Comparison of osteogenesis of bovine bone xenografts between true bone ceramics and decalcified bone matrix.

Xenograft bone scaffolds have certain advantages such as mechanical strength, osteoinductive properties, sufficient source and safety. This study aimed to compare osteogenesis of the two main bovine bone xenografts namely true bone ceramics (TBC) and decalcified bone matrix (DBM), and TBC or DBM combined with bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 (TBC&BMP-2 and DBM&BMP-2). The characteristics of TBC and DBM were investigated by observing the appearance and scanning electron microscopic images, examining mechanical strength, evaluating cytotoxicity and detecting BMP-2 release after being combined with BMP-2 in vitro. The femoral condyle defect and radial defect models were successively established to evaluate the performance of the proposed scaffolds in repairing cortical and cancellous bone defects. General observation, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, mirco-CT scanning, calcein double labeling, X-ray film observation, three-point bending test in vivo were then performed. It indicated that the repair with xenograft bone scaffolds of 8 weeks were needed and the repair results were better than those of 4 weeks whatever the type of defects. To femoral condyle defect, TBC and TBC&BMP-2 were better than DBM and DBM&BMP-2, and TBC&BMP-2 was better than TBC alone; to radial defect, DBM and DBM&BMP-2 were better than TBC and TBC&BMP-2, and DBM&BMP-2 was better than DBM alone. This study has shown that TBC and DBM xenograft scaffolds can be more suitable for the repair of cancellous bone and cortical bone defects for 8 weeks in rats, respectively. We also have exhibited the use of BMP-2 in combination with DBM or TBC provides the possibility to treat bone defects more effectively. We thus believe that we probably need to select the more suitable scaffold according to bone defect types, and both TBC and DBM are promising xenograft materials for bone tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Graphical abstract.

[Research status on efficacy enhancement and toxicity reduction of Chinese medicine in treatment of malignant tumors: a review of projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China].

Through a retrospective analysis of the projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China in the past ten years in the field of Chinese medicine for the treatment of malignant tumors, this article systematically summarized the main research contents and hotspots of Chinese medicine in efficacy enhancement and toxicity reduction. The efficacy enhancement of Chinese medicine mainly included the mitigation of molecule-targeted drug resistance, multidrug resistance, and chemotherapy resistance, synergistic efficacy enhancement, and radiotherapy sensitization. The toxicity reduction is mainly reflected in the alleviation of the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In addition, Chinese medicine has advantages in reducing serious adverse reactions of malignant tumors, providing more options for the adjuvant treatment of tumors.

[Analysis of projects funded by NSFC in field of Chinese medicine toxicology from 2012 to 2021].

This study mainly introduced the research on Chinese medicine toxicology funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC) in 2012-2021 and analyzed the research content. Furthermore, key research topics and characteristic research projects were discussed, such as the toxicity mechanism, relationship between toxicity and efficacy, toxicity-alleviating mechanisms, and new technology and methods. The review suggested that researchers should gain an in-depth understanding of the "toxicity" of Chinese me-dicine, turned to characteristic research topics, and build a toxicological research paradigm suited to the characteristics of Chinese medicine in project application.

Bone induction and defect repair by true bone ceramics incorporated with rhBMP-2 and Sr.

OBJECTIVE: To study the bone induction and defect repair of true bone ceramics (TBC) combined with rhBMP-2 and Sr. METHODS: MC3T3-E1 cells were used to evaluate the bioactivity of the composite. Cell proliferation activity was detected by CCK-8, ALP activity was detected by p-nitrophenyl phosphate (PNPP), and the differences of material surface topography were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Bone induction was verified by the implantation in nude mice. The rabbit femoral condyle defect model was achieved to verify the bone defect repair ability of the material. RESULTS: SEM results showed nearly the same surface morphology and cell proliferation quantified by CCK-8 showed that compared with TBC, both TBC&Sr and TBC&BMP-2&Sr had a significant promoting effect (P < 0.05). ALP activity result showed that the ALP activity of TBC&BMP-2&Sr was significantly higher than that of TBC alone (P < 0.05). The bone induction result showed that TBC&Sr had a small amount of new bone formation, and the new bone area was only 2.5 ± 0.11%. The bone induction activity of TBC&BMP-2&Sr was the highest, the new bone area was up to 75.36 ± 4.21%. Histological result of bone defect repair showed that TBC&BMP-2&Sr was also the highest, the new bone area was up to 72.42 ± 3.14%. The repair effect of TBC& BMP-2 was second, and better than that of TBC&Sr. CONCLUSION: TBC combined with rhBMP-2 and Sr had the good bioactivity, obvious bone conduction and bone defect repair performance, laying the foundation of clinical application potentially.

