Association between transabdominal uterine artery Doppler and small-for-gestational-age: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The association between uterine artery Doppler (UtA) measurements and small for gestational age (SGA) has not been quantitatively analyzed throughout the whole pregnancy. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to comprehensively explore the association between UtA measurements and SGA in the first, second, and third trimesters. METHODS: Studies were searched from Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Weighted mean difference (WMD), odds ratio (OR), and relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used as the effect size. Heterogeneity of all effect sizes was tested and quantified using I2 statistics. Sensitivity analysis was conducted for all outcomes, and publication bias was evaluated using Begg's test. RESULTS: A total of 41 studies were finally included in our meta-analysis. In the first trimester, mean PI was significantly higher in the SGA group than the non-SGA group (WMD: 0.31, 95%CI: 0.19-0.44). In the second trimester, odds of notch presence (OR: 2.54, 95%CI: 2.10-3.08), mean PI (WMD: 0.21, 95%CI: 0.12-0.30), and mean RI (WMD: 0.05, 95%CI: 0.05-0.06) were higher in the SGA group. Also, abnormal UtA measurements were associated with the increased odds of SGA (all P < 0.05). In the third trimester, PI z-score (WMD: 0.62, 95%CI: 0.33-0.91) and PI MoM (WMD: 0.08, 95%CI: 0.06-0.09) showed a significant increase in the SGA group. The odds of SGA were higher in the women with mean PI > 95% (OR: 6.03, 95%CI: 3.24-11.24). CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal UtA measurements were associated with high odds of SGA, suggesting that UtA might be an adjunctive screening method for SGA in the whole pregnancy.

In Situ Fermentation of an Ultra-Strong, Microplastic-Free, and Biodegradable Multilayer Bacterial Cellulose Film for Food Packaging.

Cellulose-based food packaging has a significant importance in reducing plastic pollution and also ensuring our safety from microplastics. Nonetheless, lignocellulose necessitates sophisticated physical and chemical treatments to be fashioned into a satisfactory food packaging, thus leading to extra consumption and operations. Here, we present a gel-assisted biosynthesis approach for the in situ production of bacterial cellulose (BC) that can be directly applied to food packaging. Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans is homogeneously distributed in the gellan gum (GG)-assisted culture system, and the BC/GG film with an even surface is attained. Then, the BC/GG film is integrated with an antibacterial layer containing a quaternary ammonium chitosan microsphere (QM) through an in situ spray biosynthesis method. The resulting BC/GG/QM multilayer film combines the barrier properties and antibacterial activity. The method for in situ biosynthesis is green, efficient, and convenient to endow the multilayer film with excellent barrier capacity (1.76 g·mm·m-2·d-1·KPa-1 at RH 75%), high mechanical properties (strength 462 MPa), and antibacterial activity (>90% against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus). In terms of food preservation, the overall performance of the BC/GG/QM multilayer film is better than the commercial petroleum-based film and lignocellulose-derived film. This work proffers a novel strategy to produce a more beneficial and eco-friendly multilayer film via in situ biosynthesis, which manifests great utility in the field of food packaging.

Bioactive Glasses-Based Nanozymes Composite Macroporous Cryogel with Antioxidative, Antibacterial, and Pro-Healing Properties for Diabetic Infected Wound Repair.

The treatment for diabetic ulcers still remains a big clinic challenge owing to the adverse repair microenvironment. Bioactive glasses (BGs) play an important role in the late stages of healing due to their ability to promote vascularization and collagen fiber deposition, but fail to improve infection and oxidative stress in the early stage.Therefore, it is critical to develop a material involved in regulating the whole healing phases. In this work, BGs-based nanozymes (MnO2 @PDA-BGs) with antioxidation, antibacterial and pro-healing abilities are synthesized by the redox deposition of MnO2 on mesoporous BGs. Afterward, cryogel with the interconnected macropore structure is fabricated by the polymerization of methacrylate anhydride gelatin (GelMA) at -20 °C. MnO2 @PDA-BGs are loaded into the cryogel to obtain nanocomposite cryogel (MnO2 @PDA-BGs/Gel) with multiple enzymes-like- activities to eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Besides, MnO2 @PDA-BGs/Gel has intensive peroxidase-like activity under acidic condition and near infrared photothermal responsiveness to achieve excellent antibacterial performance. Cells experiments demonstrate that MnO2 @PDA-BGs/Gel recruits L929s and promotes their proliferation. Furthermore, MnO2 @PDA-BGs/Gel eliminates intracellular overexpressed ROS and maintains the viability of L929s. Animal experiments confirm that MnO2 @PDA-BGs/Gel promotes wound healing and avoided scarring by killing bacteria, reversing inflammation, promoting vascularization, and improving the deposition of collagen III.

