Interlayer and Phase Engineering Modifications of K-MoS2@C Nanoflowers for High-Performance Degradable Zn-Ion Batteries.

2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have garnered significant interest as cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) due to their open transport channels and abundant Zn2+ intercalation sites. However, unmodified TMDs exhibit low electrochemical activity and poor kinetics owing to the high binding energy and large hydration radius of divalent Zn2+. To overcome these limitations, an interlayer engineering strategy is proposed where K+ is preintercalated into K-MoS2 nanosheets, which then undergo in situ growth on carbon nanospheres (denoted as K-MoS2@C nanoflowers). This strategy stimulates in-plane redox-active sites, expands the interlayer spacing (from 6.16 to 9.42 Å), and induces the formation of abundant MoS2 1T-phase. The K-MoS2@C cathode demonstrates excellent redox activity and fast kinetics, attributed to the potassium ions acting as a structural "stabilizer" and an electrostatic interaction "shield," accelerating charge transfer, promoting Zn2+ diffusion, and ensuring structural stability. Meanwhile, the carbon nanospheres serve as a 3D conductive network for Zn2+ and enhance the cathode's hydrophilicity. More significantly, the outstanding electrochemical performance of K-MoS2@C, along with its superior biocompatibility and degradability of its related components, can enable an implantable energy supply, providing novel opportunities for the application of transient electronics.

LncRNA ASB16-AS1 accelerates cellular process and chemoresistance of ovarian cancer cells by regulating GOLM1 expression via targeting miR-3918.

BACKGROUND: Reportedly, ovarian cancer (OC) is a major threat to women's health. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) ASB16-AS1 has been uncovered to participate in cancer progression. Nevertheless, the role of ASB16-AS1 in OC remains to be revealed. PURPOSE: This study aimed to unveil the biological function of ASB16-AS1 and its underlying mechanisms in OC cells. METHODS: QRT-PCR was done to test ASB16-AS1 expression in OC cells. Functional assays were performed to evaluate the malignant behaviors and cisplatin resistance of OC cells. Mechanistic analyses were done to investigate the regulatory molecular mechanism in OC cells. RESULTS: ASB16-AS1 was found to be highly expressed in OC cells. ASB16-AS1 knockdown repressed proliferation, migration, and invasion of OC cells, while facilitating cell apoptosis. ASB16-AS1 was further validated to up-regulate GOLM1 through competitively binding with miR-3918. Moreover, miR-3918 overexpression was corroborated to suppress OC cell growth. Rescue assays further uncovered that ASB16-AS1 modulated the malignant processes of OC cells via targeting miR-3918/GOLM1 axis. CONCLUSION: ASB16-AS1 facilitates the malignant processes and chemoresistance of OC cells via serving as miR-3918 sponge and positively modulating GOLM1 expression.

High-Performance Biodegradable Energy Storage Devices Enabled by Heterostructured MoO3 -MoS2 Composites.

Biodegradable implantable devices are of growing interest in biosensors and bioelectronics. One of the key unresolved challenges is the availability of power supply. To enable biodegradable energy-storage devices, herein, 2D heterostructured MoO3 -MoS2 nanosheet arrays are synthesized on water-soluble Mo foil, showing a high areal capacitance of 164.38 mF cm-2 (at 0.5 mA cm-2 ). Employing the MoO3 -MoS2 composite as electrodes of a symmetric supercapacitor, an asymmetric Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitor, and an Mg primary battery are demonstrated. Benefiting from the advantages of MoO3 -MoS2 heterostructure, the Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitors deliver a high areal capacitance (181.86 mF cm-2 at 0.5 mA cm-2 ) and energy density (30.56 µWh cm-2 ), and the Mg primary batteries provide a stable high output voltage (≈1.6 V) and a long working life in air/liquid environment. All of the used materials exhibit desirable biocompatibility, and these fabricated devices are also fully biodegradable. Demonstration experiments display their potential applications as biodegradable power sources for various electronic devices.

Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation with AHP and entropy methods and health risk assessment of groundwater in Yinchuan Basin, northwest China.

