Muscle reconstruction using a five-flap method with a short straight-line incision in unilateral incomplete cleft lip repair.

When performing a unilateral incomplete cleft lip repair, it is essential to create a good sub-structure of the upper lip contour, reconstruct the orbicularis oris muscle, and prevent an unwanted scar. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical effect of muscle reconstruction using a five-flap method with a short straight-line incision in unilateral incomplete cleft lip repair. Thirty-two infants with unilateral incomplete cleft lip were treated with this method between April 2020 and February 2023. A short straight-line incision was designed along the philtral column. The orbicularis oris muscle was reconstructed with a five-flap method in three areas: nasal base area, white lip area, and red lip area. Patient outcomes were assessed through subjective evaluation and anthropometric measurements. No patient experienced any postoperative complications. The philtral column and Cupid's bow were well reconstructed. Deviation of nasal columella was corrected and the nasal floor was elevated. Functionally and aesthetically satisfactory outcomes were obtained in all patients over long-term follow-up. In conclusion, this technique was able to create a good sub-structure of the nasolabial contour and bring a significant improvement in bilateral symmetry, showing it to be an effective method for incomplete unilateral cleft lip repair with minimal scarring.

[Xionggui Decoction alleviates heart failure in mice with myocardial infarction by inhibiting oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the protective effect of Xionggui Decoction against cardiac myopathy in a mouse model of heart failure following myocardial infarction (MI) and explore the underlying mechanism. METHODS: We searched TCMSP, GeneCards, and CTD databases for the targets of active ingredients Xionggui Decoction and heart failure, and the intersecting targets were analyzed with GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis using DAVID database. In a mouse model of heart failure following acute MI induced by coronary artery ligation, the cardiac protective effects of 3 g/kg Xionggui Decoction were evaluated by assessing cardiac function, cardiac myopathy and ventricular remodeling of the mice using HE staining, Masson staining, RT-qPCR, and immunohistochemistry. We also tested the effect of Xionggui Decoction at 50 and 100 µg/mL on tertbutylhydrogen peroxide (TBHP)-induced apoptosis of H9C2 cells using CCK8 assay, detection kits for ROS, MDA, SOD, JC-1 and Hoechst 33342/PI staining. RESULTS: Network pharmacological analysis identified 62 potential targets of Xionggui Decoction for treatment of heart failure, and the core targets included PTGS2, ESR1, caspase-3, PPARG, HSP90AA1, BCL2, JUN, and GSK3B, which were involved in cell apoptosis and the AGE-RAGE, P53, PI3K-Akt, and VEGF signaling pathways. In the mouse models of heart failure, treatment with Xionggui Decoction significantly alleviated cardiac myopathy and ventricular remodeling, obviously improved heart function of the mice, lowered myocardial expressions of caspase-3 and BAX, and enhanced the expression of BCL2. In H9C2 cells, Xionggui Decoction significantly alleviated TBHP-induced cell apoptosis by inhibiting oxidative stress in the cells. CONCLUSION: Xionggui Decoction can alleviate myocardial injury and improve cardiac function in mice with heart failure following acute MI possibly by inhibiting cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by oxidative stress.

[A cross-sectional survey and analysis of influencing factors on the occurrence of post-burn psychological stress disorder in preschool children].

