Harnessing cytokine-induced killer cells to accelerate diabetic wound healing: an approach to regulating post-traumatic inflammation.

Impaired immunohomeostasis in diabetic wounds prolongs inflammation and cytokine dysfunction, thus, delaying or preventing wound-surface healing. Extensive clinical studies have been conducted on cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells recently, as they can be easily proliferated using a straightforward, inexpensive protocol. Therefore, the function of CIK cells in regulating inflammatory environments has been drawing attention for clinical management. Throughout the current investigation, we discovered the regenerative capacity of these cells in the challenging environment of wounds that heal poorly due to diabetes. We demonstrated that the intravenous injection of CIK cells can re-establish a proregenerative inflammatory microenvironment, promote vascularization and, ultimately, accelerate skin healing in diabetic mice. The results indicated that CIK cell treatment affects macrophage polarization and restores the function of regenerative cells under hyperglycemic conditions. This novel cellular therapy offers a promising intervention for clinical applications through specific inflammatory regulation functions.

Congenital pulmonary lymphatic duct hypoplasia in a fetus with hydrops fetalis found at delivery: A case report.

Objective: To elaborate the clinical characteristics of congenital pulmonary lymphangiectasia in a neonate with hydrops fetalis. This could be an alert in considering it as a differential diagnosis for neonates with acute respiratory failure. Methods: We reviewed and analyzed single-center registry patients who underwent cadaveric autopsies in the Department of Pathology at Children's Hospital from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2021. We aimed to explore the perinatal clinical manifestations associated with congenital pulmonary lymphangiectasis (CPL). Literature was reviewed to summarize the common features of CPL in pregnancy from individual cases, and to facilitate prenatal and intrapartum diagnosis prognosis, and assessment of medical emergencies. Results: Thirty-four patients were included, and the main causes of death were intrauterine infection (n = 6), severe pneumonia (n = 11), spontaneous pneumothorax (n = 3), hemorrhagic shock (n = 2), CPL (n = 1), and other non-respiratory failure manifestations (n = 12). The manifestations of respiratory distress in CPL were different from those of intrauterine infections and respiratory failure due to parenchymal lung lesions. These include prenatal presentation of fetal edema, postnatal presentation of uncorrectable respiratory failure with severe hypoproteinemia, pneumothorax and interstitial emphysema on imaging, and poor response to treatment with surfactant-like substances. Thus, when the pregnancy tests reveal fetal edema and postnatal presentation of acute, respiratory distress, the diagnosis of CPL should be considered first, and corresponding medical care should be implemented to improve the survival rate. Conclusions: CPL is a rare pulmonary defect, and its perinatal clinical manifestations can often be neglected. For children with prenatal fetal edema who die after birth due to progressive respiratory distress, a timely autopsy is of utmost importance to clarify the etiology, improve understanding of CPL, and diagnose early to allow for proper prenatal and postnatal care.

A case report of melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy complicated with congenital heart disease and hypothyroidism.

To the best of our knowledge, thus far there are no reported cases of melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) with multiple complications. In this case report, we describe the clinical phenotype of MNTI in a 9-month-old female infant associated with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), a congenital heart defect, and congenital hypothyroidism (CH). Our study showed that the growth of MNTI was delayed by a lower dosage of levothyroxine (L-T4) that was prescribed to treat CH because of the presence of TOF, a severe congenital heart disease. However, the standardized dosage of L-T4 improved thyroid function but stimulated the rapid growth of MNTI. Our report demonstrated that treatment with L-T4 affects the progression of MNTI. Our findings demonstrated the role of thyroid hormone in MNTI growth and progression. Furthermore, our study suggested that the treatment of co-morbidities in children with MNTI requires careful consideration of their effects on the growth and progression of MNTI.

Temperature-dependent viscosity dominated transport control through AQP1 water channel.

We give a supplementary explanation for previous results about the exclusion of proton as well as hydronium (ion) transport through aquaporins (AQP1) via verified transition state theory by calculating the temperature-dependent viscosity for proton or hydronium (ion) transport through AQP1. We will demonstrate the temperature-dependent viscosity dominated transport control in AQP1 via the selected activation energy as well as the activation volume considering the presumed wavy-roughness along the sub-nano domains. Our numerical results show that once proton or hydronium (ion) transport through AQP1 at room temperature behaves like a molecular fluid with a relatively high viscosity, such as pitch, then proton or hydronium (ion) transport through AQP1 will be blocked (like a solid). Otherwise, proton or hydronium (ion) transport through AQP1 at room temperature manifests like a molecular fluid with a correspondingly lower viscosity, such as water (H2O), and then exclusion of proton or hydronium (ion) through AQP1 will not occur. We also demonstrate possible size effect in blocking proton or hydronium (ion) transport through AQP1. Our predicted results are new and novel as there are no temperature-dependent viscosity measurements relevant to AQP1 yet.