Water quality evaluation and health risk assessment are not only the basis of environmental protection work, but also of great significance to water environment supervision and management. In this paper, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation for water quality was improved by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Entropy, and a health risk assessment model based on triangular fuzzy theory was developed. The evaluation results show 5 water categories: Class-1 (n = 1, 2%), Class-2 (n = 14, 32%), Class-3 (n = 15, 34%), Class-4 (n = 8, 18%) and Class-5 (n = 6, 14%), manifesting about 67% of the phreatic water can be used for drinking purposes in the research area. The Chadha diagram provides hydrochemical facies of the phreatic water are mainly NaCl type (n = 16, 36%) and Ca-Mg-Na type (n = 15, 34%). Fluorine as non-carcinogenic factor in health risk assessment, showing moderate correlation with SO42- (r = 0.54) and low correlation with Na+ (r = 0.38) in Pearson correlation analysis. The order of non-carcinogenic risk per year is as follow: Class-2, Class-3, All, Class-4 and Class-5 with the mean of 0.29, 0.51, 0.67, 0.86 and 1.55 × 10-8 for adults, 0.54, 0.95, 1.27, 1.58 and 2.89 × 10-8 for children. Compare with adults, children undertake higher health risk, in research area. Particularly, the region accepting Class-5 water supplement encounter high non-carcinogenic risk, where risk level is 2.24 and 2.28 times to the average risk level for adults and children, respectively. This paper provides insights into solving uncertainties in groundwater management and environmental protection, as well as into fuzzy logic techniques addressing pollution.

Chemical compositions evolution of groundwater and its pollution characterization due to agricultural activities in Yinchuan Plain, northwest China.

Yinchuan Plain is a typically intensive cultivated region in the northwest of China. The irrigation return infiltration from Yellow River is the main source of groundwater recharge. Deep soil layers, sandy vadose zones, and dense irrigation canals make the groundwater susceptible to the return flow which contains pollutants originating mainly from agriculture applications, particularly from the extensive use of nitrogen fertilizer and manure. The pollution levels of phreatic water and confined water in NWS areas (non-water source areas) and WS areas (water source areas) of Yinchuan Plain in 2004 and 2014 were evaluated by the single-factor evaluation method, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, and average benchmark coefficient method, respectively. Piper trilinear diagram and scatter plots of major ions were used to classify water types and chemical facies, and further analyze the causes of groundwater pollution and the variation tendency of agricultural pollution. The results show that in 2014, about 50% of the groundwater samples were heavily polluted in Yinchuan Plain, the pollution level of phreatic water and confined water in NWS areas was up to level 5. And the groundwater within the standard in 2004 was heavily polluted in 2014 in WS areas, three-nitrogen pollution was the most serious pollutant, and the organic pollution level was grade IV. From the scatter plots of ions, it can be seen that the increase in concentrations of major ions was affected by evaporation-condensation and cation exchange reaction, but the complex ion contents indicated that groundwater was affected by human activities. The intensive agricultural activities, such as over fertilization, artificial irrigation, have led to concentrations increase of some chemical composition in groundwater.

Hydrogeochemistry Assessment of Shallow Groundwater and Human Health Threats in the Northwestern Ordos Basin, China.

Groundwater is the main sources of water supply for drinking purposes in the Ordos Basin in the northwestern part of China. In order to sustain and protect the quality of groundwater resources, shallow groundwater samples were collected and analyzed to identify the hydrogeochemical characteristics, and to evaluate health risk to human. Cluster analysis showed that the 134 groundwater samples were divided into three classes (i.e., class 1, class 2, class 3). The groundwater types are mostly characterized by SO4-Cl type and SO4 type, mixed HCO3 type. The primary natural mechanisms controlling the chemical compositions are water-rock interaction and evaporation-precipitation. The extremely high concentrations of sulfate could be caused by contamination from pyrite or from infiltration of sulfate from inorganic fertilizers or from wastewater discharges. Results of the assessment of the health risks for ingestion of Cl-, NO3-, F-, Cr, and As in drinking water indicated that the total health risks are beyond the US EPA acceptable level of 10-6 per year for consumption of groundwater sourced from all three cluster classes. The highest risks were for ingestion of arsenic and chromium in groundwater. The highest total risks to adults and children were 1.51 × 10-5 and 2.45 × 10-2 (class 1), 4.12 × 10-4 and 8.98 × 10-3 (class 2), 3.06 × 10-3 and 5.49 × 10-2 (class 3), respectively. The study showed that there is a high risk of health problems among the residents of the Ordos Basin in China that are ingesting contaminated drinking water, with the health risks to children higher than the risks to adults.

Potential risk assessment of groundwater to address the agricultural and domestic challenges in Ordos Basin.

