A Viscous-Biofluid Self-Pumping Organohydrogel Dressing to Accelerate Diabetic Wound Healing.

Viscous biofluids on wounds challenge conventional "water-absorbing" wound dressings in efficient drainage due to their poor fluidity, generally causing prolonged inflammation, anti-angiogenesis, and delayed wound closure. Herein, it is reported that a self-pumping organohydrogel dressing (SPD) with aligned hydrated hydrogel channels, prepared by a three-dimensional-templated wetting-enabled-transfer (3D-WET) polymerization process, can efficiently drain viscous fluids and accelerate diabetic wound healing. The asymmetric wettability of the hydrophobic-hydrophilic layers and aligned hydrated hydrogel channels enable unidirectional and efficient drainage of viscous fluids away from the wounds, preventing their overhydration and inflammatory stimulation. The organogel layer can adhere onto the skin around the wounds but can be easily detached from the wet wound area, avoiding secondary trauma to the newly formed tissues. Taking a diabetic rat model as an example, the SPD can significantly downregulate the inflammation response by ≈70.8%, enhance the dermal remodeling by ≈14.3%, and shorten wound closure time by about 1/3 compared with the commercial dressing (3M, Tegaderm hydrocolloid thin dressing). This study sheds light on the development of the next generation of functional dressings for chronic wounds involving viscous biofluids.

Maternal KLF17 controls zygotic genome activation by acting as a messenger for RNA Pol II recruitment in mouse embryos.

Initiation of timely and sufficient zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is crucial for the beginning of life, yet our knowledge of transcription factors (TFs) contributing to ZGA remains limited. Here, we screened the proteome of early mouse embryos after cycloheximide (CHX) treatment and identified maternally derived KLF17 as a potential TF for ZGA genes. Using a conditional knockout (cKO) mouse model, we further investigated the role of maternal KLF17 and found that it promotes embryonic development and full fertility. Mechanistically, KLF17 preferentially binds to promoters and recruits RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) in early 2-cell embryos, facilitating the expression of major ZGA genes. Maternal Klf17 knockout resulted in a downregulation of 9% of ZGA genes and aberrant RNA Pol II pre-configuration, which could be partially rescued by introducing exogenous KLF17. Overall, our study provides a strategy for screening essential ZGA factors and identifies KLF17 as a crucial TF in this process.

Green finance, economic growth, and carbon emissions: a PVAR analysis.

The study examines the relationship between green finance development, carbon emission intensity, and economic development in China's 30 provinces. The entropy approach is used to calculate the green finance development index, and a panel vector autoregressive model is established using this index along with economic development and carbon emission intensity. The study finds that green finance can promote economic growth and help achieve emission reduction objectives, while increasing carbon emissions can also promote economic growth. The study also highlights regional differences, with the economic growth of the eastern and central regions negatively correlated with carbon emissions after surpassing the inflection point of the environmental Kuznets curve. Additionally, the study suggests that there is still room for growth in green finance in the western region. The findings have important policy implications for China in developing targeted development strategies.

"Green" economic development in China: quantile regression evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

As China's economy began transitioning from one focused on high-speed growth to one focusing on high-quality development, sustainable green development has become the main goal pursued by the government. This study empirically measures the marginal impact of per capita GDP, technological innovation level, industrial structure, openness, fiscal decentralization, and urbanization level on per capita wastewater discharge in 11 provinces (cities) along the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2008 to 2018 using a quantile model. The key findings were as follows: (1) factors such as the per capita GDP, industrial structure, foreign direct investment, and urbanization in the YREB significantly increased water resource pollution; (2) the quantile model regression results showed that the relationship between economic growth and ecological pollution followed the so-called environmental Kuznets inverted U-curve. Wastewater discharge per capita was low in areas with low per capita GDP, meaning that the ecological environment in these areas was more fragile and that the environmental pollution costs due to economic growth were therefore relatively much higher in these areas; (3) fiscal decentralization significantly reduced water resource pollution in relatively developed areas although the effects in the relatively developing areas were not significant; and (4) the effects of technological innovation on reducing water resource pollution in the YREB were positive but not very significant. The results also confirmed that traditional patterns of economic growth increased water pollution in the YREB. For this reason, the government needs to urgently improve policies-for example, upgrading economic structures, preventing over-urbanization, speeding up technological innovation, introducing environmentally friendly foreign investment, and providing more rewards to best practitioners of environmental governance-that is conducive to the achievement of green ecological development.

