Dandelion-derived vesicles-laden hydrogel dressings capable of neutralizing Staphylococcus aureus exotoxins for the care of invasive wounds.

Delayed wound healing caused by bacterial infection remains a major challenge in clinical treatment. Exotoxins incorporated in bacterial extracellular vesicles play a key role as the disease-causing virulence factors. Safe and specific antivirulence agents are expected to be developed as an effective anti-bacterial infection strategy, instead of single antibiotic therapy. Plant-derived extracellular vesicle-like nanoparticles have emerged as promising therapeutic agents for skin diseases, but the elucidations of specific mechanisms of action and clinical transformation still need to be advanced. Here, dandelion-derived extracellular vesicle-like nanoparticles (TH-EVNs) are isolated and exert antivirulence activity through specifically binding to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) exotoxins, thereby protecting the host cell from attack. The neutralization of TH-EVNs against exotoxins has considerable binding force and stability, showing complete detoxification effect in vivo. Then gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel is developed as TH-EVNs-loaded dressing for S. aureus exotoxin-invasive wounds. Hydrogel dressings demonstrate good physical and mechanical properties, thus achieving wound retention and controlled release of TH-EVNs, in addition to promoting cell proliferation and migration. In vivo results show accelerated re-epithelialization, promotion of collagen maturity and reduction of inflammation after treatment. Collectively, the developed TH-EVNs-laden hydrogel dressings provide a potential therapeutic approach for S. aureus exotoxin- associated trauma.

Lemon-Derived Extracellular Vesicle-like Nanoparticles Block the Progression of Kidney Stones by Antagonizing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Renal Tubular Cells.

Kidney stones, represented by the calcium oxalate (CaOx) type, are highly prevalent and recrudescent. Cumulative evidence shows regular consumption of lemonade intervenes with stone development. However, the detailed mechanism remains obscure. Here, extracellular vesicle-like nanoparticles (LEVNs) isolated from lemonade are demonstrated to traffick from the gut to the kidney, primarily enriched in tubule cells. Oral administration of LEVNs significantly alleviates the progression of kidney stones in rats. Mechanistically, in addition to altering the crystallization of CaOx toward a less stable subtype, LEVNs suppress the CaOx-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress response of tubule cells, as indicated by homeostasis of specific signaling molecules and restoration of subcellular function, thus indirectly inhibiting stone formation. To exercise this regulation, endocytosed LEVNs traffick along the microtubules throughout the cytoplasm and are eventually recruited into lysosomes. In conclusion, this study reveals a LEVNs-mediated mechanism against renal calculi and provides positive evidence for consumption of lemonade preventing stone formation.

Incompleteness features in the descriptive discourse of Chinese elders with and without Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) can manifest itself with prominent language dysfunction. Incompleteness in discourse refers to the lack of indispensable sentence-constructing elements that hinder communication fluency and accuracy. The current study investigates how the pattern of incompleteness is associated with the descriptive discourse produced by elders without AD and those with different stages of AD. The Chinese discourse samples were collected from the picture description of 40 elders with mild probable AD (Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) 21-26, Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale-Basic (MoCA-B) 15-19), 40 elders with moderate probable AD (MMSE 11-20, MoCA-B 10-14), and 40 controls (MMSE 26-29, MoCA-B 24-29). The total production of incomplete sentences and six incompleteness features were examined. The Mild AD, Moderate AD, and Control groups differed in the total output of the incomplete sentence. Group differences also emerged in four incompleteness features: missing subject, missing predicate, missing object, and missing functional word. The Moderate AD group differed from the Mild AD group with respect to most significant features, while Mild AD and Control groups were very similar. The results suggested that AD impairs the sentence construction ability of Chinese elders, especially at the later stage. These statistically significant differences between the groups might provide some references when diagnosing the risk and possibility of cognitive impairment of Chinese elders, facilitating the design of clinical evaluation or screening for probable AD.

