Search

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease where there is low bone mass and deterioration of bone microarchitecture, leading to an increased risk of a fragility fracture. The aim of this clinical guideline from Fragility Fracture Network Hong Kong SAR, is to provide evidence-based recommendations on the post-acute treatment of the osteoporotic fracture patient that presents for clinical care at the Fracture Liaison Service (FLS). It is now well established that the incidence of a second fracture is especially high after the first 2 years of the initial osteoporotic fracture. Therefore, the recent osteoporotic fracture should be categorized as "very-high" re-fracture risk. Due to the significant number of silent vertebral fractures in the elderly population, it is also recommended that vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) should be incorporated into FLS. This would have diagnostic and treatment implications for the osteoporotic fracture patient. The use of a potent anti-osteoporotic agent, and preferably an anabolic followed by an anti-resorptive agent should be considered, as larger improvements in BMD is strongly associated with a reduction in fractures. Managing other risk factors including falls and sarcopenia are imperative during rehabilitation and prevention of another fracture. Although of low incidence, one should remain vigilant of the atypical femoral fracture. The aging population is increasing worldwide, and it is expected that the treatment of osteoporotic fractures will be routine. The recommendations are anticipated to aid in the daily clinical practice for clinicians.Fragility fractures have become a common encounter in clinical practise in the hospital setting. This article provides recommendations on the post-acute management of fragility fracture patients at the FLS.

Photothermal-responsive (PTR) and anti-oxidative silk fibroin/dopamine nanoparticles (SD NPs) mediated by tyrosinase were produced, and decorated either by curcumin or albumin (BSA) to produce SD/curcumin or SD/BSA NPs as drug delivery vehicles, respectively. Both drug loaded NPs were further blended into SF solutions to produce SD films, as a depot-based drug delivery. The reaction mechanisms for producing new SD NPs were proposed. Anti-oxidative activities for SD NPs were examined by H2O2 scavenge capacities of NPs. NPs were not cytotoxic at concentration of 1000μg/mL. Moreover, heparin was coated to SD films to produce SDH films for temporary implants. Cumulative release profiles for drugs loaded SDH films showed fast releases and then sustained releases stages. Furthermore, the releases of curcumin in sustained stages for varying SD/curcumin NPs loaded into SDH films were dependent on amounts of NPs. BSA releases profiles for SD/BSA NPs loaded into SDH films were similar to those profiles for the films carried with SD/curcumin NPs but release periods of BSA were short. Degrees of PTR effects with irradiation of near infrared on the releases of two drugs loaded films were different. Blood clot at wound areas of rats with SDH films implantations was not found for 24 h study.

Background Progesterone is one of the female steroid hormones and plays an important role in the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy. It is especially important in preparing the uterus for the implantation of the blastocyst and maintaining pregnancy. The concentration in human serum is measured to determine the ovarian function retroactively and the cause of abortion in early pregnancy. Methods A quantification assay based on isotope dilution mass spectrometry to determine the concentration of progesterone in human serum is reported. Incorporated with 13C3-progesterone, serum samples were subjected to progesterone extraction and clean-up by C4 solid-phase-extraction columns and hexane-based liquid/liquid extraction, respectively. The cleaned-up serum samples were then subjected to MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for the quantification of progesterone. Results Progesterone and the internal standard, 13C3-progesterone, were measured in the selected reaction monitoring mode for the transitions m/z 315.4 to 108.9 and m/z 318.4 to 111.9, respectively. We calculated the peak area ratio of progesterone to 13C3-progesterone. The progesterone concentration in human serum was calculated by substituting the peak area ratio into an isotope dilution calibration curve, and then compared with the radioimmunoassay. Conclusions In the study, the concentrations of serum progesterone were measured, and the recovered progesterone concentration determined by the assay showed good robustness and consistency in comparison to the conventional radioimmunologic assay. We concluded that the 13C3-progesterone-based quantification assay is a robust method for the measurement of serum progesterone.

