[Best evidence summary for awake prone positioning in treating hypoxemic due to COVID-19 infection].

Objective: To retrieve, evaluate, and summarize the best evidence for the treatment of hypoxemia in patients with COVID-19 infection using the awake prone positioning, with the aim of guiding healthcare professionals in the standardized implementation of this therapy. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in databases including UpToDate, BMJ Best Practice, JBI Evidence-Based Healthcare Center, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, Intensive Care Society, European Respiratory Society, World Health Organization website, Cochrane Library, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang. The retrieved literature was subjected to quality assessment and evidence extraction. Results: A total of ten publications were included, consisting of one thematic evidence summary, one guideline, two systematic reviews, three randomized controlled trials, and three expert consensus statements. This summary synthesizes thirty key pieces of evidence in five categories: organizational management and training, risk assessment, preparatory operations, implementation key points, and risk control. Conclusions: Awake prone positioning is beneficial for improving hypoxemia in patients with COVID-19 and is easy to implement. Medical institutions should develop nursing management systems, operational standards, and best practices for awake prone positioning based on evidence-based evidence in order to improve the quality of care management for such patients.

[Research advances on size selection and vault prediction of posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens].

Posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens (pIOL) implantation has been widely adopted for the correction of refractive errors. Among pIOLs, the Implantable Collamer Lens is the most common choice. The selection of the appropriate pIOL size and achieving the desired postoperative vault to minimize complications has consistently been a focal point in academic research. With the advancement of ophthalmic biometric measurement technology and the application of artificial intelligence in the field of medicine, numerous new technologies and methods for pIOL size selection and vault prediction have emerged in recent years. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the topic of how to choose the pIOL size and predict the vault.

[Association between anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody titers and duodenal histopathology among adults with celiac disease].

To evaluate the association between serum anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody (anti-tTG) titers and the severity of histological damage to the duodenal mucosa and to predict a possible anti-tTG cutoff value for diagnosing celiac disease (CD) and villous atrophy in the domestic population. Clinical and pathological data from 76 adult CD patients with positive anti-tTG titers and duodenal biopsy results who were treated at the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from July 2017 to January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The correlation between anti-tTG titers and the severity of duodenal mucosal damage was statistically assessed to predict the optimal anti-tTG titer cut-off value for diagnosing CD and villous atrophy. Of the 76 patients, 10 had underlying CD, and of the 66 patients with duodenal histopathology, four were Marsh Ⅰ, six were Marsh Ⅱ, and 56 were Marsh Ⅲa-c grade. In adults with CD, anti-tTG titers were shown to be associated with the severity of histological damage to the duodenal mucosa. When the anti-tTG level was ≥5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN), the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing CD were 83.9% and 92.9%, respectively. When the anti-tTG titer was ≥8 times the ULN, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing villous atrophy were 67.9% and 90.0%, respectively. Anti-tTG levels had a strong predictive value for diagnosing CD in adults when titers exceeded 10 times the ULN. Thus, the anti-tTG cut-off value can be combined with clinical judgment to diagnose CD, limiting the use of invasive endoscopy.

[The role of continuous 48 h oropharyngeal pH monitoring in the diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease].

Objective: To investigate the daily variation of LPR and the significance of 48-hour oropharyngeal pH monitoring in the diagnosis of LPRD. Methods: 72 subjects with suspected LPRD who were treated in our department from June 2018 to June 2021 were included. All patients were hospitalized to complete continuous 48-hour oropharyngeal Dx-pH monitoring. The consistency of Ryan index and W index and the correlation of various reflux parameters between the first and second 24-hour were compared. SPSS 24.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: All 72 subjects successfully completed 48-hour oropharyngeal Dx-pH monitoring. Ryan index was positive in 11 cases (15.2%) in the first 24-hour, in 17 cases (23.6%) in the second 24-hour, in 5 cases (6.9%) both first and second, and in 23 cases (31.9%) in either 24-hour, Kappa=0.211 (P=0.064), 18 cases (25%) had inconsistent results of the first 24-hour and the second 24-hour, and there was no significant difference in the positive rate between the first and second (P=0.234). The number of positive cases in 48-hour monitoring increased by 109.1% compared with 24-hour monitoring.For W index, 49 cases (68.1%) were positive in the first 24-hourf 53 cases (73.6%) were positive in the second 24-hour, 42 cases (58.3%) were positive both first and second, and 58 cases (80.6%) were positive in either 24-hour, Kappa=0.477 (P<0.001), 16 cases (22.2%) had inconsistent results of the first and second, and there was no significant difference in the positive rate between the first and second (P=0.804). The number of positive cases in 48-hour monitoring increased by 18.4% compared with 24-hour monitoring. There was no significant difference in all the reflux parameters of first and second (P>0.05). The correlation comparison showed that the correlation of various reflux parameters in the upright position was lower than that in the supine position. Conclusion: Laryngeal reflux has daily variability. Extending the monitoring time of Dx-pH to 48-hour can help reduce the missed diagnosis caused by daily variability; the use of W index can reduce the influence of daily variability on the diagnostic results of LPRD.