Retracted: Role of Paeonol in an Astrocyte Model of Parkinson Disease.

The authors wish to retract the article. In this article, they found that astrocytes that were pretreated with paeonol significantly rescued MPP+-induced cell viability reduction, and inhibited up-regulation of cell apoptosis, caspase-1 activity, COX2, iNOS, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, as well as p-JNK and p-ERK. These findings suggest that paeonol is a neuroprotective agent suitable for use in treatment of PD. However, in subsequent research, they examined the protein levels of p-JNK/p-ERK/p-P38 in different groups. Results showed that in the MPP+ groups, not all these protein levels were higher than those in the control group, because of the flawed data presentations. They also used western blot analysis to assess protein levels of Bax and Bcl-2 in astrocytes. Compared with the control group, Bax protein level was increased, while Bcl-2 protein level was decreased after treatment with MPP+, and these changes were not reversed by paeonol. Based on the above, they ascertained that there must have been some serious mistake in their experiment. As a result, all authors agreed to retract this article. Reference: Maosheng Ye, Yuxin Yi, Shixing Wu, Yong Zhou, Dongji. Role of Paeonol in an Astrocyte Model of Parkinson Disease. Med Sci Monit, 2017; 23: 4740-4748. DOI: 10.12659/MSM.906716.

Electrical Conductivity of Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Bundles Contacting with Metal Electrodes by Nano Manipulators inside SEM.

Determining the metallicity and semiconductivity of a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) bundle plays a particularly vital role in its interconnection with the metal electrode of an integrated circuit. In this paper, an effective method is proposed to determine the electrical transport properties of an MWCNT bundle using a current-voltage characteristic curve during its electrical breakdown. We established the reliable electrical nanoscale contact between the MWCNT bundle and metal electrode using a robotic manipulation system under scanning electron microscope (SEM) vacuum conditions. The experimental results show that the current-voltage curve appears as saw-tooth-like current changes including up and down steps, which signify the conductance and breakdown of carbon shells in the MWCNT bundle, respectively. Additionally, the power law nonlinear behavior of the current-voltage curve indicates that the MWCNT bundle is semiconducting. The molecular dynamics simulation explains that the electron transport between the inner carbon shells, between the outermost carbon shells and gold metal electrode and between the outermost carbons shells of two adjacent individual three-walled carbon nanotubes (TWCNTs) is through their radial deformation. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate the electron transport mechanism between the gold surface and double-wall carbon nanotube (DWCNT) and between the inner and outermost carbon shells of DWCNT using the charge density difference, electrostatic potential and partial density of states.

Diagnostic value of quantitative MP-IgG for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in adults.

The passive particle agglutination (PA) test, once widely used for Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) antibody detection, has gradually been replaced by quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). However, the lack of diagnostic criteria for quantitative ELISA M. pneumoniae-IgG (MP-IgG) and the low positive rates of ELISA M. pneumoniae-IgM (MP-IgM) limit the diagnostic value of ELISA for M. pneumoniae infection in adults. Here, the diagnostic value of quantitative ELISA MP-IgG was evaluated in adults with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP). The serum M. pneumoniae antibodies were detected in 162 patients with MPP, 228 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) with non-Mycoplasma pneumoniae (NMP), and 162 healthy controls by ELISA, using the PA results as the reference standards. For the MP-IgM-/IgG+ subgroup, a single serum MP-IgG level of ≥92.67 RU/mL can be used as a reference criterion for the diagnosis of acute M. pneumoniae infection. At admission, for patients with CAP, the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA MP-IgM positivity for MPP were 18.51% and 99.56%, respectively. MP-IgM positivity combined with MP-IgG ≥ 92.67 RU/mL increased the sensitivity to 40.12% and decreased the specificity to 94.29%. For paired serum samples obtained within seven days, an ELISA MP-IgG concentration change of ≥1.48-fold and MP-IgG ≥ 92.67 RU/mL on day 7 were used as the diagnostic criteria for M. pneumoniae infection. Accordingly, the combination of qualitative MP-IgM detection and quantitative MP-IgG detection by ELISA is valuable for acute MPP diagnosis in adults.

