Exploring causal association between circulating inflammatory cytokines and functional outcomes following ischemic stroke: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.

OBJECTIVES: Previous observational studies have indicated correlations between various inflammatory cytokines and functional outcomes following ischemic stroke (IS); however, the causality remains unclear. We aimed to further evaluate the causal association between 41 circulating inflammatory cytokines and functional outcomes following IS. METHODS: Two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used in this study. The genetic variation of 41 circulating inflammatory cytokines were derived from genome-wide association study (GWAS) data of European ancestry (n = 8293). The corresponding genetic association of functional outcomes following IS were derived from European ancestry GWAS data (n = 6021). RESULTS: Inverse variance weighted (IVW) analysis showed that genetically predicted increased levels of regulation and activation in normal T-cell expression and secretion factor (RANTES/CCL5) and eosinophilic chemotactic factor (EOTAXIN/CCL11) were positively correlated with the increased adverse functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale [mRS≥3] following IS (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.002-1.96, p = 0.049; OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.15-1.54, p = 0.0001). Interleukin 18 (IL-18) level might be the downstream consequence of adverse functional outcomes following IS (ß: -0.09, p = 0.039). Other inflammatory cytokines and functional outcomes following IS did not appear to be causally related. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests a causality between inflammation and adverse functional outcomes following IS. RANTES (CCL5) and EOTAXIN (CCL11) may be the upstream factors of adverse functional outcomes following IS, while IL-18 may be the downstream effect of adverse functional outcomes following IS. Whether these cytokines can be used to predict or improve adverse functional outcomes after IS requires further researches.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress-related protein GRP78 and CHOP levels in synovial fluid correlate with disease progression of primary knee osteoarthritis: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been shown to play an important role in osteoarthritis (OA). OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at assessing the relationship of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP) concentrations in the serum/synovial fluid (SF) with disease severity of primary knee osteoarthritis (pkOA). METHODS: Patients with pkOA together with healthy individuals were consecutively recruited from our hospital. The levels of GRP78 and CHOP in serum / SF were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The levels of IL-6 and MMP-3 were also examined. Radiographic progression of pkOA was evaluated based on Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) grades. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the diagnostic value of GRP78/CHOP levels with regard to K-L grades. The assessment of clinical severity was conducted using the visual analogue scale (VAS), Oxford knee score (OKS), and Lequesne algofunctional index (LAI). RESULTS: A total of 140 pkOA patients and 140 healthy individuals were included. Serum GRP78 and CHOP levels in pkOA patients were not significantly different from those in healthy individuals. The SF GRP78 and CHOP levels in healthy controls were not detected due to ethical reasons. Compared to those with K-L grade 2 and 3, the pkOA patients with K-L grade 4 had higher GRP78 and CHOP levels in the SF with statistical significance. In addition, the pkOA patients with K-L grade 3 exhibited drastically upregulated GRP78 and CHOP concentrations in the SF compared to those with K-L grade 2. Positive correlations of GRP78 and CHOP levels with K-L grades, IL-6, and MMP-3 levels in the SF were observed. ROC curve analysis indicated that both GRP78 and CHOP levels may act as decent indicators with regard to OA. GRP78 and CHOP concentrations in the SF were positively correlated with VAS/LAI score and negatively associated with OKS score. CONCLUSION: The study indicated that GRP78 and CHOP levels in the SF but not the serum were positively correlated with disease severity of pkOA.

Palladium-catalyzed [4 + 2] cycloaddition of 2-methylidenetrimethylene carbonate or methylene cyclic carbamate with sulfamate-derived cyclic imines.

A palladium-catalyzed [4 + 2] cycloaddition of 2-methylidenetrimethylene carbonate or methylene cyclic carbamate with sulfamate-derived cyclic imines has been successfully developed under mild reaction conditions, affording pharmacologically interesting oxazine or hydropyrimidine derivatives in high yields (up to 99% yield). Furthermore, the cycloaddition reactions could be efficiently scaled up and several synthetic transformations were accomplished for the construction of other useful 1,3-oxazine and hydropyrimidinone derivatives.

Protective role of Astragaloside IV in chronic glomerulonephritis by activating autophagy through PI3K/AKT/AS160 pathway.