[Dihydromyricin alleviates doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome in rats].

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of dihydromyricetin (DHM) on doxorubicin (DOX)-induced myocardial injury and its mechanism. Methods: Twenty-four healthy male SD rats were divided into 4 groups: control group, DOX group, DOX+DHM100 group and DOX+DHM200 group. Echocardiography was used to measure cardiac function. At the end of the 6th week, the rats were anesthetized and sacrificed, and the pathological changes of the cardiac tissues were observed by HE staining, Masson staining and WGA staining. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was observed by TUNEL staining, and protein levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-1ß, bax and bcl-2 were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Results: Compared with the control group, the left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening decreased significantly in DOX group, while left ventricular internal dimension at systole and left ventricular internal dimension at diastole increased. In DOX+DHM group, both left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular fractional shortening increased, while left ventricular internal dimension at systole and left ventricular internal dimension at diastole decreased (P<0.05). Furthermore, DOX group showed significant myocardial injury histologically, while DOX+DHM group significantly inhibited DOX-induced myocardial injury in rats. Meanwhile, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was found in the DOX group, while the cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was notably inhibited in the DOX+DHM group. Compared with the control group, the apoptotic rates of cardiomyocytes and the levels of bax/bcl-2　ratio were significantly increased in DOX group, which were significantly alleviated in the DOX+DHM group (P<0.05). In addition, the levels of NLRP3, caspase-1 and IL-1ß were increased as compared with control group, while the levels of the above indicators were remarkably reversed in DOX+DHM group as compared with DOX group (P<0.05). Conclusion: DHM alleviates DOX-induced myocardial injury in rats by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome and reducing cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

[The correlation between gastric bubble size and laryngopharyngeal reflux pattern in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux disease].

Objective: To investigate the correlation between gastric bubble size and laryngopharyngeal reflux pattern in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux disease(LPRD). Methods: A total of 52 LPRD patients who underwent Dx-pH monitoring and anteroposterior chest radiography at the same time from February 2016 to November 2018 were retrospectively studied. Patients were devided into three position-related groups according to the Ryan score of upright and supine: isolated upright reflux(IUR), isolated supine reflux(ISR) and bipositional reflux(BR) groups. In addition, 13 healthy volunteers with negative pH monitoring were selected as the control group. Gastric bubble size and pH monitoring data among the four groups were compared. SPSS 24.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: In all the 52 patients, 35 cases (67.3%) were classified as IUR, 9 cases (17.3%) as ISR, and 8 cases (15.4%) as BR. The height of gastric bubbles in the four groups were: IUR (26±14) mm, ISR (9±8) mm, BR (20±13) mm, control (17±15) mm, and statistical difference was found among the four groups(P=0.004). Post Hoc Multiple Comparisons found that IUR group had statistical difference between ISR group and control group (P=0.001, P=0.034 respectively). There was no statistical difference of gastric bubble width and area among the four groups(P=0.340, P=0.186 respectively). The ROC curve of the gastric bubble height with isolated upright and supine reflux patterns was obtained, and the optimal cutoff value of the gastric bubble height was 11 mm. Accordingly, we divided the patiens into two groups with high and low gastric bubble. LPRD reflux pattern distribution was significantly different between the two groups(P<0.001). The comparison of reflux parameters in pH monitoring also showed that the supine reflux parameters in the lower group were significantly higher than those in the higher group, and the upright reflux parameters in the higher group were significantly higher than those in the lower group(P<0.001). Conclusions: The height of gastric bubble is significantly correlated with the reflux patterns in LPRD patients. The gastric bubble of patients with IUR is significantly higher than that of patients with ISR. Taking 11 mm as the cutoff value, patients with higher gastric bubble are more prone to upright laryngopharyngeal reflux, while those with lower gastric bubble are more prone to supine laryngopharyngeal reflux.