Formation, characteristics and microbial community of aerobic granular sludge in the presence of sulfadiazine at environmentally relevant concentrations.

The growing occurrence of antibiotics in water environment is causing increasing concern. To investigate the impact of frequently detected sulfadiazine on the formation of aerobic granular sludge, four sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were set up with different environmentally relevant concentrations of sulfadiazine. Results showed that sulfadiazine pressure could lead to larger and more compact sludge particles and cause slight effect on reactor performance. Presence of sulfadiazine apparently increased the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) secretion of microorganisms. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) showed that the abundances of sulfanilamide resistance genes in sludge increased with addition of sulfadiazine significantly. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) was used to predict functional genes, results showed that sulfadiazine led to an increase of specific functional genes. Thereby, it concluded that microorganisms could change the community structure by acclimating of functional bacteria and antibiotic resistance species to adapt to the antibiotic stress.

Role of Paeonol in an Astrocyte Model of Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Inflammation and neural degeneration are implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. Paeonol has been verified to attenuate inflammation. MATERIAL AND METHODS 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridnium ion (MPP+, 100 µM) was used to induce the cell model of PD in primary cultured astrocytes. Astrocyte cell viability and apoptosis were determined by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry (FCM), respectively. Protein levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS) in culture medium were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay. Protein levels of casapse-1, COX2, iNOS, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)-associated X protein (Bax), Bcl-2, and phosphorylated Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK)/phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK)/p-P38 were examined by Western blot. RESULTS Pretreatment with paeonol remarkably rescued MPP+-induced cell viability reduction, up-regulation of cell apoptosis, caspase-1 activity, COX-2, iNOS, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in primary astrocytes. Furthermore, paeonol repressed MPP+ -induced elevation of p-JNK/p-ERK in primary cultured astrocytes. CONCLUSIONS The present study found that paeonol protected cells from apoptosis by repressing the activation of the JNK/ERK related signalling pathway induced by MPP+ in astrocytes. We propose that paeonol is a neuroprotective agent for the treatment of PD patients, with great promise in the future.

Comparative Efficacies of Inhaled Corticosteroids and Systemic Corticosteroids in Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Corticosteroids play an important role in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations, and a global initiative has suggested the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) as an alternative to systemic corticosteroids (SCs). Here, we report results of a meta-analysis performed to systematically compare the efficacies of ICSs and SCs in the treatment of COPD exacerbations. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane databases were searched for relevant human clinical trials describing the use of ICSs compared with SCs in the treatment of COPD exacerbations. We compared the results of FEV1%pred and blood gas analyses that had been calculated. Weighted mean differences and fixed effects models were applied by using Revman 5.2. RESULTS: Five original studies satisfied our inclusion criteria, and no significant heterogeneity was shown. Three studies evaluated the increase of FEV1%pred after treatment for 7 days. There were three and four studies, respectively, that evaluated the increase of SaO2 and PaO2, and three reported the decrease of PaCO2 at 24 hours control, 2-4 days control, and 7-10 days control. All the results showed that both ICSs and SCs were effective in the treatment of COPD exacerbations. CONCLUSION: ICSs were not inferior to SCs when used in the treatment of COPD exacerbations.

[Extracts from Testudinis Carapacis et Plastri Regulates Expression of ID1 in Mscs].