Objective: To explore the occurrence and influencing factors of post-burn psychological stress disorder in preschool children. Methods: This study was a multi-center cross-sectional survey. From January 2022 to February 2023, 85 preschool children (aged 1 to 6 years) with burns admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong Central Hospital, Suining Central Hospital, Guang'an People's Hospital, and Guangyuan Central Hospital who met the inclusion criteria were selected as respondents. A self-made general information questionnaire was used to investigate the children's general data including gender, age group, residential area, main caregiver and their education level, and family type, as well as the injury condition including cause of injury and burn severity. The Child Stress Disorders Checklist was used to investigate the occurrence of psychological stress disorder in children at 3 days to 1 month after injury, and the incidence rate was calculated. The children were classified according to their general data and injury condition, and the occurrence of psychological stress disorder in children at 3 days to 1 month after injury was recorded, and the influencing factors for post-burn psychological stress disorder in preschool children were screened. Results: A total of 85 questionnaires were distributed and 85 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 100%. Among the children, there were 45 boys and 40 girls, with most children aged 1 to 3 years. There were slightly more children in rural areas than in cities. About half of the children were mainly cared for by their parents and grandparents, respectively, and the education level of the main caregivers was mainly high school/technical secondary school. The family type was mainly core family and extended family. The main cause of injury was hydrothermal scald, and the severity of burns was mainly moderate. The incidence rate of psychological stress disorder in this group of children at 3 days to 1 month after injury was 34.12% (29/85). There were statistically significant differences in the occurrence of psychological stress disorder in children with different age groups, causes of injuries, and burn severity at 3 days to 1 month after injury (with χ2 values​​of 9.18, 7.80, and 25.47, respectively, P<0.05); there were no statistically significant differences in the occurrence of psychological stress disorder in children with different genders, residential area, main caregivers, main caregivers' education levels, or family types at 3 days to 1 month after injury (P>0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age group and burn severity were independent influencing factors for the occurrence of psychological stress disorder in preschool children after burns (with odds ratios of 8.21 and 33.99, respectively, and 95% confidence intervals of 1.57-43.04 and 5.55-207.93, respectively, P<0.05), the older the child and the more severe the burn, the higher the possibility of the occurrence of psychological stress disorder. Conclusions: The incidence rate of psychological stress disorder is high in preschool children after burns. Age group and burn severity are independent influencing factors for the occurrence of post-burn psychological stress disorder in this type of children.

[Research progress in clinical application of three-dimensional reconstruction in orbital measurement].

The structure of orbit is complex and its function is critical. Quantitative determination of orbital volume is valuable to diagnosis and treatment of orbital diseases, but a standardized and reproducible orbital volume measurement method is still not available. Recently, with the development of three-dimensional reconstruction, many researchers gradually convert their insight into three-dimensional orbital measurement. This paper reviews the common methods of three-dimensional orbital measurement used by investigators, including some innovative ideas, and their clinical applications in order to make a comprehensive overview of the current orbital measurement technology, explore the possible improvement direction, and better serve the clinical.

[Clinical study on application of 3D Slicer software assisted domestic frameless stereotactic robot in biopsy of intracranial lesions].

Objective: To examine the application value of 3D Slicer software assisted domestic frameless stereotactic robot in biopsy of intracranial lesions. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 80 patients who admitted consecutively and underwent intracerebral lesions biopsy with the domestic frameless stereotactic robot at Department of Neurosurgery, Aerospace Central Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021. There were 36 males and 44 females, with a mean age of (38.5±18.0) years (range: 6 to 71 years). Before surgery only enhanced T1-weighted three-dimensional magnetization prepared gradient echo sequences and diffusion tensor imaging scans were performed. Self-reconstruction of intracranial lesions, cerebral cortex and blood vessels was carried out using 3D Slicer software system after the DICOM format imaging data of 80 patients were collected. These imaging data were merged to the workstation of the domestic frameless stereotactic robot for preoperative surgical planning and the surgical puncture path was designed to avoid blood vessels in the brain functional area, cerebral cortex and sulcus. Results: All frameless stereotactic biopsy were successfully performed. Postoperative pathological diagnosis included 50 cases of diffuse astrocytic and oligodendroglioma, 15 cases of lymphoma, 5 cases of metastatic tumors, 5 cases of inflammatory demyelinating disease, 2 cases of inflammatory granuloma, 1 case of hemangioma, 1 case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia intracranial invasion and 1 case of seminoma. The positive diagnosis rate was 100% (80/80). Postoperative imaging confirmed that the puncture path and target were accurately implemented according to the preoperative planning, and the target error was (1.32±0.44) mm (range: 0.55 to 1.99 mm). One case of puncture-related bleeding occurred at the target after surgery and improved after treatment. Conclusion: The three-dimensional multimodal images reconstructed by the 3D Slicer software before operation could help the surgeons make the preoperative planning and reduce the risk of stereotactic brain biopsy.

Safety assessment of Rhodobacter azotoformans SY5 for potential application in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis.