[Optic nerve morphology and vessel density in eyes with different phases of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy].

Objective: To compare the blood flow around the optic disc and related factors in patients with acute and chronic non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and healthy volunteers with small disc cups under the same anatomical structure. Methods: This was a prospective case-control study. NAION patients with unilateral onset and healthy volunteers of the same phase were included in the study conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital between February 2017 and September 2018. Patients with a course of ≤ 3 months were categorized in the acute phase of NAION, and those with a course of >3 months were in the chronic phase of NAION. Healthy volunteers were in the control group. All subjects underwent the examination of best corrected visual acuity converted to logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR), measurement of non-contact intraocular pressure, slit lamp examination, small pupil fundus examination, and axial measurement. Optical coherence tomography was used to measure the thickness of retinal nerve fiber layers (RNFL) and retinal ganglion cell complex (GCC). Optical coherence tomography angiography was used to measure the vessel density around the optic disc. NAION patients underwent the visual field examination. Analysis of variance, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman coefficient was used for statistical analysis. Results: This study included 16 patients with acute phase of NAION, aged (57±9) years, 6 males and 10 females. There were 17 patients with chronic disease, aged (56±10) years, 7 males and 10 females. There were 15 healthy controls, aged (57±10) years old, 6 males and 9 females. There were no significant differences in age and gender between the groups (both P>0.05). The RNFL and the GCC in the NAION chronic phase group were significantly thinner than those in the acute phase group [(78±38) µm vs. (191±99) µm, (75±19) µm vs. (98±28) µm; t=4.389, 2.758; both P<0.05]. The cup/disc area ratio, cup/disc vertical diameter ratio and cup/disc horizontal diameter ratio in the chronic phase group were larger than those in the acute phase group [0.18 (0.11, 0.31) vs. 0.05 (0.01, 0.18), 0.45 (0.39, 0.56) vs. 0.22 (0.11, 0.41), 0.39 (0.28, 0.54) vs. 0.20 (0.07, 0.42)], and the difference was statistically significant (U=212.000, 208.000, 205.000; all P<0.05). Compared with the optic disc vessel density in the control group (53%±6%), there was a significant decrease in the acute phase group and the chronic phase group (45%±7%, 41%±8%; t=3.705, 4.940; both P<0.01). The blood vessel density in the nasal inferior of the chronic phase group was significantly lower than that in the acute phase group (36%±8% vs. 42%±7%, P=0.039), other sections didn't have significant difference (all P>0.05). There were tortuous capillaries in 8/16 of the acute phase cases, with a low blood flow density and visual field defect in relative positions. Correlation analysis showed that the whole density and peripapillary density in the NAION patients were negatively correlated with LogMAR, mean visual field defect, cup/disc area ratio, focal loss of volume of GCC and general loss of volume of GCC (r=-0.510, -0.733, -0.372, -0.532, -0.648; all P<0.01), but positively correlated with GCC and RNFL thickness (r=0.604, 0.508; both P<0.01). Conclusions: The optic disc vessel density in the acute phase and chronic phase of NAION is significantly reduced. The vessel density in the nasal area of the chronic phase is significantly reduced compared with the acute phase. The vessel density is correlated with visual acuity, visual field defect, disc indexes, thickness of RNFL and GCC. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2019, 55: 677-686).

[Therapeutic effect of burr-hole operation combined with dural inversion and temporalis-periosteal synangiosis for ischemic moyamoya disease of adults].