OBJECTIVE: To explore BMP4 affecting the Extracts from Testudinis Carapacis et Plastri (PTE) stimulating proliferation of MSCs and the mechanism. METHODS: Cotransfected PGL3-IDI and pEGFP-BMP4 of 0, 0. 1,0. 3, 0. 5 and 1 µg/mL respectively using the calcium phosphate co-precipitation method in rat MSCs. One of transfected cells were divided into control group and PTE group. PTE group was stimulated by PTE of 30 µ/L for 36 h, while control group was not. Collected cells using lucifease activity measurement to detect the activity of ID. Then 0. 3 µg/mL pEGFP-BMP4 was chose to cotransfect. MSCs was divided into control group, PTE group, BMP4 group, BMP4 + PTE group. BMP4 and BMP4 + PTE group were cotransfected with PGL3-ID1 and pEGFP-BMP4 but control or PTE groups were not. PTE and BMP4 + PTE groups were stimulated by PTE of 30 µg/mL for 36 h but the either two groups were not. The activities of ID1, BMP4 and RARα were detected using RT-PCR. RESULTS: The expressions of ID1, BMP4 and RARa rose in PTE group. The expression of BMP4 and RARα rose while IDI decreased in BMP4 groups. BMP4, ID1 and RARα decreased remarkable in BMP4 + PTE group comparing with BMP4 group. CONCLUSION: PTE promotes the proliferation of MSCs, it also regulates the expression of BMP4 to prevent excessive proliferation of MSCs.

[Effect of Aß1-42 injection on hippocampus cells in rats and protective role of polygona-polysaccharose for Alzheimer's disease].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of polygona-polysaccharose (PP) on learning and memory ability in rats with Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: Forty five Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned into 3 groups. Rats in the sham-operated group were injected with normal saline. Rats in the Aß group were injected with Aß1-42. Rats in the PP group were injected with 16% PP solution for 45 days consecutively. The Morris water maze was used to investigate the ability of learning and memory in the rats. The effect of Aß and PP on the hippocampus cells was observed by HE and Congo red staining of methanol. RESULTS: Rats in the sham-operated group had no obvious morphological change; and morphology of rats in the PP group was basicaly normal. The layer of pyramidal cells in the Aß group was decreased. The cells appeared sparse and irregular and became smaller. Karyopyknosis and vacuolar degeneration cells were also found. More positive staining materials aggradated in the Aß group compared with the PP group by Congo red staining (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Aß infusion into the hippocampus results in the impairment of the neuronal degeneration in the rats, which shows similar characterizations of AD. PP can reduce the deposition of Aß in the hippocampus.

[Preparation and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol microsphere pre-coated dynamic membranes].

To alleviate membrane fouling and reduce the price of membrane module, polyvinyl alcohol microsphere pre-coated dynamic membranes (PVA-MS/PCDMs) were investigated detailedly. It was prepared when the polyvinyl alcohol microsphere of the pre-coated reagent deposited on the surface and entered the pores of porous substrate common filter cloth which was low-cost by means of circulatory filtration. The morphology and structure of PVA-MS/PCDMs were examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM), and approximate maximal separated aperture, water contact angle, pure water permeation resistance and relative Zeta potential of the membrance surface were also determined. The results showed that pure water permeation resistance of PVA-MS/PCDMs was between 0.64 x 10(10) m(-1) and 3.84 x 10(10) m(-1) and the approximate maximal separated aperture reached microfiltration level. The hydrophilicity of PVA-MS/PCDMs increased with increasing PVA-MS pre-coated mass. The relative Zeta potential of the PVA-MS/PCDMs, which were measured using 0.01 mol x L(-1) KCl solution, pH 8.0 +/- 0.2 and at 20 degrees C, reached a peak value of -36.4 mV with pre-coated mass of 15.7 g x m(-2) PVA-MS on the membrance surface. In addition, evolutions of PVA-MS/PCDMs flux versus time were investigated using a 4 hours short-term filtration experiment at 9.5 kPa in an SMBR and the permeability coefficient of PVA-MS/PCDMs were measured by the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) diffusion experiments. Results indicated that the PVA-MS/PCDMs presented dramatically high anti-fouling characteristics when the pre-coated mass of PVA-MS was 23.9-61.9 g x m(-2).