Mesenchymal stromal cells modulate YAP by verteporfin to mimic cartilage development and construct cartilage organoids based on decellularized matrix scaffolds.

The mechanical elasticity or stiffness of the ECM modulates YAP activity to regulate the differentiation of stem cells during the development and defect regeneration of cartilage tissue. However, the understanding of the scaffold-associated mechanobiology during the initiation of chondrogenesis and hyaline cartilaginous phenotype maintenance remains unclear. In order to elucidate such mechanisms to promote articular cartilage repair by producing more hyaline cartilage, we identify the relationship between YAP subcellular localization and variation of the cartilage structure and organization during the early postnatal explosive growth in incipient articular cartilage. Next, we prepared a decellularized cartilage scaffold with different stiffness (2-33 kPa) to investigate the effect of scaffold stiffness on the formation of hyaline cartilage by mesenchymal stem cells and the change of YAP activity. Furthermore, we simulated the decrease of cellular YAP activity during postnatal cartilage development by inhibiting YAP activity with verteporfin, and realized that the timing of drug incorporation was critical to regulate the differentiation of MSCs to hyaline chondrocytes and inhibit their hypertrophy and fibrosis. On this basis, we constructed hyaline cartilage organoids by decellularized matrix scaffolds. Collectively, the results herein demonstrate that YAP plays a critical role during in vitro chondrogenic differentiation which is tightly regulated by biochemical and mechanical regulation.

Phosphoserine enhanced Cu-doped bioactive glass dynamic dual-network hydrogel for craniofacial bone defect repair.

Flexible hydrogels containing various osteogenic inorganic constituents, which can accommodate complicated shape variations, are considered as ideal grafts for craniofacial bone defect reconstruction. However, in most hybrid hydrogels, poor interaction between the polymer network and particles has detrimental effects on hydrogel rheological and structural properties, clinical manipulation and repair efficacy. In this article, we designed and prepared a series of hyaluronic acid composite hydrogel containing Cu-doped bioactive glass (CuBG) and phosphoserine (PS), in which hyaluronic acid was modified by methacrylate groups and phenylboronic acid groups to form a double crosslinked network. PS acted as an interaction bridge of CuBG particles and HAMA-PBA network to improve the mechanical properties of the composite hydrogels. The CuBG/PS hydrogels exhibited suitable rheological properties (injectable, self-healing, shape-adaptable), bone tissue integrating ability and anti-bacterial property. Meanwhile, we found that CuBG and PS have synergistic effect on improving osteogenic efficiency both in vitro and in vivo, particularly when the ratio of CuBG to PS is lower than 3 (9CB/3PS). This work provided a versatile and scalable approach to enhanced the interaction within inorganic particles and polymer network in hydrogels without extra modification on components.

Effects of Palladium Precursors on the Activity of Palladium Nanocatalysts for the Oxidation of Volatile Organic Components.

