Cyclodextrins (CDs) have beneficial characteristics for drug delivery, including hydrophobic interior surfaces. Nanocarriers with β-CD ligands have been prepared with simple surface modifications as drug delivery vehicles. In this study, we synthesized β-CD derivatives on an Ag-embedded silica nanoparticle (NP) (SiO₂@Ag NP) structure to load and release doxorubicin (DOX). Cysteinyl-β-CD and ethylenediamine-β-CD (EDA-β-CD) were immobilized on the surface of SiO₂@Ag NPs, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. DOX was introduced into the β-CD on the SiO₂@Ag NPs and then successfully released. Neither cysteinyl-β-CD and EDA-β-CD showed cytotoxicity, while DOX-loaded cysteinyl-β-CD and EDA-β-CD showed a significant decrease in cell viability in cancer cells. The SiO₂@Ag NPs with β-CD provide a strategy for designing a nanocarrier that can deliver a drug with controlled release from modified chemical types.

Matrix-assisted autologous chondrocyte transplantation (MACT) for focal articular cartilage defects often fails to produce adequate cartilage-specific extracellular matrix in vitro and upon transplantation results in fibrocartilage due to dedifferentiation during cell expansion. This study aimed to redifferentiate the chondrocytes through supplementation of blood-products, such as hyperacute serum (HAS) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in vitro. Dedifferentiated monolayer chondrocytes embedded onto collagen type I hydrogels were redifferentiated through supplementation of 10% HAS or 10% PRP for 14 days in vitro under normoxia (20% O₂) and hypoxia (4% O₂). Cell proliferation was increased by supplementing HAS for 14 days (p < 0.05) or by interchanging from HAS to PRP during Days 7⁻14 (p < 0.05). Sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) content was deposited under both HAS, and PRP for 14 days and an interchange during Days 7⁻14 depleted the sGAG content to a certain extent. PRP enhanced the gene expression of anabolic markers COL2A1 and SOX9 (p < 0.05), whereas HAS enhanced COL1A1 production. An interchange led to reduction of COL1A1 and COL2A1 expression marked by increased MMP13 expression (p < 0.05). Chondrocytes secreted less IL-6 and more PDGF-BB under PRP for 14 days (p < 0.0.5). Hypoxia enhanced TGF-β1 and BMP-2 release in both HAS and PRP. Our study demonstrates a new approach for chondrocyte redifferentiation.

Parent-held child health record (PHCHR), a public health intervention for promoting access to preventive health services, have been in use in many developed and developing countries. This review aimed to evaluate the use of the records toward promoting child health/development. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar to identify relevant articles, of which 32 studies met the inclusion criteria. Due to considerable heterogeneity, findings were narratively synthesised. Outcomes with sufficient data were meta-analysed using a random-effects model. Odds Ratio (OR) was used to compute the pooled effect sizes at 95% confidence interval (CI). The pooled effect of the PHCHR on the utilisation of child/maternal healthcare was not statistically significant (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 0.92⁻1.88). However, parents who use the record in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) were approximately twice as likely to adhere to child vaccinations (OR = 1.93, 95% CI 1.01⁻3.70), utilise antenatal care (OR = 1.60, 95% CI 1.23⁻2.08), and better breastfeeding practice (OR = 2.82, 95%CI 1.02⁻7.82). Many parents (average-72%) perceived the PHCHR as useful/important and majority (average-84%) took it to child clinics. Health visitors and nurses/midwives were more likely to use the record than hospital doctors. It is concluded that parents generally valued the PHCHR, but its effect on child health-related outcomes have only been demonstrated in LMIC.

Stress-tolerant fungi that can thrive under various environmental extremes are highly desirable for their application to biological control, as an alternative to chemicals for pest management. However, in fungi, the mechanisms of stress tolerance might also have roles in mammal opportunism. We tested five species with high biocontrol potential in agriculture (Aureobasidiumpullulans, Debayomyceshansenii, Meyerozymaguilliermondii, Metschnikowiafructicola, Rhodotorulamucilaginosa) and two species recognized as emerging opportunistic human pathogens (Exophialadermatitidis, Aureobasidiummelanogenum) for growth under oligotrophic conditions and at 37 °C, and for tolerance to oxidative stress, formation of biofilms, production of hydrolytic enzymes and siderophores, and use of hydrocarbons as sole carbon source. The results show large overlap between traits desirable for biocontrol and traits linked to opportunism (growth under oligotrophic conditions, production of siderophores, high oxidative stress tolerance, and specific enzyme activities). Based on existing knowledge and these data, we suggest that oligotrophism and thermotolerance together with siderophore production at 37 °C, urease activity, melanization, and biofilm production are the main traits that increase the potential for fungi to cause opportunistic infections in mammals. These traits should be carefully considered when assessing safety of potential biocontrol agents.