A GO/Ni(HCO3)2 composite was synthesized by the self-assembly of layered Ni(HCO3)2 and GO in their suspension mixture under sonication, followed by heat treatment to obtain rGO/NiO for the use as the electrode material of supercapacitors. The structural change from the GO/Ni(HCO3)2 to the rGO/NiO was investigated by XRD, SEM, and nitrogen adsorption. Results indicate that the rGO/NiOhas a specific surface area of 121.3 m2 g-1 and pore volume of 0.26 cm3 g-1. The rGO/NiO possesses a hierarchical porous structure with a pore size range of 2-100 nm. The high specific surface area and the hierarchical porous structure endow the rGO/NiO composite with a high specific capacitance of 919 F g-1 (0.5 A g-1) and improved rate capability of 71% when the current density increases from 0.5A g-1 to 5A g-1. The specific capacitance retains 91% of its original value after the composite is cycled at the current densityof 2 A g-1for 3000 cycles, indicating a good rate capability.

In this paper, efforts are made to develop a novel, simple, efficient yet low-cost method to prepare carbon microtubes (CMTs) derived from corn silks through one-step carbonization process. Furthermore, the CMTs are activated by KOH to prepare hierarchical porous carbon microtubes (HPCMTs) as an electrode material for supercapacitor. The HPCMTs not only inherite the hollow tube-like structure from corn silks but also possess micropores, mesopores, macropores. A maximum specific surface area of 1962.4 m2 g−1 is achieved by HPCMTs-2, which the weight ratio of KOH/CMTs is 2. The electrochemical performance of the HPCMTs-2 are appraised in 6 M KOH solution as electrolyte via three-electrode system. The electrode materials present the maximum specific capacitance of 291.2 F g−1 at 0.1 A g−1. When the current density increases 200 times to 20 A g−1, the capacitance retention rate is 69.6%. Beyond that, the practical application properties of HPCMTs-2 electrode materials are evaluated in symmetric devices assembled with 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte and 1 M MeEt3NBF4/PC organic electrolyte respectively. The symmetric supercapacitor with aqueous electrolyte provides an energy density of 5.4 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 5000 W kg−1 and a superb capacitance retention of 97.9% after 10,000 cycles at 4 A g−1. Besides, the symmetric supercapacitor assembled with organic electrolyte delivers an energy density of 16.4 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 6750 W kg−1 and a good cycling life with a capacitance retention of 81.6% over 10,000 cycles at 4 A g−1.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common malignant liver tumor. The purpose of this study is to characterize proteins secreted from the HepG2 cells, which may relate to cell differentiation and tumor metastasis. In the proteomic analysis, the secretome was identified by nano-high–performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (nano-HPLC/ESIMS/MS) followed by peptide fragmentation pattern analysis. In this study, three proteins, p130Cas-associated protein (p130Cas/BCAR1), TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP43/TARDBP) and translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP/TPT1), were identified and confirmed by Western blotting, which showed significantly differential expression compared with the normal liver cells. Analyzing differential protein expressions in HepG2 cell by proteomic approaches suggests that p130Cas/BCAR1, TDP43/TARDBP and TCTP/TPT1 as key proteins and may serve as biomarkers for HCC.

Background The thyroid hormone, thyroxine (T4), is a tyrosine-based hormone produced by the thyroid gland, which is essential in regulating a number of biological processes, including growth, neurodevelopment, carbohydrate metabolism, oxygen consumption and protein synthesis. Data on human thyroid hormone metabolism were gathered since the middle of the 1970s mainly by the use of radioactive iodinated (125I or 131I) hormones. Methods We describe an isotope dilution-matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) method for the simultaneous determination of endogenous thyroid hormone and its 13C6-labeled analogue in serum. The 13C6-thyroxine (13C6-T4) was used as an internal standard; T4 and its isotopically labeled analogue were measured in the selected reaction monitoring mode for the transitions from m/z 777.8 to 732.1 and from m/z 784.2 to 738.1, respectively. Results Serum samples were prepared and concentrated by a solid-phase extraction chromatography method. The recovery rate was measured by 125I-T4 and can be up to 82.8 ± 2.8%. The detection limit and linear range for T4 were 5 ng/ml and 5–400 ng/ml, respectively. The correlation coefficient (R2) between radioimmunoassay (RIA) and isotope dilution-MALDI-TOF MS for detection of serum T4 was 0.982. Conclusion This assay has a good relationship against a commercial RIA and the isotope dilution-mass spectrometry method and may serve as a reference method for quantitative analysis of T4.