To screen a suitable precursor, the effects of palladium salts on performance of Pd nanocatalysts for the oxidation of volatile organic components (VOCs) were investigated. A series of catalysts was prepared by impregnating Pd(NO3)2, PdCl2 and Pd(NH3)4Cl2 on alumina-coated cordierites. These catalysts were characterized by XRF, ICP-OES, XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, TEM, EDS, Raman spectroscopy, pulse-CO chemisorption, H2-TPR, NH3-TPD, and XPS. Pulse-CO chemisorption and TEM showed that Pd species formed by Pd(NO3)2 have the highest metal dispersion (17.7%), while the other two were aggregating. For the same Pd loading, the higher the metal dispersion, the more the number of PdO species, so the number of PdO particles in the catalyst prepared from Pd (NO3) 2 is the largest. The catalytic oxidation activities of these catalysts were evaluated by ethane and propane. Based on a 99% conversion in the oxidation of ethane and propane at 598 K and 583 K, respectively, the catalyst prepared from Pd(NO3)2 was considered to be the best performing catalyst. The chloride species in precursors can promote the aggregation of Pd species and poison the catalysts. The results show that Pd(NO3)2 is more suitable as the precursor of VOC oxidation catalyst than PdCl2 and Pd(NH3)4Cl2.

Microenvironment responsive nanocomposite hydrogel with NIR photothermal therapy, vascularization and anti-inflammation for diabetic infected wound healing.

Bacterial infection, excessive inflammation and damaging blood vessels network are the major factors to delay the healing of diabetic ulcer. At present, most of wound repair materials are passive and can't response to the wound microenvironment, resulting in a low utilization of bioactive substances and hence a poor therapeutic effect. Therefore, it's essential to design an intelligent wound dressing responsive to the wound microenvironment to achieve the release of drugs on-demand on the basis of multifunctionality. In this work, metformin-laden CuPDA NPs composite hydrogel (Met@ CuPDA NPs/HG) was fabricated by dynamic phenylborate bonding of gelatin modified by dopamine (Gel-DA), Cu-loaded polydopamine nanoparticles (CuPDA NPs) with hyaluronic acid modified by phenyl boronate acid (HA-PBA), which possessed good injectability, self-healing, adhesive and DPPH scavenging performance. The slow release of metformin was achieved by the interaction with CuPDA NPs, boric groups (B-N coordination) and the constraint of hydrogel network. Metformin had a pH and glucose responsive release behavior to treat different wound microenvironment intelligently. Moreover, CuPDA NPs endowed the hydrogel excellent photothermal responsiveness to kill bacteria of >95% within 10 min and also the slow release of Cu2+ to protect wound from infection for a long time. Met@ CuPDA NPs/HG also recruited cells to a certain direction and promoted vascularization by releasing Cu2+. More importantly, Met@CuPDA NPs/HG effectively decreased the inflammation by eliminating ROS and inhibiting the activation of NF-κB pathway. Animal experiments demonstrated that Met@CuPDA NPs/HG significantly promoted wound healing of diabetic SD rats by killing bacteria, inhibiting inflammation, improving angiogenesis and accelerating the deposition of ECM and collagen. Therefore, Met@CuPDA NPs/HG had a great application potential for diabetic wound healing.

Inhalable GSH-Triggered Nanoparticles to Treat Commensal Bacterial Infection in In Situ Lung Tumors.

Bacterial infection has been considered one of the primary reasons for low survival rate of lung cancer patients. Herein, we demonstrated that a kind of mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) and antimicrobial peptide HHC36 (AMP) (MSN@DOX-AMP) can kill both commensal bacteria and tumor cells under GSH-triggering, modulating the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, significantly treating commensal bacterial infection, and eliminating in situ lung tumors in a commensal model. Meanwhile, MSN@DOX-AMP encapsulated DOX and AMP highly efficiently via a combined strategy of physical adsorption and click chemistry and exhibited excellent hemocompatibility and biocompatibility. Importantly, MSN@DOX-AMP could be inhaled and accumulate in lung by a needle-free nebulization, achieving a better therapeutic effect. This system is expected to serve as a straightforward platform to treat commensal bacterial infections in tumors and promote the translation of such inhaled GSH-triggered MSN@DOX-AMP to clinical treatments of lung cancer.

Dual-network polyvinyl alcohol/polyacrylamide/xanthan gum ionic conductive hydrogels for flexible electronic devices.

