Untargeted metabolomics reveals intervention effects of wine-processed Schisandra chinensis polysaccharide on Alzheimer's disease mice.

Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill (SC) is a traditional sedative in China, with wide applications for treating various neurological disorders. Its polysaccharide component has been gaining increased attention for its potential in nerve protection. While raw SC is the primary focus of current research, its processed products are primarily utilized as clinical medicines. Notably, limited research exists on the mechanisms underlying the effects of wine-processed Schisandra chinensis polysaccharide (WSCP) in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Therefore, this study seeks to assess the therapeutic impact of WSCP on AD mice and investigate the underlying mechanisms through biochemical and metabolomics analyses. The results demonstrate that WSCP exerts significant therapeutic effects on AD mice by enhancing learning and memory abilities, mitigating hippocampal neuronal damage, reducing abnormal amyloid-beta (Aß) deposition, and attenuating hyperphosphorylation of Tau. Biochemical analysis revealed that WSCP can increase SOD content and decrease MDA, IL-6, and TNF-α content in AD mice. Furthermore, serum metabolomic results showed that WSCP intervention can reverse metabolic disorders in AD mice. 43 endogenous metabolites were identified as potential biomarkers for WSCP treatment of AD, and the major metabolic pathways were Ala, Glu and Asp metabolism, TCA cycle. Overall, these findings will provide a basis for further development of WSCP.

SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant patients on TNFα inhibitor: Real-life data with a review of literature.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is involved in the occurrence of negative pregnancy outcomes. The study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the immunosuppressive TNFα inhibitors (TNFαi) in the treatment of patients with a history of recurrent reproductive failure in the context of COVID-19 pandemics. We reviewed 85 patients who received TNFαi (certolizumab pegol) during Mainland China's first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, from 21st Nov 2022-11 th Jan 2023. We also collected corresponding data from 130 pregnant patients who never used TNFαi for comparison. There were no significant differences in the history of previous pregnancy loss, miscarriage, embryo implantation failure, comorbidities and doses of COVID-19 vaccination. 82.2% and 87.7% pregnant patients contracted primary COVID-19 with symptoms in TNFαi group and no-TNFαi group. Duration of symptoms was significantly longer in TNFαi group and the incidences of cough and lethargy was significantly higher in TNFαi group. Both groups reported similar severity to same-aged close contacts, similar rates of other symptoms and hospitalization. No deaths were reported. In the in vitro fertilization (IVF) subgroup, we achieved a biochemical pregnancy loss rate of 17.4%, miscarriage rate of 21.7%, ongoing pregnancy rate and live birth rate of 34.2%. COVID-19 did not influence the live birth rate. We concluded that TNFαi administration in pregnancy was not associated with increased susceptivity to and severity of COVID-19. However, TNFαi users showed more prominent symptoms and longer recovery time. The pregnancy outcomes with TNFαi in such high-risk group for pregnancy loss was satisfactory.

Strong Circularly Polarized Luminescence Promoted by AIE-active Chiral Co-assemblies in Liquid Crystal Polymer Films.

Recently, extensive works have focused on increasing the dissymmetry factors (glum) of various circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials, which is one of the most important factors for future applications of CPL. Herein, we designed a chiral co-assembled liquid crystal polymer (LCP) PTZ@R/S-PB2, which was prepared by chiral binary co-polymer (R/S-PB2) doped with achiral phenothiazine derivation dye (PTZ). For comparison, ternary co-polymerized LCP (R/S-PT) was synthesized by co-polymerizing with mesogenic monomer, chiral monomer and emissive monomer. Both PTZ@R/S-PB2 and R/S-PT showed aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties. Interestingly, the CPL signals of both PTZ@R/S-PB2 and R/S-PT were reversed and amplified after thermal annealing treatment. The |glum| values of the co-assembled PTZ@R/S-PB2 were up to 0.13 at a 32 nm thickness, which was 5.4 times that of R/S-PT (|glum|=0.024). This is due to PTZ@R/S-PB2 could form more orderly chiral co-assembly structures. Noticeably, increasing the LCP film thickness could further improve the glum value, and the maximum glum of PTZ@R/S-PB2 could be enhanced to +0.91/-0.82 at a 220 nm thickness.

Dual-Protection Inorganic-Protein Coating on Mg-Based Biomaterials through Tooth-Enamel-Inspired Biomineralization.