Astragaloside IV(AS-IV), a saponin purified from Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge.var.mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao, has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the underlying mechanisms in treating chronic glomerular nephritis (CGN) have not been fully understood. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential mechanism of AS-IV on CGN. CGN rats were administrated with AS-IV at 10 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 (ASL) and 20 mg·kg-1 ·d-1 (ASH). Twenty four hour proteinuria, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine (SCr) were detected. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining were performed to evaluate the kidney lesion. Transmission electron microscope and GFP-RFP-LC3 transfection assay were used to monitor the effect of AS-IV on autophagy. IL-6 and IL-1ß were detected. The expression of CyclinD1, PI3K/AKT/AS160 pathway and autophagy related proteins were detected by Western Blot. The results demonstrated that AS-IV improved kidney function, ameliorated kidney lesion, and diminished inflammatory in CGN rats. Further, both in vivo and vitro study demonstrated that AS-IV inhibited the proliferation of mesangial cells. AS-IV further displayed a remarkable effect on inhibiting the activation of PI3K/AKT/AS160 pathway and improved the activation of autophagy in vivo and vitro. These results suggested that AS-IV is a potential therapeutic agent for CGN and merits further investigation.

Predicting drug-target interactions using Lasso with random forest based on evolutionary information and chemical structure.

The identification of drug-target interactions has great significance for pharmaceutical scientific research. Since traditional experimental methods identifying drug-target interactions is costly and time-consuming, the use of machine learning methods to predict potential drug-target interactions has attracted widespread attention. This paper presents a novel drug-target interactions prediction method called LRF-DTIs. Firstly, the pseudo-position specific scoring matrix (PsePSSM) and FP2 molecular fingerprinting were used to extract the features of drug-target. Secondly, using Lasso to reduce the dimension of the extracted feature information and then the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) method was used to deal with unbalanced data. Finally, the processed feature vectors were input into a random forest (RF) classifier to predict drug-target interactions. Through 10 trials of 5-fold cross-validation, the overall prediction accuracies on the enzyme, ion channel (IC), G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and nuclear receptor (NR) datasets reached 98.09%, 97.32%, 95.69%, and 94.88%, respectively, and compared with other prediction methods. In addition, we have tested and verified that our method not only could be applied to predict the new interactions but also could obtain a satisfactory result on the new dataset. All the experimental results indicate that our method can significantly improve the prediction accuracy of drug-target interactions and play a vital role in the new drug research and target protein development. The source code and all datasets are available at https://github.com/QUST-AIBBDRC/LRF-DTIs/ for academic use.

Improved Water-Tree Resistances of SEBS/PP Semi-Crystalline Composites under Crystallization Modifications.

Water-tree resistances of styrene block copolymer/polypropylene (SEBS/PP) composites are investigated by characterizing crystallization structures in correlation with the dynamic mechanical properties to elucidate the micro-structure mechanism of improving insulation performances, in which the accelerated aging experiments of water trees are performed with water-knife electrodes. The water-tree morphology in spherulites, melt-crystallization characteristics and lamella structures of the composite materials are observed and analyzed by polarizing microscopy (PLM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Dynamic relaxation and stress-strain characteristics are specifically studied by means of a dynamic thermomechanical analyzer (DMA) and electronic tension machine, respectively. No water-tree aging occurs in both the highly crystalline PP and the noncrystalline SEBS elastomer, while the water trees arising in SEBS/PP composites still has a significantly lower size than that in low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Compared with LDPE, the PP matrix of the SEBS/PP composite represent a higher crystallinity with a larger crystallization size in consistence with its higher mechanical strength and lower dynamic relaxation loss. SEBS molecules agglomerate as a "island" phase, and PP molecules crystallize into thin and short lamellae in composites, leading to the blurred spherulite boundary and the appreciable slips between lamellae under external force. The high crystallinity of the PP matrix and the strong resistance to slips between lamellae in the SEBS/PP composite essentially account for the remarkable inhibition on water-tree growth.

Water-Tree Resistability of UV-XLPE from Hydrophilicity of Auxiliary Crosslinkers.

