First report of Perkinsus olseni infections in blood cockles Tegillarca granosa on the south coast of Korea.

The protozoan parasite Perkinsus olseni has become a focus of attention since it has been responsible for mass mortalities and economic losses in a wide range of bivalve hosts globally. The P. olseni host range along the south coast of Korea may extend beyond what was previously understood, and blood cockles in the Family Arcidae are also suggested to be potential hosts of P. olseni. In the present study, we applied histology and molecular techniques to identify Perkinsus sp. infections in the blood cockles Tegillarca granosa, which have been commercially exploited on the south coast of Korea for several decades. Histology and molecular techniques, including genus-specific immunofluorescence assay, species-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization, and phylogeny based on the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region revealed that T. granosa is infected by P. olseni, although the prevalence was low (0.5%). Histology revealed massive hemocyte infiltrations in the mantle, gill, and digestive gland connective tissues, indicating that the infection exerts negative impacts on the host cockles.

Effects of spawning stress on the immune capacity of blood cockle Tegillarca granosa occurring on the south coast of Korea.

Spawning in marine bivalves is a great energy-demanding process, and it often results in lethal and sublethal stresses during the post-spawning period, including depressed immune capacity. The blood cockle Tegillarca granosa (Linnaeus, 1758) distributes widely in silty-mud tidal flats on the south coast of Korea, and they spawn in late summer. To understand the impacts of spawning on immune parameters, we analyzed the total hemocyte count (THC), hemocyte mortality, phagocytosis capacity, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of T. granosa in pre-, and post-spawning condition using a flow cytometer. Histology indicated that the blood cockles occurring on the south coast of Korea ripe and ready to spawn in July, and they spawned in August and September. The THC in the blood cockle hemolymph declined from pre-spawning (1.2 × 108 cell mL-1) to post-spawning (0.9 × 108 cell mL-1), possibly due to the spawning stress and the massive infiltration of hemocytes in the gonad to phagocytose and resorb the residual gametes during the post-spawning period. The hemocyte mortality increased linearly from August (4.1%) to November (9.1%), as the histology revealed that the blood cockle completed spawning, and they resorbed the relict gametes. The granulocyte phagocytosis capacity declined dramatically from July (12.7%) to September (6.0%), when the cockles were engaged in active spawning. The flow cytometry revealed that the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from the granulocytes and the erythrocytes type II increased linearly from August (0.8-0.9 × 105 A U.) to December (2.1-2.8 × 105 A U.), which may cause stresses at a cellular level during this period. As the data indicated, spawning is a stressful activity inducing depressed immunological capacities in the blood cockles.

Molecular-assisted breeding for soybean with high oleic/low linolenic acid and elevated vitamin E in the seed oil.

The uses of vegetable oils are determined by functional properties arising from their chemical composition. Soybean oil was previously used in margarines and baked foods after partial hydrogenation to achieve heat and oxidative stability. This process, however, generates trans fats that are now excluded from food use because of cardiovascular health risks. Also present in soybean oil are the anti-oxidant tocopherols, with α-tocopherol (vitamin E) typically present as a minor component compared to γ-tocopherol. Genetic improvement of the fatty acid profile and tocopherol profile is an attractive solution to increase the functional and health qualities of soybean oil. The objective of this research was to develop resources to directly select with molecular markers for the elevated vitamin E trait in soybean oil and to use a molecular breeding approach to combine elevated vitamin E with the high oleic/low linolenic acid seed oil trait that improves oil functionality and nutrition. New soybean germplasm was developed from the molecular breeding strategy that selected for alleles of six targeted genes. Seed oil from the novel soybean germplasm was confirmed to contain increased vitamin E α-tocopherol along with a high oleic acid/low linolenic acid profile.