Biocompatible magnesium alloys represent revolutionary implantable materials in dentistry and orthopedics but face challenges due to rapid biocorrosion, necessitating protective coatings to mitigate dysfunction. Directly integrating durable protective coatings onto Mg surfaces is challenging because of intrinsic low coating compactness. Herein, inspired by tooth enamel, a novel highly compact dual-protection inorganic-protein (inorganicPro) coating is in situ constructed on Mg surfaces through bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein-boosted reaction between sodium fluoride (NaF) and Mg substrates. The association of Mg ions and BSA establishes a local hydrophobic domain that lowers the formation enthalpy of NaMgF3 nanoparticles. This process generates finer nanoparticles that function as "bricks," facilitating denser packing, consequently reducing voidage inside coatings by over 50% and reinforcing mechanical durability. Moreover, the incorporation of BSA in and on the coatings plays two synergistic roles: 1) acting as "mortar" to seal residual cracks within coatings, thereby promoting coating compactness and tripling anticorrosion performance, and 2) mitigating fouling-accelerated biocorrosion in complex biosystems via tenfold resistance against biofoulant attachments, including biofluids, proteins, and metabolites. This innovative strategy, leveraging proteins to alter inorganic reactions, benefits the future coating design for Mg-based and other metallic materials with tailored anticorrosion and antifouling performances.

Effect of SMOF lipid emulsion on physical growth and extrauterine growth retardation in very preterm infants: Insights from a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of soybean, medium-chain triacylglycerols (MCTs), olive oil, and fish oil (SMOF) on short-term clinical outcomes, physical growth, and extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) in very preterm infants. METHODS: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of very preterm infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units at five tertiary hospitals in China between January 2021 and December 2021. According to the type of fat emulsion used in parenteral nutrition (PN), eligible very preterm infants were divided into the MCTs/long-chain triacylglycerol (MCT/LCT) group and SMOF group. Change in weight z-score (weight Δz) between measurements at birth and at 36 wk of postmenstrual age or at discharge, the incidence of EUGR, and short-term clinical outcomes between the two groups were compared and analyzed. RESULTS: We enrolled 409 very preterm infants, including 205 in the MCT/LCT group and 204 in the SMOF group. Univariate analysis showed that infants in the SMOF group had significantly longer duration of invasive mechanical ventilation and PN, longer days to reach total enteral nutrition, and a higher proportion of maximum weight loss than those in MCT/LCT group (all P < 0.05). After adjusting for the confounding variables, multifactorial logistic regression analysis of short-term clinical outcomes showed that SMOF had protective effects on PN-associated cholestasis (odds ratio [OR], 0.470; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.266-0.831) and metabolic bone disease of prematurity (OR, 0.263; 95% CI, 0.078-0.880). Additionally, SMOF was an independent risk factor for lower weight growth velocity (ß = -0.733; 95% CI, -1.452 to -0.015) but had no effect on the incidence of EUGR (OR, 1.567; 95% CI, 0.912 to -2.693). CONCLUSION: Compared with MCT/LCT, SMOF can reduce the risk for PN-associated cholestasis and metabolic bone disease of prematurity in very preterm infants and has a negative effect on growth velocity but has no effect on the incidence of EUGR.

Association between chronic kidney disease and risk of bullous pemphigoid: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that bullous pemphigoid (BP) occurs in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the risk of developing BP in patients with CKD remains inconclusive. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether CKD increases the risk of BP. METHODS: Participants were recruited from the National Health Insurance Database of Taiwan between 2007 and 2018. Overall, 637,664 newly diagnosed patients with CKD and 637,664 age-, sex-, and comorbidity-matched non-CKD participants were selected. A competing risk model was used to evaluate the risk of development of BP. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, sex, and comorbid diseases in the multivariate model, CKD was a significant risk factor for BP (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.29; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17-1.42; p < 0.001). CKD patients were classified into the dialytic or non-dialytic groups and compared to non-CKD participants, and this revealed that patients with dialysis-dependent CKD had the highest risk of BP (aHR 1.75; 95% CI 1.51-2.03), followed by patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD (aHR 1.20; 95% CI 1.08-1.32). LIMITATIONS: We lacked detailed laboratory data on the severity of CKD. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with individuals without CKD, those with CKD had a 1.3-fold increased risk of BP. Patients with dialysis-dependent CKD had an even higher BP risk (1.8-fold).

