Soft ferroelectret ultrasound receiver for targeted peripheral neuromodulation.

Bioelectronic medicine is a rapidly growing field where targeted electrical signals can act as an adjunct or alternative to drugs to treat neurological disorders and diseases via stimulating the peripheral nervous system on demand. However, current existing strategies are limited by external battery requirements, and the injury and inflammation caused by the mechanical mismatch between rigid electrodes and soft nerves. Here we report a wireless, leadless, and battery-free ferroelectret implant, termed NeuroRing, that wraps around the target peripheral nerve and demonstrates high mechanical conformability to dynamic motion nerve tissue. As-fabricated NeuroRing can act as an ultrasound receiver that converts ultrasound vibrations into electrostimulation pulses, thus stimulating the targeted peripheral nerve on demand. This capability is demonstrated by the precise modulation of the sacral splanchnic nerve to treat colitis, providing a framework for future bioelectronic medicines that offer an alternative to non-specific pharmacological approaches.

Management of Occupational Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure among Medical Personnel: a 4-Year Prospective Study.

This study examined the management of occupational bloodborne pathogen exposure at a tertiary hospital in China. This prospective study was conducted at the Zhejiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January 2016 and December 2019. Data on bloodborne occupational exposure management were collected. In total, 460 exposures were reported. The majority of exposures (40.2 %) were from hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive index patients. Of the 460 cases, 453 (98.5%) exposures were reported timeously, and 371 (80.7%) cases received emergency treatment response and management. Sixty-eight personnel (93.2%) received timely prophylaxis treatment. Only 82/113 (72.6%) personnel completed the recommended follow-up period. Outsourced personnel(P = 0.002) and interns (P = 0.011) were independent follow-up factors. Although adequate compliance was achieved with timely reporting and prophylactic medication, there is room for improvement in terms of emergency treatment response and follow-up compliance. Furthermore, HBV vaccination and improved follow-up with outsourced personnel are recommended.

Response surface optimization of product yields and biofuel quality during fast hydrothermal liquefaction of a highly CO2-tolerant microalgae.

The effects of biochemical components and processing variables (e.g., temperatures, solid-liquid ratio, ethanol concentration, and time) during fast hydrothermal liquefaction of a highly CO2-tolerant microalgae (Micractinium sp.) on the product yields and biofuel quality were explored using response surface methodology coupled with central composite design. Results showed that the maximum bio-oil yield (51.4 %) was obtained at 321 °C for 49 min at ethanol concentration of 75 % and solid-liquid ratio of 15.3 %. Among different studied parameters, ethanol concentration showed the highest significant impact on the bio-oil yield due to the low P-value and high F-value in ANOVA analysis. Furthermore, the chemical compositions of bio-oils were determined, which showed that the increase of ethanol concentration in the solvent not only increased the bio-oil yield but also promoted the bio-oil quality by reduction of carboxylic acids and nitrogen-containing compounds with simultaneous enhancement of esters in the bio-oil. The present results show that fast hydrothermal liquefaction is a promising approach to convert the microalgae into high quality biofuels rich in esters.

Biofeedback electrostimulation for bionic and long-lasting neural modulation.

Invasive electrical stimulation (iES) is prone to cause neural stimulus-inertia owing to its excessive accumulation of exogenous charges, thereby resulting in many side effects and even failure of nerve regeneration and functional recovery. Here, a wearable neural iES system is well designed and built for bionic and long-lasting neural modulation. It can automatically yield biomimetic pulsed electrical signals under the driven of respiratory motion. These electrical signals are full of unique physiological synchronization can give biofeedback to respiratory behaviors, self-adjusting with different physiological states of the living body, and thus realizing a dynamic and biological self-matched modulation of voltage-gated calcium channels on the cell membrane. Abundant cellular and animal experimental evidence confirm an effective elimination of neural stimulus-inertia by these bioelectrical signals. An unprecedented nerve regeneration and motor functional reconstruction are achieved in long-segmental peripheral nerve defects, which is equal to the gold standard of nerve repair -- autograft. The wearable neural iES system provides an advanced platform to overcome the common neural stimulus-inertia and gives a broad avenue for personalized iES therapy of nerve injury and neurodegenerative diseases.

Study on two-step hydrothermal liquefaction of macroalgae for improving bio-oil.

In this work, the conversion of Enteromorpha clathrata into bio-oil through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) was investigated under different preparation conditions. A two-step reaction method was compared with single-step reaction. At a high temperature, bio-oil produced through the two-step hydrothermal reaction displayed slight changes in yield, but solid residue rate was low. The liquid-to-material ratio of the optimal preparation condition was 40/4 (mL/g). Bio-oil produced in each experiment at this ratio was further analyzed using GC/MS. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) quantitative calculation was used in analyzing and proving the possible reaction path of the conversion of furan compounds to aromatic compounds during a direct high-temperature liquefaction process. Results revealed that the two-step method can ensure a high bio-oil yield, while preventing the occurrence of side reactions caused by long-term high-temperature reactions, and improve the bio-oil quality.