Treatment evaluation of Kami Guibi-tang on participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment using magnetic resonance imaging on brain metabolites, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and cerebral blood flow.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of Kami Guibi-tang (KGT) in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on brain metabolites, neurotransmitter, and cerebral blood flow (CBF). METHODS: We randomly allocated a total of 30 MCI patients to a KGT (N = 16) or a placebo (N = 14) group and performed MRI scans before and after 24 weeks of treatment. The participants underwent brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy and MRI scans to obtain brain metabolites using Point-RESolved Spectroscopy (PRESS) single-voxel spectroscopy, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter using Mescher-Garwood PRESS, and CBF using pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling sequences using a 3.0 Tesla MRI system. We analyzed metabolite and neurotransmitter levels and CBF using repeated-measure analysis of variance to evaluate between-subject group effect, within-subject treatment condition effect, and interaction of group by condition (group x condition). RESULTS: The GABA+/creatine (Cr) ratio values were not significantly different between the before and after treatment conditions. The glutamate complex/Cr ratio difference before and after treatment was lower in the KGT group than in the placebo group, but was not statistically significant (p = 0.077). The result of region of interest-based CBF measurement showed that CBF values were significantly lower after treatment at Cluster 2 for the KGT group (p = 0.003) and the placebo group (p = 0.011), at hippocampus for the KGT group (p = 0.004) and the placebo group (p = 0.008), and at the fusiform gyrus for the KGT group (p = 0.002). Furthermore, the absolute CBF difference before and after treatment in the fusiform gyrus was significantly lower in the KGT group than in the placebo group (p = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Although a KGT treatment of 24 weeks showed some significant impact on the level of CBF, the Korean version of the mini-mental state examination score was not significantly different between before and after treatment conditions, indicating that there was no memory function improvement after treatment in amnestic MCI patients. Therefore, further studies should be performed with a relatively larger population and extending the duration of the KGT treatment.

Molecular-assisted breeding for improved carbohydrate profiles in soybean seed.

KEY MESSAGE: Two independent variant raffinose synthase 3 (RS3) alleles produced an equivalent phenotype and implicated the gene as a key contributor to soybean seed carbohydrate phenotype. Soybean is an important crop because the processed seed is utilized as a vegetable oil and a high protein meal typically used in livestock feeds. Raffinose and stachyose, the raffinose family of oligosaccharides (RFO) carbohydrate components of the seed, are synthesized in developing soybean seeds from sucrose and galactinol. Sucrose is considered positive for metabolizable energy, while RFO are anti-nutritional factors in diets of monogastric animals such as humans, poultry, and swine. To increase metabolizable energy available in soybean seed meal, prior research has been successful in deploying variant alleles of key soybean raffinose synthase (RS) genes leading to reductions or near elimination of seed RFO, with significant increases in seed sucrose. The objective of this research was to investigate the specific role of variants of the RS3 gene in a genomic context and improve molecular marker-assisted selection for the ultra-low (UL) RFO phenotype in soybean seeds. The results revealed a new variant of the RS3 allele (rs3 snp5, rs3 snp6) contributed to the UL RFO phenotype when mutant alleles of RS2 were present. The variant RS3 allele identified was present in about 15% of a small set of soybean cultivars released in North America. A missense allele of the RS3 gene (rs3 G75E) also produced the UL RFO phenotype when combined with mutant alleles of RS2. The discoveries reported here enable direct marker-assisted selection for an improved soybean meal trait that has the potential to add value to soybean by improving the metabolizable energy of the meal.

Distinct requirements for HIV-cell fusion and HIV-mediated cell-cell fusion.

Whether HIV-1 enters cells by fusing with the plasma membrane or with endosomes is a subject of active debate. The ability of HIV-1 to mediate fusion between adjacent cells, a process referred to as "fusion-from-without" (FFWO), shows that this virus can fuse with the plasma membrane. To compare FFWO occurring at the cell surface with HIV-cell fusion through a conventional entry route, we designed an experimental approach that enabled the measurements of both processes in the same sample. The following key differences were observed. First, a very small fraction of viruses fusing with target cells participated in FFWO. Second, whereas HIV-1 fusion with adherent cells was insensitive to actin inhibitors, post-CD4/coreceptor binding steps during FFWO were abrogated. A partial dependence of HIV-cell fusion on actin remodeling was observed in CD4(+) T cells, but this effect appeared to be due to the actin dependence of virus uptake. Third, deletion of the cytoplasmic tail of HIV-1 gp41 dramatically enhanced the ability of the virus to promote FFWO, while having a modest effect on virus-cell fusion. Distinct efficiencies and actin dependences of FFWO versus HIV-cell fusion are consistent with the notion that, except for a minor fraction of particles that mediate fusion between the plasma membranes of adjacent cells, HIV-1 enters through an endocytic pathway. We surmise, however, that cell-cell contacts enabling HIV-1 fusion with the plasma membrane could be favored at the sites of high density of target cells, such as lymph nodes.

