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Tomatoes are rich in nutrients, yet they have a short shelf life and are prone to decay due to bacterial invasion. Polysaccharides extracted from Osmunda japonica (Thunb) were briefly characterised. The inhibitory effect of polysaccharides on nine kinds of common spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in tomatoes stored postharvest was studied, and the polysaccharides had broad‐spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities against many tested strains. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and the minimum bactericidal (fungicidal) concentrations (MBCs) were determined, and the lowest MBC against Bacillus cereus was 0.15 g L⁻¹. Various concentrations of an O. japonica (Thunb) polysaccharide (OP) solution were sprayed onto ordinary preservation paper, which then distinctly maintained tomato freshness. OP delayed vitamin C (VC) and titratable acid decreases and increased respiratory intensity in a dose‐dependent manner, reducing malondialdehyde accumulation. The tomatoes could be stored for 30 day at 25 ± 1 °C. OP has potential as a safe, nontoxic natural plant preservative.

The purpose of this study was to optimize the total anthocyanin content (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity of acidified water extract from blue honeysuckle berries by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimized conditions were HCl concentration of 0.35%, liquid–solid ratio of 49.42 ml/g, and extraction temperature of 41.56°C for total anthocyanin content (24.01 ± 0.37 mg/g), total phenolic content (207.03 ± 3.31 mg/g), DPPH radical scavenging activity (68.24 ± 1.13%), and ABTS radical scavenging activity (70.05 ± 0.84%). The experimental results are consistent with the predicted values. The results showed that acidified water extraction was an effective, simple, and green technique for the extraction of total anthocyanins, total phenol, and antioxidant activity from blue honeysuckle berries.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major source of pain and disability worldwide with no effective medical therapy due to poor understanding of its pathogenesis. Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) has been reported to play a role in subchondral bone pathology and articular cartilage degeneration during the progression of OA. In this study, we demonstrated that systemic use of a TGF-β-neutralizing antibody (1D11) attenuates OA progression by targeting subchondral bone pathological features in rodent OA models. Systemic administration of 1D11 preserves the subchondral bone microarchitecture, preventing articular cartilage degeneration by inhibition of excessive TGF-β activity, in both subchondral bone and the circulation. Moreover, the aberrant increases in the numbers of blood vessels, nestin(+) mesenchymal stromal/stem cells, and osterix(+) osteoblast progenitors were normalized by 1D11 systemic injection. Thus, systemic neutralization of excessive TGF-β ligands effectively prevented OA progression in animal models, with promising clinical implications for OA treatment.

Osteochondral defects affect both the articular cartilage and the underlying subchondral bone, but poor osteochondral regeneration is still a daunting challenge. Although the tissue engineering technology provides a promising approach for osteochondral repair, an ideal biphasic scaffold is in high demand with regards to proper biomechanical strength. In this study, an oriented poly(l-lacticacid)-co-poly(e-caprolactone) P(LLA-CL)/collagen type I(Col-I) nanofiber yarn mesh, fabricated by dynamic liquid electrospinning served as a skeleton for a freeze-dried Col-I/Hhyaluronate (HA) chondral phase (SPONGE) to enhance the mechanical strength of the scaffold. In vitro results show that the Yarn Col-I/HA hybrid scaffold (Yarn-CH) can allow the cell infiltration like sponge scaffolds. Using porous beta-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) as the osseous phase, the Yarn-CH/TCP biphasic scaffold was then assembled by freeze drying. After combination of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, the biphasic complex was successfully used to repair the osteochondral defects in a rabbit model with greatly improved repairing scores and compressive modulus.

Implant particles may induce inflammatory response by activating the nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaB) and mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK). Previous studies have shown that these signaling pathways are involved in the transforming growth factor-beta activated kinase 1 (TAK1) in signaling cascades induced by the receptor activator of NFkappaB ligand (RANKL) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) as well as interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). In this study, the roles of the TAK1 pathway in the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha in RAW 264.7 cells exposed to titanium alloy particles were investigated. Endogenous TAK1 was phosphorylated upon simulating RAW 264.7 cells by titanium alloy particles. The critical role for TAK1 in p38MAPK and NFkappaB activation was as well confirmed by the inhibition of p38MAPK and NFkappaB activity following 5Z-7-oxozeaenol, a selective inhibitor of TAK1. Furthermore, it was found that TNF-alpha was completely blocked by 5Z-7-oxozeaenol in RAW 264.7 cells. These results suggest that the TAK1-MAPK-NFkappaB signaling pathways may be a potential pharmacological target that can prevent instability for arthroplasty prosthesis.