The safety of groundwater has been a great concern for irrigation and drinking purposes in recent decades due to the increasing impacts of anthropogenic activities. There are several standards to evaluate the groundwater quality for different utilization purposes. In this paper, 804 samples covering the entire Ordos Basin across five provinces were used to evaluate the irrigation suitability and human health risks. The results showed that the sequence of cationic concentration was Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ > NH4 +, and the anion concentration was HCO3 - > SO4 2- > Cl- > NO3 - > F- > NO2 -. For drinking purposes, TDS, Na+, SO4 2-, F-, TH and NO3 - exceed seriously the regulated standard in the study area. For irrigating purposes, 80% of the water in the study area belongs to "good water" according to the evaluation of salinity and alkalinity. Saline water which is not suitable for irrigation accounts for about 9%. High health risks of fluoride ions are mainly observed to the samples representing the western part of the study area, while the health risks of nitrates spread throughout the study area. Health risk is not only related to location, but also varies with age, and it is found that children suffer more threats than adults.

Comparative metabolism of schaftoside in healthy and calcium oxalate kidney stone rats by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS method.

Schaftoside is a flavone-C-glycoside isolated from Herba Desmodii Styracifolii with valuable anti-kidney stones efficacies. In this study, a six-step strategy was first developed to detect and identify the metabolites in plasma, urine, bile, feces and rat intestinal bacteria samples of healthy and model rats administrated with schaftoside using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). The number and the relative peak area of metabolites in healthy rats and model rats were compared, and it was noticed that metabolites in bio-samples of healthy and model rats both had obvious differences. A total of 28 metabolites of schaftoside in healthy rats and 30 metabolites in model rats were initially indentified. The relative peak area of the parent drug and every metabolite in model rat plasma samples were larger than those in healthy rat plasma. Those metabolites with high blood concentrations might be beneficial for the treatment of calcium oxalate stones in the kidney. The results are valuable and important for understanding the metabolic process of schaftoside in clinical application, and especially the metabolism study in calcium oxalate kidney stone model rats could provide a beneficial reference for the further search of effective substances associated with the treatment of kidney stones.

Metabolic profiling comparison of isovitexin in normal and kidney stone model rats by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Isovitexin, a bioactive flavonoid constituent isolated from Desmodii Styracifolii, is considered an adjuvant for antiurolithiasis diseases. In this study, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid triple quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was developed to characterize and compare the metabolic profiling of isovitexin experimented on normal and kidney stone model rats. The comparative research indicated that 28 metabolites (18 phase I and 10 phase II) in normal rats and 33 metabolites (20 phase I and 13 phase II) in kidney stone model rats were initially identified. The results of relative quantitative determination reflected that the contents of metabolites produced by deglycosylation, reduction, and isomerization in kidney stone model rats were greater than those in healthy rats. Instead, the levels of oxidative and dehydrogenated metabolites in normal groups were higher than those in kidney stone model groups. The results of this study are valuable and important for understanding the metabolic process of isovitexin in clinical application, and especially the metabolism study in kidney stone model rats could provide a beneficial reference for the further search of effective substances associated with the treatment of kidney stones.

Maximization of Spatial Charge Density: An Approach to Ultrahigh Energy Density of Capacitive Charge Storage.

Capacitive energy storage has advantages of high power density, long lifespan, and good safety, but is restricted by low energy density. Inspired by the charge storage mechanism of batteries, a spatial charge density (SCD) maximization strategy is developed to compensate this shortage by densely and neatly packing ionic charges in capacitive materials. A record high SCD (ca. 550 C cm-3 ) was achieved by balancing the valance and size of charge-carrier ions and matching the ion sizes with the pore structure of electrode materials, nearly five times higher than those of conventional ones (ca. 120 C cm-3 ). The maximization of SCD was confirmed by Monte Carlo calculations, molecular dynamics simulations, and in situ electrochemical Raman spectroscopy. A full-cell supercapacitor was further constructed; it delivers an ultrahigh energy density of 165 Wh L-1 at a power density of 150 WL-1 and retains 120 Wh L-1 even at 36 kW L-1 , opening a pathway towards high-energy-density capacitive energy storage.

Health risk assessment of phreatic water based on triangular fuzzy theory in Yinchuan plain.