The water-resistant characteristics of ultraviolet crosslinked polyethylene (UV-XLPE) are investigated specially for the dependence on the hydrophilicities of auxiliary crosslinkers, which is significant to develop high-voltage insulating cable materials. As auxiliary crosslinking agents of polyethylene, triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC), trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA), and N,N'-m-phenylenedimaleimide (HAV2) are individually adopted to prepared XLPE materials with the UV-initiation crosslinking technique, for the study of water-tree resistance through the accelerating aging experiments with water blade electrode. The stress-strain characteristics and dynamic viscoelastic properties of UV-XLPE are tested by the electronic tension machine and dynamic thermomechanical analyzer. Monte Carlo molecular simulation is used to calculate the interaction parameters and mixing energy of crosslinker/water binary systems to analyze the compatibility between water and crosslinker molecules. Water-tree experiments verify that XLPE-TAIC represents the highest ability to inhibit the growth of water-trees, while XLPE-HAV2 shows the lowest resistance to water-trees. The stress-strain and viscoelastic properties show that the concentration of molecular chains connecting the adjacent lamellae in amorphous phase of XLPE-HAV2 is significantly higher than that of XLPE-TAIC and XLPE-TMPTMA. The molecular simulation results demonstrate that TAIC/water and TMPTMA/water binary systems possess a higher hydrophilicity than that of HAV2/water, as manifested by their lower interaction parameters and mixing free energies. The auxiliary crosslinkers can not only increase the molecular density of amorphous polyethylene between lamellae to inhibit water-tree growth, but also prevent water molecules at insulation defects from agglomerating into micro-water beads by increasing the hydrophilicity of auxiliary crosslinkers, which will evidently reduce the damage of micro-water beads on the amorphous phase in UV-XLPE. The better compatibility of TAIC and water molecules is the dominant reason accounting for the excellent water resistance of XLPE-TAIC.

Nanomaterials as photothermal therapeutic agents.

Curing cancer has been one of the greatest conundrums in the modern medical field. To reduce side-effects associated with the traditional cancer therapy such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, photothermal therapy (PTT) has been recognized as one of the most promising treatments for cancer over recent years. PTT relies on ablation agents such as nanomaterials with a photothermal effect, for converting light into heat. In this way, elevated temperature could kill cancer cells while avoiding significant side effects on normal cells. This theory works because normal cells have a higher heat tolerance than cancer cells. Thus, nanomaterials with photothermal effects have attracted enormous attention due to their selectivity and non-invasive attributes. This review article summarizes the current status of employing nanomaterials with photothermal effects for anti-cancer treatment. Mechanisms of the photothermal effect and various factors affecting photothermal performance will be discussed. Efficient and selective PTT is believed to play an increasingly prominent role in cancer treatment. Moreover, merging PTT with other methods of cancer therapies is also discussed as a future trend.

Catalytic Synthesis of Superlinear Alkenyl Arenes Using a Rh(I) Catalyst Supported by a "Capping Arene" Ligand: Access to Aerobic Catalysis.

Alkyl and alkenyl arenes are used in a wide range of products. However, the synthesis of 1-phenylalkanes or their alkenyl variants from arenes and alkenes is not accessible with current commercial acid-based catalytic processes. Here, it is reported that an air-stable Rh(I) complex, (5-FP)Rh(TFA)(η2-C2H4) (5-FP = 1,2-bis( N-7-azaindolyl)benzene; TFA = trifluoroacetate), serves as a catalyst precursor for the oxidative conversion of arenes and alkenes to alkenyl arenes that are precursors to 1-phenylalkanes upon hydrogenation. It has been demonstrated that coordination of the 5-FP ligand enhances catalyst longevity compared to unligated Rh(I) catalyst precursors, and the 5-FP-ligated catalyst permits in situ recycling of the Cu(II) oxidant using air. The 5-FP ligand provides a Rh catalyst that can maintain activity for arene alkenylation over at least 2 weeks in reactions at 150 °C that involve multiple Cu(II) regeneration steps using air. Conditions to achieve >13 000 catalytic turnovers with an 8:1 linear:branched (L:B) ratio have been demonstrated. In addition, the catalyst is active under aerobic conditions using air as the sole oxidant. At 80 °C, an 18:1 L:B ratio of alkenyl arenes has been observed, but the reaction rate is substantially reduced compared to 150 °C. Quantum mechanics (QM) calculations compare two predicted reaction pathways with the experimental data, showing that an oxidative addition/reductive elimination pathway is energetically favored over a pathway that involves C-H activation by concerted metalation-deprotonation. In addition, our QM computations are consistent with the observed selectivity (11:1) for linear alkenyl arene products.

[Materiamedica literature study on medicinal properties and utility of four kinds of Alpinia Chinese medicines].

