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Objective To evaluate lateral pterygoid muscle(LPM)contraction in the patients with temporomandibular disorders(TMD)based on 3D-T2 weighted imaging(3D-T2WI).Multiplanar reconstruction(MPR)was employed to measure the length of LPM in the images taken in closed-and open-mouth positions. Methods Seventeen TMD patients [age of(29.82±10.70)years,males/females=8/9] and 13 normal volunteers [control,age of(23.54±3.31)years,males/females=6/7] received 3D-T2WI of the temporomandibular joints in closed-and open-mouth positions from November 2019 to April 2020 in Department of Radiology,Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital.According to the position of the discs,the subjects were classified into the following groups:TMD with disc displacement without reduction(TMD-DDwoR),TMD with disc displacement with reduction(TMD-DDwR),TMD without disc displacement(TMDwoDD),and normal control without disc displacement(NCwoDD).MPR was employed to measure the maximal length of the superior belly of LPM.One-way analysis of variance,receiver operating characteristic curve,and permutation test were employed for the statistical analyses. Results The contraction of LPM was significantly shorter in TMD-DDwoR group [(3.36±1.96)mm] than in TMDwoDD group [(7.90±3.95)mm],NCwoDD group [(8.77±3.13)mm](

Aims Liquorice is a widely used herbal medicine for treating various diseases native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. Isoliquiritin (ISL), a licorice root-derived flavonoid, has been reported to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-genotoxic activity and anti-depression activities. This study was aimed to explore the pro-angiogenic activity of ISL and explicate the underlying mechanism. Main methods In vitro, ISL-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were analyzed for cell viability, cell migration and tube formation. In vivo, pro-angiogenic effects were evaluated for the intersegmental vessels (ISVs) formation in transgenic zebrafish embryos [Tg(fli-1: EGFP)]. Furthermore, a blocking assay with eight pathways-specific kinase inhibitors were also used to determine the potential pro-angiogenic mechanism of ISL. Key findings ISL counteracted tyrosine kinase inhibitor II (VRI)-induced endothelial cell apoptosis and promoted cell migration and tube formation in HUVECs. ISL markedly rescued ISVs loss induced by VRI in zebrafish embryos, probably by activating vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), Raf and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)-dependent signaling pathways. Significance Our study first discovered and confirmed the pro-angiogenic activity of ISL both in HUVECs and zebrafish. Thus, ISL could be developed as a potential therapeutic agent by the role of pro-angiogenic activity for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases and other vascular diseases.

Coronavirus disease 2019 has become a worldwide pandemic that is seriously jeopardising people's health. The National Health Commission and regional health administrations have issued regulations on the prevention and control of coronavirus disease 2019. Dentistry involves many invasive treatments, which differentiates it from other forms of medical practice. The following guidelines were produced by experts from the Stomatological Healthcare Service branch of the Chinese Stomatological Association to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 in dental clinics. The guidelines are in accordance with the relevant laws and documents from the health administration and range from technical guidelines to advice on how dental treatment should be conducted. Dental institutions can take these suggestions as a reference, based on the current local epidemic situation. It is anticipated that the guidelines will help dental institutions of different sizes to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

We report a transcriptome assembly and expression profiles from RNA-Seq data and identify genes responsible for culm gall formation in Zizania latifolia induced by Ustilago esculenta. The smut fungus Ustilago esculenta can induce culm gall in Zizania latifolia, which is used as a vegetable in Asian countries. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of culm gall formation is still unclear. To characterize the processes underlying this host-fungus association, we performed transcriptomic and expression profiling analyses of culms from Z. latifolia infected by the fungus U. esculenta. Transcriptomic analysis detected U. esculenta induced differential expression of 19,033 and 17,669 genes in Jiaobai (JB) and Huijiao (HJ) type of gall, respectively. Additionally, to detect the potential gall inducing genes, expression profiles of infected culms collected at -7, 1 and 10 DAS of culm gall development were analyzed. Compared to control, we detected 8089 genes (4389 up-regulated, 3700 down-regulated) and 5251 genes (3121 up-regulated, 2130 down-regulated) were differentially expressed in JB and HJ, respectively. And we identified 376 host and 187 fungal candidate genes that showed stage-specific expression pattern, which are possibly responsible for gall formation at the initial and later phases, respectively. Our results indicated that cytokinins play more prominent roles in regulating gall formation than do auxins. Together, our work provides general implications for the understanding of gene regulatory networks for culm gall development in Z. latifolia, and potential targets for genetic manipulation to improve the future yield of this crop.