Effect of Chinese medicine treatment based on pattern identification on cellular immunophenotype of myelodysplastic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the influence of treatment based on Chinese medicine pattern identification on cellular immunophenotype of the myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). METHODS: Sixty patients with MDS were randomly and equally assigned to the treatment group and the control group using a randomized digital table. Thirty patients in each group included 3 risk levels (low, moderate and high risks) with each level 10 patients according to the international prognostic scoring system. The control group was given conventional therapy which was also used in the treatment group. While the treatment group was given Zuogui Pill () and Yougui Pill () for low risk patients; Qingwen Baidu Decoction () and Bazhen Decoction () for moderate risk patients; Gexia Zhuyu Decoction () and Qinghao Biejia Decoction () combined with Shiquan Dabu Decoction () for high risk patients. After the treatment, the differences of overall response rate and immunophenotype (CD13, CD14, CD15, CD33 and CD34) of each group were analyzed. RESULTS: The overall response rate of the treatment group was significantly higher than the control group in low risk and moderate risk patients (P=0.029), there was no statistical differences of overall response rate between the treatment group and the control group in high risk patients (P=0.089). The expressions of CD13, CD14, CD33 and CD34 in all three risk levels of the treatment group were obviously decreased after the treatment, while CD15 in all three risk levels of the treatment group was obviously increased after the treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Meanwhile, the difference values of CD13 and CD33 in low risk level of the treatment group, CD33 and CD34 in moderate risk level of the treatment group as well as CD34 and CD15 in high risk level of the treatment group, were all greater than the control groups and they were statistically significant (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: It shows a better therapeutic effect if the MDS patients treated with Chinese medicine pattern identification in addition to conventional therapy. Since the treatment may inhibit the malignant clones and improve the dysmaturity of granulocyte differentiation, it is a feasible option in clinical practice.

A 90-Day Feeding Study in Rats to Assess the Safety of Genetically Engineered Pork.

Our laboratory recently produced genetically engineered (GE) Meishan pigs containing a ZFN-edited myostatin loss-of-function mutant. These GE pigs develop and grow as normal as wild type pigs but produce pork with greater lean yield and lower fat mass. To assess any potential subchronic toxicity risks of this GE pork, a 90-day feeding study was conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were randomly divided into five groups, and fed for 90 days with basic diet and basic diets formulated with low dose and high dose pork prepared from wild type pigs and GE pigs, respectively. Animal behaviors and clinical signs were monitored twice daily, and body weight and food consumption were measured and recorded weekly. At days 45 and 90, blood tests (lipid panel, electrolytes, parameters related to liver and kidney functions, and complete blood counts) were performed. Additionally, gross pathology and histopathological analyses were performed for major organs in each group. Data analysis shows that there were no significant differences in growth rate, food consumption, and blood test parameters between rat groups fed with GE pork and wild type pork. Although differences in some liver function parameters (such as aspartate aminotransferase, total proteins, albumin, and alkaline phosphatase) and white blood cell counts (such as lymphocyte percentage and monocyte percentage) were observed between rats fed with high dose GE pork and basic diet, all test results in rats fed with GE pork are in the normal range. Additionally, there are no apparent lesions noted in all organs isolated from rats in all five feeding groups on days 45 and 90. Overall, our results clearly indicate that food consumption of GE pork produced by ZFN-edited myostatin loss-of-function mutant pigs did not have any long-term adverse effects on the health status in rats.

[Treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation combined with Chinese medical syndrome typing: a clinical study].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of treating myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) combined with Chinese medical syndrome typing. METHODS: From July 2009 to July 2013, 6 MDS patients were treated with allo-HSCT combined with Chinese medical syndrome typing from HLA-identical sibling donors at Department of Hematology, Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine. Patients were classified as refractory anemia (RA, 2 cases), refractory anemia with ringed sideroblast (RARS, 1 case), refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia (RCMD, 2 cases), and RA with excess blasts-I (RAEB-I , 1 case). Modified BuCy conditioning regimen was used in all 6 cases. Two patients received bone marrow transplantation (BMT), 1 patient received peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT), and 3 patients received BMT + PBSCT. In order to prevent the occurrence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), all patients were treated with cyclosporine + methotrexate + mycophenolate mofetil. Different Chinese medical treatment methods (by syndrome typing) were given to patients according to different criticality of international prognostic scoring system (IPSS, 5 at moderate risk and 1 at high risk). RESULTS: All 6 patients successfully reconstructed their hematopoietic system. The time from transplantation to ANC ≥ 0.5 x 10(9)/L and platelet (PLT) ≥ 20 x10(9)/L were 13 (9-15) days and 11 (9-22) days respectively. Main complications were GVHD. Acute GVHD (aGVHD) occurred in 4 cases, 3 cases of grade I and 1 case of grade II, and local chronic GVHD (cGVHD) occurred in 1 patient. All cases survived with median follow-up of 18 (11-58) months. The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rate were 100%. CONCLUSIONS: HSCT combined with Chinese medical syndrome typing could improve clinical symptoms, reduce transplant as- sociated complications. So it was an effective treatment choice for MDS.