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OBJECTIVES: To compare the impact of two types of fat emulsion on clinical outcomes in preterm infants with varying duration of parenteral nutrition (PN). METHODS: Preterm infants meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to two groups: medium/long-chain triglyceride fat emulsion (referred to as MCT/LCT) group or multi-oil fat emulsion (containing soybean oil, medium-chain triglycerides, olive oil, and fish oil; referred to as SMOF) group. The infants were stratified into groups based on the duration of PN (15-21 days, 22-28 days, and ≥29 days). Clinical characteristics, nutritional status, biochemical indicators, and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared with the MCT/LCT group, the SMOF group had lower peak levels of triglyceride during the hospital stay in preterm infants with PN of 15-21 days, 22-28 days, and ≥29 days, respectively (P<0.05). Logistic regression trend analysis showed that with a longer duration of PN, the risk of parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis (PNAC) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) significantly increased in the MCT/LCT group (P<0.05), while the risk of brain injury did not significantly change (P>0.05). In the SMOF group, the risks of PNAC and BPD did not significantly change with a longer duration of PN (P>0.05), but the risk of brain injury significantly decreased (P=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to MCT/LCT, SMOF have better lipid tolerance. With a longer duration of PN, SMOF does not increase the risks of PNAC and BPD and had a protective effect against brain injury. This suggests that in preterm infants requiring long-term PN, the use of SMOF is superior to MCT/LCT.

Bivalent Gadolinium Ions Forming Injectable Hydrogels for Simultaneous In Situ Vaccination Therapy and Imaging of Soft Tissue Sarcoma.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is the classic soft tissue sarcomas (STS) first-line treatment drug, while dose-dependent myelosuppression and cardiotoxicity limit its application in clinic. This research intends to apply DOX, which is also an inducer of immunogenic cell death as a part for "in situ vaccination" and conjointly uses PD-1 inhibitors to enhance antitumor efficacy. In order to achieve the sustained vaccination effect and real-time monitoring of distribution in vivo, the in situ forming and injectable hydrogel platform with the function of visualization is established for local delivery. The hydrogel platform is synthesized by hyaluronic acid-dopamine coordinated with gadolinium ions (Gd2+ ). Gd2+ provides the ability of magnetic resonance imaging, meanwhile further cross-linking the hydrogel network. Experiments show excellent ability of sustained release and imaging tracking for the hydrogel platform. In mouse STS models, the "in situ vaccination" hydrogels show the best effect of inhibiting tumor growth. Further analysis of tumor tissues show that "in situ vaccination" group can increase T cell infiltration, promote M1-type macrophage polarization and block elevated PD-1/PD-L1 pathway caused by DOX. These results are expected to prove the potential for synthesized hydrogels to achieve a universal platform for "in situ vaccination" strategies on STS treatments.

Injectable periodontal ligament stem cell-metformin-calcium phosphate scaffold for bone regeneration and vascularization in rats.

OBJECTIVES: Injectable and self-setting calcium phosphate cement scaffold (CPC) capable of encapsulating and delivering stem cells and bioactive agents would be highly beneficial for dental and craniofacial repairs. The objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a novel injectable CPC scaffold encapsulating human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) and metformin (Met) for bone engineering; (2) test bone regeneration efficacy in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: hPDLSCs were encapsulated in degradable alginate fibers, which were then mixed into CPC paste. Five groups were tested: (1) CPC control; (2) CPC + hPDLSC-fibers + 0% Met (CPC + hPDLSCs + 0%Met); (3) CPC + hPDLSC-fibers + 0.1% Met (CPC + hPDLSCs + 0.1%Met); (4) CPC + hPDLSC-fibers + 0.2% Met (CPC + hPDLSCs + 0.2%Met); (5) CPC + hPDLSC-fibers + 0.4% Met (CPC + hPDLSCs + 0.4%Met). The injectability, mechanical properties, metformin release, and hPDLSC osteogenic differentiation and bone mineral were determined in vitro. A rat cranial defect model was used to evaluate new bone formation. RESULTS: The novel construct had good injectability and physical properties. Alginate fibers degraded in 7 days and released hPDLSCs, with 5-fold increase of proliferation (p＜0.05). The ALP activity and mineral synthesis of hPDLSCs were increased by Met delivery (p＜0.05). Among all groups, CPC+hPDLSCs+ 0.1%Met showed the greatest cell mineralization and osteogenesis, which were 1.5-10 folds those without Met (p＜0.05). Compared to CPC control, CPC+hPDLSCs+ 0.1%Met enhanced bone regeneration in rats by 9 folds, and increased vascularization by 3 folds (p＜0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The novel injectable construct with hPDLSC and Met encapsulation demonstrated excellent efficacy for bone regeneration and vascularization in vivo in an animal model. CPC+hPDLSCs+ 0.1%Met is highly promising for dental and craniofacial applications.