Groundwater quality relating closely to human health has become a great concern to the whole society, especially in heavily polluted areas. Yinchuan Plain, located in the arid and semi-arid region of Northwestern China, where people rely heavily on groundwater resource. However, due to the improper groundwater exploitation and negative effect of human activities in recent years, groundwater quality in Yinchuan plain become deteriorated. For the sustainable utilization and protection of groundwater resources, health risk assessment (HRA) of phreatic water is conducted in this paper. On the basis of model recommended by EPA, triangular fuzzy number is applied to establish risk assessment model for health risk assessment of adults and children in wet and dry seasons, respectively. Results of HRA indicate that carcinogenic risk of arsenic is highest among the risk from components in phreatic water, and the highest risk from arsenic to adults and children in wet and dry season are 6.48 × 10-6a-1 and 9.56 × 10-6a-1, 1.08 × 10-5a-1 and 1.59 × 10-5a-1, respectively. This study also states that in Yinchuan Plain carcinogenic risk from drinking groundwater can be 3-4 times magnitude higher than the noncarcinogenic risk. Also it is found that the health risk to children is as 1.5-2 times as to adults, while the uncertainties of adults' health risk are higher than that of children.

Sunlight-Driven Water Transport via a Reconfigurable Pump.

Fast and controllable water transport in microchannels has implications for many applications. A combination of stimuli-responsive asymmetrical changes in the geometry and gradient in the surface wettability offers the possibility to accelerate the transport and realize controllability. Herein, we introduce a meters-long sunlight-powered reconfigurable water pump constructed by tubular poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) premixed with chemically reduced graphene oxide (rGO), in which the inner wall is modified with thermal-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel (PNIPAm). This sunlight-powered water pump delivers a record-high advance speed of 1.5 mm s-1 and 13.6 kg h-1 m-2 under 1.5 sun. Theoretical and experimental results reveal that the remarkable performance results from the synergistic effect of the contact-angle gradient arising from the reversible hydrophilic/hydrophobic switch of PNIPAm and the capillary force arising from the geometric deformation of the microchannel.

Disassembly-Reassembly Approach to RuO2 /Graphene Composites for Ultrahigh Volumetric Capacitance Supercapacitor.

A porous, yet compact, RuO2 /graphene hybrid is successfully prepared by using a disassembly-reassembly strategy, achieving effective and uniform loading of RuO2 nanoparticles inside compact graphene monolith. The disassembly process ensures the uniform loading of RuO2 nanoparticles into graphene monolith, while the reassembly process guarantees a high density yet simultaneously unimpeded ion transport channel in the composite. The resulting RuO2 /graphene hybrid possesses a density of 2.63 g cm-3 , leading to a record high volumetric capacitance of 1485 F cm-3 at the current density of 0.1 A g-1 . When the current density is increased to 20 A g-1 , it remains a high volumetric capacitance of 1188 F cm-3 . More importantly, when the single electrode mass loading is increased to 12 mg cm-2 , it still delivers a high volumetric capacitance of 1415 F cm-3 at the current density of 0.1 A g-1 , demonstrating the promise of this disassembly-reassembly approach to create high volumetric performance materials for energy storage applications.

A New Blue-Emitting Mg2Al4Si5O18:Ce3+ Phosphor for White Light Emitting Diodes.

A series of blue-emitting Mg2Al4Si5O18:Ce3+ phosphors were prepared via the conventional high temperature solid-state reaction method. The phase structure, photoluminescence (PL) properties, PL thermal stability, and fluorescence decay curves of the samples were investigated for the first time. Under excitation at 365 nm, the phosphor exhibited a broad band blue emission with peak at 440 nm, which was ascribed to the 4f --> 5d transition of Ce3+, and the color coordinate was (0.1602, 0.0849). When the temperature increased to 150 °C, the luminescence intensity of the Mg2Al4Si5O18:0.06Ce3+ phosphor was 55.73% of the initial value at room temperature. The activation energy ΔE was calculated to be 0.25 eV, which proved the good thermal stability of the sample. The energy transfer critical distance between Ce3+ ions in Mg2Al4Si5O18 host were also calculated. The above results indicate that the Mg2Al4Si5O18:Ce3+ is a promising candidate as a blue-emitting near ultraviolet convertible phosphor for application in white light emitting diodes (WLEDs).