Objective: To explore the therapeutic effect of burr-hole operation combined with dural inversion and temporalis-periosteal synangiosis for ischemic moyamoya disease of adults. Methods: The burr-hole operation combined with dural inversion and temporalis-periosteal synangiosis was performed on 21 adults with ischemic moyamoya disease since January 2013 in the second hospital of Shandong university.All of the patients were followed up for 3 months to 3 years.Digital subtraction angiogram (DSA) reexamination was performed and the cerebral MR perfusion imaging (PWI) was used to observe the perfusion of cerebral ischemic area before and after operation quantificationally, and the KPS scores before and after the surgery were analysed by the statistics.The clinical symptoms of the 21 patients gradually improved after the operation, there was statistical significance by paired t test of the KPS scores (P<0.001). Results: 19 patients were reexamined by DSA and PWI.The DSA results revealed there was apparent neovascularization in 65 burr-holes of total 72 holes , mainly came from the middle meningeal artery and superficial artery, and there was neovascularization in 33 burr-holes of total 35 holes whose arachnoid was completed, there was no statistical significance by χ(2) test (P>0.05). The revascularization of the ischemic cerebral tissue was obtained through the PWI.The postoperative complications included 1 case of subdural hematoma, 3 cases of postoperative temporary neurological deficits. Conclusion: The burr-hole operation combined with dural inversion and temporalis-periosteal synangiosis was effective, the MR perfusion imaging could assessment the effect exactly, there was no significant difference of neovascularization whether or not opening the arachnoid.

Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy and miniincision surgery in the treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion.

Lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion (LIDP) is a frequently occurring disease and 10-20% of patients require surgical treatment. Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) and mini-incision surgery are currently the most common surgeries for patients. To analyze the efficacy of PTED and mini-incision surgery in the treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion, this study selected 216 patients with LIDP who were admitted to the hospital between February 2014 and June 2015. The subjects were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 108 each. Patients in the observation groups were treated by PTED, while patients in the control group were treated by mini-incision surgery, and treatment efficacy of the two groups was observed. The results demonstrated that the duration of surgery and length of hospital stay of the observation group were significantly shorter than those of the control group, the intraoperative blood loss of the observation group was significantly less than that of the control group and the size of surgical incision of the observation group was much smaller than that of the control group (P less than 0.05). As to clinical efficacy, in accordance with the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, results of the observation group were superior to those of the control group at 3 months after surgery (P less than 0.05). In conclusion, treating patients with LIDP through PTED can significantly improve treatment efficacy, shorten surgical and healing time and relieve pain. This therapy is worth clinical promotion.

[Ryan index for detection of laryngopharyngeal reflux diseases].

Objective: To explore the utility of pharyngeal pH monitoring which positive standard is Ryan index in diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease. Methods: In a retrospective study, clinical data of 590 patients who had symptoms laryngopharyngeal reflux disease from February 2016 to March 2017 were analyzed. All patients were received electronic laryngoscopy, assessment of reflux symptom index(RSI) and reflux finding score(RFS), and pharyngeal pH monitoring. SPSS 19.0 software was used to analyze the date. Results: There were 94 patients whose Ryan index were positive(15.93%). Among the 94 patients, 70 were positive during upright, 12 during supine and 12 during both upright and supine. There were 40 patients(6.78%)with pH decline events related to symptoms, while those Ryan index were normal. There were 536(90.85%), 417(70.68%), 233(39.49%) and 117(19.83%) patients with pH<6.5, pH<6.0, pH<5.5 and pH<5.0 events respectively. The positive rate of RSI, RFS, RSI and RFS, RSI or RFS were 44.24%, 16.78%, 7.12%, 53.90% respectively. The RFS score in Ryan index positive group was higher than that in Ryan index negative group[(8.2±2.4) vs (4.0±2.9), u=5.424, P<0.05], while the RSI score in Ryan index positive group was not statistically different from that in Ryan index negative group[(11.3±6.2) vs (12.7±5.8), t=1.247, P=0.167]. Conclusions: Pharyngeal pH monitoring is an objective and non-invasive method which can reflect laryngopharyngeal reflux directly. However, with the Ryan index as a criterion for the diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, partial patients may be missed. Further studies are needed to obtain more accurate and objective laryngopharyngeal pH statistical index for diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease.

Field-driven Domain Wall Motion in Ferromagnetic Nanowires with Bulk Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction.

Field-driven domain wall (DW) motion in ferromagnetic nanowires with easy- and hard-axis anisotropies was studied theoretically and numerically in the presence of the bulk Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. We propose a new trial function and offer an exact solution for DW motion along a uniaxial nanowire driven by an external magnetic field. A new strategy was suggested to speed up DW motion in a uniaxial magnetic nanowire with large DMI parameters. In the presence of hard-axis anisotropy, we find that the breakdown field and velocity of DW motion was strongly affected by the strength and sign of the DMI parameter under external fields. This work may be useful for future magnetic information storage devices based on DW motion.

Minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis for distal radius fractures with long-segment metadiaphyseal comminution.