Fabrication of a nanofibrous mat with a human skin pattern.

A number of studies on skin tissue regeneration and wound healing have been conducted. Electrospun nanofibers have numerous advantages for use in wound healing dressings. Here, we present an electrospinning method for alteration of the surface morphological properties of electrospun mats because most previous studies focused on the materials used or the introduction of bioactive healing agents. In this study, a micromachined human skin pattern mold was used as a collector in an electrospinning setup to replicate the pattern onto the surface of the electrospun mat. We demonstrated the successful fabrication of a nanofibrous mat with a human skin pattern. To verify its suitability for wound healing, a 14-day in vitro cell culture was carried out. The results indicated that the fabricated mat not only induces equivalent cell viability to the conventional electrospun mat, but also exhibits guidance of cells along the skin pattern without significant deterioration of pattern geometry.

Feasibility and efficacy of endoscopic transorbital optic canal decompression for meningiomas causing compressive optic neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE: The endoscopic transorbital approach (ETOA) and transorbital anterior clinoidectomy have been suggested as novel procedures through which to reach the superolateral compartments of the orbit, allowing optic canal decompression. However, there is limited literature describing the technical details and surgical outcomes of these procedures. In this study, the authors aimed to analyze the feasibility and efficacy of endoscopic transorbital decompression of the optic canal through anterior clinoidectomy for compressive optic neuropathic lesions. METHODS: Between 2016 and 2022, the authors performed ETOA for compressive optic neuropathic lesions in 14 patients. All these patients underwent transorbital anterior clinoidectomy through the surgically defined "intraorbital clinoidal triangle," which is composed of the roof of the superior orbital fissure, the medial margin of the optic canal, the medial border of the superior orbital fissure, and the optic strut. Demographic data, tumor characteristics, pre- and postoperative imaging, pre- and postoperative visual examinations, and surgical outcomes were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The mean age at the time of ETOA was 53.3 years (range 41-64 years), and the mean follow-up was 16.8 months (range 6.7-51.4 months). The inclusion criterion in this study was having a meningioma (14 patients). In the preoperative visual function examination, 7 patients with a meningioma showed progressive visual impairment. After endoscopic transorbital optic canal decompression, visual function improved in 5 patients, remained unchanged in 8 patients, and worsened in 1 patient. No new-onset neurological deficit was associated with ETOA and anterior clinoidectomy in any patients. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic transorbital decompression of the optic canal with extradural anterior clinoidectomy is a safe and feasible technique that avoids significant injury to the clinoidal internal carotid artery and surrounding neurovascular structures.

The critical role of mast cell-derived hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in human and mice melanoma growth.

Mast cells play an important role in tumorigenesis. Histamine released from mast cells stimulates new vessel formation by acting through the histamine1 (H1) receptor. Despite the evidence of the role of mast cells in tumor growth and angiogenesis, the potential mechanism remains to be elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the role of mast cell-derived HIF-1α in melanoma growth. Here, we identify that the most positive cells for HIF-1α staining are seen in mast cells of human and animal melanoma tissue. The number of the stromal cell types (fibroblasts, macrophages and endothelial cells) was also increased in melanoma tissues. In activated bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs), expressions of HIF-1α and VEGF were increased. Histamine also induced the expressions of HIF-1α and VEGF in BMMCs. H1 receptor antagonists significantly improved overall survival rates and substantially suppressed tumor growth as well as the infiltration of mast cells and levels of VEGF through the inhibition of HIF-1α expression in B16F10 melanoma-bearing mice. Furthermore, the injection of HIF-1α depleted BMMCs markedly inhibited the growth of tumors and migration of mast cells and increased the survival rate of the mice. These findings emphasize that the growth of melanoma can actually be exacerbated by mast cell-derived HIF-1α. In aggregate, our results reveal a novel role for mast cell-derived HIF-1α in the melanoma microenvironment and have important implications for the design of therapeutic strategies.

