Physicochemical and Biocompatibility Properties of Type I Collagen from the Skin of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) for Biomedical Applications.

The aim of this study is to investigate the physicochemical properties, biosafety, and biocompatibility of the collagen extract from the skin of Nile tilapia, and evaluate its use as a potential material for biomedical applications. Two extraction methods were used to obtain acid-soluble collagen (ASC) and pepsin-soluble collagen (PSC) from tilapia skin. Amino acid composition, FTIR, and SDS-PAGE results showed that ASC and PSC were type I collagen. The molecular form of ASC and PSC is (α1)2α2. The FTIR spectra of ASC and PSC were similar, and the characteristic peaks corresponding to amide A, amide B, amide I, amide II, and amide III were 3323 cm-1, 2931 cm-1, 1677 cm-1, 1546 cm-1, and 1242 cm-1, respectively. Denaturation temperatures (Td) were 36.1 °C and 34.4 °C, respectively. SEM images showed the loose and porous structure of collagen, indicting its physical foundation for use in applications of biomedical materials. Negative results were obtained in an endotoxin test. Proliferation rates of osteoblastic (MC3T3E1) cells and fibroblast (L929) cells from mouse and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were increased in the collagen-treated group compared with the controls. Furthermore, the acute systemic toxicity test showed no acute systemic toxicity of the ASC and PSC collagen sponges. These findings indicated that the collagen from Nile tilapia skin is highly biocompatible in nature and could be used as a suitable biomedical material.

[Exploring Chinese medicine and Western medicine group modules in acute phase of ischemic stroke disease].

Under the theoretical guidance of "combination of disease and syndrome， correspondence between syndrome and prescription， and dynamic space-time"， 11 135 acute ischemic stroke patients were collected from hospital information system(HIS) of many 3A grade hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine. Complex network analysis was adopted to obtain the core syndrome elements in different periods of acute ischemic stroke patients， and it was found that the core syndrome elements were blood stasis syndrome， phlegm， endogenous wind， Yin deficiency， Qi deficiency， heat， hyperactivity of liver Yang， liver， and kidney of patients in hospital for the first day， and during 8-14 d in hospitalization， the core syndrome elements were blood stasis， phlegm， Yin deficiency， Qi deficiency， endogenous wind， hyperactivity of liver Yang， liver， and kidney. The data with "improved" and "cured" treatment outcomes were adopted for complex network analysis and correlation analysis to identify the Chinese and Western medicine group modules in patients with different disease conditions in different phases after hospitalization. It was found that the Chinese and Western medicine modules within 14 d after hospitalization mainly included "blood-activating and stasis-dissolving module "consisted by "anti-platelet drug + circulation-improving medicine(or anticoagulant drug and anti-fibrinogen drug， et al) + blood-activating and stasis-dissolving drugs"， as well as "stasis-dissolving and phlegm-reducing module" consisted by "anti-platelet drugs + circulation-improving medicine(or anticoagulant drug and anti-fibrinogen drug， et al) + phlegm refreshing drug". The core Chinese and Western medicine modules in patients with urgent and general conditions within 7 d after hospitalization mainly used "blood-activating and stasis-dissolving module" and "stasis-dissolving and phlegm-reducing module". Three or more Chinese medicine and Western medicines module with more than 1% utilization rate was not found in the patients with critical disease condition in admission. The urgent， general and critically ill patients in admission mainly used "blood-activating and stasis-dissolving module" in 8-14 d. From the real world medical big data research， it was found that the combined use of Chinese and Western medicines were consistent with "combination of disease and syndrome， correspondence between syndrome and prescription， and dynamic space-time" theory， and multiple multidimensional dynamic Chinese medicine and Western medicine group modules of "patient-syndrome-drug-time-effective" at the acute ischemic stroke stage were dug out， forming the method of Chinese and Western medicine combination research based on electrical medical big data.

[Complex network analysis on dynamic change regularity of combining use of Chinese and western medicine in 27,678 cases with ischemic stroke in acute phase].