Ionic conductive hydrogels (ICHs) have received widespread attention as an ideal candidate for flexible electronic devices. However, conventional ICHs failed in widespread applications due to their inability to simultaneously possess high toughness, high ionic conductivity, and anti-freezing properties. Here, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyacrylamide (PAAm) were first dissolved in the zinc chloride solution, in which zinc ions (Zn2+) act as ionic cross-linkers and conducting ions, followed by the introduction of xanthan gum (XG) with a unique structure of trisaccharide side chains into the PVA/PAAm semi-interpenetrating network to prepare a dual-network ICHs (refers as PPXZ). Enabled by the synergistic effect of intermolecular chemical covalent cross-linking and physical cross-linking, PPXZ hydrogels exhibit significantly improved mechanical properties without sacrificing electrical conductivity. Furthermore, PPXZ hydrogels are successfully applied to flexible electronic devices, such as strain sensors and zinc ion hybrid supercapacitors, exhibiting satisfactory sensing sensitivity and cycling stability at a wide temperature range, respectively. Even at a high current density (10 A g-1), the capacity of the supercapacitor retains 88.24 % after 10,000 cycles. This strategy provides new insight for ICHs in wide temperature-applied flexible electronic devices.

A Theranostic Probe for Promotion of Skin Wound Healing by Exudate-Triggered H2S Release with Self-Monitoring Ability.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as an endogenous gasotransmitter plays a critical role in promotion of wound healing. However, the current H2S release system lacks the in situ monitoring ability, which may lead to insufficient or overdose release of H2S and serious side effects. Herein, we develop a self-monitoring theranostic probe TPATCF-S, which can quickly release H2S under water stimuli associated with a self-monitoring ability by a color change from colorless to deep blue. With a full thickness dermal defect as a model, the TPATCF-S absorbed on alginate dressings can be used for wound exudate-responsive release of H2S to efficiently promote skin wound healing.

Facially Amphiphilic Skeleton-Derived Antibacterial Cationic Dendrimers.

It is urgent to develop biocompatible and high-efficiency antimicrobial agents since microbial infections have always posed serious challenges to human health. Herein, through the marriage of facially amphiphilic skeletons and cationic dendrimers, high-density positively charged dendrimers D-CA6-N+ (G2) and D-CA2-N+ (G1) were designed and synthesized using the "branch" of facially amphiphilic bile acids, followed by their modification with quaternary ammonium charges. Both dendrimers could self-assemble into nanostructured micelles in aqueous solution. D-CA6-N+ displays potent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) as low as 7.50 and 7.79 µM, respectively, and has an evidently stronger antibacterial activity than D-CA2-N+. Moreover, D-CA6-N+ can kill S. aureus faster than E. coli. The facial amphiphilicity of the bile acid skeleton facilitates the selective destruction of bacterial membranes and endows dendrimers with negligible hemolysis and cytotoxicity even under a high concentration of 16× MIC. In vivo studies show that D-CA6-N+ is much more effective and safer than penicillin G in treating S. aureus infection and promoting wound healing, which suggests facially amphiphilic skeleton-derived cationic dendrimers can be a promising approach to effectively enhance antibacterial activity and biocompatibility of antibacterial agent, simultaneously.

A versatile strategy to construct free-standing multi-furcated vessels and a complicated vascular network in heterogeneous porous scaffolds via combination of 3D printing and stimuli-responsive hydrogels.