Retraction notice to "Radiation-enhanced hepatocyte growth factor secretion in malignant glioma cell lines" [Surgical Neurology 68 (2007) 613-614].

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The authors have plagiarized part of a paper that had already appeared in Journal of Neuro-Oncology 74 (2005) 99-103 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-004-4204-7. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.

Note on "Glass formation in plant anhydrobiotes: Survival in the dry state".

We make some crucial remarks about the recent review by Buitink and Leprince (2004) [Cryobiology 48 (2004) 215-228] considering their false definition about the glass transition temperature based on the value of (shear) viscosity: 1014 Pa⋅s. The correct value is 1012 Pa⋅s as evidenced from http://goldbook.iupac.org/html/G/G02641.html or http://iupac.org/goldbook/G02641.pdf.

Effects of activation energy and activation volume on the temperature-dependent viscosity of water.

Water transport in a leaf is vulnerable to viscosity-induced changes. Recent research has suggested that these changes may be partially due to variation at the molecular scale, e.g., regulations via aquaporins, that induce reductions in leaf hydraulic conductance. What are the quantitative as well as qualitative changes in temperature-dependent viscosity due to the role of aquaporins in tuning activation energy and activation volume? Using the transition-state approach as well as the boundary perturbation method, we investigate temperature-dependent viscosity tuned by activation energy and activation volume. To validate our approach, we compare our numerical results with previous temperature-dependent viscosity measurements. The rather good fit between our calculations and measurements confirms our present approach. We have obtained critical parameters for the temperature-dependent (shear) viscosity of water that might be relevant to the increasing and reducing of leaf hydraulic conductance. These parameters are sensitive to temperature, activation energy, and activation volume. Once the activation energy increases, the (shear) viscosity of water increases. Our results also show that as the activation volume increases (say, 10^{-23}m^{3}), the (shear) viscosity of water decreases significantly and the latter induces the enhancing of leaf hydraulic conductance. Within the room-temperature regime, a small increase in the activation energy will increase the water viscosity or reduce the leaf hydraulic conductance. Our approach and results can be applied to diverse plant or leaf attributes.

Blood pressure among children and adolescents with normal weight but large waist circumference in Shandong, China.

UNLABELLED: The present study examined the blood pressure (BP) characteristics of normal weight children and adolescents with a large waist circumference (WC) in a large population in Shandong, China. A total of 38,826 students (19,460 boys and 19,366 girls) aged 7-17 years participated in this study. Height, weight, WC, and BP of all subjects were measured. Normal weight was defined by the international cutoffs of body mass index; central obesity was defined as WC ≥ 90th percentile; relatively high BP status was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 95th percentile for age and gender. And 5.06 and 8.19 % of the normal weight boys and girls had central obesity. The Z-scores of SBP, DBP and the prevalence of relatively high BP for both boys and girls were all significantly higher in the normal weight with central obesity groups than in the normal weight with normal WC groups. CONCLUSION: These observations highlight that normal weight children and adolescents with central obesity might have an increased risk of elevated BP.

Comparison on physical activity among adolescents with different weight status in Shandong, China.

The present study examined the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among adolescents and compared the attitudes and behaviors of physical activity (PA) among adolescents with different weight status in Shandong, China. A total of 19 523 students (9784 boys and 9739 girls) aged 13-18 years participated in this study. Height and weight of all subjects were measured, body mass index of adolescents was calculated from their height and weight, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity were obtained according to the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs. The prevalence of underweight were also obtained by the international cut-offs. PA status was assessed by a standardized questionnaire. The overall prevalence rates of underweight, overweight and obesity were 2.0, 13.9 and 4.7% in boys and 3.3, 8.3 and 1.2% in girls, respectively. Overweight/obese adolescents had a poor PA status compared with underweight/normal-weight adolescents. These observations highlight the importance of PA in the prevention of overweight and obesity in adolescents.

Distributions of waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio for children and adolescents in Shandong, China.

