Leukocoria Due to Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous.

This case report discusses a diagnosis of persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous presenting as leukocoria in a boy aged 50 days.

Effect of Fermented Milk Supplemented with Nisin or Plantaricin Q7 on Inflammatory Factors and Gut Microbiota in Mice.

Lactic-acid-bacteria-derived bacteriocins are used as food biological preservatives widely. Little information is available on the impact of bacteriocin intake with food on gut microbiota in vivo. In this study, the effects of fermented milk supplemented with nisin (FM-nisin) or plantaricin Q7 (FM-Q7) from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Q7 on inflammatory factors and the gut microbiota of mice were investigated. The results showed that FM-nisin or FM-Q7 up-regulated IFN-γ and down-regulated IL-17 and IL-12 in serum significantly. FM-nisin down-regulated TNF-α and IL-10 while FM-Q7 up-regulated them. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis suggested that the gut microbiome in mice was changed by FM-nisin or FM-Q7. The Firmicutes/Bacteroides ratio was reduced significantly in both groups. It was observed that the volume of Akkermansia_Muciniphila was significantly reduced whereas those of Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae were increased. The total number of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the mouse feces of the FM-nisin group and FM-Q7 group was increased. The content of acetic acid was increased while the butyric acid content was decreased significantly. These findings indicated that FM-nisin or FM-Q7 could stimulate the inflammation response and alter gut microbiota and metabolic components in mice. Further in-depth study is needed to determine the impact of FM-nisin or FM-Q7 on the host's health.

Coagulation-centered three-step approach for removing by-product organic pollutants from tetrabromobisphenol A industrial wastewater: Experimental and theoretic investigations.

The challenge of meeting discharge standards for tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) production wastewater, characterized by high concentrations of organic by-products, necessitates effective treatment methods. This study identifies 2,4-dibromophenol, 2,6-dibromophenol, 2,4,6-tribromophenol, chlorobenzene, and toluene as the primary organic by-product pollutants. A coagulation-centered three-step approach was established for TBBPA industrial wastewater treatment. The initial step involves acidification treatment to exploit the reduced solubility of 2,4-dibromophenol, 2,6-dibromophenol, and 2,4,6-tribromophenol under acidic conditions, with the optimal pH determined as 2.7-3.1. An acid-activated montmorillonite coagulant (AMC), prepared through roasting and high-pressure acid leaching, exhibits a distinctive "Core-shell" structure, contributing significantly to the combined coagulation and adsorption mechanism. The acid-soluble aluminum salts in AMC form positively charged flocs, electrostatically attracting negatively charged organic compounds in the wastewater. Simultaneously, the porous insoluble silicon framework displays strong adsorption capacity for pollutants. The removal efficiencies for toluene, chlorobenzene, 2,4-dibromophenol, 2,6-dibromophenol, and 2,4,6-tribromophenol reached 88.2%, 89.1%, 88.8%, 87.1%, and 89.4%, respectively. Elemental analysis reveals that the coloration of the wastewater stems from complexation reactions between phenolic compounds and Fe3+, originating from the corrosion of iron or steel reaction vessel. Post-treatment with cation exchange resin resulted in removal efficiencies of 5.2%, 59.1%, 80.2%, 77.9%, and 88.3% for the five substances, respectively. This study outlines a crucial pathway for the effective purification of TBBPA wastewater.

Preparation, properties and in vitro osteogensis of self-reinforcing injectable hydrogel.

As an attractive biomaterial for bone reconstruction, injectable biomaterials have many prominent characteristics such as good biocompatibility and bone-filling ability. However, there are weak as load-bearing scaffolds. In this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and bioactive glass (BAG) were interpenetrated into sodium alginate (SA) network to obtain self-enhanced injectable hydrogel. The optimum ratio of PVA/SA/BAG hydrogel was determined based on injectability, gelation time and chemical characterization. Results showed that the selected ratio had the shortest gelation time of 3.5min, and the hydrogel had a rough surface and good coagulation property. The hydrogel was capable of carrying 1kg of weight by mineralization for 14 d The compressive strength, compressive modulus, and fracture energy of the hydrogel reached 0.12MPa, 0.376MPa and 17.750kJ m-2, respectively. Meanwhile, the hydrogel had high moisture content and dissolution rate, and it was sensitive to temperature and ionic strength. Hydroxyapatite was generated on the hydrogel surface, and the hydrogel pores increased, and the pore size enlarged. The biocompatibility of PVA/SA/BAG hydrogel was analyzed using hemolysis and cytotoxicity assays. Results revealed its good biocompatibility with low hemolysis rate and no cytotoxicity to MC3T3-E1 cells. The hydrogel was also found to promote the differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells with significantly increased in ALP activity and expression of relevant differentiation factors. In vitro mineralization assay showed an increase in calcium nodules and calcification area, indicating the ability of hydrogel to promote mineralization MC3T3-E1 cells. These findings indicated that PVA/SA/BAG hydrogel had potential uses in the field of irregular bone-defect repair due to its injectability, cytocompatibility, and tailorable functionality.