[Analysis of research status based on projects in pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicine funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China].

The pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicine is a subject that studies the dynamic changes of the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of complex components of traditional Chinese medicine, which is an important method for elucidating the pharmacodynamic material basis, action characteristics, and compatibility mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine. However, given on the fact that traditional Chinese medicine is a multi-dimensional and complex system with multiple components, multiple pathways, multiple targets, and an unclear pharmacodynamic material basis, the research on the pharmacokinetics of traditio-nal Chinese medicine has become a scientific and technological problem. Although the pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicine has achieved remarkable development with the emergence of new theories, methods and technologies, there are still some problems in the application of the research direction of the pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicine judging from the current application of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Therefore, this article discussed the current research status on pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicines by analyzing the projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China in the past 5 years from 2016 to 2020, mainly including the application and funding analysis, main research contents of the projects in pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicines. And the research hotspots, difficulties and deficiencies were focused in order to provide certain reference for researchers engaged in pharmacokinetics of traditional Chinese medicine.

Comparison of SB-SDS and other decellularization methods for the acellular nerve graft: Biological evaluation and nerve repair in vitro and in vivo.

We aimed to compare the performance of acellular nerves prepared by different decellularization methods, screening out the optimal decellularization protocol, repairing the sciatic nerve defects in rats by the allogeneic transplantation, and evaluating the effect of regenerative nerve on the function reconstruction. The Sondell, SB-SDS, TnBP, and the high/low permeation methods were used to decellularize donor nerves. Nerves without any treatment were as the control group. The histological results were evaluated by HE staining and toluidine blue (TB) staining. The proliferation activity of L929 cells was detected by CCK-8 assay. The adhesion of Schwann cells was observed and quantified by SEM. Balb/c mice were used to evaluate the cellular and humoral immunogenicity of the nerve scaffolds. The rat sciatic nerve defect model was applied to observe the repair effect of acellular nerve scaffold in vivo. To SB-SDS group, it remained the original state of the nerves, with no observed nucleus and axons, the neurotoxicity grade detected by CCK-8 being almost 0, and it kept the largest number of Schwann cells adhered to the acellular nerve and the better morphology. Further, it showed that the selected SB-SDS rats acellular nerve scaffold could promote the nerve repair of the rats by HE staining and TB staining. We could conclude that the acellular nerve matrix prepared by the SB-SDS method effectively removes the cellular components in the nerve tissue and retains the main components of the extracellular matrix of the nerve tissue, whose rats decellularized nerve scaffold could promote the sciatic nerve repair better.

[Analysis of projects funded by NSFC in field of efficacy material base of traditional Chinese medicine].

This paper introduces the application and financing of programs of efficacy material base of traditional Chinese medicine funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC), the Youth Science Fund and the Regional Science Fund from 2016 to 2019, and conducts analysis and summary in terms of research objects and analysis methods, with the aim to provide reference for applicants for programs of efficacy material base of traditional Chinese medicine.

[Analysis of projects funded by NSFC in field of pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine in 2019].

The projects which supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC) including General Program, Young Scientist Fund, and Fund for Less Developed Regions, in field of pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine in 2019 were reviewed. Based on these research items, the main contents and characteristics, as well as the main problems from academic and non-academic point of view, were summarized for reference.

Comprehensive nursing based on feedforward control and postoperative FMA and SF-36 levels in femoral intertrochanteric fracture.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of comprehensive nursing based on the concept of feedforward control on postoperative FMA (Fugl-Meyer Assessment) and SF-36 (health status questionnaire) in patients with femoral trochanteric fracture. METHODS: 114 patients with femoral intertrochanteric fracture were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into control group and observation group according to order of admission, 57 cases in each group. Both groups of patients received proximal femoral nail antirotation surgery, conventional nursing and feedforward control based comprehensive nursing. Nursing effects of the two groups of patients were compared. RESULTS: Anus first exhaust time, the time of getting out of bed and hospitalization time, and after nursing, SAS (Self-Rating Anxiety) and SDS (Self-Rating Depression) score of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). FMA and SF-36 score of the observation group after surgical nursing were significantly higher than those of the control group (p<0.05). The total incidence of complications in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive care based on the concept of feedforward control has a better nursing effect for patients with intertrochanteric fracture, which can shorten the time of patient getting out of bed and hospitalization and reduce the incidence of post-complications.

[Analysis on projects of ethnomedicine and ethnopharmacology funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China from 1986-2018].