Functional and safety evaluation of transgenic pork rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Genetically modified animals rich in omega-3 unsaturated fatty acid offer a new strategy to improve the human health, but at the same time present a challenge in terms of food safety assessment. In this study, we evaluated the function and safety of sFat-1 transgenic pork rich in omega-3 fatty acids in mice by feeding basic diet and diets that contain wild type pork and sFat-1 transgenic pork. Blood biochemistry, haematology, peripheral T cell distributions, bacterial counts, gross necropsy, histopathology and organ weights were performed in mice fed with different doses of wild type and transgenic pork. Results indicated that both low and high dose of wild type and transgenic pork had no significant effect on blood biochemistry, T cell distribution, immunoglobulins and bacterial counts in intestine and feces. However, it was noted that both low and high dose of transgenic pork improved the liver immune system in mice, which is probably due to the beneficial contribution of high level of the "good" fatty acids in transgenic pork. There is no significant effect of transgenic pork on all other organs in mice. In summary, our study clearly demonstrated that feeding transgenic pork rich in omega-3 fatty acids did not cause any harm to mice, and in fact, improved the liver immune system.

[Effects of hydroxy safflor yellow A on blood vessel and mRNA expression with VEGF and bFGF of transplantation tumor with gastric adenocarcinoma cell line BGC-823 in nude mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Hydroxy Safflor yellow A (HSYA) on the growth of blood vessel of transplantation tumor of gastric adenocarcinoma cell line BGC-823 in nude mice and its underlying mechanism of antagonizing tumor angiogenesis. METHOD: The BGC-823 cells was subcutaneouly injected into the right anterior armpit of BALB/C nu/nu nude mice and established the animal model of transplantation tumor. Then nude mice were divided into 4 groups at random: model group, control group, high or low dosage of HSYA group. The model group were treated with normal sodium by intraperitoneal injection, HSYA groups were treated with HSYA at concentration of 0.056 g x L(-1) and 0.028 g x L(-1) by intraperitoneal injection, and in these groups each mouse was injected 2 times everyday with 0.2 mL by 4-6 hours interval. The control group were injected in enterocoelia 1 times every 2 days starting from the third day with cytoxan at 2 g x L(-1). 20 days later, the volume and weight of nude mice were observed. The pathological change of tumor tissue was observed under optical microscope. The mRNA expression of VEGF and bFGF of transplantation tumor were detected by real time quantitative PCR. RESULT: The volume (607.42 +/- 252.96) mm3, weight (0.88 +/- 0.14) g of transplantation tumor, the mRNA expression level of VEGF 0.49 +/- 0.13 and bFGF 0.60 +/- 0.48 are reduced significantly after treatment with HSYA at the concentration of 0.028 g x L(-1) compared with physiologic saline-treated group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The tumor pathological angiogenesis of HSYA group is also less obvious than the normal sodium-treated group. CONCLUSION: HSYA in given concentration can inhibit the growth of BGC-823 transplantation tumor, and decreasing the mRNA expression of VEGF and bFGF, which suggests that inhibiting tumor angiogenesis may be one of the mechanisms of HSYA antagonizing tumor.

Determination of polyphenol components in herbal medicines by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with Tween 20.

A simple and convenient method of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) using polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 20) to form single micelle and methanol as a buffer additive was introduced for the simultaneous determination of five polyphenols, including scopoletin, rutin, esculetin, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid. A running buffer solution of pH 9.3, 20 mmol/L sodium tetraborate containing 64 mmol/L Tween 20 and 9% (v/v) methanol was adopted in the separation. Because rutin and esculetin were difficult to be separated by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and SDS-based MEKC, Tween 20-based MEKC was adopted and the polyphenols were separated satisfactorily. The proposed method was used to determine the polyphenol components in the herbal medicine of Cortex fraxini. The separation mechanism of Tween 20-based MEKC for the polyphenols was discussed preliminarily.