Sleep initiation patterns and their influence on sleep quality in infants and young children. / å©´å¹¼å„¿å ¥ç¡æ–¹å¼åŠå ¶å¯¹ç¡çœ è´¨é‡çš„å½±å“.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the current status of sleep initiation patterns, influencing factors for sleep initiation patterns, and the influence of sleep initiation patterns on sleep quality in infants and young children. METHODS: A total of 521 infants and young children, aged 0-35 months, who underwent physical examination at the outpatient service of the Department of Growth and Development in Shenzhen Bao'an Women's and Children's Hospital Affiliated to Jinan University were enrolled as subjects. A self-designed questionnaire and Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire were used to collect the information on family background, parenting behaviors, and sleep quality in the past one week. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the influencing factors for sleep initiation patterns. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the influence of sleep initiation patterns on the number of nighttime awakenings. RESULTS: Among the 521 infants and young children, 258 (49.5%) were breastfed/bottle fed to initiate sleep, 62 (11.9%) were rocked/held to initiate sleep, 39 (7.5%) slept independently, and 162 (31.1%) initiated sleep accompanied by parents. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the children with breastfeeding and a younger age were more likely to be breastfed/bottle fed to initiate sleep (P<0.05) and that the children with a younger age were also more likely to be rocked/held to initiate sleep (P<0.05). The multiple linear regression analysis showed that sleep initiation with breastfeeding/bottle feeding significantly increased the number of nighttime awakenings (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Most infants and young children initiate sleep by being breastfed/bottle fed, rocked/held, or accompanied. The sleep initiation pattern is associated with the age of children and whether they are still breastfeeding. Sleep initiation with breastfeeding/bottle feeding can increase the number of nighttime awakenings. io.

In Vitro Technologies for American Chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marshall) Borkh) Conservation.

American chestnut (Castanea dentata), a native species of eastern North America, is an economically important deciduous hardwood tree that has been designated as endangered in Canada. The population of American chestnut trees has dwindled significantly across Southern Ontario due to chestnut blight and many of the surviving trees continue to show blight disease symptoms. American chestnut requires efficient strategies for propagation and preservation for species recovery. The objective of this study was to develop a long-term plant conservation program using micropropagation and cryopreservation protocols. An in vitro technology using a liquid-based temporary immersion system (TIS) was developed for micropropagation of American chestnut. The highest rate of shoot multiplication was observed in cultures grown in the DKW (Driver and Kuniyuki 1984) basal medium supplemented with 2.2 µM 6-benzylaminopurine and 1.0 µM gibberellic acid. More than 95% of proliferated microshoots, about 40-50 mm in size, developed roots after 30 days of culture within bioreactor vessels containing DKW basal medium supplemented with 15 µM 3-Indolebutyric acid. Rooted plantlets transplanted to the greenhouse had a survival efficiency of 82% after one month of growth. The cryopreservation protocol for germplasm preservation was developed through droplet vitrification of shoots. Optimal regeneration of shoot tips occurred from explants precultured on stepwise concentrations of sucrose and subsequent dehydration in PVS3 for 30 min. Cryopreserved shoot tips were regenerated to whole plants using pre-optimized conditions of micropropagation. This study confirms the potential of TIS for micropropagation in ex situ conservation and reintroduction of endangered American chestnuts and possibly other woody plant species.

Prevalence and factors influencing depressive symptoms among children with dyslexia in China / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the prevalence and factors influencing depressive symptoms among children with dyslexia in China.@*Methods@#A total of 6 298 children in grades 3-5 were recruited from eight primary schools in Baoan, Shenzhen. The Questionnaire for Children s Reading Ability, the Dyslexia Checklist for Chinese Children, the Pupil Rating Scale Revised Screening for Learning Disabilities, and the Children s Depression Inventory short version were used.@*Results@#The prevalence of dyslexia was 2.76%( n =174). The rate of depressive symptoms in children with dyslexia (37.36%) was higher than children without dyslexia (18.17%)( χ 2=40.94, P ＜0.01). Compared with children without dyslexia, children with dyslexia had an increased risk of depressive symptoms ( OR=2.65, 95%CI=1.87-3.75, P ＜0.01). In addition, the average time that a mother spent with her child every day was one of the factors influencing depressive symptoms. The risk of depressive symptoms was lower in children who spent ≥3 h with their mothers than children who spent <1 h(3-4 h: OR=0.54, 95%CI=0.36-0.81； 5-6 h: OR=0.51, 95%CI=0.34-0.78 ; ≥7 h: OR=0.47, 95%CI=0.32-0.69, P ＜0.01).@*Conclusion@#The rate of depressive symptoms in children with dyslexia was shown to be high. Increasing the time that mothers spend with their children every day is helpful in preventing the occurrence of depression in children.