Effect of human periodontal ligament stem cell-derived exosomes on cementoblast activity.

OBJECTIVES: Exosomes derived from stem cells are a potential cell-free tool for tissue regeneration with therapeutic potential. However, its application in cementum repair is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of human periodontal ligament stem cell-derived exosomes on the biological activity of cementoblasts, the main effector cells in cementum synthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: OCCM-30 cementoblasts were cultured with various human periodontal ligament stem cell-derived exosome concentrations. OCCM-30 cells proliferation, migration, and cementogenic mineralization were examined, along with the gene and protein expression of factors associated with cementoblastic mineralization. RESULTS: Exosomal promoted the migration, proliferation, and mineralization of OCCM-30 cells. The exosome-treated group significantly increased the expression of cementogenic-related genes and proteins. Furthermore, the expression of p-PI3K and p-AKT was enhanced by exosome administration. Treatment with a PI3K/AKT inhibitor markedly attenuated the gene and protein expression of cementoblastic factors, and this effect was partially reversed by exosome administration. CONCLUSIONS: Human periodontal ligament stem cell-derived exosomes can promote the activity of cementoblasts via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, providing a scientific basis for promoting the repair process in orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption.

Violaceous Plaque With Blackish Papules and Nodules in an Elderly Man.

A man in his 80s presents with a 3-month history of a violaceous plaque with blackish papules and nodules on his left cheek, neck, and chest. What is your diagnosis?

Multi-modal recommendation algorithm fusing visual and textual features.

In recommender systems, the lack of interaction data between users and items tends to lead to the problem of data sparsity and cold starts. Recently, the interest modeling frameworks incorporating multi-modal features are widely used in recommendation algorithms. These algorithms use image features and text features to extend the available information, which alleviate the data sparsity problem effectively, but they also have some limitations. On the one hand, multi-modal features of user interaction sequences are not considered in the interest modeling process. On the other hand, the aggregation of multi-modal features often employs simple aggregators, such as sums and concatenation, which do not distinguish the importance of different feature interactions. In this paper, to tackle this, we propose the FVTF (Fusing Visual and Textual Features) algorithm. First, we design a user history visual preference extraction module based on the Query-Key-Value attention to model users' historical interests by using of visual features. Second, we design a feature fusion and interaction module based on the multi-head bit-wise attention to adaptively mine important feature combinations and update the higher-order attention fusion representation of features. We conduct experiments on the Movielens-1M dataset, and the experiments show that FVTF achieved the best performance compared with the benchmark recommendation algorithms.

Analysis of risk factors for parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis in preterm infants: a multicenter observational study.