In order to explore the correlation between the medicinal properties，efficacy and application in the same genetic relationship，explain the scientific connotation of the medicinal properties and effects of traditional Chinese medicines(TCM)，promote the academic development of the theory of traditional Chinese medicines，and provide reference for the research and development of the traditional Chinese medicines of a same genus. In this paper, a literature study of ancient and modern works of Chinese herbal medicine was conducted to investigate the correlation between the properties, meridians tropism, efficacy and application of Alpinia officinarum， A. katsumadai， Galangae Fructus and Alpinae Oxyphyllae Fructus, four kinds of Alpinia Chinese medicines．The results showed that the similar properties of these four kinds of Alpinia Chinese medicines included that they were acrid, warm,and mainly getting into the spleen and stomach channels; the similar efficacies included that dispelling cold，relieving pain，warming stomach，anti-nausea，anti-diarrheal，reinforcing spleen to promote digestion and other effects; in application aspects, the similarities were that they were all mainly used in treatment of catching cold or spleen deficiency induced by abdominal pain，vomiting，diarrhea,diet indigestion, etc. indicating that phylogenetic relationship was closely related with the herbal properties, efficacy and application. It is an effective way to explore，collate and research traditional Chinese medicine by using plant phylogenetic relationships in exploring the internal relations and laws of TCM theories，material bases, pharmacological effects and clinical applications, also with a strong maneuverability to explain their scientific connotation.

Catalytic Synthesis of "Super" Linear Alkenyl Arenes Using an Easily Prepared Rh(I) Catalyst.

Linear alkyl benzenes (LAB) are global chemicals that are produced by acid-catalyzed reactions that involve the formation of carbocationic intermediates. One outcome of the acid-based catalysis is that 1-phenylalkanes cannot be produced. Herein, it is reported that [Rh(µ-OAc)(η2-C2H4)2]2 catalyzes production of 1-phenyl substituted alkene products via oxidative arene vinylation. Since C═C bonds can be used for many chemical transformations, the formation of unsaturated products provides a potential advantage over current processes that produce saturated alkyl arenes. Conditions that provide up to a 10:1 linear:branched ratio have been achieved, and catalytic turnovers >1470 have been demonstrated. In addition, electron-deficient and electron-rich substituted benzenes are successfully alkylated. The Rh catalysis provides ortho:meta:para selectivity that is opposite to traditional acid-based catalysis.

Concentration ranges of antibacterial cations for showing the highest antibacterial efficacy but the least cytotoxicity against mammalian cells: implications for a new antibacterial mechanism.

Antibacterial metal ions, such as Ag(+), Zn(2+) and Cu(2+), have been extensively used in medical implants and devices due to their strong broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. However, it is still a controversial issue as to whether they can show the desired antibacterial activity while being toxic to mammalian cells. It is very important to balance their antibacterial effectiveness with minimal damage to mammalian cells. Toward this end, this study is to identify the suitable concentrations of these three ions at which they can effectively kill two types of clinically relevant bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli)) but show no obvious cytotoxicity on fibroblasts. Such concentration ranges are found to be 2.5 × 10(-7) M-10(-6) M, 10(-5) M-10(-4) M, and 10(-5) M-10(-4) M for Ag(+), Zn(2+), and Cu(2+), respectively. Investigation of their antibacterial mechanism shows that these three metal ions all show antibacterial property through a mechanism of damaging bacterial cell membranes by the generation of reactive oxygen species but surprisingly preserving the integrity of bacterial genomic DNA. The encouraging results indicate that antibacterial metal ions with controlled concentrations can bring considerable benefits to biomedical applications.

Acupuncture at KI3 in healthy volunteers induces specific cortical functional activity: an fMRI study.

BACKGROUND: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we determined brain regions that were activated/deactivated more by acupuncture at Taixi (KI3) than by non-acupoint or sham acupuncture. METHODS: A total of 30 healthy volunteers were randomly divided into a KI3 group (15 subjects) and non-acupoint group (15 subjects). Subjects in KI3 group received a sham acupuncture and then a real acupuncture, fMRI was performed before and after sham acupuncture as well as after ture acupuncture. Subjects in non-acupoint group received a ture acupuncture and the fMRI was performed before and after ture acupuncture. The fMRI data obtained were successively analyzed using DPARSF2.3 and REST1.8 software, yielding regional homogeneity (ReHo) and amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) values. RESULTS: Compared with sham acupuncture, ALFF values were higher in Brodmann area (BA) 10 and lower in BA7 and BA18. ReHo values after real acupuncture at KI3 were higher in the right sub-lobar region and BA10 and were lower in BA31. Compared with the changes before and after real acupuncture at non-acupoint, the changes at KI3 showed higher ALFF valued in the left cerebellum posterior lobe, BA10, BA39, BA31 and decreased ALFF was observed in the BA18, BA19 and BA40; and higher ReHo values were shown in left cerebellum posterior lobe pyramis, left cerebellum anterior lobe. BA37, BA10, BA39, BA31 and lower ReHo values were shown in BA18 and BA31. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at KI3 has a specific effect on certain brain regions associated with perception, body movement, spirit, and association. Additionally, visual and auditory cortices were affected, which may be related to the clinical applications of KI3 acupuncture in auditory and cognitive disorders, hypomnesis, loss of concentration, and the loss of ability to work and learn. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The research ethics committee was achieved at 01/08/2012, the NO. was ChiECRCT-2012011. Website for Clinical Trial Registration: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=7123 . This study was registered at www.chictr.org, the Clinical Trial Registration Number was ChiCTR-TRC-12002427, and the registration number was achieved at 18/08/2012. The name of IRB that provided approval for the study and clearly state is Chinese Clinical Trail Registry.

