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The anomalous high expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) is one important factor that impedes diabetic wound healing. Therefore, inhibition of MMP-9 expression in a diabetic wound could be a feasible method to promote wound healing. In this study, we studied the possibility of self-therapy using wound dressings that contain bacterial cellulose-hyperbranched cationic polysaccharide (BC-HCP) derivatives that encapsulate siRNA (BC-HCP/siMMP-9) and have controlled release properties. Herein, we used four HCPs (Gly-DMAPA, Gly-D4, Amyp-DMAPA, Amyp-D4) as gene carriers. Our results showed that all HCP derivatives were minimally toxic to cells in vitro , while the cationic properties of HCP could be used as a complexation agent for MMP-9 siRNA (siMMP-9). Upon exposure to bacterial cellulose (BC), the BC slowly released HCP/siMMP-9. The released siMMP-9 effectively reduced the gene expression and protein levels of MMP-9 in a human immortalized epithelial cell line (HaCAT) and in diabetic rat wounds. Inhibition of MMP-9 in the wounds of diabetic rats resulted in a significant enhancement of wound healing, suggesting that the BC-HCP/siMMP-9 composite dressing could be used as a safe and effective dressing to promote wound healing in diabetic rats. In this work, we evaluated the possibility of using bacterial cellulose-hyperbranched cationic polysaccharide derivatives (BC-HCP) as a self-therapeutic wound dressing with siRNA encapsulated and controlled release properties. Our results showed that the BC-HCP/siMMP-9 composite dressing slowly released HCP/siMMP-9. The released siMMP-9 effectively reduced the gene expression and protein level of MMP-9 in human immortalized epithelial cell line and in the wound of diabetic rats. The BC-HCP/siMMP-9 composite dressing promoted diabetic wound healing by the unique nanostructure of BC and by releasing siMMP-9 for specific MMP-9 inhibition. Therefore, it could be used as a safe and effective dressing to promote wound healing in diabetic rats. This is the first evidence on the study of using BC as a dressing composite by encapsulating HCP/siRNA complexes for efficient RNAi gene silencing for better wound healing in diabetic rats. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to validate and pilot the use of the four-variable screening tool (4V) and modified 4V tools to identify acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).Methods: Two modified scales, 4V-1 (ie, using neck circumference instead body mass index, regardless of gender) and 4V-2 (ie, as above but scored differently according to gender) were designed. These tools were used in a consecutive cohort of 124 acute ischemic stroke/TIA patients, together with the 4V-1, 4V-2, 4V, as well as the STOP-BANG, the Berlin questionnaire, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Objective level 2 or level 3 polysomnography was used to confirm OSA and its severity. Both questionnaires and polysomnography were completed within 1 week from symptom onset.Results: Area under the curve (AUC) of 4V was 0.807 (P< .0001) while AUC of STOP-BANG, Berlin Questionnaire and ESS were .701 (P< .0001), .704 (P< .0001) and .576 (P = .1556), respectively. AUC of 4V was greater than of STOP-BANG (z = 2.200, P = .0220), Berlin (z = 2.024, P = .0430) and ESS (z = 3.363, P = .0003). AUC of modified 4V-1 and modified 4V-2 were .824 (P< .001) and .835 (P< .001), respectively. Performance of modified 4V-2 was higher versus modified 4V-1 (z = 2.111, P = .0348) and higher but not significantly so to regular 4V (z = 1.784, P = .0744).Conclusions: Neck circumference scored by gender is a useful substitution to body mass index in the 4V when screening OSA at early stages of ischemic stroke/TIA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective: Noninvasive and simple tests to forecast cirrhosis is in great need clinically. This study aimed to assess the clinical significance of several noninvasive indices in predicting cirrhosis in Chinese patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Materials and Methods: Liver function test and blood cell analysis were conducted in 76 AIH patients and 75 paired healthy subjects to calculate aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio(AAR), aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis index based on the four factors (FIB-4), gamma-glutamyl transferase to platelet ratio (GPR), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR), and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Binary logistic regression was performed to analysis the risk factors of liver cirrhosis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic value of each index and compare their diagnostic performance with serum biomarkers commonly used in the clinical setting for liver fibrosis assessing including hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin(LN), procollagen III N terminal peptide (PIIINP) and type IV collagen (ColIV). Results: AAR, APRI, FIB-4, GPR, NLR and RDW were elevated remarkably in AIH patients with cirrhosis; AAR, FIB-4 and RDW were identified to be independent risk factors of cirrhosis with OR (95%CI) of 3.517 (1.300–9.514), 1.247(1.032–1.506) and 1.414 (1.086–1.842) respectively; ROC analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of AAR, FIB-4 and RDW were 0.801,0.82 and 0.739, with moderate diagnostic value and better than HA, LN, PIIINP and ColIV in identifying those with cirrhosis from AIH patients. Conclusion: AAR, FIB-4 and RDW were independent risk factors of AIH cirrhosis and can be served as reference indices to monitor disease course in AIH. Highlights • Liver function of AIH patients was impaired, with serum levels of multiple aminotransferases increasing in patients with AIH. • AAR and FIB-4 and RDW were of moderate diagnostic value in identifying liver cirrhosis from chronic AIH patients. • AAR, FIB-4 and RDW were risk factors of liver cirrhosis associated with AIH patients processing to liver cirrhosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phlorizin (PHL) has various biological activities, especially powerful antioxidant effects, but its water solubility limits its application. In this study, zein-encapsulated PHL nanoparticles (zein-PHL nanoparticles), as well as zein and gum arabic (GA) co-encapsulated PHL nanoparticles (zein/GA-PHL nanoparticles) were prepared by the antisolvent precipitation method. On this basis, encapsulated PHL nanoparticles were added to yogurt to make fortified yogurt. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments showed that the main driving forces for nanoparticle formation were electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding between compounds. Zein-PHL nanoparticles were more sensitive to temperature and salt ions than zein/GA-PHL nanoparticles. The addition of GA can improve the stability of the nanoparticles. In addition, the nanoparticles encapsulated with PHL were applied to yogurt. It was found that the nanoparticles improved the antioxidant capacity and water-holding capacity of yogurt, which provides a reference for the development of functional yogurt containing flavonoid compounds. [Display omitted] • Zein/gum arabic nanoparticles can be used to protect and deliver phlorizin. • The main forces of nanoparticles are electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding. • Zein/gum arabic nanoparticles can effectively protect phlorizin under different salt ions. • The zein/gum arabic encapsulated phlorizin nanoparticles have good stability at 75 °C. • Adding nanoparticles into yogurt can improve the antioxidant capacity of yogurt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method based on a 4-f system that mainly consists of a spatial light modulator (SLM) and a Wollaston prism, to generate arbitrary vector beams with specifically designed amplitude, phase, and polarization. The incident beam is divided by a computer-generated hologram written on the SLM into two beams, each of which is encoded with a prescribed complex field and then are combined efficiently into a single beam by the Wollaston prism. Combining capability of the Wollaston prism can be tuned through the prism’s rotation. We achieve a conversion efficiency that is three-fold higher than that of using a Ronchi grating for the beam combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method that simultaneously identifies a control-oriented model of a building's temperature dynamics and a transformed version of the unmeasured disturbance affecting the building. Our method uses ℓ 1 -regularization to encourage the identified disturbance to be approximately sparse, which is motivated by the slowly-varying nature of occupancy that determines the disturbance. The proposed method involves solving a feasible convex optimization problem that guarantees that the identified black-box model, a linear time-invariant system, possesses known properties of the plant, especially input–output stability and positive DC gains. These features enable one to use the method as part of a self-learning control system in which the model of the building is updated periodically without requiring human intervention. Results from the application of the method on data from a simulated and real building are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a conceptual framework of multidimensional energy poverty by using a multidimensional poverty index that considers energy accessibility, affordability, and service availability. The index is then utilized to evaluate the extent, depth, and intensity of multidimensional energy poverty (MEP) in China. Specifically, this study aims to identify factors that contribute to the urban-rural and regional MEP disparities in China. The results reveal that (1) MEP is widespread in China; (2) Rural areas experience 2.5 times more MEP compared to urban areas, while inland regions have 1.5 times higher MEP rates than coastal regions; and (3) these disparities are primarily caused by low-income levels, lack of non-agricultural employment opportunities, and educational attainment. Therefore, policies targeting low-income, unemployed, and less-educated individuals are necessary to address this issue. In addition, promoting urbanization and eliminating the household registration system are crucial steps to address MEP disparities in China. Furthermore, improving energy infrastructure and increasing knowledge dissemination can also help reduce reliance on traditional energy sources. • Designed multifaceted poverty index mattering energy access, affordability, service. • Energy