Alterations of ocular surface parameters in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate changes in ocular surface parameters among obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients. Methods: 44 healthy volunteers (88 eyes) and 27 OSAS patients (54 eyes) were recruited in our cross-sectional study. 14 patients were classified as mild&moderate OSAS, and 13 patients were classified as severe OSAS. For evaluating the ocular surface, the following tests were conducted: the height of tear meniscus (TMH), first non-invasive tear break-up time (FNITBUT), mean non-invasive tear break-up time (MNITBUT), the score of Meibomian gland dropout area (Meiboscore), the tear test of anesthesia-free Schirmer I (SIT), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), partial blinks rate (PBR), the lipid layer thickness (LLT), ocular surface disease index (OSDI). The results obtained from the study were analyzed and compared among the groups. Results: FNITBUT, MNITBUT, and TMH were lower. OSDI, CFS, Meiboscore and PBR were higher in the OSAS group than those in the control group. The mild&moderate as well as the severe OSAS subgroups had statistically significantly lower TMH, and higher OSDI and PBR than the control group. Meanwhile, we found there were no significant differences between two OSAS subgroups. CFS was higher in the severe OSAS group than the mild&moderate OSAS group. Significantly lower FNITBUT, MNITBUT and higher Meiboscore were observed in the severe OSAS subgroup than in the control group, and MNITBUT was higher in severe OSAS objects than in the mild&moderate OSAS objects. LLT and SIT did not exhibit significant differences among control and OSAS subgroups. FNITBUT and MNITBUT showed significantly negative correlations with BMI, while Meiboscore showed a significant positive correlation with AHI. Conclusion: Patients with OSAS have a tendence of dry eyes, whereas control subjects do not. This indicates us that the OSAS patients should pay more attention to ocular surface care.

Experimental and theoretic mechanism of successive adsorption of oppositely charged Cu(II) and Cr(VI) onto amine-rich cellulose adsorbent.

A novel layer-by-layer adsorption was proposed and used for adsorption of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) on the pre-bleached sawdust cellulose coated with polyethylenimine (PSC-PEI). It was found that PSC-PEI loaded with Cu(II) cations was favorable for Cr(VI) anions adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacities estimated by Langmuir model for Cu(II) and Cr(VI) were 80.0 and 93.5 mg/g, respectively. The kinetic regression results, as fitted by the pseudo-second order model, revealed that the rate constant (k2) for Cr(VI) at 0.07 g/mg/min is significantly greater than that observed for Cu(II) at 0.02 g/mg/min, indicating that PSC-PEI exhibited a stronger affinity towards Cr(VI). The first-layer adsorption mechanism for Cu(II) involved the formation of copper-amine complex. Zeta potential and XPS results revealed that the second-layer adsorption of Cr(VI) mainly involved electrostatic attraction and redox reaction. The simulated results for dynamic column test showed good agreement between the theoretical values and the experimental values. The mass transfer mechanism indicated that Cu(II) adsorption was dependent on external mass transfer process, while the internal mass transfer is the rate-determining step for Cr(VI) adsorption. The saturated adsorbent was regenerated by washing with 5% NaOH and 5% H2SO4 solutions and the adsorption ability of more than 70% was sustained after three cycles of regeneration. This study demonstrated that the oppositely charged Cu(II) cations and Cr(VI) anions could be effectively removed by amine-rich cellulose adsorbent from wastewater through layer-by-layer adsorption.

Antioxidant Peptides from the Collagen of Antler Ossified Tissue and Their Protective Effects against H2O2-Induced Oxidative Damage toward HaCaT Cells.