Background Ischemic stroke is a multifactorial disease contributing to mortality and neurological dysfunction. Isoliquiritin (ISL) has been reported to possess a series of pharmacological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anti-depression, anti-neurotoxicity and pro-angiogenesis activities but whether it can be used for ischemic stroke treatment remains unknown. Purpose The goal of this study is to explore its therapeutic effect on ischemic stroke and demonstrated the potential mechanism of ISL in zebrafish model. Methods Using the photothrombotic-induced adult zebrafish model of ischemic stroke, we visualized the telencephalon (Tel) and optic tectum (OT) infarction injury at 24 h post-light exposure for 30 min by TTC and H&E staining. The effect of ISL on neurological deficits was analyzed during open tank swimming by video tracking. The antioxidant activity against ischemia injury was quantified by SOD, GSH-Px and MDA assay. Transcriptome analysis of zebrafish Tel revealed how ISL regulating gene expression to exert protective effect, which were also been validated by real-time quantitative PCR assays. Results We found for the first time that the Tel tissue was the first damaged site of the whole brain and it showed more sensitivity to the brain ischemic damage compared to the OT. ISL reduced the rate of Tel injury, ameliorated neurological deficits as well as counteracted oxidative damages by increasing SOD, GSH-Px and decreasing MDA activity. GO enrichment demonstrated that ISL protected membrane and membrane function as well as initiate immune regulation in the stress response after ischemia. KEGG pathway analysis pointed out that immune-related pathways, apoptosis as well as necroptosis pathways were more involved in the protective mechanism of ISL. Furthermore, the log2 fold change in expression pattern of 25 genes detected by qRT-PCR was consistent with that by RNA-seq. Conclusions Tel was highly sensitive to the brain ischemia injury in zebrafish model of ischemic stroke. ISL significantly exerted protective effect on Tel injury, neurological deficits and oxidative damages. ISL could regulate a variety of genes related to immune, apoptosis and necrosis pathways against complex cascade reaction after ischemia. These findings enriched the study of ISL, making it a novel multi-target agent for ischemic stroke treatment.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Tongnao Decoction (TND) is a Chinese decoction approved and used in Jiangsu Province Hospital for the treatment of ischemic stroke. It shows conclusive efficiency in the improvement of neurologic impairment and activities of daily living of the patients. Aim of the study Recently, angiogenesis has been recognized as a potential therapeutic strategy for treating cerebral ischemia. This study was aimed to provide comprehensive evidence for the pro-angiogenic effect of TND and characterize the underlying mechanism. Materials and methods We firstly established the chemical fingerprinting of TND. Then, the in vitro pro-angiogenic activities of TND were tested on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) through cell viability, wound healing and tube formation assays. The in vivo pro-angiogenic effects were evaluated on transgenic zebrafish embryos [Tg (fli-1: EGFP)] through the formation of intersegmental vessels (ISVs), subintestinal vessels (SIVs) and central arteries (CtAs). Lastly, the potential mechanisms of TND were analyzed by a blocking assay with eight pathways-specific kinase inhibitors. Results TND promoted the proliferation, migration and tube formation of HUVECs. TND also rescued the impairment of ISVs, SIVs and CtAs caused by VRI in a dose-dependent manner in zebrafish embryos. TND could activate vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) – protein kinase B (Akt) and Raf – mitogen-activated protein kinase1/2 (MEK1/2) – extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathways. Conclusion Our study firstly demonstrated the pro-angiogenic activities of TND. Our work provided evidences for the clinical usage of TND in restoring neurovascular function through promoting angiogenesis in the ischemic cerebral microvascular.

The diagnostic criteria of splenic hemangioma is the delayed filling enhancement pattern on the dynamic contrast CT imaging or magnetic resonance (MR) T1-weighted image,which requires long examination time and thus decreases the MR scanning efficiency. Contrast-enhanced T2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging is a new MR imaging technique that can be used to evaluate the intrinsic characteristics of hemangioma. However,few literature has discribed its role in diagnosing splenic hemangioma. In this article we reported one case of splenic hemangioma diagnosed by contrast-enhanced T2 FLAIR imaging,which reduced the MR scanning time and provided valuable experience for the diagnosis of splenic hemangioma.

The spatial distribution of employment is very important to the study of regional structure. We made an analysis on the spatial characteristics of employment density in Northeast China based on the regional density equation and spatial statistical methods with GIS and Geoda. The results showed that the employment centers concentrate along the coast, the local convergence trend becomes more and more obvious from the northern to the southern part, and the multi-center pattern of employment has been formed in the Northeast Region of China, which is like an inverted letter Y. From the year 2004 to 2008, the concentration of the employment density in the Northeast China continued to be strengthened. However, different local employment centers presented different patterns of growth. The results in this study can support the decision-making for local development, and the model and methods used in this paper may provide reference for relative studies.

Periodic mould level fluctuation (MLF) during slab casting is a bottleneck for upgrading the surface quality and casting speed especially for hypoperitectic (HP) or ultralow carbon steels. The uneven growth of the initially solidified shell is verified to be one of the important inducements to MLF due to related unsteady bulging in the secondary cooling zone. It is shown that the solidification mode of steels and the contraction behavior can be modified through chemical composition optimization within given composition limits. For high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, the actual peritectic points calculated by Thermo-Calc software may change remarkably with the slight variations of alloying element contents. Accordingly, the narrow limit of chemical composition of HP steels through optimization is proven to be one of the effective factors to control the popular MLF phenomenon during slab casting.

This study aimed at exploring a producing method of urea-formaldehyde resin that contained low free formaldehyde. Effects of the pH value of addition stage, the pH value and the temperature of polycondensation stage on the properties of the resin were analyzed. The experimental results showed that controlling the pH value of addition stage to 7.5-8.0, regulating the pH value of polycondensation stage to 4.8-5.1, and keeping the temperature of polycondensation stage to 88-92°C, a low toxic urea-formaldehyde resin adhesive was obtained which contained free formaldehyde 0.08%. Using this resin adhesive, the bonding strength of the plywood reached 1.7MPa, formaldehyde emission of the plywood was 0.7mg/l, reaching the grade E1.

Based on the development of community colleges in our country and its transfer education, career education, compensatory education, community education, quality education functions; analysing community colleges how to improve community residents’ subjective quality of life in education threshold,students fees,institutions ,three aspects; then in school model, institutes, teaching content and teacher team construction, exploring how to build community colleges for improving local residents’subjective quality of life.