The early responses of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to various biopolymers are important to their proliferation and differentiation. Here, the adhesions of rat MSCs on the electrode of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) decorated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT)/chitosan (CS), CNT/CS/hyaluronic acid (HA) and CNT/CS/fibronectin (FN) layers were investigated and compared with other techniques at a serum-free condition for 12-h incubation. The numbers of adhered rMSCs on CNT/CS/FN and CNT electrodes were 76 and 26% of the initial values, respectively, determined by cell-count technique while MTS assay could not detect the differences. The weights of adhered rMSCs on CNT/CS/FN electrodes of QCM were 50% higher than those on other surfaces that were consistent with cell-count technique. The morphology of adhered rMSCs on the CNT/CS/FN surfaces markedly differed from those on other surfaces. In conclusion, the electrodes of QCM decorated with CNT/CS/FN or CNT/CS/carbohydrate polymers could be quantified the early adhesion of rMSCs on their surfaces.

Three biphenanthrene compounds (1-3) and a triphenanthrene compound (4), together with six known biphenanthrene compounds (5-10), were isolated from the tubers of Monomeria barbata Lindl. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis (1D-, 2D-NMR, and HR-ESI-MS). These four new compounds were tested in vitro for the cytotoxic activity against liver carcinoma (HepG-2), promyelocytic leukaemia (HL60), ovarian carcinoma (Skov-3) and epidermoid carcinoma (A431) cancer cell lines and the antioxidant activity in DPPH radical scavenging. Compounds 1-4 exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 and HL60 cell lines, and potent antioxidant activity in DPPH radical scavenging.

Relevance to ethnopharmacology Dahuangzhechong pill (DHZCP), a well-known and canonical Chinese medicine formula from “The Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber”, is officially approved and recommended by Chinese association of integrative medicine for the prevention and treatment of hepatic fibrosis in China. Aim of the study To test the hypothesis that therapeutic effects of DHZCP on hepatic fibrosis are conferred by regulating cytokine profile through a mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Materials and methods Hepatic fibrosis is inducted by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats which then were randomly divided into six groups: hepatic fibrosis model group, high dose DHZCP group, low dose DHZCP group, Fufang Biejia Ruangan Pian (FBRP) group, Colchicine group and control group. Pathological, immunohistochemical, multiplex immunoassay and protein expression studies (Western blotting) are performed. Results DHZCP significantly decreases the levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, hyaluronic acid, laminin, type IV collagen and procollagen III, and reverses hepatic fibrosis in rat model. DHZCP also could reduce the expression of α-smooth muscle actin, and lower the serum level of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 13 (IL-13). The expressions of phosphorylated p38 MAPK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) are down-regulated, while no significant changes are found in phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Conclusions DHZCP can alleviate hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl4. The anti-fibrotic effects of DHZCP are conferred by decreasing the secretion of TNF-α and IL-13 through down-regulating p38 and ERK phosphorylation.

Three new monophenanthrene compounds were isolated from an acetone extract of the tubers of Monomeria barbata Lindl. (Orchidaceae). Using spectroscopic methods, the structures of compounds 1 – 3 were determined as 1,4,7-trihydroxy-2-methoxy-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene ( 1 ), 1-( p -hydroxybenzoyl)-2-methoxy-4,7-dihydroxy-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene ( 2 ), 1,3,8-tri( p -hydroxybenzyl)-4-methoxy-phenanthrene-4,7-diol ( 3 ). These compounds showed cytotoxicities on four tumor cell lines (HepG2, HL-60, Skov-3, A431).

Veratridine is a lipid-soluble alkaloid extracted from Veratrum officinale and other species of the family Liliaceae. Veratridine prevents inactivation of Na(+) channel via binding the receptor site 2, causes influx of sodium ion and depolarization and induces apoptosis of neuronal cells. In the present study, we investigated the metabolism of veratridine and the effects of selective cytochrome P450 (CYP) inhibitors on the metabolism of veratridine in rat liver microsomes. The metabolites were separated and assayed by liquid-chromatography-electrospray ionization-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QIT-MSn), and further identified by their mass spectra and chromatographic behaviors. Result showed that four CYP isoforms (CYP1A, CYP2B, CYP2E1, CYP3A) were involved in the metabolism of veratridine in vitro and seven metabolites of veratridine were detected incubating with rat liver microsomes. Some of the metabolites were presumed to be potential mediates of neurotoxicity via protein binging. Further research in vivo needs to link the metabolism of veratridine to its toxicity.