INTRODUCTION: Distal radius fractures with both metaphyseal and diaphyseal comminution are commonly encountered injuries due to high-energy trauma. However, effectively treating patients with this disease remains challenging for the surgeon. HYPOTHESIS: The goal of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis (MIPPO) technique for distal radius fractures with long-segment metadiaphyseal comminution. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Nine patients with distal radius fractures involving long-segment metadiaphyseal comminution were treated with MIPPO from June 2011 to May 2012. Radiograph index, the range of motion of the wrist and forearm, grip strength, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score were assessed at final follow-up. Additionally, time to bone healing, time to return to work or activity, and postoperative complications were also recorded. RESULTS: All nine fractures healed by 13±1.3 weeks postoperatively. At an average follow-up of 15.9±3.6 months, the radiographs revealed a mean radial inclination of 18.2±2.7°, a mean volar tilt of 10.7±3.2°, and a radial shortening of 2.3±1.0mm. Nine patients had excellent wrist function according to the DASH score, range of motion, and grip strength. Except one patient experienced delayed healing of the distal incision, no complications occurred. All patients resumed work or activity within 16.2±1.9 weeks. DISCUSSION: Volar MIPPO is a safe and effective surgical treatment method for distal radius fractures with long-segment metadiaphyseal comminution, with few potential complications. TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic IV.

Analysis of KIT mutations and c-KIT expression in Chinese Uyghur and Han patients with melanoma.

BACKGROUND: The KIT gene plays an important role in the pathogenesis of malignant melanoma (MM). In recent years, activating mutations in KIT have been recognized as oncogenic. A number of therapies have been established, which provide significant clinical benefits for patients with MM with KIT mutations. Thus, detection of KIT mutations can have profound therapeutic implications. AIM: To investigate KIT gene expression in MMs in Chinese Uyghur and Han patients with mutations in KIT, and to identify the clinical features associated with KIT mutations and c-KIT expression. METHODS: In total, 105 MMs (56 from Uyghur and 49 from Han patients) were selected from patients in the Uyghur Autonomous region. Formalin-fixed, paraffin wax-embedded tumour sections were analysed for c-KIT expression using immunohistochemistry. Exons 11 and 13 of KIT were analysed for the presence of mutations using PCR amplification and DNA sequencing. RESULTS: Of the 105 MMs, 13 (10 Han and 3 Uyghur) were found to have mutations in KIT. Thus, the frequency of KIT mutations in Han patients was significantly higher than that in Uyghur patients (P = 0.02). We detected c-KIT expression in 71.4% and 42.9% of the tumour tissue samples collected from the Uyghur and Han patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, chronic sun-induced damage MM is the most prevalent MM among Chinese Uyghur patients, whereas acral and mucosal MMs are the most prevalent in Uyghur patients. Mutations in the KIT gene do not correlate with c-KIT expression.

Seven novel MHC class I alleles identified in Cercopithecus mitis.

We report here the identification of three Cemi-A and four Cemi-B novel alleles of Cercopithecus mitis.

Fabrication of mineralized electrospun PLGA and PLGA/gelatin nanofibers and their potential in bone tissue engineering.

Surface mineralization is an effective method to produce calcium phosphate apatite coating on the surface of bone tissue scaffold which could create an osteophilic environment similar to the natural extracellular matrix for bone cells. In this study, we prepared mineralized poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and PLGA/gelatin electrospun nanofibers via depositing calcium phosphate apatite coating on the surface of these nanofibers to fabricate bone tissue engineering scaffolds by concentrated simulated body fluid method, supersaturated calcification solution method and alternate soaking method. The apatite products were characterized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) methods. A large amount of calcium phosphate apatite composed of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD), hydroxyapatite (HA) and octacalcium phosphate (OCP) was deposited on the surface of resulting nanofibers in short times via three mineralizing methods. A larger amount of calcium phosphate was deposited on the surface of PLGA/gelatin nanofibers rather than PLGA nanofibers because gelatin acted as nucleation center for the formation of calcium phosphate. The cell culture experiments revealed that the difference of morphology and components of calcium phosphate apatite did not show much influence on the cell adhesion, proliferation and activity.

Electrospun Chitosan-graft-PLGA nanofibres with significantly enhanced hydrophilicity and improved mechanical property.