Poverty gaps stem from income shortage, non-agricultural jobs, education gaps. • Rural (inland) MEP is 2.5 (1.5) times higher than that in urban (coastal) areas. • The study offers crucial policy insights for alleviating energy poverty in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor thermal environment is usually non-uniform in buildings with passive or active radiant surfaces, and strict constraints for thermal homogeneity would increase the difficulty of system design and cause unnecessary energy consumption. In order to explore the thermal comfort response characteristics in non-uniform environments, 20 subjects were recruited in this study to participate in a thermal comfort experiment in two types of non-uniform environments. The two non-uniform environments were created by different combinations of indoor air temperature and radiant temperature. In the first non-uniform environment, all the interior surface temperatures were equal, but the radiant temperature and air temperature were not equal (ANUE). The other type was a single surface non-uniform environment where the surface temperature of one interior surface and the air temperature were not equal (SNUE). Subjects' physiological parameters were measured and subjective evaluations were obtained by questionnaires. The results showed that in thermal neutral condition, the mean skin temperature was 33.6 °C under ANUE environment, while it was 33.8°C–33.9 °C under SNUE environment. Based on the experimental results, thermal dissatisfied percentage (TDP) models for the two environments were proposed and evaluated by determination coefficient and Bayesian information criterion (BIC). According to the five different TDP levels (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%), coupling thermal comfort zone of indoor air temperature and surface temperature was classified into five hierarchies. The study has implications for the proper design of comfortable and energy saving non-uniform environments. • Non-uniform thermal environment was created by indoor air and surface temperature. • Physiological and comfort characteristics in non-uniform environment were explored. • t mst for thermoneutrality under non-uniform thermal environment was obtained. • TDP models were established for two types of non-uniform thermal environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims Levels of atonal homolog 8 ( ATOH8 ) are reduced in 48% of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCCs). ATOH8 downregulation is associated with loss of tumor differentiation, indicating an effect mediated by cancer stem cells. We investigated the effects of loss of ATOH8 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and cell lines. Methods HCC and adjacent nontumor tissues were collected, from 2001 through 2012, from 242 patients undergoing hepatectomy at Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center in China; 83% of HCCs were associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. CD133 + cells were isolated from tumor tissues by flow cytometry. Experiments were performed in HBV-positive and HBV-negative HCC cell lines, the immortalized liver cell line LO2, and 8 other HCC cell lines. ATOH8 was expressed from lentiviral vectors in PLC8024 and Huh7 cells; levels were knocked down with small interfering RNAs in QSG7701 cells. Cells carrying empty vectors were used as controls. Gene regulation by ATOH8 was assessed in mobility shift and luciferase reporter assays. Cells were analyzed in proliferation, foci formation, and colony formation assays. The tumorigenic and chemo-resistant potential of cells were investigated by assessing growth of xenograft tumors in immunocompromised mice. Metastatic features of cells were assessed in Matrigel invasion assays and wound healing analyses. Results Levels of ATOH8 mRNA were reduced by more than 4-fold, compared to nontumor tissues, in 118 of 242 HCC samples (48.8%). Patients with tumor reductions in ATOH8 had significantly shorter times of disease-free survival (mean, 41.4 months) than patients with normal tissue levels (mean, 52.6 months). ATOH8 expression was reduced in HepG2, Huh7, PLC8024 and CRL8064 HCC cells, as well as CD133 + cells isolated from human HCC samples. Transgenic expression of ATOH8 in HCC cell lines significantly reduced proliferation and foci colony formation, as well as their invasive and migratory abilities. Transgenic expression of ATOH8 reduced the ability of HBV-positive PLC8024 cells to form tumors in mice, compared to control cells. Cells with ATOH8 knockdown formed xenograft tumors more rapidly, in more mice, than control cells. ATOH8 repressed transcription of stem-cell associated genes including OCT4 , NANOG , and CD133 . Knockdown of ATOH8 in CD133-negative QSG7701 cells caused them to express CD133 ; acquire self-renewal, differentiation, chemo-resistance properties; form more xenograft tumors in mice; and generate induced pluripotent stem cells (based on staining for alkaline phosphatase and their ability to form embryoid bodies and teratomas). Alternatively, expression of ATOH8 in PLC8024 and Huh7 cells significantly reduced the numbers of cells expressing CD133 , and increased the chemo-sensitivity of Huh7 cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin, in vitro