Antler ossified tissue has been widely used for the extraction of bioactive peptides. In this study, collagen was prepared from antler ossified tissue via acetic acid and pepsin. Five different proteases were used to hydrolyze the collagen and the hydrolysate treated by neutrase (collagen peptide named ACP) showed the highest DPPH radical clearance rate. The extraction process of ACP was optimized by response surface methodology, and the optimal conditions were as follows: a temperature of 52 °C, a pH of 6.1, and an enzyme concentration of 3200 U/g, which resulted in the maximum DPPH clearance rate of 74.41 ± 0.48%. The peptides (ACP-3) with the strongest antioxidant activity were obtained after isolation and purification, and its DPPH free radical clearance rate was 90.58 ± 1.27%; at the same time, it exhibited good scavenging activity for ABTS, hydroxyl radical, and superoxide anion radical. The study investigated the protective effect of ACP-3 on oxidative damage in HaCaT cells. The findings revealed that all groups that received ACP-3 pretreatment exhibited increased activities of SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT compared to the model group. Furthermore, ACP-3 pretreatment reduced the levels of ROS and MDA in HaCaT cells subjected to H2O2-induced oxidative damage. These results suggest that collagen peptides derived from deer antler ossified tissue can effectively mitigate the oxidative damage caused by H2O2 in HaCaT cells, thereby providing a foundation for the utilization of collagen peptides in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Construction of a novel ferrihydrite/MoS2 heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for efficient degradation of organic pollutants under neutral conditions.

In this work, we have fabricated a novel Fenton-like ferrihydrite/MoS2 (Fh/MoS2) composite and verified that the introduction of a small amount of iron on the surface of MoS2 can directly promote the exposure of Mo4+, finally enhancing the catalytic activity of the catalyst. Even though the content of iron element is only 1.19% in the composite, the reaction rate constant of Fh/MoS2 system for the degradation of environmental pollutants, such as organic dyes, antibiotic, and ionic liquid, is all much better than that of pure MoS2 system, which is attributed to much more generation of reactive oxygen species derived from synergistic effect of Fe3+/Fe2+ and Mo4+/Mo6+ redox cycles. The results of XPS and low-temperature EPR confirm that the exposure amount of Mo4+ active sites of 10% Fh/MoS2 is greatly increased, which is conducive to the conversion of Fe3+ to Fe2+ in the reaction process, thus effectively promoting the activation of H2O2.

Role of the RNA-binding protein family in gynecologic cancers.

Gynecological cancers pose a threat to women's health. Although early-stage gynecological cancers show good outcomes after standardized treatment, the prognosis of patients with advanced, met-astatic, and recurrent cancers is poor. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are important cellular proteins that interact with RNA through RNA-binding domains and participate extensively in post-transcriptional regulatory processes, such as mRNA alternative splicing, polyadenylation, intracellular localization and stability, and translation. Abnormal RBP expression affects the normal function of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in many malignancies, thus leading to the occurrence or progression of cancers. Similarly, RBPs play crucial roles in gynecological carcinogenesis. We summarize the role of RBPs in gynecological malignancies and explore their potential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. The findings summarized in this review may provide a guide for future research on the functions of RBPs.

Multiple synchronous primary malignant neoplasms: A case report and literature review.

Multiple primary malignant neoplasms (MPMN) are defined as two or more primary malignancies diagnosed in an individual. There is no association between these cancers, which can be classified into synchronous and heterochronous cancers depending on the time of diagnosis. The present study presented a rare case of bilateral breast, endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancers. Through thorough physical examination, pathology and immunohistochemistry, it could be determined that bilateral breast, endometrial and cervical cancers were primary malignant tumors and that ovarian cancer cannot be excluded as a result of metastasis. the present study also summarized the definitions, risk factors, prevalence characteristics, diagnostic ideas and treatment options for MPMN by reviewing the literature.

Effects and potential mechanisms of IGF1/IGF1R in the liver fibrosis: A review.

Liver fibrosis is a wound-healing response due to persistent liver damage and it may progress to cirrhosis and even liver cancer if no intervention is given. In the current cognition, liver fibrosis is reversible. So, it is of great significance to explore the related gene targets or biomarker for anti-fibrosis of liver. Insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) are mainly expressed in the liver tissues and play critical roles in the liver function. The present review summarized the role of IGF1/IGF1R and its signaling system in liver fibrosis and illustrated the potential mechanisms including DNA damage repair, cell senescence, lipid metabolism and oxidative stress that may be involved in this process according to the studies on the fibrosis of liver or other organs. In particular, the roles of IGF1 and IGF1R in DNA damage repair were elaborated, including membrane-localized and nucleus-localized IGF1R. In addition, for each of the potential mechanism in anti-fibrosis of liver, the signaling pathways of the IGF1/IGF1R mediated and the cell species in liver acted by IGF1 and IGF1R under different conditions were included. The data in this review will support for the study about the effect of IGF1/IGF1R on liver fibrosis induced by various factors, meanwhile, provide a basis for the study of liver fibrosis to focus on the communications between the different kinds of liver cells.