Rhodobacter species are promising beneficial microbes that can improve growth performance, immunity and antioxidant capability in aquatic crustaceans. Yet the safety of Rhodobacter azotoformans for potential application in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis is still unclear. In the present study, R. azotoformans SY5, a potential probiotic additive that can significantly improve the growth performance, immunity, antioxidant capability, and disease resistance in E. sinensis, was evaluated for safety through whole genome sequencing, antibiotic resistance, toxic metabolites, virulence, and crab tolerance assays. The results indicated that R. azotoformans SY5 only harboured the acyl carrier protein-encoding gene (acpP) that was universal in probiotic bacteria with the function of bacterial fatty acid biosynthesis, exhibited high susceptibility to aminoglycosides, penicillins, polymyxins, polyphosphates, quinolones, and tetracyclines antimicrobials, and possessed inability to produce hemolysin, hydrogen sulphide, nitrite, ammonia, and phenylpyruvate. In addition, R. azotoformans SY5 showed no pathogenicity for E. sinensis with the seven-day acute intraperitoneal LD50 value of above 6.0 × 109 cfu/ml and 30-day chronic oral LD50 of above 6.0 × 109 cfu/g diet. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the safety of R. azotoformans for potential application in Chinese mitten crabs.

Proteomics of Tear in Inactive Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy.

Background: Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), one of the most common orbital diseases in adults, seriously reduces patients' quality of life. Although human tear proteomics identified many abnormal expressed proteins and proposed several pathogeneses of TAO, most of these studies focused on the active stage or mixed types in TAO. In this study we identified significantly changed proteins and preliminary revealed the potential signalling pathways and mechanisms of TAO with the late, inactive stage. Patients and Methods: Tears from TAO patients (n=6) with a CAS score < 3 and 6 control healthy subject were collected. The pooled tears were further fractionated using high pH reversed-phase chromatography, then submitted to LC-MS/MS and subsequent bioinformatic analysis. Results: Proteomic profiling identified 107 significantly changed proteins between the inactive stage of TAO patients and healthy cases. Among these proteins, 62 were upregulated, and 45 were downregulated in TAO cases compared to healthy individuals. Enrichment analysis revealed that the immune system, cell cycle, metabolism (carbohydrate metabolism and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins), protein synthesis and degradation might play a vital role in the progress of inactive TAO. The present investigation represents the first proteomic tear study of TAO patients in the inactive stage. Conclusion: The results shed light on the differences between inactive TAO patients and healthy cases, thus enabling us to understand better the molecular mechanisms and potential targets for the treatment of inactive TAO.

Optimal reperfusion strategy in patients with acute STEMI and multivessel disease-an updated meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of culprit-only revascularization (COR) and complete revascularization (CR) in the treatment of patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel disease to determine the optimal reperfusion strategy. METHOD: We analyzed published multicenter randomized controlled trials to compare COR and CR in patients with acute STEMI and multivessel disease. The PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Ovid databases were searched, and the meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 software. RESULTS: Eight multicenter randomized controlled trials were selected involving 2870 patients, of whom 1604 underwent COR and 1266 underwent CR. No significant heterogeneity was identified across these selected studies. The CR strategy significantly decreased the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE; odds ratio [OR]: 2.44, 95% CI [95% confidence interval]: 1.96-3.03, p < 0.001), mortality (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.25-2.47, p = 0.001), myocardial infarction (MI, OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.12-2.35, p = 0.01), and repeat revascularization (OR: 3.20, 95% CI: 2.41-4.24, p < 0.001) compared with the COR approach. Moreover, no significant difference was identified in the safety indexes, including contrast-induced nephropathy, stroke, and bleeding, between the CR and the COR group (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis determined that CR is an efficacious and safe reperfusion strategy in patients with acute STEMI and multivessel disease.

In Vitro Reconstitution of Autophagosome-Lysosome Fusion.

SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) proteins are a highly regulated class of membrane proteins lying in the center of membrane fusion. In conjunction with accessory proteins, SNAREs drive efficient merger of two distinct lipid bilayers into one interconnected structure. This chapter describes our fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based proteoliposome fusion assays for the roles of various SNARE proteins, accessory proteins, and effects of different lipid compositions on membrane fusion involved in autophagy.