Resistance of the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans to antifungal drugs has increased significantly in recent years. After screening 55 potential antifungal compounds from a chemical library, 2,3-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde (DHMB) was identified as having potential antifungal activity. The properties of DHMB were then assessed in vitro and in vivo against C. albicans overgrowth and intestinal inflammation. Substitution on the aromatic ring of DHMB led to a strong decrease in its biological activity against C. albicans. The MIC of DHMB was highly effective at eliminating C. albicans when compared to that of caspofungin or fluconazole. Additionally, DHMB was also effective against clinically isolated fluconazole- or caspofungin-resistant C. albicans strains. DHMB was administered to animals at high doses. This compound was not cytotoxic and was well-tolerated. In experimental dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice, DHMB reduced the clinical and histological score of inflammation and promoted the elimination of C. albicans from the gut. This finding was supported by a decrease in aerobic bacteria while anaerobic bacteria populations were re-established in mice treated with DHMB. DHMB is a small organic molecule with antifungal properties and anti-inflammatory activity by exerting protective effects on intestinal epithelial cells.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer. Identifying characteristic genes of PTC are of great importance to reveal its potential genetic mechanisms. In this paper, we proposed a framework, as well as a measure named Normalized Centrality Measure (NCM), to identify characteristic genes of PTC. The framework consisted of four steps. First, both up-regulated genes and down-regulated genes, collectively called differentially expressed genes (DEGs), were screened and integrated together from four datasets, that is, GSE3467, GSE3678, GSE33630, and GSE58545; second, an interaction network of DEGs was constructed, where each node represented a gene and each edge represented an interaction between linking nodes; third, both traditional measures and the NCM measure were used to analyze the topological properties of each node in the network. Compared with traditional measures, more genes related to PTC were identified by the NCM measure; fourth, by mining the high-density subgraphs of this network and performing Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, several meaningful results were captured, most of which were demonstrated to be associated with PTC. The experimental results proved that this network framework and the NCM measure are useful for identifying more characteristic genes of PTC.

In Asia, honey is mainly produced by Apis mellifera and Apis cerana. However, the price of A. cerana honey is usually much higher than A. mellifera honey. Seeing considerable profits, some dishonest companies and beekeepers mislabel A. mellifera honey as A. cerana honey or incorporate A. mellifera honey into A. cerana honey. In the present study, we developed methods to discriminate A. cerana honey from A. mellifera honey based on the MRJP2 (major royal jelly protein 2) gene. Two pairs of species-specific primers were designed. The amplification products of A. cerana and A. mellifera were 212 and 560 bp, respectively. As little as one percent incorporation of A. mellifera honey in the mixture can be detected by duplex PCR. Additionally, another method based on the melt curve analysis using the same primers was also developed, allowing a rapid discrimination of real-time PCR product of different species. Our study shows that the entomological authentication of honey samples can be identified by nuclear genes other than mitochondrial genes and this extends the possibility of gene selection in identification. The authentication system we proposed could be a useful tool for discriminating A. cerana honey from A. mellifera honey.

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been widely adopted in single image super-resolution (SISR) recently with great success. As a network goes deeper, intermediate features become hierarchical. However, most SISR methods based on DNNs do not make full use of the hierarchical features. The features cannot be read directly by the subsequent layers, therefore, the previous hierarchical information has little influence on the subsequent layer output, and the performance is relatively poor. To address this issue, a novel global dense feature fusion convolutional network (DFFNet) is proposed, which can take full advantage of global intermediate features. Especially, a feature fusion block (FFblock) is introduced as the basic module. Each block can directly read raw global features from previous ones and then learns the feature spatial correlation and channel correlation between features in a holistic way, leading to a continuous global information memory mechanism. Experiments on the benchmark tests show that the proposed method DFFNet achieves favorable performance against the state-of-art methods.

The phase transition of the LiFePO₄ and FePO₄ in Li-ion cell during charging-discharging processes in the first and second cycles is elucidated by Raman spectroscopy in real time. In situ Raman spectroscopy showed the sudden phase transition between LiFePO₄ and FePO₄. Principal component analysis (PCA) results also indicated that the structural changes and electrochemical performance (charge-discharge curve) are correlated with each other. Phase transition between LiFePO₄ and FePO₄ principally appeared in the second charging process compared with that in the first charging process. 2D correlation spectra provided the phase transition mechanism of LiFePO₄ cathode which occurred during the charging-discharging processes in the first and second cycles. PCA and 2D correlation spectroscopy are very helpful methods to understand in situ Raman spectra for the Li-ion battery.

Leaf senescence is a genetically controlled process that involves the perception of extracellular signals and signal transduction. The receptor-like protein kinases (RLKs) are known to act as an important class of cell surface receptors and are involved in multiple biological processes such as development and stress responses. The functions of a number of RLK members have been characterized in Arabidopsis and other plant species, but only a limited number of RLK proteins have been reported to be associated with leaf senescence. In the present study, we have characterized the role of the somatic embryogenesis receptor kinase 4 (SERK4) gene in leaf senescence. The expression of SERK4 was up-regulated during leaf senescence and by several abiotic stress treatments in Arabidopsis. The serk4-1 knockout mutant was found to display a significant early leaf senescence phenotype. Furthermore, the results of overexpression analysis and complementary analysis supported the idea that SERK4 acts as a negative regulator in the process of leaf senescence.