Epitranscriptomics in the development, functions, and disorders of cancer stem cells.

Biomolecular modifications play an important role in the development of life, and previous studies have investigated the role of DNA and proteins. In the last decade, with the development of sequencing technology, the veil of epitranscriptomics has been gradually lifted. Transcriptomics focuses on RNA modifications that affect gene expression at the transcriptional level. With further research, scientists have found that changes in RNA modification proteins are closely linked to cancer tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are considered powerful drivers of tumorigenesis and key factors for therapeutic resistance. In this article, we focus on describing RNA modifications associated with CSCs and summarize the associated research progress. The aim of this review is to identify new directions for cancer diagnosis and targeted therapy.

The role of insulin-like growth factor-1 in bone remodeling: A review.

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 is a polypeptide hormone with vital biological functions in bone cells. The abnormal expression of IGF-1 has a serious effect on bone growth, particularly bone remodeling. Evidence from animal models and human disease suggested that both IGF-1 deficiency and excess cause changes in bone remodeling equilibrium, resulting in profound alterations in bone mass and development. Here, we first introduced the functions and mechanisms of the members of IGFs in bone. Subsequently, the critical role of IGF-1 in the process of bone remodeling were emphasized from the aspects of bone resorption and bone formation respectively. This review explains the mechanism of IGF-1 in maintaining bone mass and bone homeostasis to a certain extent and provides a theoretical basis for further research.

Porcine IGF-1R synonymous mutations in the extracellular domain affect proliferation and differentiation of skeletal muscle cells.

OBJECTIVE: Miniature pigs are considered ideal organ donors for xenotransplantation in humans, but the mechanism underlying their dwarfism remains to be elucidated. IGF-1R is a crucial factor in body size formation in mammals, including skeletal muscle formation and development. The extracellular domain (ECD) binds to the ligand, a phenomenon that results in the activation of downstream pathways. METHODS: In this study, the coding sequences of two IGF-1R ECD haplotypes of the large Landrace (LP) pig and the small Bama Xiang (BM) pig were cloned into pcDNA3.1 vectors to generate pcDNA3.1-LP and pcDNA3.1-BM. The two recombinant vectors were then transfected into skeletal muscle cells. RESULTS: IGF-1R transcript was found to be expressed at higher levels in the pcDNA3.1-LP group than in the pcDNA3.1-BM group. The IGF-1R ECD from LP promoted cell proliferation and CyclinD1 expression, and promoted the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (to yield p-AKT). Moreover, the IGF-1R ECD from LP increased cell differentiation and the expression of myogenic determination factor (MyoD). CONCLUSION: Our data indicated that the IGF-1R ECD haplotypes between pig breeds with different body sizes affect IGF-1R expression, in turn affecting the proliferation and differentiation of skeletal muscle cells by activating downstream signalling pathways.

CuO nanosheets incorporated scrap steel slag coupled with persulfate catalysts for high-efficient degradation of sulfonamide from water.

A highly efficient and magnetically recoverable persulfate (PS) catalyst was prepared for the removal of sulfonamide (SMD) from wastewater, which is difficult to be degraded by the conventional biological treatment. In this study, the scrap steel slag (SSS) was used as supporting carrier and the CuO nanosheet was incorporated on the surface of SSS. The optimal conditions were determined as follows: the dosage of CuO/SSS was 1 g L-1, the PS concentration was 4 mM and the optimal initial pH was 6.85. Under the optimal conditions, the maximum SMD removal efficiency of 80.29% was achieved within 30 min by using CuO/SSS + PS. In addition, the CuO/SSS + PS system had a wide pH range (5-9) and more than 60% removal efficiency of SMD could be obtained with the pH between 3 and 11. The mechanism based on the phase transformation of Cu(I/II), Cu(II/III) and Fe(II/III) was elucidated by using different analytical techniques, such as SEM, XRD, XPS, BET, FTIR, VSM characterization and free radical analysis. This study provided a new pathway for the SSS resource utilization and the effective degradation of SMD from the refractory wastewater by using CuO/SSS catalyst coupled with PS system.

