Search

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by Porphyromonas gingivalis and other bacteria, and human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) are a promising candidate for the treatment of periodontal supporting tissue defects. This study aimed to investigate the effect of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2VitD3] on osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs in an in vitro periodontitis model and whether it can improve inflammatory status. hPDLSCs were in vitro isolated and identified. After treatment with 1,25(OH)2VitD3 and ultrapure pure Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS-G), the viability of hPDLSCs was detected using Cell Counting Kit-8, the expressions of osteogenic markers and inflammatory genes using Western blotting and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR), the levels of inflammatory factors in cells using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the fluorescence signal intensity of osteoblastic markers and inflammatory genes in cells using immunofluorescence assay. It was found that 1,25(OH)2VitD3 reversed the inhibition of hPDLSCs proliferation by LPS-G; LPS-G exhibited inhibitory effect on ALP, Runx2, and OPN expressions, and such inhibitory effect was significantly weakened when co-acting with 1,25(OH)2VitD3. Meanwhile, LPS-G upregulated the expressions of inflammatory genes IL-1β and Casp1, whereas 1,25(OH)2VitD3 antagonized such an effect and improved the inflammatory status. In conclusion, 1,25(OH)2VitD3 can reverse the inhibitory effect of LPS-G on hPDLSCs proliferation and osteogenic differentiation and suppress LPS-G-induced upregulation of inflammatory gene expressions.

Objective Low triiodothyronine syndrome (LT3S) is a common endocrine disease in preterm neonates. Various serious acute or chronic diseases result in LT3S. Few studies have investigated the causal relationship between perinatal factors and LT3S in preterm neonates with a gestational age (GA) of 28–35 weeks. The present study comprehensively analyzed the perinatal factors of LT3S in preterm neonates. Methods This was a retrospective study of neonates with and without LT3S from January 2018 to November 2019. Compared to 206 preterm neonates without LT3S, 158 neonates were diagnosed with LT3S, excluding neonates with congenital malformations, other endocrine diseases, genetic diseases and inherited metabolic diseases. Results Five perinatal risk factors for LT3S were confirmed using univariate and multivariate analyses: smaller gestational age, lower birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), neonatal sepsis, and dopamine use. Conclusions LT3S in preterm neonates was associated with multiple perinatal factors, including smaller gestational age, lower birth weight, RDS, sepsis, and dopamine use. Preterm neonates with a GA of 28–35 weeks who are exposed to a series of high-risk perinatal factors must be closely observed, diagnosed early and treated for primary diseases promptly to reduce the occurrence of LT3S and improve the outcomes.Key Message:Few studies have investigated the relationship between perinatal factors and Low triiodothyronine syndrome (LT3S) in preterm neonates with a gestational age (GA) of 28-35 weeks.LT3S was associated with multiple perinatal factors, including smaller gestational age, lower birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), sepsis, and dopamine use.

Due to the lack of reference intervals for serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in preterm neonates during the 5th to 7th day of life, we performed a retrospective study using the chemiluminescence immunoassay system.A total of 2040 preterm neonates with a gestational age (GA) of 26-35 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit from 2014 to 2019 were included. Their serum FT3, FT4 and TSH values were calculated and analyzed to establish reference intervals for preterm neonates stratified by GA. The comparisons of FT3, FT4 and TSH were made by sex (males and females) and gestational age (26-28 weeks; 29-32 weeks; 33-35 weeks).The reference intervals for FT3, FT4 and TSH in preterm neonates with a GA of 26-35 weeks were (1.65~5.21) pmol/L, (8.64~25.41) pmol/L, and (0.406~12.468) mlU/L, respectively. There were significant differences between serum FT3 and FT4 values and GA, while TSH levels were not significantly different (P 0.01). The serum FT3 values of males were lower than those of females, especially in the 29-32 weeks group. No significant differences in serum values between sexes were found in FT4 or TSH (P 0.05).Reference intervals of thyroid function tests were established to determine the early diagnostic criteria of thyroid diseases for neonates with a GA of 26-35 weeks and to avoid unnecessary retesting and interventions. The reference intervals of FT4 can be used as an indicator to regulate the doses of thyroid hormone supplement in the treatments of congenital hypothyroidism.

Objective Congenital hypothyroidism (CH), the most common neonatal metabolic disorder, is characterized by impaired neurodevelopment. Although several candidate genes have been associated with CH, comprehensive screening of causative genes has been limited. Design and methods One hundred ten patients with primary CH were recruited in this study. All exons and exon–intron boundaries of 21 candidate genes for CH were analyzed by next-generation sequencing. And the inheritance pattern of causative genes was analyzed by the study of family pedigrees. Results Our results showed that 57 patients (51.82%) carried biallelic mutations (containing compound heterozygous mutations and homozygous mutations) in six genes (DUOX2, DUOXA2, DUOXA1, TG, TPO and TSHR) involved in thyroid hormone synthesis. Autosomal recessive inheritance of CH caused by mutations in DUOX2, DUOXA2, TG and TPO was confirmed by analysis of 22 family pedigrees. Notably, eight mutations in four genes (FOXE1, NKX2-1, PAX8 and HHEX) that lead to thyroid dysgenesis were identified in eight probands. These mutations were heterozygous in all cases and hypothyroidism was not observed in parents of these probands. Conclusions Most cases of congenital hypothyroidism in China were caused by thyroid dyshormonogenesis rather than thyroid dysgenesis. This study identified previously reported causative genes for 57/110 Chinese patients and revealed DUOX2 was the most frequently mutated gene in these patients. Our study expanded the mutation spectrum of CH in Chinese patients, which was significantly different from Western countries.