: The main objective of this study was to assess PAG2 mRNA expression in maternal blood cells at the peri-implantation period in water buffalo; moreover, we wanted to evaluate the earliest time in which PAG-2 could be detected in maternal blood. Thirty-two lactating buffaloes artificially inseminated (AI) were utilized. Blood was collected at Days 0, 14, 18, 28, 40 after AI (AI = day 0). Pregnancy was diagnosed by ultrasound at Days 28 and 40 post AI. Out of 32 buffaloes, 14 were pregnant (P group) and 18 were not pregnant (NP group). The plasma PAG-2 threshold of 1.0 ng/mL in the P group was reached at day 40 post AI. PAG2 mRNA expression differed between the P and NP groups, and was either evaluated in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) or Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes (PMN), starting from day 14. However, both the estimated marginal means and multiple comparisons showed that PAG2 mRNA expression was higher in PMN than PBMC. In the present study, PAG-2 appeared in the blood (40 Days post AI), and an early expression of PAG2 mRNA at Day 14 post AI was also observed. Although further research is undoubtedly required, PAG2 mRNA in peripheral blood leukocytes could be using to better understand the role that PAGs play during pregnancy in buffalo.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is often asymptomatic but increases the risk of developing cardiovascular events. Due to the uncertainties regarding the quality of related guidelines and a lack of clear-cut evidence, we performed a systematic review and critical appraisal of these guidelines to evaluate their consistency of the recommendations in asymptomatic PAD population.

Physical exercise can improve brain function by altering brain gene expression. The expression mechanisms underlying the brain's response to exercise still remain unknown. miRNAs as vital regulators of gene expression may be involved in regulation of brain genes in response to exercise. However, as yet, very little is known about exercise-responsive miRNAs in brain.

Cancer is a life-threatening disease that causes every fourth death. It is often hard to determine the time point of progression. Therefore, biomarkers for cancer entities that indicate disease progression or aggressiveness and thereby guide therapeutic decisions are required. Unfortunately, reliable biomarkers are rare. In this study, the potential of serum hepcidin and serum GDF-15 as biomarkers that correlate with patient's survival in the two entities upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UUTUC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were analyzed.

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merril) crop is major source of edible oil and protein for human and animals besides its various industrial uses including biofuels. Phytoplasma induced floral bud distortion syndrome (FBD), also known as witches' broom syndrome (WBS) has been one of the major biotic stresses adversely affecting its productivity. Transcriptomic approach can be used for knowledge discovery of this disease manifestation by morpho-physiological key pathways.

There is a paucity of literature that addresses the health vulnerabilities of readymade garment (RMG) workers in South and Southeast Asian regions. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to identify the distinctive types of health vulnerabilities along with the causes and consequences of these vulnerabilities of the RMG workers in South and Southeast Asian regions.

Several types of psychotherapy have been proven successful in the treatment of personality disorders in younger age groups, however studies among older patients are lacking. We developed a group schema-focused therapy (SFT) enriched with psychomotor therapy (PMT) for older adults with cluster B and/or C personality disorders. This paper describes the design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT). We will evaluate the (cost-)effectiveness of this therapy protocol in specialized mental health care. We hypothesize that our treatment program is cost-effective and superior to treatment as usual (TAU) in reducing psychological distress and improving quality of life in older adults treated to specialized mental healthcare.

Dental caries is still considered a major public health concern for human beings, especially minority groups and those living in disadvantaged communities. The Lisu is a minority group in China of more than 702,000 people located primarily in Yunnan Province. The present study was aimed at studying the status of dental caries status, as well as its risk factors, among Lisu children aged 5 years in Yunnan Province, China.

Polymorphisms have been identified to predispose to NAFLD. Here, we accessed the seven polymorphisms of rs1260326, rs780094 in GCKR, rs2954021 near TRIB1, rs2228603 in NCAN, rs58542926 in TM6SF2, rs12137855 near LYPLAL1, and rs10883437 near CPN1 on NAFLD susceptibility in the Uygur population.

The leishmaniases are important neglected diseases caused by Leishmania spp. which are transmitted by sand flies, Lutzomyia longipalpis being the main vector of visceral leishmaniasis in the Americas. The methodologies for leishmaniasis control are not efficient, causing 1.5 million reported cases annually worldwide, therefore showing the need for development of novel strategies and interventions to control transmission of the disease. The bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is being used to control viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue and Zika, and its introduction in disease vectors has been effective against parasites such as Plasmodium. Here we show the first successful establishment of Wolbachia into two different embryonic cell lines from L. longipalpis, LL-5 and Lulo, and analysed its effects on the sand fly innate immune system, followed by in vitro Leishmania infantum interaction.