Utilization of Plant Architecture Genes in Soybean to Positively Impact Adaptation to High Yield Environments.

Optimization of plant architecture by modifying stem termination and timing of flowering and maturity of soybean is a promising strategy to improve its adaptability to specific production environments. Therefore, it is important to choose a proper stem termination type and to understand morphological differences between each stem termination type under various environmental conditions. Variations in abruptness of stem termination have been generally classified into three classical genetic types, indeterminate (Dt1), determinate (dt1), and semi-determinate (Dt2). However, an additional stem termination type, termed tall determinate, and its genetic symbol, dt1-t, were introduced about 25 years ago. The tall determinate soybean lines show delayed cessation of apical stem growth and about 50% taller plant heights than the typical determinate soybeans, even though the genetic control of the tall determinate phenotype was found to be allelic to dt1. Despite the potential agronomic merits of the alternative stem termination type, knowledge about the tall determinate soybean remains limited. We clarified the molecular basis of the tall determinate stem termination type and examined potential agronomic merits of the alternative stem type under three different production environments in the US. Sequence analysis of the classical tall determinate soybean lines revealed that the dt1-t allele responsible for tall determinate stem architecture is caused by two of the identified independent missense alleles of dt1, dt1-t1 (R130K), and dt1-t2 (R62S). Also, from the comparison among soybean accessions belonging to each of the genotype categories for stem termination types, soybean accessions with tall determinate alleles were found to have a high discrepancy rate in phenotyping. Newly developed tall determinate late-maturing soybean germplasm lines had taller plant heights and a greater number of nodes with a similar stem diameter and similar pod density at the apical stem compared to typical determinate soybeans having dt1 (R166W) alleles in Southern environments in the US. The phenotype of increased pod-bearing nodes with lodging resistance has the potential to improve yield, especially grown in high yield environments. This study suggests an alternative strategy to remodel the shape of soybean plants, which can possibly lead to yield improvement through the modification of soybean plant architecture.

Histopathology and surgical outcome of symptomatic treatment-related changes after gamma knife radiosurgery in patients with brain metastases.

A late-onset treatment-related changes (TRCs), which represent radiographic radiation necrosis (RN), frequently occur after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases and often need surgical treatment. This study aimed to validate the true pathology and investigate clinical implication of surgically resected TRCs on advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Retrospective analyses of 86 patients who underwent surgical resection after radiosurgery of brain metastases were performed. Fifty-four patients displayed TRCs on preoperative MRI, comprising pure RN in 19 patients (TRC-RN group) and mixed viable tumor cells in 35 patients (TRC-PD group). Thirty-two patients revealed the consistent diagnosis of progressive disease in both MRI and histopathology (PD-PD group). The TRC-PD group showed larger prescription isodose volume (9.4 cm3) than the TRC-RN (4.06 cm3, p = 0.014) group and a shorter time interval from SRS to preoperative MRI diagnosis (median 4.07 months) than the PD-PD group (median 8.77 months, p = 0.004). Progression-free survival was significantly different among the three groups (p < 0.001), but not between TRC-RN and TRC-PD (post hoc test, p = 1.00), while no difference was observed in overall survival (p = 0.067). Brain metastases featured as TRCs after SRS frequently contained viable tumor cells. However, this histologic heterogeneity had a minor impact on benign local prognosis of TRCs after surgical resection.

Serum Prolactin Level to Tumor Size Ratio as a Potential Parameter for Preoperative Differentiation of Prolactinomas from Hyperprolactinemia-Causing Non-functional Pituitary Adenomas.