Mimicking complex structures of natural blood vessels and constructing vascular networks in tissue engineering scaffolds are still challenging now. Herein we demonstrate a new and versatile strategy to fabricate free-standing multi-furcated vessels and complicated vascular networks in heterogeneous porous scaffolds by integrating stimuli-responsive hydrogels and 3D printing technology. Through the sol-gel transition of temperature-responsive gelatin and conversion between two physical crosslinking networks of pH-responsive chitosan (i.e., electrostatic network between protonated chitosan and sulfate ion, crystalline network of neutral chitosan), physiologically-stable gelatin/chitosan hydrogel tubes can be constructed. While stimuli-responsive hydrogels confer the formation mechanism of the hydrogel tube, 3D printing confers the feasibility to create a multi-furcated structure and interconnected network in various heterogeneous porous scaffolds. As a consequence, biomimetic multi-furcated vessels (MFVs) and heterogeneous porous scaffolds containing multi-furcated vessels (HPS-MFVs) can be constructed precisely. Our data further confirm that the artificial blood vessel (gelatin/chitosan hydrogel tube) shows good physiological stability, mechanical strength, semi-permeability, hemocompatibility, cytocompatibility and low in vivo inflammatory response. Co-culture of hepatocyte (L02 cells) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in HPS-MFVs indicates the successful construction of a liver model. We believe that our method offers a simple and easy-going way to achieve robust fabrication of free-standing multi-furcated blood vessels and prevascularization of porous scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Influence of Hospital Outdoor Rest Space on the Eye Movement Measures and Self-Rating Restoration of Staff.

Objective: To investigate the effect of hospital outdoor rest space on the eye movement measures and self-rating restoration of staff. Background: Relieving the pressure of hospital staff through exposure to hospital outdoor rest space is essential, but there is a scarcity of research on the impact of hospital outdoor rest space on the eye movement measures and self-rating restoration of staff, especially for large Chinese hospitals. Methods: Cross-analysis was conducted based on the eye movement measures of 76 staff members obtained by eye movement tracking equipment in combination with the self-rating restoration scale and hospital outdoor rest space picture attributes (element proportion and position, brightness and saturation). Results: The differences in eye movement measures of different staff attributes (occupation, age, and gender) were identified, and the effects of hospital outdoor rest space picture attributes on the eye movement measures and self-rating restoration scale of staff were summarized. A number of proposals were also formulated: hospital outdoor rest space should be set up close to the working area of the group of medical staff; attention should be paid to the actual needs of senior staff members and the work pressure of junior nurses; the exposure to natural environment should be increased and the proportion of hard artificial elements should be reduced; the natural environment should be placed in the visual center; the saturation and brightness of hospital outdoor rest space should be increased; and staff members should have access to the sky environment in a variety of ways. Conclusion: The present study is an empirical study of evidence-based design on hospital outdoor rest space in China, and the results reveal the effects of hospital outdoor rest space on the eye movement measures and self-rating restoration of staff.

Assembling Microgels via Dynamic Cross-Linking Reaction Improves Printability, Microporosity, Tissue-Adhesion, and Self-Healing of Microgel Bioink for Extrusion Bioprinting.

Extrusion bioprinting has been widely used to fabricate complicated and heterogeneous constructs for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Despite the remarkable progress acquired so far, the exploration of qualified bioinks is still challenging, mainly due to the conflicting requirements on the printability/shape-fidelity and cell viability. Herein, a new strategy is proposed to formulate a dynamic cross-linked microgel assembly (DC-MA) bioink, which can achieve both high printability/shape-fidelity and high cell viability by strengthening intermicrogel interactions through dynamic covalent bonds while still maintaining the relatively low mechanical modulus of microgels. As a proof-of-concept, microgels are prepared by cross-linking hyaluronic acid modified with methacrylate and phenylboric acid groups (HAMA-PBA) and methacrylated gelatin (GelMA) via droplet-based microfluidics, followed by assembling into DC-MA bioink with a dynamic cross-linker (dopamine-modified hyaluronic acid, HA-DA). As a result, 2D and 3D constructs with high shape-fidelity can be printed without post-treatment, and the encapsulated L929 cells exhibit high cell viability after extrusion. Moreover, the addition of the dynamic cross-linker (HA-DA) also improves the microporosity, tissue-adhesion, and self-healing of the DC-MA bioink, which is very beneficial for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications including wound healing. We believe the present work sheds a new light on designing new bioinks for extrusion bioprinting.

Loose Pre-Cross-Linking Mediating Cellulose Self-Assembly for 3D Printing Strong and Tough Biomimetic Scaffolds.