BACKGROUND: It is proposed that the development of parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis (PNAC) was significantly associated with preterm birth, low birth weight, infection, etc.; however, the etiology and pathogenesis of PNAC are not fully understood. Most of the studies examining PNAC-associated risk factors were single-center studies with relatively small sample sizes. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the risk factors associated with PNAC in preterm infants in China. METHODS: This is a retrospective multicenter observational study. Clinical data on the effect of multiple oil-fat emulsions (soybean oil-medium chain triglycerides-olive oil-fish oil, SMOF) in preterm infants were collected from a prospective multicenter randomized controlled study. A secondary analysis was performed in which preterm infants were divided into the PNAC group and the non-PNAC group based on the PNAC status. RESULTS: A total of 465 cases very preterm infants or very low birth weight infants were included in the study in which 81 cases were assigned to the PNAC group and 384 cases were assigned to the non-PNAC group. The PNAC group had a lower mean gestational age, lower mean birth weight, longer duration of invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, a longer duration oxygen support, and longer hospital stay (P < 0.001 for all). The PNAC group had higher respiratory distress syndrome, hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) with stage II or higher, surgically treated NEC, late-onset sepsis, metabolic bone disease, and extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) compared to the non-PNAC group (P < 0.05 for all). In contrast with the non-PNAC group, the PNAC group received a higher maximum dose of amino acids and fat emulsion, more medium/long-chain fatty emulsion, less SMOF, had a longer duration of parenteral nutrition, lower rates of breastfeeding, higher incidence of feeding intolerance (FI), more accumulated days to achieve total enteral nutrition, less accumulated days of total calories up to standard 110 kcal/kg/day and slower velocity of weight growth (P < 0.05 for all). Logistic regression analysis indicated that the maximum dose of amino acids (OR, 5.352; 95% CI, 2.355 to 12.161), EUGR (OR, 2.396; 95% CI, 1.255 to 4.572), FI (OR, 2.581; 95% CI, 1.395 to 4.775), surgically treated NEC (OR, 11.300; 95% CI, 2.127 ~ 60.035), and longer total hospital stay (OR, 1.030; 95% CI, 1.014 to 1.046) were independent risk factors for the development of PNAC. SMOF (OR, 0.358; 95% CI, 0.193 to 0.663) and breastfeeding (OR, 0.297; 95% CI, 0.157 to 0.559) were protective factors for PNAC. CONCLUSIONS: PNAC can be reduced by optimizing the management of enteral and parenteral nutrition and reducing gastrointestinal comorbidities in preterm infants.

High-definition image transmission through dynamically perturbed multimode fiber by a self-attention based neural network.

We implement faithful multimode fiber (MMF) image transmission by a self-attention-based neural network. Compared with a real-valued artificial neural network (ANN) based on a convolutional neural network (CNN), our method utilizes a self-attention mechanism to achieve a higher image quality. The enhancement measure (EME) and structural similarity (SSIM) of the dataset collected in the experiment improved by 0.79 and 0.04; the total number of parameters can be reduced by up to 25%. To enhance the robustness of the neural network to MMF bending in image transmission, we use a simulation dataset to prove that the hybrid training method is helpful in MMF transmission of a high-definition image. Our findings may pave the way for simpler and more robust single-MMF image transmission schemes with hybrid training; SSIM on datasets under different disturbances improve by 0.18. This system has the potential to be applied to various high-demand image transmission tasks, such as endoscopy.

Strong, tough, rapid-recovery, and fatigue-resistant hydrogels made of picot peptide fibres.

Hydrogels are promising soft materials as tissue engineering scaffolds, stretchable sensors, and soft robotics. Yet, it remains challenging to develop synthetic hydrogels with mechanical stability and durability similar to those of the connective tissues. Many of the necessary mechanical properties, such as high strength, high toughness, rapid recovery, and high fatigue resistance, generally cannot be established together using conventional polymer networks. Here we present a type of hydrogels comprising hierarchical structures of picot fibres made of copper-bound self-assembling peptide strands with zipped flexible hidden length. The redundant hidden lengths allow the fibres to be extended to dissipate mechanical load without reducing network connectivity, making the hydrogels robust against damage. The hydrogels possess high strength, good toughness, high fatigue threshold, and rapid recovery, comparable to or even outperforming those of articular cartilage. Our study highlights the unique possibility of tailoring hydrogel network structures at the molecular level to improve their mechanical performance.