OBJECTIVE: Preoperative diagnosis of prolactinomas is critical because dopamine agonists have been regarded as a primary treatment. However, serum prolactin level alone is suboptimal for differentiating prolactinomas from hyperprolactinemia-causing non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs). By using the tumor size, the authors tried to investigate an effective parameter for the discrimination. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of patients who underwent trans-sphenoidal surgery for pituitary lesions in a single institute between January 2015 and May 2021. Using receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses, we compared performances of serum prolactin levels (PRL), a ratio of serum PRL levels to maximal tumor diameter (MD) (PRL/MD; PDR1), and MD squared (PRL/[MD]2; PDR2) in preoperative diagnosis of prolactinomas. RESULTS: A total of 223 patients with NFPAs (n = 175) and prolactinomas (n = 48) were included in the analysis. A moderate correlation was found between serum prolactin levels and MDs in prolactinomas (Pearson's rprl = 0.43, P = 0.002), whereas a weak correlation was observed in NFPAs (Pearson's rnfpa = 0.17, P = 0.028). Among diagnostic parameters, PDR2 exhibited the optimal diagnostic performance with the cutoff value of 0.83 [㎍/L]/mm2 (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.945), compared with the PDR1 (8.93 [㎍/L]/mm with AUC 0.938) and PRL (99.4 ㎍/L with AUC 0.910). In the external validation study, PDR2 maintained superior performance over PDR1 and PRL (accuracy of 94.8%, 91.8%, and 75.8%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: PDR2 was a more effective indicator than prolactin alone in the preoperative differential diagnosis of prolactinomas and NFPAs, which may help select patients who need medical treatment first.

Multi-trait genomic prediction improves selection accuracy for enhancing seed mineral concentrations in pea.

Multi-trait genomic selection (MT-GS) has the potential to improve predictive ability by maximizing the use of information across related genotypes and genetically correlated traits. In this study, we extended the use of sparse phenotyping method into the MT-GS framework by split testing of entries to maximize borrowing of information across genotypes and predict missing phenotypes for targeted traits without additional phenotyping expenditure. Using 300 advanced breeding lines from North Dakota State University (NDSU) pulse breeding program and ∼200 USDA accessions that were evaluated for 10 nutritional traits, our results show that the proposed sparse phenotyping aided MT-GS can further improve predictive ability by >12% across traits compared with univariate (UNI) genomic selection. The proposed strategy departed from the previous reports that weak genetic correlation is a limitation to the advantage of MT-GS over UNI genomic selection, which was evident in the partially balanced phenotyping-enabled MT-GS. Our results point to heritability and genetic correlation between traits as possible metrics to optimize and further improve the estimation of model parameters, and ultimately, prediction performance. Overall, our study offers a new approach to optimize the prediction performance using the MT-GS and further highlight strategy to maximize the efficiency of GS in a plant breeding program. The sparse-testing-aided MT-GS proposed in this study can be further extended to multi-environment, multi-trait GS to improve prediction performance and further reduce the cost of phenotyping and time-consuming data collection process.

We extended the use of sparse phenotyping into the multi-trait genomic selection (MT-GS) framework by split testing of entries. The sparse-phenotyping-aided MT-GS can increase predictive ability by >12% across traits. Heritability and genetic correlation are possible metrics to optimize and further improve prediction performance of MT-GS. The sparse-testing-aided MT-GS can be further extended to multi-environment, multi-trait GS framework.

Fabrication of Thermochromic Membrane and Its Characteristics for Fever Detection.