and in mice. Conclusions ATOH8 appears to be a tumor suppressor that induces stem-cell features and chemoresistance in HCC cells. Strategies to restore its levels and activities might be developed to treat patients with liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• gc il6 and gc il10 mRNA are induced by bacteria in grass carp head kidney leucocytes. • Recombinant gcIl-6 enhances gc il10 mRNA levels after a short term treatment. • Stat3 is involved in the stimulation on gc il10 mRNA expression by gcIl-6. • gc il10 mRNA levels are decreased by gcIl-6 after a long term treatment. • gcIl-6 activates gc il10 promoter but has no effect on gc il10 mRNA stability. Interleukin (IL)-10 is a critical anti-inflammatory and late cytokine being produced after the proinflammatory mediators while IL-6 is a promptly synthesized cytokine in response to inflammation in mammals. This chronological expression of interleukin (Il)-6 and Il-10 was also found in grass carp head kidney leucocytes (HKLs) treated by heat-killed Aeromonas hydrophila , supporting the possible interplay between grass carp (gc)Il-6 and gcIl-10 in HKLs. Our further findings were in agreement with this hypothesis that recombinant gcIl-6 (rgcIl-6) promptly and transiently increased gc il10 mRNA levels in grass carp HKLs. Moreover, rgcIl-6 enhanced its own mRNA level and this self-enhancement of gc il6 mRNA level could be partially blocked by rgcIl-10. These results collectively suggest that gcIl-10 production stimulated by gcIl-6 may provide a negative feedback to gcIl-6 production. Interestingly, rgcIl-6 significantly decreased gc il10 mRNA levels in grass carp HKLs after the treatment for 12 and 24 h in contrast to its enhancement of gc il10 levels after the treatment for 3 h. Involvement of Stat3 but not MEK, p38 MAPK or JNK pathway in the increase of gc il10 mRNA levels by rgcIl-6 was revealed by using the signaling pathway inhibitors. This was supported by the fact that rgcIl-6 stimulated Stat3 phosphorylation in grass carp HKLs. Furthermore, rgcIl-6 had no effect on the stability of gc il10 mRNA after the treatment for 3 to 36 h while it increased gc il10 promoter activity after the treatment for 24 h. Taken these data together, gcIl-6 can stimulate Il-10 production at early stage but subsequently inhibit il10 mRNA expression in grass carp HKLs, shedding light on the dynamic regulation of il10 mRNA expression by Il-6 in fish immune cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plate laser beam splitter (PLBS) coatings for intensity-splitting in high-power laser applications face increasing requirements, where the challenge is to simultaneously satisfy a given transmittance (T)/reflectivity (R) intensity-splitting ratio with a certain bandwidth, and a high laser damage threshold (LIDT). Traditionally, a given T/R ratio is achieved by using a non-quarter-wave design. We propose a quarter-wave design strategy for arbitrary T/R ratios by using mixture layers with tunable refractive index (n) and optical bandgap as high- n layers. Two quarter-wave PLBS coatings based on HfO 2 –Al 2 O 3 mixture with a designed T/R ratio of 50:50 are experimentally demonstrated and compared with the traditional PLBS coating. The mixture-based PLBS coating shows good spectral performance, low surface roughness, and high LIDT. For an s -polarized 8 ns pulse laser at a wavelength of 1064 nm, a mixture-based PLBS coating design can improve LIDT by a factor of ∼ 2 with a slightly wider bandwidth. This tunable mixture-based PLBS coating design strategy provides support for the increasingly high output power of high-power laser systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Four host proteins interacting with ARV σA protein were screened by a yeast two-hybrid system. • NME2 was further validated as a σA-binding protein through co-immunoprecipitation. • The key interaction domain was identified at aa 121–416 in NME2 and at aa 71–139 in σA, respectively. • Overexpression of NME2 substantially inhibited ARV replication. Our present study aimed to identify host cell proteins that may interact with avian reovirus (ARV) σA protein and their potential effect on ARV replication. The ARV structural protein σA has been demonstrated to suppress interferon production and confirmed to activate the PI3K/Akt pathway. However, host cell factors interacting with σA to affect ARV replication remain unknown. In current study, a cDNA library of chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) was constructed, and host cell proteins interacting with σA were screened by a yeast two-hybrid system. We identified four candidate cellular proteins that interact with ARV σA protein. Among them, Gallus NME/NM23 nucleoside diphosphate kinase 2 (NME2) was further validated as a σA-binding protein through co-immunoprecipitation. The key interaction domain was identified at amino acids (aa) 121–416 in NME2 and at aa 71–139 in σA, respectively. We demonstrated that overexpression of NME2 substantially inhibited ARV replication. In addition silencing NME2 by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) resulted in marked enhancement of ARV replication. Our work has demonstrated that NME2 is a σA-binding protein that may affect ARV replication in CEF cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]