Mono-/bi-layer Au nanoparticle films with large areas were prepared by the assembly of Au nanoparticles in aqueous colloid at toluene/water interfaces, which can be transferred onto the hydrophilic solid surface and adhere strongly to the substrate without any binding agent. The transferred Au nanoparticle films exhibited satisfactory catalytic performance for electro-oxidizing nitric oxide (NO) in solution, and had a low detection limit (2.7 × 10−8 mol/L), a rapid response time (less than 0.5 s) and a wide linear range (5.0 × 10−8–1.0 × 10−5 mol/L) for the detection of NO in solution. UV–vis spectra, cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry were conducted to characterize the prepared Au nanoparticle films.

To enhance the detection accuracy and deduce false positive rate of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack detection, a new machine learning method was proposed. With the analysis of support vector machine (SVM) and the wavelet kernel function theory, an admissive support vector kernel, which is a wavelet kernel constructed in this article, implements the combination of the wavelet technique with SVM. Then, wavelet support vector machine (WSVM) is applied to DDoS attack detections and as a classifying means to test the validity of the wavelet kernel function. Simulation experiments show that under the same conditions, the predictive ability of WSVM is improved and the computation burden is alleviated. The detection accuracy of WSVM is higher than the traditional SVM by about 4%, while its false positive is lower than the traditional SVM. Thus, for DDoS detections, WSVM shows better detection performance and is more adaptive to the changing network environment.

Poly-thionine nanowire/HRP/nano-Au composite nanomaterial was developed to fabricate the H 2 O 2 biosensor. Poly-thionine nanowires (PTHNWs) have been synthesized by electrodeposition in porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. The morphological characterization of PTHNWs was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The nanowires prepared by this method can be used to encapsulate horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and nano-Au by in situ electrochemical copolymerization. The resulting PTHNWs–HRP–nano-Au material facilitates electron-transfer process in electrochemical sensor design. The PTHNWs–HRP–nano-Au film-modified electrode showed to be excellent amperometric sensors for H 2 O 2 . In pH 6.98 phosphate buffer, almost interference-free determination of H 2 O 2 is realized at −0.1 V versus SCE with a linear range of 5 × 10 −7 to 1.3 × 10 −2 M, a correlation coefficient of 0.998 and response time 2 O 2 biosensor is up to 168 μA mM −1 cm −2 and the detection limit is 0.3 μM. Furthermore, the biosensor exhibited long-term stability, and good reproducibility.

Samples originating from body fluids often contain a complex mixture of inorganic salts, buffers, chaotropic agents, surfactant/detergents, preservatives, and other solubilizing agents. The presence of those contaminants often precludes direct analysis by matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on coinage metal can provide versatile modeling systems for studies of interfacial electron transfer, biological interactions, molecular recognition and other interfacial phenomena. In this study, SAMs surface was used for MALDI-TOF MS sample cleanup application. Experimental results from MALDI-TOF MS have revealed the better S/N ratio and resolution of using functionalized SAMs surface for the demonstration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in artificial human urine sample. This paper reports a surface modification and cleanup method that greatly simplifies this sample preparation process.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia of late life. The aim of this study was to utilize the proteomic approaches to establish serum protein patterns of AD. By using nano-high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry followed by peptide fragmentation pattern software to analyze proteome in human serum, the activity-dependent neuroprotector homeobox protein was found to exhibit significant differential expression compared with the control group and was confirmed by Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. It may play an important role in slowing the progression of clinical symptoms of AD.

A novel flavanol bearing phenylpropionic acid moiety at C-4 through a C–C bonding, named brainin A ( 1 ), was isolated from the rhizomes of Brainea insignis . Its structure was elucidated on the basis of spectral data including 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS.

The total phenolic content of 31 species of fern plants was determined, and their antioxidant activities were assessed by DPPH radical scavenging analysis.

Photochromic aldehyde-substituted spiropyran molecules were incorporated in a self-assembled monolayer structure and the rate of imine formation was determined by the shift in absorbance for the photomerocyanine upon UV irradiation.