Co-expression of recombinant human collagen α1(III) chain with viral prolyl 4-hydroxylase in Pichia pastoris GS115.

The Collagen α1(Ш) chain (COL3A1) is an important structural protein on the surface of human skin. The activity of prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H) is crucial to maintaining the stable triple-helix structure and function of human COL3A1. To obtain hydroxylated human COL3A1, virus-derived P4H A085R was co-expressed with human COL3A1 in Pichia pastoris GS115. Colony PCR analysis and sequencing after transfection confirmed that the target gene was successfully inserted. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) indicated that human COL3A1 and P4H A085R were expressed at mRNA levels in the clones. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis of supernatant from the recombinant methylotrophic yeast culture showed that recombinant human COL3A1 (rhCOL3A1) was secreted into the culture medium with an apparent molecular mass of approximately 130 kDa. It was observed that the amount of secreted rhCOL3A1 was highest at 120 h after induction. Furthermore, mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that rhCOL3A1 was successfully expressed in P. pastoris. The His-tagged rhCOL3A1 protein was purified by Ni-affinity column chromatography.

MXene Nanosheets Induce Efficient Iron Selenide Active Sites to Boost the Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Along with the widespread utilization of hydrogen energy, the rise of highly active hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts with affordable costs presently becomes a substantial crux of this emerging domain. In this work, we demonstrate a feasible and convenient in situ seed-induced growth strategy for the construction of small-sized FeSe2 nanoparticles decorated on two-dimensional (2D) superthin Ti3C2Tx MXene sheets (FeSe2/Ti3C2Tx) through a manipulated bottom-up synthetic procedure. By virtue of the distinctive 0D/2D heterostructures, abundant exposed surface area, well-distributed FeSe2 catalytic centers, strong surface electronic coupling, and high electrical conductivity, the resultant FeSe2/Ti3C2Tx nanoarchitectures are endowed with a superior electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution capacity including a competitive onset potential of 89 mV, a favorable Tafel slope of 78 mV dec-1, and a long-period stability, significantly better than that of the pristine FeSe2 and Ti3C2Tx catalysts.

Identification of Potential miRNA-mRNA Regulatory Network Associated with Pig Growth Performance in the Pituitaries of Bama Minipigs and Landrace Pigs.

Pig growth performance is one of the criteria for judging pork production and is influenced by genotype and external environmental factors such as feeding conditions. The growth performance of miniature pigs, such as Bama minipigs, differs considerably from that of the larger body size pigs, such as Landrace pigs, and can be regarded as good models in pig growth studies. In this research, we identified differentially expressed genes in the pituitary gland of Bama minipigs and Landrace pigs. Through the pathway enrichment analysis, we screened the growth-related pathways and the genes enriched in the pathways and established the protein-protein interaction network. The RNAHybrid algorithm was used to predict the interaction between differentially expressed microRNAs and differentially expressed mRNAs. Four regulatory pathways (Y-82-ULK1/CDKN1A, miR-4334-5p-STAT3/PIK3R1/RPS6KA3/CAB39L, miR-4331-SCR/BCL2L1, and miR-133a-3p-BCL2L1) were identified via quantitative real-time PCR to detect the expression and correlation of candidate miRNAs and mRNAs. In conclusion, we revealed potential miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks associated with pig growth performance in the pituitary glands of Bama minipigs and Landrace pigs, which may help to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of growth differences in pigs of different body sizes.

Health Effects of Peptides Extracted from Deer Antler.

Deer antler is widely used as a nutraceutical in Asian countries. In the past decades, deer antler peptides (DAPs) have received considerable attention because of their various biological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bone damage, anti-neurological disease, anti-tumor and immunomodulatory properties. This review describes the production methods of DAPs and the recent progress of research on DAPs, focusing on the physiological functions and their regulatory mechanisms.

Peptides Isolated from Amphibian Skin Secretions with Emphasis on Antimicrobial Peptides.

The skin of amphibians is a tissue with biological functions, such as defense, respiration, and excretion. In recent years, researchers have discovered a large number of peptides in the skin secretions of amphibians, including antimicrobial peptides, antioxidant peptides, bradykinins, insulin-releasing peptides, and other peptides. This review focuses on the origin, primary structure, secondary structure, length, and functions of peptides secreted from amphibians' skin. We hope that this review will provide further information and promote the further study of amphibian skin secretions, in order to provide reference for expanding the research and application of amphibian bioactive peptides.