[Effect of uncoupling protein 2 on high-glucose induced mitochondrial damage and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the expression of uncoupling protein (UCP2) and its effect on modulation of mitochondrial function and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes exposed to high-glucose. METHODS: AC16 cardiomyoctyes were randomly divided into normal-glucose group (NG), high-glucose group (HG), HG+ UCP2 siRNA group and HG+ negative control siRNA group.The expression of UCP2, succinodehydrogenase(SDH) activity, ATP content, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, cell apoptotic rate, caspase-3 activity and cell viability were detected. RESULTS: Compared with the cardiomyocytes in NG group, the ROS production, apoptotic rate and caspase-3 activity were significantly increased in HG group, accompanying with the decreases in SDH activity, ATP content and cell viability.The expression of UCP2 was increased in HG group. Furthermore, UCP2 siRNA inhibited the expression of UCP2 and aggravated high-glucose induced the ROS production (37.96±1.08 vs 27.68±0.60, P<0.05), cell apoptosis ((25.68±0.78)% vs (17.80±0.99)%, P<0.05), caspase-3 activity ((2.71±0.13)% vs (2.14±0.28)%, P<0.05) and cell inactivation (0.74±0.04 vs 0.62±0.03, P<0.05), but had no impact on SDH activity and ATP content in cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSION: The up-regulation of UCP2 expression in cardiomyocytes, induced by high-glucose, maybe a protective mechanism for the mitochondrial damage, and UCP2 may inhibit high-glucose induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis.

Gold nanoparticle wires for sensing DNA and DNA/protein interactions.

The discontinuous Vertical Evaporation-driven Colloidal Deposition (dVECD) method has been used as a green technique for formatting nanoparticle wires by the direct deposition of nanoparticles from colloid suspensions onto hydrophilic substrates, without any lithographic procedures. Gold nanoparticles of different sizes are deposited into wire arrays for electronic detection of biological molecules. A sensitive detection of DNA molecules as low as ∼1 pM is achieved due to a high surface to volume ratio of the porous structures. The effects of the gold nanoparticles' size, DNA concentration, and DNA length on detection sensitivity of these gold nanoparticle wire sensors are discussed. Moreover, we can also detect the interaction between DNAs and proteins. Gold nanoparticle wires prepared by the nontoxic and simple dVECD are promising for detecting viruses involved in diseases.

Charge transfer directed growth and morphology regulation of silver nanoparticles.

We demonstrate the control of silver nanoparticle growth in electroless deposition by utilizing surfaces of varying conductivity. Nanoscopic wires can be developed on non-conductive substrates, whereas nanoloops and microspheres are produced on surfaces of weak and high conductivity, respectively. Our observations reveal that the morphologies of electroless deposition can be regulated by the charge transfer through substrates, which indicates the important role of a redox reaction potential and a size-dependent chemical potential as the driving force behind this directed growth.

Species differences for stereoselective metabolism of ethofumesate and its enantiomers in vitro.

1. The stereoselective metabolism of ethofumesate (ETO) and its enantiomers in rabbit and rat liver microsomes have been studied by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Two metabolites were detected in both liver microsomes in the presence of beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). 2. The T(1/2) of (+)-ETO and (-)-ETO in rabbit liver microsomes were 12.2 and 4.7 min of rac-ETO and 25.9 and 6.7 of ETO enantiomers. However, the T(1/2) of (+)-ETO and (-)-ETO in rat liver microsomes were 5.3 and 5.9 min of rac-ETO and 7.8 and 10.6 of ETO enantiomers. The stereoselective selectivity is similar to the in vivo study. 3. After incubation of ETO enantiomers, stereoselectivity was present in the formation of ETO-OH enantiomer in rabbit liver microsomes, but stereoselectivity was not evident in rat liver microsomes. 4. There was no chiral inversion from the (+)-ETO to (-)-ETO or inversion from (-)-ETO to (+)-ETO in both rabbit and rat liver microsomes.

A very rare complication: new hair growth around healing wounds.

We present the case of a patient in whom active new hair growth occurred around a wound after healing. This very rare phenomenon has not previously been reported in the literature. We postulate that, after the epidermis and hair follicles have been damaged by wounding, it is possible for them naturally to heal and repair if provided with an appropriate chemical and physical microenvironment. This hypothesis may inspire new thinking in the management of alopecia, tissue engineering and the regeneration of other organs.

Nanoparticle delivery by controlled bacteria.