The acute phase of ischemic stroke patients are often treated with both Chinese patent medicine:and western medicine therapies in clinical practice. This research included 27,678 cases of the acute phase of ischemic stroke came from 14 3A level hospitals. We collected data from patients with ischemic stroke who used both Chinese patent medicine and western medicine and were hopitalized within 14 days from hospital information system (HIS). Constructing complex network of Chinese patent medicine and western medicine were found to show scale-free network. Hierarchical structure of the core algorithm was used to analyze the characteristics of combined core Chinese patent medicine and western medicine in admission condition of "acute", "critically", and "general" of ischemic stroke acute phase patient within one day, 2-3 days, 4-7 days and 8-14 days. We found that the core Chinese patent medicine mainly used for activate blood and resolve stasis medicine, and phlegm eliminating brain refreshing medicine in all kinds of patients, but the phlegm eliminating brain refreshing medicine were used to reduce with time elapsing. The core western medicine mainly used for anti-platelet medicine, improve circulation medicine, neuroprotective medicine, anticoagulants medicine and dehydration medicine. The dehydration medicine as the core western medicine for critically patients within 14 days, but the patients for general admission as core western medicine within 3 days. The neuroprotective medicine was used to decreases after 7 days in hospital. Combination of Chinese patent medicine and western medicine were mainly for neuroprotective medicine + activate blood and resolve stasis medicine, and anti-platelet medicine + activate blood and resolve stasis medicine, and improve circulation medicine + activate blood and resolve stasis medicine. The phlegm eliminating brain refreshing medicine was mainly combined with neuroprotective medicine by urgent and general admission condition patients, and it was more combined with dehydration medicine by critically admission condition patients. This research found that the dynamic characteristics for the combination of Chinese patent medicine and western medicine of acute phase of ischemic stroke patients by big data analytics and complex networks modeling, and provide basis for acute phase of ischemic stroke patients, it provide basis for ischemic stroke treatment strategy making.

Fabrication of long-focal-length plano-convex microlens array by combining the micro-milling and injection molding processes.

A uniform plano-convex spherical microlens array with a long focal length was fabricated by combining the micromilling and injection molding processes in this work. This paper presents a quantitative study of the injection molding process parameters on the uniformity of the height of the microlenses. The variation of the injection process parameters, i.e., barrel temperature, mold temperature, injection speed, and packing pressure, was found to have a significant effect on the uniformity of the height of the microlenses, especially the barrel temperature. The filling-to-packing switchover point is also critical to the uniformity of the height of the microlenses. The optimal uniformity was achieved when the polymer melts completely filled the mold cavity, or even a little excessively filled the cavity, during the filling stage. In addition, due to the filling resistance, the practical filling-to-packing switchover point can vary with the change of the filling processing conditions and lead to a non-negligible effect on the uniformity of the height of the microlenses. Furthermore, the effect of injection speed on the uniformity of the height of the microlenses was analyzed in detail. The results indicated that the effect of injection speed on the uniformity of the height of the microlenses is mainly attributed to the two functions of injection speed: transferring the filling-to-packing switchover point and affecting the distribution of residual flow stress in the polymer melt.

Palladium and copper cocatalyzed tandem N-H/C-H Bond functionalization: synthesis of CF3-containing indolo- and pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines.

A palladium- and copper-catalyzed tandem N-H/C-H bond functionalization reaction of ortho-(2-chlorovinyl)bromobenzenes with indoles and pyrroles has been developed. A variety of CF(3)-containing indolo- and pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines were prepared in moderate to good yields via the cyclization of 1-bromo-2-(2-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-enyl)benzenes with indoles and pyrroles.

CuI/TMEDA-catalyzed annulation of 2-bromo alkynylbenzenes with Na2S: synthesis of benzo[b]thiophenes.

A copper-catalyzed thiolation annulation reaction of 2-bromo alkynylbenzenes with sodium sulfide has been developed. In the presence of CuI and TMEDA, a variety of 2-substituted benzo[b]thiophenes were readily prepared in moderate to good yields by the reaction of 2-bromo alkynylbenzenes and Na(2)S·9H(2)O.