Body temperature is an important indicator of the health status of the human body. Thus, numerous studies have been conducted in various fields to measure body temperature. In this study, a biocompatible thermochromic membrane that changes its color when the temperature becomes higher than the transition temperature for thermochromism was fabricated using an extrusion-based three-dimensional printing process. The printing material was prepared by mixing a thermochromic pigment and a thermoplastic polymer in various ratios. The effects of mixing ratio on the various properties of the fabricated membranes were experimentally investigated. It is presented that the fabricated lattice membrane had excellent thermochromic reaction, which was experimentally evaluated using a measurement of color brightness. The pigment content affected the diameter and surface morphology of the printed filament. The elastic modulus decreased, and thermochromic response became faster as the pigment concentration increased. Subsequently, a patch for fever detection was developed and then attached to the skin to demonstrate its color change according to body temperature. Results show that the fabricated thermochromic patch could be successfully applied to fever detection.

Quantification of Bacteria in Mouth-Rinsing Solution for the Diagnosis of Periodontal Disease.

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of diagnosing periodontitis via the identification of 18 bacterial species in mouth-rinse samples. Patients (n = 110) who underwent dental examinations in the Department of Periodontology at the Veterans Health Service Medical Center between 2018 and 2019 were included. They were divided into healthy and periodontitis groups. The overall number of bacteria, and those of 18 specific bacteria, were determined via real-time polymerase chain reaction in 92 mouth-rinse samples. Differences between groups were evaluated through logistic regression after adjusting for sex, age, and smoking history. There was a significant difference in the prevalence (healthy vs. periodontitis group) of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (2.9% vs. 13.5%), Treponema denticola (42.9% vs. 69.2%), and Prevotella nigrescens (80% vs. 2.7%). Levels of Treponema denticola, Prevotella nigrescens, and Streptococcus mitis were significantly associated with severe periodontitis. We demonstrated the feasibility of detecting periopathogenic bacteria in mouth-rinse samples obtained from patients with periodontitis. As we did not comprehensively assess all periopathogenic bacteria, further studies are required to assess the potential of oral-rinsing solutions to indicate oral infection risk and the need to improve oral hygiene, and to serve as a complementary method for periodontal disease diagnosis.

New Synthetic Routes to (+)-Uleine and (-)-Tubifolidine: General Approach to 2-Azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane Indole Alkaloids.

Novel asymmetric synthetic routes to (+)-uleine and (-)-tubifolidine are reported herein. The regioselective formation of enol triflates from 2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane ketones followed by indolizations of the resultant ene-hydrazides allowed the efficient construction of key indole intermediates, facilitating the total synthesis of the target natural alkaloids.

Flow cytometric characterization of the hemocytes of blood cockles Anadara broughtonii (Schrenck, 1867), Anadara kagoshimensis (Lischke, 1869), and Tegillarca granosa (Linnaeus, 1758) as a biomarker for coastal environmental monitoring.

Marine bivalves are often used as a sentinel species in coastal environmental monitoring since changes in the environmental quality are often well preserved in their cells and tissues. Anadara and Tegillarca species of Arcidae, the blood cockles, are considered to be good sentinel species in monitoring coastal pollution and ecosystem health because they are distributed widely in the subsurface of intertidal mudflats. Internal cellular defense of the blood cockles to physical and biological stresses is mediated by the circulating hemocytes, while their hemocyte types and functions are poorly studied. In this study, we first characterized morphology and immune-related activities of hemocytes of three common blood cockles Anadara broughtonii, A. kagoshimensis, and Tegillarca granosa using flow cytometry. Based on cell morphology and immunological functions, we described five types of hemocytes identically in the three blood cockles: erythrocytes type-I (erythrocytes-I), erythrocytes type-II (erythrocytes-II), granulocytes, hyalinocytes, and blast-like cells. Erythrocytes were round cells containing hemoglobin with numerous granules in the cytoplasm and these cells consist of two central populations. Erythrocytes-I were the most abundant cells accounting for 80-89% of the total circulating hemocytes and exhibited a certain level of lysosome and oxidative capacity. Erythrocytes-II were the largest cells and displayed high lysosome content and the most active oxidative capacity. Both erythrocytes-I and erythrocytes-II did not show phagocytosis capacity. Granulocytes were intermediated-sized hemocytes characterized by granules in the cytoplasm and long pseudopodia on the cell surface, and these cells were mainly engaged in the cellular defense exhibiting the largest lysosome content, the most active phagocytosis, and high oxidative capacity. Contrary to granulocytes, hyalinocytes were comparatively small and round cells and exhibited no granules in the cytoplasm. Hyalinocytes displayed a certain level of lysosome and phagocytosis and oxidative capacities. Blast-like cells characterized by the smallest size and small quantity of cytoplasm and exhibited an absence of phagocytosis and extremely low oxidative capacity, suggesting that this population is not directly involved in the cell-mediated immune activities. In conclusion, flow cytometry indicated that three blood cockles had five types of hemocytes, and the erythrocytes and granulocytes were mainly involved in the immunological activities.