Taurine-induced fabrication of nano-architectured conducting polypyrrole on biomedical titanium.

In this article, taurine, one of the small biomolecules associated with bone metabolism, is firstly utilized to induce the fabrication of nano-architectured conducting polypyrrole (NCPPy) on biomedical titanium in diverse pH values of phosphate buffer solution (PBS). Accordingly, the possible mechanism for the fabrication of NCPPy is proposed, which is dependent on the states of polytaurine from the polymerization of taurine, i.e., the inability of forming polytaurine and unordered restricted space results in taurine-incorporated and polytaurine-incorporated tightly packed nanoparticles (pH 6.2 and 8.0), respectively, and however, ordered restricted space constructed by polytaurine chains induces the fabrication of polytaurine-incorporated nanopillars (pH 6.8) and polytaurine-incorporated nanowire networks (pH 7.4).

Brain areas involved in the acupuncture treatment of AD model rats: a PET study.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture may effectively treat certain symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although several studies have used functional brain imaging to investigate the mechanisms of acupuncture treatment on AD, these mechanisms are still poorly understood. We therefore further explored the mechanism by which needling at ST36 may have a therapeutic effect in a rat AD model. METHODS: A total of 80 healthy Wistar rats were divided into healthy control (n = 15) and pre-model (n = 65) groups. After inducing AD-like disease, a total of 45 AD model rats were randomly divided into three groups: the model group (n = 15), the sham-point group (n = 15), and the ST36 group (n = 15). The above three groups underwent PET scanning. PET images were processed with SPM2. RESULTS: The brain areas that were activated in the sham-point group relative to the model group were primarily centred on the bilateral limbic system, the right frontal lobe, and the striatum, whereas the activated areas in the ST36 group were primarily centred on the bilateral limbic system (pyriform cortex), the bilateral temporal lobe (olfactory cortex), the right amygdala and the right hippocampus. Compared with the sham-point group, the ST36 group showed greater activation in the bilateral amygdalae and the left temporal lobe. CONCLUSION: We concluded that needling at a sham point or ST36 can increase blood perfusion and glycol metabolism in certain brain areas, and thus may have a positive influence on the cognition of AD patients.

Reversibly controlling preferential protein adsorption on bone implants by using an applied weak potential as a switch.

A facile method is needed to control the protein adsorption onto biomaterials, such as, bone implants. Herein we doped taurocholic acid (TCA), an amphiphilic biomolecule, into an array of 1D nano-architectured polypyrrole (NAPPy) on the implants. Doping TCA enabled the implant surface to show reversible wettability between 152° (superhydrophobic, switch-on state) and 55° (hydrophilic, switch-off state) in response to periodically switching two weak electrical potentials (+0.50 and -0.80 V as a switch-on and switch-off potential, respectively). The potential-switchable reversible wettability, arising from the potential-tunable orientation of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic face of TCA, led to potential-switchable preferential adsorption of proteins as well as cell adhesion and spreading. This potential-switchable strategy may open up a new avenue to control the biological activities on the implant surface.

Association between cognitive function and body composition in older adults: data from NHANES (1999-2002).