Repression of DOK7 mediated by DNMT3A promotes the proliferation and invasion of KYSE410 and TE-12 ESCC cells.

Increasing evidence shows that aberrant epigenetic regulation of tumor suppressor genes is a contributing factor to their altered expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In the current study, we investigate the role of DOK7 in ESCC cells. We found that enforced expression of DOK7 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of ESCC cells. We also found that treatment of ESCC cells with the DNA methylation inhibitor, 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (5-azadC), induced the demethylation of DOK7 in promoter and DOK7 expression. Moreover, silencing DNMT3A decreased methylation of DOK7 and increased DOK7 expression, followed by repressing the proliferation and invasion of ESCC cells. Collectively, our data indicated that silencing DNMT3A inhibits proliferation and invasion in ESCC cells by inducing demethylation of DOK7.

Effect of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy on Cellular Fibronectin and Transforming Growth Factor-ß1 Expression in Diabetic Foot Wounds.

BACKGROUND: Chronic diabetic foot wounds are a leading cause of amputation, morbidity, and hospitalization for patients with diabetes. Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) can putatively facilitate wound healing, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Cellular fibronectin (cFN) and transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) play an important role in wound healing. This prospective randomized controlled trial evaluated the effects of NPWT on the production of cFN and the expression of TGF-ß1 in diabetic foot wounds of patients. METHODS: From January 2012 to January 2015, 40 patients with diabetic foot wounds were randomly and equally apportioned to receive either NPWT or advanced moist wound therapy (control) for 7 days. Granulation tissue was harvested before and after treatment. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were performed to evaluate protein levels of cFN and TGF-ß1, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to measure corresponding mRNA expressions. RESULTS: NPWT facilitated the expression of cFN and TGF-ß1 in diabetic foot wounds. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed higher levels of cFN and TGF-ß1 in the NPWT group than in the control group. Western blot and real-time PCR analysis further showed that protein and mRNA levels of cFN or TGF-ß1 were higher in the NPWT group than that in the control group ( P < .01, both). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that NPWT facilitated the production of cFN and the expression of TGF-ß1 in granulation tissue in diabetic foot ulcers. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I, randomized controlled study.

Pathophysiology of peripheral arterial disease in diabetes mellitus.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) increases the risk of lower extremity amputation. It is also an independent predictor of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular ischemic events, affecting both the quality and expectancy of life. Many studies have demonstrated that the prevalence of PAD in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is higher than in non-diabetic patients. In diabetic patients, PAD occurs early with rapid progression, and is frequently asymptomatic. Multiple metabolic aberrations in DM, such as advanced glycation end-products, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and abnormal oxidative stress, have been shown to worsen PAD. However, the role of DM in PAD is not completely understood. The purpose of the present article is to review and discuss the pathophysiology of PAD in DM.

Improved early postresuscitation EEG activity for animals treated with hypothermia predicted 96 hr neurological outcome and survival in a rat model of cardiac arrest.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of hypothermia on 96 hr neurological outcome and survival by quantitatively characterizing early postresuscitation EEG in a rat model of cardiac arrest. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats, cardiac arrest was induced through high frequency transesophageal cardiac pacing. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated after 5 mins untreated arrest. Immediately after resuscitation, animals were randomized to either 2 hrs of hypothermia (N = 10) or normothermia (N = 10). EEG, ECG, aortic pressure, and core temperature were continuously recorded for 6 hrs. Neurological outcome was evaluated daily during the 96 hrs postresuscitation period. RESULTS: No differences in the baseline measurements and resuscitation outcome were observed between groups. However, 96 hr neurological deficit score (204 ± 255 versus 500 ± 0, P = 0.005) and survival (6/10 versus 0/10, P = 0.011) were significantly better in the hypothermic group. Quantitative analysis of early postresuscitation EEG revealed that burst frequency and spectrum entropy were greatly improved in the hypothermic group and correlated with 96 hr neurological outcome and survival. CONCLUSION: The improved burst frequency during burst suppression period and preserved spectrum entropy after restoration of continuous background EEG activity for animals treated with hypothermia predicted favorable neurological outcome and survival in this rat model of cardiac arrest.