The lack of an effective printable ink preparation method and the usual mechanically weak performance obstruct the functional 3D printing hydrogel exploitation and application. Herein, we propose a gentle pre-cross-linking strategy to enable a loosely cross-linked cellulose network for simultaneously achieving favorable printability and a strong hydrogel network via mediating the cellulose self-assembly. A small amount of epichlorohydrin is applied to (i) slightly pre-cross-link the cellulose chains for forming the percolating network to regulate the rheological properties and (ii) form the loosely cross-linked points to mediate the cellulose chains' self-assembly for achieving superior mechanical properties. The fabrication of the complex 3D structures verifies the design flexibility. The printed cellulose hydrogels exhibit a biomimetic nanofibrous topology, remarkable tensile and compressive strength (5.22 and 11.80 MPa), as well as toughness (1.81 and 2.16 MJ/m3). As a demonstration, a bilayer scaffold (mimicking the osteochondral structure) consisting of a top pristine cellulose and a bottom cellulose/bioactive glass hydrogel is printed and exhibits superior osteochondral defect repair performance, showing a potential in tissue engineering. We anticipate that our loose pre-cross-linking 3D printing ink preparation concept can inspire the development of other polymeric inks and strong 3D printing functional hydrogels, eventually spreading the applications in diverse fields.

Influence of Hospital Outdoor Space on Physiological Electroencephalography (EEG) Feedback of Staff.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the differences and relationships between different outdoor spaces of hospitals on the physiological electroencephalography (EEG) feedback (PEEGF) of staff. BACKGROUND: Relieving the pressure of hospital staff is essential, and several studies have revealed that even short-term exposure to outdoor space has a decompression effect. Yet, the focus is scarcely centered on the differences and influential relationships between the PEEGF from different outdoor spaces where the staff spend time, particularly in large-scale hospitals in China. METHODS: EEG measurement equipment was utilized to obtain the value of ß wave (vßw) that represents the stress and anxiety of staff in three different outdoor spaces: open, traffic, and rest. On the basis of EEG data, correlation analysis was conducted in accordance with the proportion of space elements. RESULTS: The proportion of natural elements, such as landscape (r = -.800** p=.005) and waterscape (r = -.782* p=.013), were negatively correlated with the vßw produced by staff, while the proportion of hard paving was positive (r = .817** p=.004) with more vßw produced by staff. In other words, the percentage of landscape and waterscape can reduce stress, while hard paving has the opposite effect. Further, there was a difference in the amount of vßw generated between nurses and administrators in the open space at the entrance of the main building (p = .043). CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed the influence of different outdoor space elements of the hospital on the physiological feedback of staff, demonstrated the practical necessity of evidence-based design, and proposed relevant optimization suggestions.

Microgel assembly: Fabrication, characteristics and application in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Microgel assembly, a macroscopic aggregate formed by bottom-up assembly of microgels, is now emerging as prospective biomaterials for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). This mini-review first summarizes the fabrication strategies available for microgel assembly, including chemical reaction, physical reaction, cell-cell interaction and external driving force, then highlights its unique characteristics, such as microporosity, injectability and heterogeneity, and finally itemizes its applications in the fields of cell culture, tissue regeneration and biofabrication, especially 3D printing. The problems to be addressed for further applications of microgel assembly are also discussed.

Dynamic Nanocomposite Microgel Assembly with Microporosity, Injectability, Tissue-Adhesion, and Sustained Drug Release Promotes Articular Cartilage Repair and Regeneration.

Owing to the lack of blood vessels, nerves, and lymph, articular cartilage defect is difficult to self-repair. Although several cartilage tissue engineering products have been authorized for clinical use, there are still some problems such as large surgical wounds, weak adhesion with the host tissue, and the limited source of autologous chondrocytes. In this paper, a novel dynamic nanocomposite microgel assembly with excellent microporosity, injectability, tissue-adhesion, and sustained kartogenin (KGN) release is reported. Specifically, KGN-loaded cyclodextrin nanoparticles are synthesized through nanoemulsification and incorporated into bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSCs)-laden microgels via droplet-based microfluidics and photo-crosslinking, which are then bottom-up assembled via dynamic crosslinking between dopamine-modified hyaluronic acid and phenylboronic acid groups on microgel surface. Results reveal that the microgel assembly can avoid the cell endocytosis of nanoparticles, ensure the high BMSC viability during the regular cell culture, cryopreservation and injection process, promote the chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs. In addition, animal expriment proves the newborn cartilages present the typical characteristics of articular cartilage. In brief, this microgel assembly not only offers convenience for clinical use (injectability, tissue adhesion) but also provides good microenvironments for chondrogenesis (controlled drug release, interconnected micropores), indicative of its promising application for cartilage repair and regeneration.