Association between factors affecting language development and Chinese dyslexia among primary students / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the association between factors affecting language development and Chinese dyslexia, providing scientific evidence for prevention and intervention of dyslexia.@*Methods@#Twelve elementary schools were selected in Baoan, Shenzhen. The parents and head teachers of 12 868 children in grade 3-5 were surveyed by the Questionnaire for Children s Reading Ability, the Dyslexia Checklist for Chinese Children and the Pupil Rating Scale Revised Screening for Learning Disabilities.@*Results@#The prevalence rate of dyslexia was 2.71%, with 349 children suffering from dyslexia. Gender, parental education and occupations, family income, whether parents work away from home before their child was 3 years old, average time mother spends with her child daily and number of languages spoken in family had statistical significance on dyslexia(all P <0.05). After adjusting for parental education and occupations, and family income, the children who spent more than 1 hour with their mothers per day had a significantly reduced risk of dyslexia (1-2: OR =0.46; 3-4: OR =0.45; 5-6: OR =0.40; >7 h: OR =0.36, P <0.05); the children living in families where two languages were used for communication had a significantly reduced risk of dyslexia( OR=0.74, 95%CI=0.57-0.96, P =0.02). Children with a history of language development disorders had a significantly increased risk of dyslexia( OR=17.30, 95%CI=7.86-38.09, P <0.01).@*Conclusion@#Increase of time mother spend with their child daily and paying more attention to the children with a history of language development disorders can help to prevent the occurrence of dyslexia.

Childhood disability and its associated perinatal characteristics in Bao'an district of Shenzhen, China.

BACKGROUND: Disability has become a public health issues in China and around the world. This study aimed to report prevalence of children with disability by gender, delivery mode, birth weight, gestational age, birth defect and impairment type in the past 15 years in Baoan District, Shenzhen. METHODS: Data of children with all types of disability from year 2004 to 2018 was obtained from the registry database of Baoan Disabled Persons Federation. Their perinatal information, including gender, delivery mode, birth weight, gestational age, birth defect were traced from Shenzhen Maternal and Child Health Management System and compared with the whole registered population live births information in this district. Data of children with disabilities were included to calculate the prevalence (%). RESULTS: An overall prevalence of children disability was 1.02% in Baoan district, Shenzhen, in the past 15 years. The overall as well as mental disability prevalence rose from the first 5 years period (2004 to 2008) to the second 5 years of 2009 to 2013, and then dropped to the lowest level in the third 5 year of 2014-2018. Mental disability and intelligent disability accounted for the highest proportion. More than 70% of all kinds of the disabilities except mental disability were detected before 1 year old, 87% of the mental and intelligent disabilities were found before 3 years old. The Percentages of male, premature, low birth weight infants and children with cesarean, birth defect in disable children were higher than in whole population live birth children. CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence of disability declined in the district after specific policy engagement. Mental and intelligent disabilities were still the most common disability in the district. The age of 0-3 years was an important period for early childhood detection and intervention.

Hostility, physical aggression and trait anger as predictors for suicidal behavior in Chinese adolescents: a school-based study.

PURPOSE: This study explored the extent to which trait aggression is associated with suicidal behavior in a nationwide school-based sample of adolescents. METHODS: A nationwide sample of 14,537 high school students in urban areas of China was recruited. Information concerning suicide ideation, plans, attempts, trait aggression and other risk factors was collected by a self-reported questionnaire. Multivariate regression analyses were employed to predict suicidal behavior. RESULTS: Approximately 18.5% of students reported suicide ideation, 8.7% reported suicide plans, and 4.1% reported attempts during the past one year. Hostility and trait anger had a significant positive association with suicidal ideation. Hostility and physical aggression were positively related to suicide plans. Hostility had a positive correlation with suicide attempts, while trait anger was inversely associated with suicide attempts. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that hostility, physical aggression and trait anger may be able to be used to predict suicidal behavior among adolescents. Suicide prevention programs should target at attenuating the severity of hostility, anger and physical aggression. But teachers and parents should also give close attention to students with low trait anger.

Components in melanoma cytoplasm might induce murine BMSCs transformation and expression of Melan-A.

This study explored the possibility that the components in melanoma cytoplasm induce murine BMSCs transformation and expression of Melan-A by morphologically observing the changes of BMSCs and immunocytochemically detecting Melan-A in the cells after culturing BMSCs in medium containing melanoma cytoplasm components (MCC). MCC of B16 melanoma cells was prepared and BMSCs were cultured and induced by adding the MCC into culture medium. The cells were morphologically observed and Melan-A was immunohistochemically detected to confirm BMSCs transformation. MCC-induced BMSCs underwent morphological changes. A number of melanin granules appeared in the cytoplasm of the cells and some were released into surrounding areas. Several cells that might come from one cell formed a cluster, and their granules, together with those secreted by other induced BMSCs, formed a so-called "sphere-formed structure". The induced BMSCs expressed Melan-A. We are led to conclude that there might be some factors in the cytoplasm of melanoma cells that might induce BMSCs transformation toward melanogenic cell, or even melanoma.