[Preparation and characterization of cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol microspheres as a novel precoating reagent in dynamic membrane].

In order to modify the membrane surface by adsorbing a precoated layer, cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol microspheres were prepared via an emulsion polymerization that PVA cross linked with glutaraldehyde which was extracted by anhydrous aether. Effects of concentration of PVA solution, the volume ratio of aqueous phase to oil phase, the selection of surface active agent (SAA) and its concentration on the stabilization of emulsion were studied. When the concentration of PVA solution was 2.7%, the volume ratio of PVA solution/n-heptane was 40:60 and the concentration of span-80 was 1.30 g/dL, the prepared microspheres contented our needs. The size of microspheres diminished with the stirring speed increasing under the condition of enough span-80. It became smaller with the accretion of an aimed cross-linking degree which has little affection on surface charge. The contact angle of PVA microspheres with distilled water showed that these microspheres were hydrophilic. Morphology of PVA microspheres were observed by SEM. The FTIR results suggested that functional groups varied with the change of aimed cross-linking degrees.

[Anti-fouling characteristics of the novel precoating reagent in dynamic membrane bioreactor].

Further research was made on precoating reagents in dynamic membrane process, in which novel precoating reagent-polyvinyl alcohol microsphere (PVA-MS) was prepared through emulsive polymerization of PVA and glutaraldehyde (GA). Furthermore, polymerization mechanism and anti-fouling characteristics through adsorption of membrane major fouling substances EPS upon PVA-MS were studied. The results showed that hemiacetals reaction played a major role in emulsive polymerization process, as the quantity of hydroxyl on PVA was decreased a little, PVA-MS surface behaved good hydrophilic, and the adsorption of protein and amylose upon PVA microsphere was stable and low, which was 0.543 mg x g(-1) and 0.694 mg x g(-1) respectively. In addition, PVA-MS surface behaved electronic negativity, which acted electrostatic repulsion to active sludge floc. Upon this characteristics and data, it was concluded that membrane fouling was delayed in microscopy structure. Diameter of PVA-MS in precoating liquid was about 1.14 microm, and Zeta-potential of precoating liquid with different precoating reagent concentration was less than - 39 mV, which made PVA microsphere diffused and stable from each other, then sedimentate rapidly on porous support membrane surface and internal wall of hole path. Besides, the morphology of PVA-MS and dynamic membrane formed from PVA-MS on support membrane were observed through SEM.

[Experimental study on application of the boundary layer theory for determining steady aeration intensity of precoated dynamic membrane bioreactor].

The rheological behaviour of the low sludge concentration liquor in MBR was investigated and made a conclusion that this liquor approximated to the Newtonian fluid while the concentration of the sludge was less than 8000 mg x L(-1). Furthermore, when the laminar flow boundary layer thickness on the surface of flat membrane came up to the thickness of precoated dynamic membrane (PDM), the steady aeration intensity was calculated by using the boundary layer theory in the Newtonian hydrodynamics. In order to ensure the stability of the pre-coated dynamic membrane bioreactor (PDMBR), oxygen supply aeration intensity was chosen to supply the best dissolved oxygen (3-5 mg x L(-1) in the initial stages and gradually increased to the steady aeration intensity. The results indicated that this mode could enhance the stability of PDM. In the experiment period (31 d), effluent COD was less than 12.48 mg x L(-1) and its average removal rate was 97.49%, NH4+ -N was less than 5.27 mg x L(-1) and its average removal rate was 76.13%, while the operational pressure just increased to 27 kPa. During the last period of the experiment, the stability of the PDMBR was studied when the aeration intensity was more than the steady aeration intensity and it was found that the precoated layer had been brushed off from the surface of common filter cloth, so this phenomenon proved that using the boundary layer theory could determine steady aeration intensity of PDMBR.