Search

Introduction: Uremic pruritus (UP) is a prevalent symptom in patients suffering from uremia, yet its underlying etiology and mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. Given the significant incidence of UP, identifying specific alterations in proteins present in the blood of UP patients could offer insights into the potential biological pathways associated with UP and facilitate the exploration of biomarkers.Methods: In this study, we employed LC-MS/MS-based data-independent acquisition (DIA) mode to analyze serum samples obtained from 54 UP patients categorized as DKD-UP, HN-UP, and GN-UP (n = 18 for each subgroup), along with 18 uremic patients without pruritus (Negative) and 18 CKD patients without pruritus (CKD). Through DIA mode analysis, a total of 7075 peptides and 959 proteins were quantified. Within these, we identified four upregulated and 13 downregulated Differentially Expressed Proteins (DEPs) in DKD-UP versus Negative, five upregulated and 22 downregulated DEPs in HN-UP versus Negative, and three upregulated and 23 downregulated DEPs in GN-UP versus Negative. Furthermore, we conducted an intersection analysis of the DEPs across these three comparison groups to derive a set of common DEPs (COMP). Subsequently, a total of 67 common DEPs were identified in the three UP groups when compared to the CKD group, with 40 DEPs showing upregulation and 27 DEPs displaying downregulation.Results: Following Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) analyses, we observed that the DEPs distinguishing UP from CKD were primarily associated with mitochondrial function (MT-CYB, PRDX2, TOMM22), inflammation (CD59, CSF1), renal injury (WFDC2), and neural function (CAP1, VGF).Discussion: Our findings contribute to a potential molecular comprehension of UP pathogenesis, shedding light on the identification of these DEPs as plausible biomarkers for UP.

The high-resolution range profiles (RPs) of 3-D objects buried in layered media are investigated. In order to simulate the RPs efficiently, wideband scattered fields are calculated by a method of moments (MoM) based fast algorithm, i.e. characteristic basis function method (CBFM). To achieve fast frequency sweep, an adaptive frequency sampling strategy (AFS) is implemented to accelerate the broadband simulation. Then by using the inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT), RPs of the object are obtained. To validate the proposed approach, range locations are predicted qualitatively based on the ray theory. Moreover, the ray approach also enables the physical interpretation of the scattering mechanisms corresponding to the peaks, for example, the specular reflection, the edge diffraction, and the higher-order effects. Since different scattering centers (SCs) dominate in different directions, the RPs are aspect dependent. Furthermore, the RPs are also dependent on the lossy and dispersive effects of the layered medium. Numerical results demonstrate that the peaks are significantly reduced when the layered medium is lossy, especially those due to the higher-order interactions between the object and the interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence shows that the curvature of porous scaffold plays a significant role in guiding tissue regeneration. However, the underlying mechanism remains controversial to date. In this study, we developed an in silico model to simulate the effect of surface curvature on the osteoconduction of scaffold implants, which comprises the primary aspects of bone regeneration. Selective laser melting was used to manufacture a titanium scaffold with channels representative of different strut curvatures for in vivo assessment. The titanium scaffold was implanted in the femur condyles of rabbits to validate the mathematical model. Simulation results suggest that the curvature affected the distribution of growth factors and subsequently induced the migration of osteoblast lineage cells and bone deposition to the locations with higher curvature. The predictions of the mathematical model are in good agreement with the in vivo assessment results, in which newly formed bone first appeared adjacent to the vertices of the major axes in elliptical channels. The mechanism of curvature‐guided osteoconduction may provide a guide for the design optimization of scaffold implants to achieve enhanced bone ingrowth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]