Aim: To investigate the association between cognitive function and body composition in older adults. Methods: We collected data on 2080 older adults (>60 years of age) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 1999-2000 and 2001-2002. Candidate variables included: demographic data (sex, age, race, education level, marital status, poverty-to-income ratio), alcohol consumption, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, total bone mineral density, and total fat mass. A logistic regression model was established to analyze the association between cognitive function and body composition in older adults. In addition, stratified logics regression analysis was performed by sex and age. Results: Bone mineral density significantly affects cognitive function in older adults (p<0.01). When examining the data according to sex, this correlation is present for women (p < 0.01). For men, though, it is not significant (p = 0.081). Stratified by age, total bone mineral density was significantly correlated with cognitive function in 60-70 and 70-80 years old people, but not in older adults older than 80 years(for 60-70 years old, p = 0.019; for 70-80 years old, p = 0.022). There was no significant correlation between total bone mineral density and cognitive function (p = 0.575). Conclusion: The decrease of total bone mineral density was significantly correlated with cognitive decline in the older adults, especially among women and older people in the 60 to 80 age group. There was no connection between total fat mass, total percent fat, total lean mass, appendicular lean mass, appendicular lean mass /BMI and cognitive function in the older adults.

Xuebijing injection and its bioactive components alleviate nephrotic syndrome by inhibiting podocyte inflammatory injury.

Xuebijing injection (XBJ) is widely used to treat nephrotic syndrome (NS) in clinic, but its bioactive components and therapeutic mechanism are still unclear. In this study, the bioactive components of XBJ were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS). The therapeutic effect of XBJ on NS was evaluated in BALB/c mice induced by adriamycin (ADR, 10 mg/kg) via a single tail vein. The protective effect of XBJ and its bioactive components on podocytes was demonstrated using mouse podocytes (MPC-5) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 4 µg/mL). The results show that 33 components of XBJ were identified. Furthermore, 12 bioactive components were detected in blood, including protocatechuic acid, salvianolic acid C, benzoyloxypaeoniflorin, danshensu, salvianolic acid A, salvianolic acid B, catechin, caffeic acid, galloylpaeoniflorin, oxypaeoniflorin, hydroxysafflor yellow A, rosmarinic acid. The relative content (%) of the bioactive components were 59.32, 16.01, 9.97, 9.73, 8.72, 8.31, 7.92, 6.54, 1.54, 1.30, 0.68 and 0.59 in this order. After XBJ treatment, the renal function, hyperlipidemia and renal pathological damage were improved in NS model mice. Moreover, the levels of nephrin and desmin which are functional proteins in podocytes were reversed, and the levels of pro-inflammatory factors were reduced by XBJ. Interestingly, protocatechuic acid and salvianolic acid C also showed good protective effects on podocyte function and reduced the level of inflammation in LPS-induced MPC-5. The study is the first time to elucidate the bioactive components of XBJ and its potential therapeutic mechanism for treating NS by protecting podocyte function.

Nanostructured conducting polymers as intelligent implant surface: fabricated on biomedical titanium with a potential-induced reversible switch in wettability.

Conducting polypyrrole (PPy) nanotube arrays, nanotube networks and irregular films are deposited on biomedical titanium. By in situ application of weak periodic potentials, the nanostructured conducting polymers undergo a reversible switch in wettability, which is a redox process of dopant molecules (as hydrophilic groups) immobilized and de-immobilized on the surface of the conducting polymers.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for cerebellar ataxia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, can manage cerebellar ataxia (CA) by suppressing cerebral cortical excitability. Hence, this study aimed to summarize the efficacy and safety of rTMS for CA patients by meta-analysis. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for eligible studies published till 20 May 2023. Weighted mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the effect of rTMS treatment. Additionally, the quality of the included studies and the risk of bias were evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. Results: Overall, eight studies involving 278 CA patients were included in this meta-analysis. rTMS could significantly improve the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) (MD: -2.00; 95% CI: -3.97 to -0.02, p = 0.05), International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) (MD: -3.96; 95% CI: -5.51 to -2.40, p < 0.00001), Timed Up-and-Go test (TUG) (MD: -1.54; 95% CI: -2.24 to -0.84, p < 0.0001), 10-m walk test (10 MWT) (MD10-m steps: -2.44; 95% CI: -4.14 to -0.73, p = 0.005), and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) (MD: 2.59; 95% CI: 1.15-4.03, p = 0.0004) as compared to sham stimulation. Active rTMS was not significantly different from sham rTMS in changing the duration (MD10-m time: -1.29; 95% CI: -7.98 to 5.41, p = 0.71). No severe adverse events were observed in both sham stimulation and active rTMS groups. Conclusion: This meta-analysis provides limited evidence that rTMS may be beneficial in treating CA patients. However, these findings should be treated with caution due to the limitations of the smaller sample size and the inconsistent approach and target of rTMS treatment. Therefore, more large-scale RCTs are required to further validate our analytical findings. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=295726, identifier: CRD42022295726.