Through summarizing the applications and funding for research related to ethnomedicine and ethnopharmacology in the department of Health Sciences of the National Natural Science Foundation of China( NSFC) from 1986 to 2018,and analyzing the categories,numbers,funds and research contents of all funded projects including Mongolian,Uygur,Tibetan,Zhuang,Miao,the study is aimed to provide certain reference for the declaration of ethnic medicine project. The results showed that the national medicine project application numbers and the amount of funding growth after 2011 have increased significantly,but the overall level of research remained to be further promoted,and the lack of suitable for the study of ethnic medicine features and ways,has yet to mainland medical universities and research institutions to give more attention and jointly promote the development of basic research in the field of ethnic medicine.

[Overview of research projects funding in traditional Chinese medicine oncology field supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China].

In this paper, the funding situation of traditional Chinese medicine oncology research projects supported by National Natural Science Fund from 1986-2016 was reviewed. The characteristics of funded projects were summarized from funding amount, funding expenses, funding category, and the main research contents of projects, etc. At the same time, the main problems in the projects were analyzed in this paper, in order to provide reference for the relevant fund applicants.

Properties and Osteogenicity of Two Calcium Sulfate Materials with Micro or Nano Morphology.

Calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4 x 2H2O, CSD) was widely used as the artificial bone graft. In this study, two kinds of CSD materials were characterized with XRD, TG/DTA, FT-IR, and SEM. They were both composed of CSD. Spherical shape particles were observed for nano-CSD with diameters of 52-300 nm. The micro-CSD were thin sheet particles with dimensions of 5-10 µm. At 56 days post-implantation in vivo, nano-CSD had good tissue compatibility. A frequently used bioactive material DBM, which was the combination of nano-CSD (nano-CSD-DBM) and micro-CSD (micro-CSD-DBM) in a 1:1 weight ratio separately. Composite materials were implanted in intramuscular pockets in nude mouse model. New bone mineralization could be both observed in the surgery site. Collagen I was also widely distributed by immunohistochemistry assay. And new bone area of nano-CSD-DBM was 28 ± 4.6% at 4 weeks post-operation. But new bone area of micro-CSD-DBM was 16 ± 3.7% (less than nano-CSD-DBM). Nano-CSD showed increased degradation rate with obvious anginogenicity. And nano-CSD-DBM showed more excellent bone induction property as bone substitute implant.

[Analysis of projects funded by NSFC in field of Chinese material medica resource in recent three years].

The paper reviewed the sponsorship and final reports of projects focus on Science of Chinese materia medica resource in Medical Science Department, National Natural Science Foundation of China. The applicant and supportive organizations were analyzed. The progress and results of some projects were summarized by research fields including formation mechanism of Dao-di herbs, research of plant taxonomy, breeding and cultivation of medical plants, ecological and environmental adaptability of Chinese materia medica resource, quality assessment of Chinese materia medica resource, and biosynthesis and regulation of active compounds. In addition, the potential problems and the most and least focused areas in the application were summarized for reference.

[Characteristics and innovation in projects of ethnomedicine and ethnopharmacology funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China].

The overall situation of projects of ethnomedicine and ethnopharmacology funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) since 2008 has been presented in this paper. The main source of characteristics and innovation of the funded projects were summarized, which may come from several aspects, such as the ethnomedical theories, the dominant diseases of ethnomedicine, special diseases in ethnic minorities inhabited areas, unique ethnomedical therapy, special methods for applying medication, endemic medicinal materials in ethnic minorities inhabited areas, same medicinal materials with different applications. Examples have been provided to give references to the applicants in the fields of ethnomedicine and ethnopharmacology.

Polarization decoherence differential frequency-modulated continuous-wave gyroscope.

A polarization decoherence differential frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) gyroscope is presented. The impact of coherent polarization crosstalk noise on the differential FMCW gyro is analyzed. In order to suppress coherent polarization crosstalk noise, a novel method was proposed to produce two incoherent orthogonal polarization narrow band beams from laser diode. In this way, the random drift has been reduced about one order.

Design, synthesis and in vitro pharmacology of GluK1 and GluK3 antagonists. Studies towards the design of subtype-selective antagonists through 2-carboxyethyl-phenylalanines with substituents interacting with non-conserved residues in the GluK binding sites.

In order to identify compounds selective for the GluK1 and GluK3 subtypes of kainate receptors we have designed and synthesized a series of (S)-2-amino-3-((2-carboxyethyl)phenyl)propanoic acid analogs with hydrogen bond donating and accepting substituents on the aromatic ring. Based on crystal structures of GluK1 in complex with related ligands, the compounds were designed to explore possible interactions with non-conserved residues outside the glutamate ligand binding site and challenge the water binding network. Apart from obtaining GluK1 selective antagonists one analog with a phenyl-substituted urea (compound 31) showed some preference for GluK3 over GluK1-receptors. Docking studies indicate that this preference may be attributed to contacts between the NH of the urea substituent and non-conserved Ser741 and Ser761 residues.

