Biotinylated chitosan nanoparticles (Bio-CS-NP) were prepared for the active delivery to cancer cells and its characterization was investigated in this study. The preparation process included two steps. First, biotinylated chitosan ( Bio-CS ) was obtained through a reaction between sulfosuccinimidobiotin and chitosan (CS). Second, Bio-CS-NP were prepared by the precipitation of Bio-CS with sodium chloride solution. With a biotin reagent box, the conjugation densities of biotin on the surface of Bio-CS-NP were determined. The morphology and diameter of the nanoparticles were assayed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and laser light scattering particle analyzer, respectively. The uptake of nanoparticles by human hepotacarcinoma HepG2 cells, for example, Bio-CS-NP and chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NP) without any modification, was quantitatively examined. The results indicated that the conjugation densities of biotin on the surface of Bio-CS-NP were 2.2 biotin CS. Bio-CS-NP were spherical, smooth on the surface. The average diameter was 296.8 nm. The polydispersion index was 0.155. The uptake of Bio-CS-NP by HepG2 cells was much higher than that of CS-NP (P < 0.05). It demonstrated that Bio-CS-NP can be applied as a new vehicle to actively deliver anticancer drugs to tumor cells. The method for the determination of biotin was simple and practical.
Biotin ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Biotinylation ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Chitosan ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Drug Carriers ; Drug Compounding ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Nanoparticles ; Particle Size ; Succinimides ; chemistry ; metabolism

As the main stabilizing structure of the medial ankle joint, deltoid ligament plays a role in counteracting excessive eversion of the hindfoot and external rotation of the talus during ankle movement so as to maintain the biomechanical stability of ankle joint. Although the incidence of deltoid ligament injury is low, improper diagnosis and treatment can affect the path of talus motion and eventually lead to chronic medial instability or traumatic arthritis of the ankle joint, seriously affecting the normal life and motor function of the patients. The diagnosis of deltoid ligament injury needs to be based on the characteristics of the injury, physical examination and imaging, among which X-ray, MRI and ultrasonography are most frequently used. There are various methods to treat deltoid ligament injury according to the type of injury, and thus the choice of treatment has been a hot topic in the field of foot and ankle surgery. The choice of non-surgical or surgical treatment for acute deltoid ligament injury remains controversial. For the treatment of chronic deltoid ligament injury, there is no consensus on direct repair or deltoid ligament reconstruction. In addition, the choice of autologous or allograft tendon or wire anchors for deltoid ligament reconstruction is also disputed. The rehabilitation of deltoid ligament injury is crucial to the early restoration of motor function of the ankle joint, but the related guidelines or consensus are scarce. In order to fully understand the characteristics of deltoid ligament injury, make accurate diagnosis and formulate reasonable treatment and rehabilitation programs, the authors review the research progress in deltoid ligament injury from aspects of anatomical characteristics, biomechanical mechanism of injury, diagnosis, treatment and postoperative functional rehabilitation, hoping to provide a reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of deltoid ligament injury.

Objective To construct and validate a risk prediction model for poor inhalation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)patients receiving inhaler therapy,providing a decision support tool for personalized prevention of poor inhalation.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data related to COPD patients receiving inhaler therapy,forming a dataset.The dataset was randomly divided into a training set and a test set in a ratio of 4∶1.Four different methods for missing value imputation,3 methods for variable feature selection,and 18 machine learning algorithms were employed to successfully construct 216 models on the training set.The monte carlo simulation method was used for resampling in the test set to validate the models,with the area under curve(AUC),accuracy,precision,recall,and F1 score used to evaluate model performance.The optimal model was selected to build the poor inhalation prediction platform.Results A study involving 308 patients with COPD found that 135(43.8%)were at risk of adverse inhalation.Using 33 predictor variables,216 risk prediction models were developed.Of these models,the ensemble learning algorithm yielded the highest average AUC of 0.844,with a standard deviation of 0.058[95%CI=(0.843,0.845)].The differences in predictive performance among the 216 models were statistically significant(P＜0.01).Under the ensemble learning algorithm,adherence to inhaler use(38.087 4%),inhaler satisfaction(25.680 1%),literacy(24.031 3%),number of inhalers(5.482 3%),age(4.204 5%)and number of acute exacerbations in the past year(2.184 7%)contributed most to the predictive model.The model exhibited superior performance,with an AUC of 0.869 3,an accuracy of 83.87%,a precision of 86.96%,a recall of 74.07%,and an F1 score of 0.8.Conclusion This study has developed a predictive model for poor inhalation risk in COPD inhaler therapy patients using machine learning algorithms,which exhibits strong predictive capabilities and holds potential clinical application value.

The application status of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for assisted reproductive field in the United States was analyzed, and the existing problems and future development directions were discussed. According to the survey on the 456 websites of assisted reproductive clinic in the United States mentioned in the report of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 111 clinics among 456 assisted reproductive clinics recommend and used acupuncture and moxibustion therapy, accounting for 24.3%. Acupuncture and moxibustion therapy had obvious effect, good safety and low cost, and the assisted reproductive institutions in the United States had a high degree of application and recognition to acupuncture and moxibustion therapy. However, some problems, such as immature treatment scheme, unclear mechanism and imperfect insurance policies, still existed. In the future, the advantages of Chinese traditional acupuncture and moxibustion should combine with international modern assisted reproductive technology, and multi-center and large-sample clinical randomized controlled trials and basic experimental research on the mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion for assisted reproduction should be carried out.
Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Moxibustion ; Reproduction ; United States

Objective:To investigate effect of Mycobacterium tuberculosis BCG-infected macrophages on damage and repair of renal tubular epithelial cells during development of renal tuberculosis.Methods:A co-culture model of BCG-infected M0 macrophages(upper chamber)and HK-2 cells(lower chamber)was established by Transwell,and THP-1 human monocyte macrophages were induced by 100 ng/ml phorbol ester(PMA)24 h to become M0 macrophages,and BCG infection cell model was established.Total cell protein was collected at 12 h and 24 h of infection,respectively.Western blot was used to detect expressions of M1 macrophage marker CD86 and M2 macrophage marker CD206 protein.M1 macrophage polarization marker cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α and M2 macrophage polarization marker cytokine TGF-β expressions in cell culture supernatant were detected by ELISA;experiment was divided into HK-2 group,BCG+HK-2 group,BCG+M0+HK-2 group and M0+HK-2 group,CCK-8 was used to detect viability of HK-2 cells in each group,and Hoechst test was used to detect HK-2 cells apoptosis in each group.Epithelial cell marker E-cadhren and fibroblast markerα-SMA expressions in HK-2 cells of each group were detected by Western blot.Results:After BCG infection of M0 macrophages,M1 macrophage viability was higher than 24 h at 12 h(P<0.05),and M2 macrophage was higher than 12 h at 24 h(P<0.05).After two cells co-culture,HK-2 cell viability was higher than 12 h at 24 h(P<0.001),apoptosis level was higher than 24 h at 12 h,epithelial cell marker protein E-cadherin protein level was higher than 12 h at 24 h(P<0.001),fibroblast level of cell marker protein α-SMA protein at 12 h was higher than that at 24 h(P<0.01).Conclusion:During development of renal tuberculosis,early BCG-infected macrophages may promote inflammatory injury of renal tubular epithelial cells through M1-type polarization;with prolongation of infec-tion time,they may repair renal tubular epithelial cells through M2-type polarization and plays an important protective role.