UNLABELLED: Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) are useful tools which can help to identify abdominal obesity among the childhood and adolescent populations. This study assessed the distributions of WC and WHtR for Shandong children and adolescents and compared them with those from other countries and regions. Data for this study were obtained from a large cross-sectional survey of schoolchildren carried out in 2010. A total of 42,296 students (21,218 boys and 21,078 girls) aged 7-18 years participated in this study. Height and WC of all subjects were measured and WHtR was calculated. Central obesity was defined as WC ≥ 90th percentile and a WHtR ≥ 0.5, respectively. Shandong children and adolescents had a high WC level, with the 50th percentiles of WC for children and adolescents aged 7 to 18 years in Shandong is above the reference values for Chinese children and adolescents by 1.3-3.1 cm for boys and 1.2-2.0 cm for girls, respectively. The WC levels in Shandong boys and girls were higher than those from Hong Kong, Malaysian, and Turkish. Overall, 20.20 and 16.57 % of boys and girls had a WC ≥90th percentile, 15.73 and 7.38 % of boys and girls had a WHtR ≥0.5. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of central obesity among children and adolescents has become a serious public health problem, which would arouse special attention.

The role of 1-h physical activity every day in preventing obesity in adolescents in Shandong, China.

Several studies have reported that physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle are associated with being overweight and obese in children and adults. A new policy of 1-h physical activity (PA) every day was released by the Chinese government. The present study examined the role of 1-h PA every day in preventing obesity in adolescents in Shandong, China. A total of 29,030 students (14,578 boys and 14,452 girls) aged 10-18 years participated in this study. Height, weight, waist circumference (WC), and skinfold thickness (SFT) of all subjects were measured; body mass index (BMI) of adolescents was calculated from their height and weight, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity was obtained according to the International Obesity Task Force cutoffs. All subjects were divided into two groups. Group 1 had a PA of more than 1 h/day while group 2 had less than 1 h/day. Comparisons of BMI, WC, SFT, and prevalences of overweight and obesity between the two groups were made. The overall percentages of students in group 1 were 34.29 % in boys and 30.15 % in girls. The prevalences of overweight and obesity for both boys and girls were all significantly lower in group 1 than in group 2 in all age categories. In conclusion, 1-h PA every day has a beneficial effect in preventing obesity in adolescents in Shandong, China. These observations highlight the importance of PA in the prevention of overweight and obesity in adolescents.

Radiation-enhanced hepatocyte growth factor secretion in malignant glioma cell lines.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative radiotherapy is the standard treatment for patients with a malignant glioma. However, a malignant glioma is radioresistant and almost always recurs, even after a high dose of radiation. A malignant glioma is characterized by its proliferation, invasion and neoangiogenesis, which can be attributed to the high levels of HGF. The scope of this study is to investigate HGF secretion by malignant glioma cells with different radiosensitivity after irradiation. METHODS: Three human malignant glioma cell lines (U251, U251-NG2, and BT325) were irradiated with single doses of 0, 5, 10, and 20 grays of gamma-rays from a (137)Cs source. Hepatocyte growth factor levels in medium were measured by ELISA at 24, 48, and 72 hours after radiation. Cell survival was measured by the proliferation-based assay (XTT assay) 7 days after irradiation. RESULTS: After a single dose radiation, the HGF levels showed a dose-dependent increase in U251, U251-NG2, and BT325 glioma cells. Both baseline and radiation-enhanced HGF levels were about 10-fold higher in BT325 compared to U251 and U251-NG2 cells. In addition, in the XTT assay, the BT325 was more radioresistant than both U251 and U251-NG2 cell lines (dose modifying factor = 1.5 and 1.6, respectively). CONCLUSION: Irradiation-enhanced HGF secretion in all 3 tested glioma cell lines (up to 7 times basal levels). It is tempting to associate the radiation-enhanced HGF secretion with an increased angiogenic potential of the tumor, which may be a factor in radioresistance.

Electrokinetic flows in a microdomain.

The discrete kinetic approach and diffuse-reflection type boundary conditions are adopted to solve the transport problem for many charged particles flowing along a microslab (or channel of a wide constriction within a confined slender microdomain). The preliminary results show that there are selected orientations related to the nontrivial velocity-slip fields for a range of Knudsen numbers if there is a nonboundary-driven forcing along the streamwise direction. As the Knudsen number increases, the value of this selected orientation decreases and the cross-stream velocity profile becomes relatively flat. Our results qualitatively resemble those reported by Burgreen and Nakache or Paul et al.

Theoretical study of stability problems for transport in a deformable microfabricated channel.

We investigate the stability problem related to the basic flows induced by peristaltic transport within the bounded deformable walls which are common in micro- andor nanobiotechnological applications. The neutral stability boundary is obtained by solving the relevant Orr-Sommerfeld equation via a verified preconditioned complex-matrix solver. The critical Reynolds number (when the wall is deformable) is 2886.5 which is much less than the conventional rigid-wall case ( approximately 5772, obtained by Orszag based on the spectral method).