Electroacupuncture for post-stroke dysphagia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Post-stroke dysphagia (PSD) requires effective treatment as it may cause aspiration pneumonia, dehydration, or malnutritution, which can increase the length of hospital stay as well as mortality. In the field of stroke, electroacupuncture (EA) has been widely used, and a number of clinical research papers have been published regarding its effects. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of EA for the treatment of PSD. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials evaluating the use of EA in PSD will be included in this meta-analysis. The following electronic databases will be searched from inception to July 31, 2020, using terms relating to EA and PSD: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, the Excerpta Medica Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Korean Medical Database, KoreaMed, the National Digital Science Library, and the Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System. Two reviewers will independently search these databases, select studies for inclusion, and evaluate the quality of the studies. Methodological quality will be assessed using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (version 6.0). The primary outcome will be the total effective rate; secondary outcomes will include results of other assessments of dysphagia such as the water drinking test scale and videofluoroscopic swallowing study. We will also investigate the number and severity of adverse events. The Cochrane Review Manager (RevMan) software (version 5.3.5) will be employed to assess bias risk, data integration risk, and meta-analysis risk. Mean difference and standardized mean difference will be used to represent continuous data, while risk ratios will be used for pooled binary data. RESULTS: This study will provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of the available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of EA as a treatment for PSD. CONCLUSION: This study will clarify whether EA could be an effective and safe treatment for PSD.

Identification of sagging in melt-electrospinning of microfiber scaffolds.

Melt-electrospinning is a cost-effective and flexible process to fabricate micro-scaled polymeric fibers. Melt-electrospun microfiber structures have been receiving considerable attention from various fields due to their numerous advantages. However, the application of melt-electrospinning is limited by various factors, such as the sagging behavior and unstable whipping motion of microfibers. Here, we presented an experimental approach called beam bridge test to identify the sagging behavior of melt-electrospun microfibers for preparing 3D lattice structures with controllable architecture and well-defined pores in transverse direction. Consequently, the sagging behavior of melt-electrospun microfibers could be identified in a systematic manner. Moreover, the melt-electrospun 3D microfiber lattice structures with various grid sizes had sagging, which agreed well with the beam bridge test results. In addition, fibroblast cells (NIH-3T3) were cultured on the fabricated 3D microfiber lattice structures with various grid sizes. Cell culture results indicated that the cell growth was considerably influenced by microfiber sagging and the grid size of lattice structures. Also it was shown that the cell population for location could be controlled.

A Microfluidic Chip Embracing a Nanofiber Scaffold for 3D Cell Culture and Real-Time Monitoring.

Recently, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture and tissue-on-a-chip application have attracted attention because of increasing demand from the industries and their potential to replace conventional two-dimensional culture and animal tests. As a result, numerous studies on 3D in-vitro cell culture and microfluidic chip have been conducted. In this study, a microfluidic chip embracing a nanofiber scaffold is presented. A electrospun nanofiber scaffold can provide 3D cell culture conditions to a microfluidic chip environment, and its perfusion method in the chip can allow real-time monitoring of cell status based on the conditioned culture medium. To justify the applicability of the developed chip to 3D cell culture and real-time monitoring, HepG2 cells were cultured in the chip for 14 days. Results demonstrated that the cells were successfully cultured with 3D culture-specific-morphology in the chip, and their albumin and alpha-fetoprotein production was monitored in real-time for 14 days.