miR-429 determines poor outcome and inhibits pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma growth by targeting TBK1.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) ranks fourth on the list of cancer-related causes of death and its prognosis has not improved significantly over the past decades. Deregulation or dysfunction of miRNAs contribute to cancer development. Previous data indicates that miR-429 is involved in the pathogenesis of PDAC. However, the role of miR-429 in PDAC remained unknown. METHODS: MiR-429 levels in sample tissues of 78 patients and in PANC1 and SW1990 cell lines were quantified by real-time PCR. MiR-429 expression was modulated using specific pre- and anti-miRNAs and cell growth was assayed by MTT analysis. Bioinformatics prediction of the miR-429 putative target genes was performed and luciferase assays confirmed TBK1 as a direct target gene. TBK1 levels in PDAC tissues were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: MiR-429 was remarkably decreased in PDAC tissues and cell lines. Lower miR-429 expression in PDAC tissues significantly correlated with shorter survival of PDAC patients. Overexpression of miR-429 inhibited PDAC cell lines growth in vitro and vice versa. TBK1 was found to be the direct target gene of miR-429. Higher TBK1 protein level in PDAC tissues correlated with shorter survival of PDAC patients. Overexpression of TBK1 partly restored cell proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: Low level of miR-429 and high level of TBK1 in PDAC promoted PDAC cells growth which might be related to the low survival rate of PDAC patients. MiR-429 play its role in PDAC by targeting TBK1.

[A clinical series of 80 patients with adenosquamous carcinoma of pancreas].

OBJECTIVE: To raise the awareness of adenosquamous carcinoma of pancreas and discuss the treatment of it. METHODS: Clinical data of 80 cases of pancreas adenosquamous carcinoma patients in the Department of Pancreas Surgery of Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University from December 2003 to October 2011 were analyzed. The diagnose and treatment methods were discussed. There were 61 male cases and 19 female cases who aged from 28 to 81 years, with an average age of 60 years. The primary symptoms included 46 cases (57.5%) of abdominal malaise, 6 cases (7.5%) of low back pain, 4 cases (5.0%) of abdominal swelling pain with low back pain, 15 cases (18.8%) of abdominal swelling pain with jaundice, 5 cases (6.3%) of painless jaundice, 3 cases (3.8%) of significantly decreased body-weight and 1 case (1.3%) of no symptom. All the patients had been identified as pancreas tumor suffers by ultrasound, enhanced CT scan or MRI. Totally there were 43 cases of head/unciform process tumors, 15 cases of pancreas body tumors and 22 pancreas tail cases.Health situation of all cases were follow-up observed in the outpatient department or telephoned every 3 months till 24 months after the surgery. RESULTS: Among the 80 patients, 19 patients underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) , 19 patients received pylorus-preserving PD, with 4 cases of palliative resection and 1 case of total pancreatectomy. The volume of bleeding during the surgery varied from 50 to 3 500 ml with a blood transfusion volume varied from 0 to 4 000 ml. Consumed time for PD procedures was 90 to 260 min with 60 to 150 min for body and (or) tail resection with or without lienectomy. The mean diameter of tumor was (4.9 ± 2.2) cm. Pathological tests showed 35 cases of positive lymph nodes, adjacent organ invasion happened in 35 patients, however, nerve invasion were found in 68 cases.Eighteen cases occurred postoperative complications, including bleeding, pancreatic fistula, gastric emptying, incision fat liquefaction and infection, pleural effusion, ascites and nervous diarrhea. There were only 48 effective follow-up patients, with a loss ratio of follow-up by 40.0%, reasons for the loss includes change of contact information, refuse or unable to provide useful information by the relatives of the patients.Sixteen patients received chemotherapy, and 8 patients received radiotherapy after operation. All patients were dead in the effective follow-ups. The postoperative median survival time was 6 months (0.1 to 23.0 months). CONCLUSIONS: Adenosquamous carcinoma of pancreas is a rare kind of malignant tumor, nerve invasion can be found in almost all the cases. Patients with adenosquamous carcinoma of pancreas have an unfavorable prognosis. The principle treatments are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The relationship between alterations in plasma metabolites and treatment responses in antipsychotic-naïve female patients with schizophrenia.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between alterations in plasma metabolites and treatment responses amongst antipsychotic-naïve female patients with schizophrenia. A total of 38 antipsychotic-naïve female schizophrenia patients (ANS) and 19 healthy female controls (HC) were recruited. Plasma samples were obtained from all participants, and targeted metabolomics were measured with FIA-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS. The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) was used to assess the severity of psychotic symptoms before and after eight weeks of treatment. Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curves were used to predict diagnostic and therapeutic responses. A total of 186 metabolites passed quality control procedures and were used in statistical analysis to identify potential biomarkers. Before treatment, the ANS patients had lower levels of γ -Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) and higher levels of Cholesteryl esters (CE) (20:3), Cholic Acid (CA) and Glycocholic Acid (GCA) compared to the HCs. These four differential metabonomic markers were synthesised into a combinatorial biomarker panel. This panel significantly distinguished ANS from HC. Moreover, this biomarker panel was able to effectively predict therapeutic responses. Our results suggest that plasma CE (20:3), CA, GCA, and GABA levels may be useful for diagnosing and predicting antipsychotic efficacy amongst female schizophrenia patients.