Effect of lipoxin A4 on lipopolysaccharide-induced endothelial hyperpermeability.

Excessive oxidative stress, decreased antioxidant capacity, and enhanced cellular calcium levels are initial factors that cause endothelial cell (EC) hyperpermeability, which represents a crucial event in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. Lipoxin A4 (LXA4) strongly attenuated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced hyperpermeability through maintaining the normal expression of VE-cadherin and â-catenin. This effect was mainly mediated by a specific LXA4 receptor. LXA4 could also obviously inhibit LPS-induced elevation of the cellular calcium level and up-regulation of the transient receptor potential protein family C 1, an important calcium channel in ECs. At the same time, LXA4 strongly blocked LPS-triggered reactive oxidative species production, while it promoted the expression of the NF-E2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) protein. Our findings demonstrate that LXA4 could prevent the EC hyperpermeability induced by LPS in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), under which the possible mechanism is through Nrf2 as well as Ca2+-sensitive pathways.

Association between non-suicidal self-injuries and suicide attempts in Chinese adolescents and college students: a cross-section study.

PURPOSE: This study examined the association between non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts among Chinese adolescents and college students. METHODS: A total sample of 2013 Chinese students were randomly selected from five schools in Wuhan, China, including 1101 boys and 912 girls with the age ranging between 10 and 24 years. NSSI, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and depressive symptoms were measured by self-rated questionnaires. Self-reported suicide attempts were regressed on suicidal ideation and NSSI, controlling for participants' depressive symptoms, and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: The self-reported prevalence rates of NSSI, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts were 15.5%, 8.8%, and 3.5%, respectively. Logistic regression analyses indicated that NSSI was significantly associated with self-reported suicide attempts. Analyses examining the conditional association of NSSI and suicidal ideation with self-reported suicide attempts revealed that NSSI was significantly associated with greater risk of suicide attempts in those not reporting suicidal ideation than those reporting suicidal ideation in the past year. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of NSSI as a potentially independent risk factor for suicide attempts among Chinese/Han adolescents and college students.

Components in Melanoma Cytoplasm Might Induce Murine BMSCs Transformation and Expression of Melan-A / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

This study explored the possibility that the components in melanoma cytoplasm induce murine BMSCs transformation and expression of Melan-A by morphologically observing the changes of BMSCs and immunocytochemically detecting Melan-A in the cells after culturing BMSCs in medium containing melanoma cytoplasm components (MCC).MCC of B16 melanoma cells was prepared and BMSCs were cultured and induced by adding the MCC into culture medium.The cells were morphologically observed and Melan-A was immunohistochemically detected to confirm BMSCs transformation.MCC-induced BMSCs underwent morphological changes.A number of melanin granules appeared in the cytoplasm of the cells and some were released into surrounding areas.Several cells that might come from one cell formed a cluster,and their granules,together with those secreted by other induced BMSCs,formed a so-called “sphere-formed structure”.The induced BMSCs expressed Melan-A.We are led to conclude that there might be some factors in the cytoplasm of melanoma cells that might induce BMSCs transformation toward melanogenic cell,or even melanoma.

Association between actual weight status, perceived weight and depressive, anxious symptoms in Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe actual measured weight and perceived weight and to explore associations with depressive, anxiety symptoms in school adolescents in China. METHODS: A sample of 1144 Chinese adolescents was randomly selected from four schools in Wuhan, China, including 665 boys and 479 girls with ages ranging between 10 and 17 years. Actual measured weight and height and perceived weight status were compared to anxiety and depressive symptoms measured using the revised Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Children's Depression Inventory. A general linear model was used to compare differences in psychological symptoms among the teenagers with different measured and perceived weights. RESULTS: When compared with standardized weight tables (WHO age- and gender-specific body mass index (BMI) cutoffs (2007 reference)), girls were more likely to mis-perceive themselves as overweight, whereas more boys misclassified their weight status as underweight. The adolescents who perceived themselves as overweight were more likely to experience depressive and anxiety symptoms (except girls) than those who perceived themselves as normal and/or underweight. However, no significant association was found between depressive and anxiety symptoms actual measured weight status. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived weight status, but not the actual weight status, was associated with psychological symptoms.