescence PCR (QF-PCR), Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Western-blotting to measure the expression level of myogenin and OCT4 in surgical removed glioma from 41 patients in our hospital. RESULTS: Compared to the healthy children the expression of myogenin and OCT4 was significantly increased in both mRNA and protein level in Glioma tumor cells. In addition, these expressions increased as glioma deterioration. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggesting the expression of myogenin and Oct4 may be useful indicators for predicting the prognosis of children with glioma.

Relationship between Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha and Neuropeptide Y Expression and Neurological Function Score in Epileptic Children.

BACKGROUND: To observe the relationship between Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) expression and neurological function score in epileptic children. METHODS: Fifty-four epileptic children diagnosed and treated in Xuzhou Children's Hospital, China from Feb 2017 to Mar 2018 were collected and included in a research group (RG), while 30 healthy children who underwent physical examination at the same time were included in the control group (CG). ELISA was used to detect the expression of TNF-α and NPY in the serum of children in the two groups, and those before treatment were compared. The National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) and Hamilton Anxiety (HAMA) scores before and after treatment were observed, and Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the expression levels of TNF-α and NPY in the serum as well as NIHSS and HAMA scores. RESULTS: The expression levels of TNF-α and NPY in the serum of children in the RG were significantly higher than those in the CG (P<0.001). The expression level of TNF-α was positively correlated with the NIHSS and HAMA scores (r=0.748, P<0.001) (r=0.772, P<0.001). The expression level of NPY was positively correlated with the NIHSS and HAMA scores (r=0.768, P<0.001) (r=0.643, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: TNF-α and NPY are highly expressed in epileptic children and are positively correlated with neurological function score.

Efficacy and safety of sodium valproate plus lamotrigine in children with refractory epilepsy.

Efficacy and safety of sodium valproate (SV) and lamotrigine (LTG) in treating refractory epilepsy (RE) in children and the predictive value of serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and central nervous system specific S100ß protein (S100ß) on efficacy assessment were explored. A total of 110 RE children admitted to Xuzhou Children's Hospital, Xuzhou Medical University were enrolled. Patients treated with SV alone served as the control group (n=51), and those treated with SV plus LTG as the study group (n=59). Serum NSE and S100ß expression levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The efficacy, seizure frequency, adverse reactions, concentration of serum brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF), and expression of serum NSE and S100ß were observed and compared. The total effective rate in the study group was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the seizure frequency and incidence of adverse reactions were significantly lower than that in the control group. The study group showed remarkably higher BDNF and NGF than the control group after treatment. The expression of serum NSE and S100ß in effectively treated children were significantly lower than that in ineffectively treated children. The area under the curve (AUC) of serum NSE and S100ß were 0.828 and 0.814 respectively. SV combined with LTG is better and safer than SV alone in the treatment of RE in children. Serum NSE and S100ß are of high value in predicting the efficacy.

The Relationship between Infant Colic and Migraine as well as Tension-Type Headache: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Infant colic is a common benign disease during early infancy. Migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) are the most common primary headache forms among pediatric population. Several studies have investigated the incidence of infant colic in patients with migraine and TTH. The meta-analysis was to assess the relationship between infant colic and migraine as well as TTH. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched until August 16, 2018, for potential studies. Data were extracted by two independent authors and analyzed using RevMan 5.2 software. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to determine the association between infant colic and migraine as well as TTH, respectively. Results: A total of 148 studies were found, and 7 studies were finally included. A higher incidence of colic during infancy was revealed in migraine patients than controls (P=0.05, OR: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.32-4.77) and TTH subjects (P=0.02, OR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13-0.86), respectively. And no significances were found between TTHs with controls (P=0.51, OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.73-1.89). Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicated that migraine was associated with increased incidence of infantile colic history, but TTH incidence was not relevant with the incidence of infantile colic history.

The role and mechanism of NF-κB in viral encephalitis of children.

The aim of this study was to analyze the concentration changes of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and the related inflammatory factors of pre-treatment and post-treatment in children with viral encephalitis, to examine the mechanism of NF-κB in the pathogenesis of child viral encephalitis. Twenty-two children with severe viral encephalitis, 13 children with mild viral encephalitis and 12 normal children, who were treated in our hospital, were randomly selected. Before and after treatment, the concentrations of inflammation-related factors in serum including interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected by ELISA and comparative analysis were performed. The expression of NF-κB in peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) before and after treatment was detected by RT-PCR and western blotting, while the difference of NF-κB expressions between viral encephalitis children and normal children was analyzed. The concentrations of inflammation-related factors in serum of children with viral encephalitis, including IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly higher than those of normal children (P<0.01), and after treatment, the concentrations of IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α were distinctly lower than those of pre-treatment (P<0.01). The concentrations of NF-κB in peripheral blood and CSF of children with viral encephalitis in the mild group and severe group were evidently increased compared to those of pre-treatment, while the degree of increase in the severe group was higher than that in mild group, which was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). After treatment, the concentrations of serum NF-κB of children in the severe and mild groups were distinctly lower than those of pre-treatment (P<0.01), with statistically significant difference. In conclusion, the NF-κB level in serum and CSF of children with viral encephalitis was positively related to the severity of the disease. The higher the concentration of pre-treatment was, the more serious the disease would be. Our results indicate that NF-κB plays an important role in the occurrence and development of viral encephalitis in children.

Generation of glyco-engineered BY2 cell lines with decreased expression of plant-specific glycoepitopes.

Plants are known to be efficient hosts for the production of mammalian therapeutic proteins. However, plants produce complex N-glycans bearing ß1,2-xylose and core α1,3-fucose residues, which are absent in mammals. The immunogenicity and allergenicity of plant-specific Nglycans is a key concern in mammalian therapy. In this study, we amplified the sequences of 2 plant-specific glycosyltransferases from Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Bright Yellow 2 (BY2), which is a well-established cell line widely used for the expression of therapeutic proteins. The expression of the endogenous xylosyltranferase (XylT) and fucosyltransferase (FucT) was downregulated by using RNA interference (RNAi) strategy. The xylosylated and core fucosylated N-glycans were significantly, but not completely, reduced in the glycoengineered lines. However, these RNAi-treated cell lines were stable and viable and did not exhibit any obvious phenotype. Therefore, this study may provide an effective and promising strategy to produce recombinant glycoproteins in BY2 cells with humanized N-glycoforms to avoid potential immunogenicity.