SUMMARY In code division multiple access (CDMA) communication systems, the communication channel is usually corrupted with time-varying interferences, which include channel fading, multiple access interference, round-trip delay, and noise. Power control is an important issue for CDMA systems to achieve higher communication link quality and better system capacity under time-varying interferences. In the previous studies, most of power control algorithms only considered the user's target signal-to-interference-and-noise-ratio (SINR) to maintain quality of service. In this study, a multi-objective optimization method is proposed for power control design in CDMA systems. With a shadow system and an h ∞ filter to compensate for the round-trip delay, the proposed power control scheme can simply adjust transmission power to achieve the best compromise between several objectives, such as minimization of SINR deviation, minimization of power consumption, and minimization of the system outage. Several simulation results are given to confirm the performance of the proposed power control scheme. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background: We retrospectively investigated incidence, morbidity, and mortality of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis in China, with special emphasis on determining the predictors of necrotizing enterocolitis associated mortality. Methods: We identified neonates as having necrotizing enterocolitis if they met the accepted diagnostic criterion. Data pertaining to antenatal period, labor and birth, and the postnatal course of illness were collected. Multivariate analysis and logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors. Results: There were 1167 cases of necrotizing enterocolitis identified from the 95 participating NICUs in mainland China in 2011, with the incidence of 2.50% and 4.53% in LBW (birth weight

Because of substantial advances of automatic technology in human-machine systems, the operator has changed to a "decision maker" in a control room. Modeling operator's decision behavior has attracted a major interest in research fields such as human factors and reliability engineering. However, traditional reasoning models proposed by psychologists are "static" so that they are deficient in accounting for the interactive nature of modern human-machine systems. Concerning this issue, a conceptual framework of decision making is suggested to distinguish between dynamic and static decision making. Hence, dynamic and static decision processes are defined considering the decision stages in a decision-making task. Reasoning is regarded as a dominant mental activity in each decision stage and the inadequacy of static reasoning models in handling dynamic decision making is discussed. Considering human cognitive biases and the requirements of engineering applications, an event-driven approach, called the Dynamic B...

In this study, a multi-objective (MO) optimization method is proposed for power control design in CDMA systems. With a shadow system and an H ∞ filter to compensate for the round-trip delay, the proposed power control scheme can simply adjust transmission power to achieve the best compromise between several objectives, such as minimization of SINR deviation, minimization of power consumption, and minimization of the system outage. A simulation result is given to confirm the performance of the proposed power control scheme.

To investigate the relationship between diabetes mellitus and pulposis and the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus pulposis, via comparing the pulp tissue conditions and ultramicrostructures of capillary vessels in pulp tissues of diabetes mellitus patients and normal control.Pulp tissues were obtained from clinically extracted human third molars with impaction (control group, 30 cases) and intact third molars with impaction (non-insulin dependent diabetes patients) whilst without pulposis symptom (diabetic group, 30 cases). The pathological changes of two groups' pulp tissues were evaluated under light microscope and electron microscopy. The thickness of pulp capillary basement membrane and their anionic sites were quantitatively analyzed by electron microscopy and special staining. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS6.12 software package.The tricked blood capillary wall was observed in diabetic pulp under light microscope. The thickened blood capillary wall and constrictive lumen were observed in diabetic pulp under electron microscope, accompanied with vascular endothelial cell swelling and structural destruction and thickened basement membrane (P0.01). The decrease of anionic sites of capillary basement membrane was observed in diabetic pulp under specially stained electron microscope (P0.01).Inflammatory reaction existed in the pulp of intact teeth of DM patients without symptoms. The changes observed in diabetic vessels may occur in the dental pulp. Diabetes mellitus is closely related to pulposis.

To compare the young permanent teeth enamel demineralization after immersion in different kinds of soft drinks; to compare the degree of enamel demineralization caused by the different immersion time and frequency of beverages.The change of young permanent teeth enamel surface microhardness was measured by a leitzs microhardness tester. The change of calcium and phosphate in the different drinks after immersion of the enamel was analyzed by Roche Biochemical analyzer. Two-way ANOVA in SPSS 15.0 software package was used for statistical analysis.The dissolution of calcium and phosphate in young permanent teeth enamel was caused by all kinds of soft drinks the surface microhardness of enamel was decreased by these drinks. There were great significant differences in the demineralization abilities among different beverages (P0.05).The enamel demineralization was increased when prolonging the immersion time and frequency.The enamel demineralization can be caused by orange juice and carbonic acid drinks. The enamel remineralization can be increased by tea drink, which is an ideal healthy beverage. Supported by Excellent Middle-aged Science Foundation of School of Medicine,Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Grant No.040407).

A vertical type metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactor was used to grown GaN films on c-face sapphire substrates. Ammonia and trimethylgallium were induced to the reactor separately through the specially designed shower-head. In the growth procedure, firstly, the substrate was heated in a fully hydrogen environment to 1100/spl deg/C and continued for 10 minutes to diminish the surface damage. Then at 1100/spl deg/C this high temperature and just before next temperature decreasing procedure, the surface nitridation was performed in a mixed hydrogen/ammonia condition for several minutes. Then the substrate temperature was decreased to 520/spl deg/C to grow the GaN buffer layer on the nitridation sapphire surface. The hydrogen/ammonia flow ratio was also varied in this experiment. The nitridation effect on the quality of undoped GaN epitaxial layer was studied. the AlGaN/GaN heterojunction of 200/2000 /spl Aring/ was used to fabricate the modulation doped FET. The maximum drain current was above 30 mA at the gate voltage of 1 V. Knee voltage of this device was about 8 V. The maximum transconductance of the device with 2 /spl mu/m gate length was 50 mS/mm at the gate voltage of 1 V.