We present a new approach for nano-object directional delivery by bacteria based upon a taxis-controlled mechanism. In this method, a stimulus is used to direct the bacteria's motion. When carrying nano-objects, the bacteria demonstrated the ability to deliver the "loads" to targets where the stimulus is positioned. The scheme of using taxis for targeted delivery may hold a promising future for a new route to bridge nanotechnology and biotechnology.

Surveillance of transcriptomes in basic military trainees with normal, febrile respiratory illness, and convalescent phenotypes.

Gene expression profiles permit analysis of host immune response at the transcriptome level. We used the Pax gene Blood RNA (PAX) System and Affymetrix microarrays (HG-U133A&B) to survey profiles in basic military trainees and to classify them as healthy, febrile respiratory illness (FRI) without adenovirus, FRI with adenovirus, and convalescent from FRI with adenovirus. We assessed quality metrics of RNA processing for microarrays. Class prediction analysis discovered nested sets of transcripts that could categorize the phenotypes with optimized accuracy of 99% (nonfebrile vs febrile, P<0.0005), 87% (healthy vs convalescent, P=0.001), and 91% (febrile without vs with adenovirus, P<0.0005). The discovered set for classification of nonfebrile vs febrile patients consisted of 40 transcripts with functions related to interferon induced genes, complement cascades, and TNF and IL1 signaling. The set of seven transcripts for distinguishing healthy vs convalescent individuals included those associated with ribosomal structure, humoral immunity, and cell adhesion. The set of 10 transcripts for distinguishing FRI without vs with adenovirus had functions related to interferon induced genes, IL1 receptor accessory protein, and cell interactions. These results are the first in vivo demonstration of classification of infectious diseases via host signature transcripts and move us towards using the transcriptome in bio-surveillance.

Theoretical analysis of vertical colloidal deposition.

We have modeled the dynamics of a relatively new deposition technique, vertical colloidal deposition (VCD), for preparing nanoparticle thin films. In this process, the substrate is placed vertically in a nanoparticle suspension and is gradually exposed by evaporation or other slow solvent removal. During the film's formation, we observe that the colloidal particles are deposited only at the solid-liquid-gas interface. In contrast with the horizontal geometry, treated elsewhere, where the meniscus is pinned, we observe qualitatively different deposition behaviors. In particular, uniform films rather than rings or lines are produced. Thus, we are led to model a diffusion-driven rather than a convection-driven film growth kinetics, and we are able to predict, consistent with our experimental observations, that the film's areal density is inversely proportional to the descent speed of the suspension surface. Additionally, we find that for submonolayer films, the areal density is proportional to the square of the suspension concentration, converting to a linear dependence once monolayer coverage is attained.

The scaling behavior of the molecular parameters of the hyperbranched polymers made by self-condensing vinyl polymerization.

The hyperbranched polymers can be made by self-condensing vinyl polymerization without gelation transition. The average molecular weights, as well as the average sizes, can reach infinite values as the reaction is quantitatively completed, and the scaling forms of the molecular parameters should exist. In the paper, based on a recursion formula, the scaling form of the number fraction distribution and the number of the n-mers are given analytically as the conversion of double bonds is near 1. The mean square radius of gyration for very large hyperbranched polymers is calculated explicitly to give a scaling exponent. Finally, a scaling relation associated with the fractal dimension and the polydispersity exponent is given clearly.

Cavity resonators of metal-coated dielectric nanorods.

Metallic nanoparticles bridge the length scale between atoms and crystals, exhibiting mesoscopic properties unique to their size. Thus, they have generated much interest for their potential applications as chemical or biological sensors and particularly as waveguides for light in nanoscale structures. [Y. W. C. Cao, R. C. Jin, and C. A. Mirkin, Science 297, 1536 (2002); H. J. Lezec et al., Science 297, 820 (2002); S. A. Maier, P. G. Kik, and H. A. Atwater, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 1714 (2002); J. M. Oliva and S. K. Gray, Chem. Phys. Lett. 379, 325 (2003)]. One important direction of research into the properties of individual metal nanoparticles involves the controlled variation of their geometry, which can yield new and tunable optical properties that simple spherical configurations do not possess. [T. S. Ahmadi, Z. L. Wang, T. C. Green, A. Henglein, and M. A. Ei-Sayed, Science 272, 1924 (1996)]. A prime example of this is the core-shell nanostructure that has a central material surrounded by differing cladding layer.