Vanadium Oxide Cathode Coinserted by Ni2+ and NH4+ for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Vanadium-based oxides have garnered significant attention as cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) because of their high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, the limited reaction kinetics and poor long-term cycle stability hinder their widespread application. In this paper, we propose a novel approach by coinserting Ni2+ and NH4+ ions into V2O5·3H2O, i.e., NNVO. Structural characterization shows that the coinsertion of Ni2+ and NH4+ not only extends the interlayer spacing of V2O5·3H2O but also significantly promotes the transport kinetics of Zn2+ because of the synergistic "pillar" effect of Ni2+ and NH4+, as well as the increased oxygen vacancies that effectively lower the energy barrier for Zn2+ insertion. As a result, the AZIBs with an NNVO electrode exhibit a high capacity of 398.1 mAh g-1 (at 1.0 A g-1) and good cycle stability with 89.1% capacity retention even after 2000 cycles at 5.0 A g-1. At the same time, a highly competitive energy density of 262.9 Wh kg-1 is delivered at 382.9 W kg-1. Considering the simple scheme and the resultant high performance, this study may provide a positive attempt to develop high-performance AZIBs.

Multifunctional injectable hydrogels with controlled delivery of bioactive factors for efficient repair of intervertebral disc degeneration.

Millions of people worldwide suffer from intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), which imposes a significant socioeconomic burden on society. There is an urgent clinical demand for more effective treatments for IVDD because conventional treatments can only alleviate the symptoms rather than preventing the progression of IVDD. Hydrogels, a class of elastic biomaterials with good biocompatibility, are promising candidates for intervertebral disc repair and regeneration. In recent years, various hydrogels have been investigated in vitro and in vivo for the repair of intervertebral discs, some of which are ready for clinical testing. This review summarizes the latest findings and developments in using bioactive factors-released bioactive injectable hydrogels for the repair and regeneration of intervertebral discs. It focuses on the analysis and summary of the use of multifunctional injectable hydrogels to delivery bioactive factors (cells, exosomes, growth factors, genes, drugs) for disc regeneration, providing guidance for future study. Finally, we discussed and analyzed the optimal timing for the application of controlled-release hydrogels in the treatment of IVDD to meet the high standards required for intervertebral disc regeneration and precision medicine.

Engineering Multifunctional Polyether Ether Ketone Implant: Mechanics-Adaptability, Biominerialization, Immunoregulation, Anti-Infection, Osteointegration, and Osteogenesis.

Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) has become one of the most promising polymer implants in bone orthopedics, due to the biocompatibility, good processability, and radiation resistance. However, the poor mechanics-adaptability/osteointegration/osteogenesis/antiinfection limits the long-term in vivo applications of PEEK implants. Herein, a multifunctional PEEK implant (PEEK-PDA-BGNs) is constructed through in situ surface deposition of polydopamine-bioactive glass nanoparticles (PDA-BGNs). PEEK-PDA-BGNs exhibit good performance on osteointegration and osteogenesis in vitro and in vivo, due to their multifunctional properties including mechanics-adaptability, biominerialization, immunoregulation, anti-infection, and osteoinductive activity. PEEK-PDA-BGNs can show the bone tissue-adaptable mechanic surface and induce the rapid biomineralization (apatite formation) under a simulated body solution. Additionally, PEEK-PDA-BGNs can induce the M2 phenotype polarization of macrophages, reduce the expression of inflammatory factors, promote the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), and improve the osseointegration and osteogenesis ability of the PEEK implant. PEEK-PDA-BGNs also show good photothermal antibacterial activity and can kill 99% of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), suggesting their potential antiinfection ability. This work suggests that PDA-BGNs coating is probably a facile strategy to construct multifunctional (biomineralization, antibacterial, immunoregulation) implants for bone tissue replacement.