The mitochondrial elongation factors MIEF1 and MIEF2 exert partially distinct functions in mitochondrial dynamics.

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles whose morphology is regulated by a complex balance of fission and fusion processes, and we still know relatively little about how mitochondrial dynamics is regulated. MIEF1 (also called MiD51) has recently been characterized as a key regulator of mitochondrial dynamics and in this report we explore the functions of its paralog MIEF2 (also called MiD49), to learn to what extent MIEF2 is functionally distinct from MIEF1. We show that MIEF1 and MIEF2 have many functions in common. Both are anchored in the mitochondrial outer membrane, recruit Drp1 from the cytoplasm to the mitochondrial surface and cause mitochondrial fusion, and MIEF2, like MIEF1, can interact with Drp1 and hFis1. MIEF1 and MIEF2, however, also differ in certain aspects. MIEF1 and MIEF2 are differentially expressed in human tissues during development. When overexpressed, MIEF2 exerts a stronger fusion-promoting effect than MIEF1, and in line with this, hFis1 and Mff can only partially revert the MIEF2-induced fusion phenotype, whereas MIEF1-induced fusion is reverted to a larger extent by hFis1 and Mff. MIEF2 forms high molecular weight oligomers, while MIEF1 is largely present as a dimer. Furthermore, MIEF1 and MIEF2 use distinct domains for oligomerization: in MIEF1, the region from amino acid residues 109-154 is required, whereas oligomerization of MIEF2 depends on amino acid residues 1 to 49, i.e. the N-terminal end. We also show that oligomerization of MIEF1 is not required for its mitochondrial localization and interaction with Drp1. In conclusion, our data suggest that the mitochondrial regulators MIEF1 and MIEF2 exert partially distinct functions in mitochondrial dynamics.

Characteristic monitoring of groundwater-salt transportation and input-output in inland arid irrigation area.

The rules of microscopic water-salt transportation can be revealed and the impact on the macroscopic water and soil resources can be further predicted by selecting a typical study area and carrying out continuous monitoring. In this paper, Jingtaichuan Electrical Lifting Irrigation District in Gansu Province (hereinafter called as JingDian irrigation district (JID)) located at the inland desert region of northwest China was selected as study area. Based on the groundwater-salt transportation data of representative groundwater monitoring wells in different hydrogeological units, the groundwater-salt evolution and transportation tendency in both closed and unclosed hydrogeological units were analyzed and the quantity relative ratio relationship of regional water-salt input-excretion was calculated. The results showed that the salt brought in by artificial irrigation accounts for the highest proportion of about 63.99% and the salt carried off by the discharge of irrigation water accounts for 66.42%, namely, the water-salt evolution and transportation were mainly controlled by artificial irrigation. As the general features of regional water-salt transportation, groundwater salinity and soil salt content variation were mainly decided by the transportation of soil soluble salt which showed an obvious symbiosis gathering regularity, but the differentiation with insoluble salt components was significant in the transportation process. Besides, groundwater salinity of the unclosed hydrogeological unit presented a periodically fluctuating trend, while the groundwater salinity and soil salt content in water and salt accumulation zone of the closed hydrogeological unit showed an increasing tendency, which formed the main occurrence area of soil secondary salinization.

[Analysis of projects funded by NSFC in field of pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine between 2010 to 2013 fiscal years].

Projects which supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in discipline of pharmacology of Chinese medicine between 2010 to 2013 financial years were reviewed. Based on these research items, new features and problems were summarized in this field.

In situ growth of metal-organic framework thin films with gas sensing and molecule storage properties.

New porous metal-organic framework (MOF) films based on the flexible ligand 1,3,5-tris[4-(carboxyphenyl)oxamethyl]-2,4,6-trimethylbenzene (H3TBTC) were fabricated on α-Al2O3 substrates under solvent thermal conditions. The factors affecting the fabrication of films, such as the temperature of pre-activation and the dosage of the reagents, were investigated. Tuning the subtle factors on film fabrications, a series of MOF thin films with different morphologies and grain sizes were prepared. The morphology and grain size of the films are monitored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) were also used to characterize the MOF films. The results indicate that the temperature of pre-activation and the dosage of the reagents are the key parameters during the process of film formation. The properties of the films, especially the sensing and sorption behavior, have been studied by an optical digital cameral and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectra. The evidence shows that the films are sensitive to small organic molecules, such as methanol and pyridine. Meanwhile, the films can adsorb small dye molecules. Thus, the films may have potential applications in either organic vapor sensing or storage of small dye molecules.