Quantitative evaluation of hepatic fibrosis by fibro Scan and Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced T1 mapping magnetic resonance imaging in chronic hepatitis B.

PURPOSE: Studies have found that both FibroScan (FS) and Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced T1 mapping magnetic resonance imaging (Gd-MRI) could assess liver fibrosis (LF) with high effectiveness. The aim of this study is to compare their accuracy in the quantitative evaluation of LF in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and to explore the diagnostic accuracy of their combination. METHODS: 160 patients with CHB were included in this study. FS and Gd-MRI were performed within 3 months before the pathological LF staging, which was classified according to the Scheuer-Ludwig scale. The liver stiffness measurement (LSM) was obtained by FS. T1 mapping images of the liver before and 20 min after enhancement were obtained by Look-Locker Gd-MRI. RESULTS: There were 45, 35, 31 and 49 patients with stage S1, S2, S3 and S4 LF, respectively. LSM increased and the reduction rate of T1 relaxation time of 20 min (rrT120min%) decreased with the severity of LF. The area under curve (AUC) of LSM, rrT120min% and LSM + rrT120min% for the diagnosis of ≥ S2 LF were 0.892, 0.811 and 0.900, respectively. The AUC for ≥ S3 LF was 0.883, 0.838 and 0.899, respectively. The AUC for S4 LF was 0.882, 0.894 and 0.928, respectively. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic accuracy of FS is better than that of Gd-MRI in the evaluation of ≥ S2 stage LF. The combination of these two methods significantly improved the diagnostic efficiency in the evaluation of S4 stage LF.

Effects of GATA6-AS/MMP9 on malignant progression of endometrial carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have shown that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) GATA6-AS is a tumor suppressor gene. However, the role of GATA6-AS in endometrial cancer (EC) has not been reported. We aimed at investigating the expression characteristics of GATA6-AS in EC tissues and cell lines, and explored whether it inhibits the malignant progression of EC through modulating matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9). METHODS: GATA6-AS expression in 17 pairs of EC tissues and adjacent ones was studied by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. Meanwhile, GATA6-AS expression levels in EC cell lines were also evaluated by qRT-PCR assay. In addition, GATA6-AS overexpression model was constructed using lentivirus in EC cell lines KLE and HEC-1B. The impacts of GATA6-AS overexpression model was constructed using lentivirus in EC cell lines KLE and HEC-1B on the proliferation capacity and apoptosis of EC cells were assessed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-Ethynyl-2'- deoxyuridine (EdU), and flow cytometry experiments. Furthermore, we explored the interaction between GATA6-AS and MMP9 in EC cells via performing luciferase assay and cell reverse experiments. RESULTS: Our data showed that GATA6-AS expression in EC tissue specimens was remarkably lower than that in adjacent ones. In vitro cell experiments revealed that overexpression of GATA6-AS markedly attenuated the proliferation ability of EC cells while elevated their apoptosis. Meanwhile, luciferase assay confirmed the binding relationship between GATA6-AS and MMP9. In addition, cell reverse experiments further demonstrated the mutual regulation between GATA6-AS and MMP9, which was, overexpression of MMP9 reversed the inhibitory influence of upregulation of GATA6-AS on the malignant progression of EC. CONCLUSIONS: lncRNA GATA6-AS, lowly expressed in EC tissue samples. Additionally, lncRNA GATA6-AS may suppress the malignant progression of EC through the modulation of regulating MMP9.