This work reported a novel poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) composite nanofibres, Chitosan-graft-PLGA (CS-graft-PLGA), produced by the electrospinning technique. CS was grafted onto the PLGA surface via the cross-linking agents reacting with the PLGA with reactive carboxyl groups on its surfaces introduced from the alkali treatment. The CS grafting ratios of the electrospun CS-graft-PLGA nanofibres were about 2.43%, 4.34%, 16.97% and 39.4% after cross-linked for 12 h, 16 h, 20 h and 24 h, respectively. The electrospun CS-graft-PLGA nanofibres were significantly uniform and highly smooth without the occurrence of bead defects, even at high CS grafting ratio. The electrospun CS-graft-PLGA nanofibres not only possessed the improved hydrophilicity and the protein absorption property, but also maintained the good mechanical property. In addition, the CS grafting can be conducive to accelerate degradation rate of PLGA.

Immobilizing natural macromolecule on PLGA electrospun nanofiber with surface entrapment and entrapment-graft techniques.

Surface entrapment is a convenient method to immobilize the natural macromolecules on the surface of synthetic polymers. In this study, the gelatin modified and sodium alginate/gelatin modified PLGA nanofibrous membranes were fabricated via surface entrapment and entrapment-graft techniques. The surface morphology of the each single modified PLGA nanofiber was as smooth as that of untreated PLGA nanofibers. The results of water angle contact measurements and tensile tests showed that the surface entrapment cannot only improve the hydrophilicity but also enhance mechanical properties of the modified nanofibrous membranes. In addition, the sodium alginate/gelatin modified electrospun PLGA nanofibrous membrane exhibited higher hydrophilicity and better biocompatibility than the simply gelatin modified PLGA nanofibrous membrane, which suggested the surface entrapment is a facile and efficient approach to surface modification for electrospun nanofibours membranes.

Genomic structure, polymorphism and expression analysis of growth hormone-releasing hormone and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide genes in the half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis).

Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) regulate development and somatic growth in teleosts; they may be associated with sexual growth dimorphism in the half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). We found that the full-length GHRH and PACAP gene sequences obtained from females and males consist of 4160, 4159, 2425, and 2446 bp, respectively, each of which includes four exons and three introns. When we analyzed normal females and males and extra-large male adults, GHRH and PACAP mRNA were found to be predominantly expressed in the brain; the expression levels were highest in normal males. The extra-large males exhibited the lowest mRNA levels of both GHRH and PACAP. Sex differences in GHRH and PACAP mRNA expression during development were also examined in a full-sib family; GHRH and PACAP mRNA were detected at all 27 times sampled from 10 to 410 days old. The GHRH expression levels in females were significantly higher than in males at most of the stages between 20 and 100 days old, while lower than those of males after 120 days old. Five microsatellite loci were identified in GHRH and PACAP genes. We used these five polymorphic markers to genotype 224 individuals, and no significant differences were found between females and males from the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and hatchery samples.

A novel amperometric hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on electrospun Hb-collagen composite.

In this paper, the hemoglobin (Hb)-collagen microbelt modified electrode with three-dimensional configuration was fabricated via the electrospinning method. Direct electron transfer of the Hb immobilized into the electrospun collagen microbelts was greatly facilitated. The apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k(s)) was calculated to be 270.6s⁻¹. The electrospun Hb-collagen microbelt modified electrode showed an excellent bioelectrocatalytic activity toward the reduction of H2O2. The amperometric response of the biosensor varied linearly with the H2O2 concentration ranging from 5 × 10⁻6molL⁻¹ to 30×10⁻6molL⁻¹, with a detection limit of 0.37 × 10⁻6molL⁻¹ (signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)(app)) was 77.7 µmolL⁻¹. The established biosensor exhibited fast amperometric response, high sensitivity, good reproducibility and stability.

Fast domain wall propagation under an optimal field pulse in magnetic nanowires.

We investigate field-driven domain wall (DW) propagation in magnetic nanowires in the framework of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. We propose a new strategy to speed up the DW motion in a uniaxial magnetic nanowire by using an optimal space-dependent field pulse synchronized with the DW propagation. Depending on the damping parameter, the DW velocity can be increased by about 2 orders of magnitude compared to the standard case of a static uniform field. Moreover, under the optimal field pulse, the change in total magnetic energy in the nanowire is proportional to the DW velocity, implying that rapid energy release is essential for fast DW propagation.