Effects of mixed oil emulsion on short-term clinical outcomes in premature infants: A prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the clinical effects of two different lipid emulsions in premature infants with gestational age < 32 weeks (VPI) or birth weight < 1500 g (VLBWI) to provide an evidence-based medicine basis for optimizing intravenous lipid emulsion. METHODS: This was a prospective multicenter randomized controlled study. A total of 465 VPIs or VLBWIs, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of five tertiary hospitals in China from March 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, were recruited. All subjects were randomly allocated into two groups, namely, medium-chain triglycerides/long-chain triglycerides (MCT/LCT) group (n = 231) and soybean oil, medium-chain triglycerides, olive oil, and fish oil (SMOF) group (n = 234). Clinical features, biochemical indexes, nutrition support therapy, and complications were analyzed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in perinatal data, hospitalization, parenteral and enteral nutrition support between the two groups (P > 0.05). Compared with the MCT/LCT group, the incidence of neonates with a peak value of total bilirubin (TB) > 5 mg/dL (84/231 [36.4% vs. 60/234 [25.6%]), a peak value of direct bilirubin (DB) ≥ 2 mg/dL (26/231 [11.3% vs. 14/234 [6.0%]), a peak value of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) > 900 IU/L (17/231 [7.4% vs. 7/234 [3.0%]), and a peak value of triglycerides (TG) > 3.4 mmol/L (13/231 [5.6% vs. 4/234[1.7%]]) were lower in the SMOF group (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that in the subgroup analysis of < 28 weeks, the incidence of parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis (PNAC) and metabolic bone disease of prematurity (MBDP) were lower in the SMOF group (P = 0.043 and 0.029, respectively), whereas no significant differences were present in the incidence of PNAC and MBDP between the two groups at > 28 weeks group (P = 0.177 and 0.991, respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the incidence of PNAC (aRR: 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.20-0.70, P = 0.002) and MBDP (aRR: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.19-0.81, P = 0.029) in the SMOF group were lower than that in the MCT/LCT group. In addition, no significant differences were recorded in the incidence of patent ductus arteriosus, feeding intolerance, necrotizing enterocolitis (Bell's stage ≥ 2), late-onset sepsis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, retinopathy of prematurity and extrauterine growth retardation between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The application of mixed oil emulsion in VPI or VLBWI can reduce the risk of plasma TB > 5 mg/dL, DB ≥ 2 mg/dL, ALP > 900 IU/L, and TG > 3.4 mmol/L during hospitalization. SMOF has better lipid tolerance, reduces the incidence of PNAC and MBDP, and exerts more benefits in preterm infants with gestational age < 28 weeks.

New insights into arsenate removal during siderite oxidation by dissolved oxygen.

Nowadays, arsenic (As) pollution in aquatic environments severely threatens the health of human beings. Although it has been known that siderite is capable of As adsorption and dissolved oxygen (DO) enhances the adsorption, effects of DO concentrations on As(V) adsorption onto siderite remain elusive. In this study, As(V) removal was investigated by synthesized siderite from aqueous solutions with different DO concentrations. Arsenic(V) adsorption kinetics were conformed to the pseudo-second-order model. As(V) adsorption onto siderite was enhanced in the presence of dissolved oxygen, but the excess DO concentration did not increase As(V) adsorption since Fe(III) oxides were coated onto the pristine siderite surface, preventing the mineral from further oxidation. With the increase in DO concentration, the rate of Fe(II) oxidation decreased, which was the kinetic-limited step during As(V) removal by siderite with the presence of DO. The theoretically generated Fe(III) was stoichiometrically proportional to the consumed oxygen. Microscopic characteristics by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR and XPS indicated that the adsorption was dominated by the chemical process via the As(V) complexation with siderite and co-precipitation with produced Fe(III) oxides. This study reveals the mechanisms of As(V) adsorption during siderite oxidation under different DO concentrations and emphasizes the importance of siderite oxidation in As(V) fate in aqueous systems.

Osteogenic Differentiation Effect of Human Periodontal Ligament Stem-Cell Initial Cell Density on Autologous Cells and Human Bone Marrow Stromal Cells.

Stem cells have differentiation and regulation functions. Here, we discussed the impact of cell culture density on stem cell proliferation, osteoblastogenesis, and regulation. To discuss the effect of the initial culture density of human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) on the osteogenic differentiation of autologous cells, we found that the hPDLSC proliferation rate decreased with an increase in the initial plating density (0.5-8 × 104 cells/cm2) for the 48 h culture cycle. After hPDLSCs induced osteogenic differentiation for 14 days with different initial cell culture densities, the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and runt-related transcription factor 2(RUNX2) and the OPG/ Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-κ B Ligand (RANKL) ratio were the highest in the hPDLSCs initially plated at a density of 2 × 104 cells/cm2, and the average cell calcium concentration was also the highest. To study hPDLSCs regulating the osteoblastic differentiation of other cells, we used 50 µg/mL of secreted exosomes derived from hPDLSCs cultured using different initial cell densities to induce human bone marrow stromal cell (hBMSC) osteogenesis. After 14 days, the results indicated that the gene expression of OPG, Osteocalcin(OCN,)RUNX2, and osterix and the OPG/RANKL ratio were the highest in the 2 × 104 cells/cm2 initial cell density group, and the average calcium concentration was also the highest. This provides a new idea for the clinical application of stem cell osteogenesis.