Amputation and limb salvage following endovascular and open surgery for the treatment of peripheral artery illnesses: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis investigation was executed to measure the outcome of endovascular surgery (ES) and open surgery (OS) for the management of peripheral artery diseases (PADs) on amputation and limb salvage (LS). A comprehensive literature inspection till February 2023 was applied and 3451 interrelated investigations were reviewed. The 31 chosen investigations enclosed 19 948 individuals with PADs were in the chosen investigations' starting point, 8861 of them were utilising ES, and 11 087 were utilising OS. Odds ratio (OR) in addition to 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were utilised to compute the value of the effect of ES and OS for the management of PADs on amputation and LS by the dichotomous approaches and a fixed or random model. ES had significantly lower amputation (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.68-0.93, P = 0.005) compared with those with OS in individuals with PADs. No significant difference was found between ES and OS in 30-day LS (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.64-1.42, P = 0.81), 1-year LS (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.81-1.39, P = 0.68), and 3-year LS (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.61-1.19, P = 0.36) in individuals with PADs. ES had significantly lower amputation, 30-day LS, 1-year LS, and 3-year LS compared with those with OS in individuals with PADs. However, care must be exercised when dealing with its values because of the low sample size of some of the nominated investigations for the meta-analysis.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons improve motor asymmetry in a 6-hydroxydopamine-induced rat model of Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND AIMS: Since human embryonic stem cells and human fetal neural stem cells have immune rejection and ethical issues, recent advancements in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) provide new possibilities to study autologous cell therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: We isolated human skin fibroblasts from normal individuals and patients with PD; we generated iPS cells by transfecting these human skin fibroblasts with retroviral reprogramming factors of OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC and induced iPS cells to differentiate neural stem cells (NSCs) and then into neurons and dopamine neurons in vitro. RESULTS: We found that iPS cell-derived NSC transplant into the striatum of the 6-hydroxydopamine (OHDA)-induced PD rats improved their functional defects of rotational asymmetry at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks after transplantation. iPS cell-derived NSCs were found to survive and integrate into the brain of transplanted PD rats and differentiated into neurons, including dopamine neurons in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Transplantation of iPS cell-derived NSCs has therapeutic potential for PD. Our study provided experimental proof for future clinical application of iPS cells in cell-based treatment of PD.

Isolation, characterization and multi-lineage differentiation of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth.

The aim of the present study was to isolate stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) and identify their phenotypes and multi­lineage differentiation potential. Three SHED cell strains were successfully isolated from three exfoliated deciduous teeth from different human subjects using the outgrowth method. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that SHEDs displayed high expression of the mesenchymal cell markers CD73 and CD90 but low expression of the hematopoietic stem cell marker CD34. PCR analysis illustrated that SHEDs expressed the mesenchymal stem cell markers CD44, CD73 and CD90, the osteoblast markers Alpl, Runx2, CBFA1 and collagen â… , the cartilage cell markers Col10a1 and Acan, the adipose cell markers PPARγ2 and LPL, and the neuronal stem cell marker Nestin. In vitro induction experiments demonstrated the potential of the SHEDs for osteogenic, adipogenic and neurogenic differentiation. These SHED cells may be useful for further stem cell research and future therapeutic applications.

Expression of ATF4 and RUNX2 in periodontal tissue of pressure side during orthodontic tooth movement in rat.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the expression levels of ATF4 and RUNX and their interactions in periodontal tissue of the pressure side during orthodontic tooth movement. METHODS: A total of 72 SPF level male Sprague Dawley rats were used in this study, they were divided into 9 groups randomly and 8 rats in each group. The expression changes of ATF4 and RUNX2 in periodontal tissue of pressure side at different straining time point were detected with RT-PCR and Western blotting methods. The morphological changes of cells in the tissue samples were observed by HE staining. The data were analyzed with SPSS 19.0 software. RESULTS: The expression levels of ATF4 and RUNX2 increased during orthodontic tooth movement and were related with the movement time. They reached highest after straining for 24 h and began to decrease after straining for 12 d. CONCLUSIONS: The expression levels of ATF4 and RUNX2 in periodontal tissue can increase transiently induced by stress, which play a role in the process of osteogenesis and reconstruction of periodontal tissue during orthodontic tooth movement.

Theoretical and numerical predictions of the electromechanical behavior of spiral-shaped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) actuators.

This paper presents a two-dimensional analytical model of a spiral-shaped PZT ceramic actuator. Developed using elasticity theory and a zero-stress assumption, the theoretical analysis has been formulated for a piecewise semicircular representation of the spiral-shaped actuator. Closed-form solutions of the tangential displacement of the equivalent spiral under applied electrical field in the poling direction have been obtained. To develop confidence in the theoretical model, results are compared with those obtained using finite element analysis (FEA). Results from both are then compared with previously reported experimental findings, and reasonable agreement is achieved.