Objective To investigate the effect of the structure of 3D-printed silk fibroin/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose(SF/HPMC)scaffolds on the growth of tracheal epithelial cells in vitro.Methods Six types of SF/HPMC scaffolds with different surface topography,pore size,and porosity were fabricated using a 3D printer by adjusting the concentration of SF/HPMC solutions and printing parameters,combined with freeze-drying.Normal human bronchial epithelial cell lines BEAS-2B were cultured on these scaffolds for 7 days.The cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay and live/dead cell staining,and the cell morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Results The porosity of 20%(weight percentage)SF/HPMC scaffolds with rough surface and smooth surface were 70.5%±2.0%and 65.5%±6.1%,respectively,and the porosity of 30%(weight percentage)SF/HPMC scaffolds with rough surface and smooth surface were 63.9%±2.1%and 59.6%±2.1%,respectively.The two pore sizes of the rough-surfaced 20%SF/HPMC scaffolds were(443.9±104.1)μm and(681.1±115.1)μm.BEAS-2B cells spread better on the rough-surfaced scaffolds,and their proliferation was higher on scaffolds with higher porosity and smaller pore sizes compared to those with lower porosity and larger pore sizes.Conclusion The 3D-printed SF/HPMC scaffolds are suitable for bronchial epithelial cell growth.Scaffolds with rough surfaces,higher porosity,and appropriate pore sizes might facilitate BEAS-2B cell growth.

Objective To investigate the effect of the structure of 3D-printed silk fibroin/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose(SF/HPMC)scaffolds on the growth of tracheal epithelial cells in vitro.Methods Six types of SF/HPMC scaffolds with different surface topography,pore size,and porosity were fabricated using a 3D printer by adjusting the concentration of SF/HPMC solutions and printing parameters,combined with freeze-drying.Normal human bronchial epithelial cell lines BEAS-2B were cultured on these scaffolds for 7 days.The cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay and live/dead cell staining,and the cell morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Results The porosity of 20%(weight percentage)SF/HPMC scaffolds with rough surface and smooth surface were 70.5%±2.0%and 65.5%±6.1%,respectively,and the porosity of 30%(weight percentage)SF/HPMC scaffolds with rough surface and smooth surface were 63.9%±2.1%and 59.6%±2.1%,respectively.The two pore sizes of the rough-surfaced 20%SF/HPMC scaffolds were(443.9±104.1)μm and(681.1±115.1)μm.BEAS-2B cells spread better on the rough-surfaced scaffolds,and their proliferation was higher on scaffolds with higher porosity and smaller pore sizes compared to those with lower porosity and larger pore sizes.Conclusion The 3D-printed SF/HPMC scaffolds are suitable for bronchial epithelial cell growth.Scaffolds with rough surfaces,higher porosity,and appropriate pore sizes might facilitate BEAS-2B cell growth.

On February 2022, WHO released the evidence-based guideline on control and elimination of human schistosomiasis, with aims to guide the elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem in disease-endemic countries by 2030 and promote the interruption of schistosomiasis transmission across the world. Based on the One Health concept, six evidence-based recommendations were proposed in this guideline. This article aims to analyze the feasibility of key aspects of this guideline in Chinese national schistosomiasis control program and illustrate the significance to guide the future actions for Chinese national schistosomiasis control program. Currently, the One Health concept has been embodied in the Chinese national schistosomiasis control program. Based on this new WHO guideline, the following recommendations are proposed for the national schistosomiasis control program of China: (1) improving the systematic framework building, facilitating the agreement of the cross-sectoral consensus, and building a high-level leadership group; (2) optimizing the current human and livestock treatments in the national schistosomiasis control program of China; (3) developing highly sensitive and specific diagnostics and the framework for verifying elimination of schistosomiasis; (4) accelerating the progress towards elimination of schistosomiasis and other parasitic diseases through integrating the national control programs for other parasitic diseases.
China/epidemiology* ; Disease Eradication ; Humans ; Public Health ; Schistosomiasis/prevention & control* ; World Health Organization

BACKGROUNDAtopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease characterized by chronic recurrent dermatitis with profound itching. Most patients have personal and/or family history of atopic diseases. Several criteria have been proposed for the diagnosis of AD. Although the clinical features of childhood AD have been widely studied, there has been less large-scale study on adult/adolescent AD. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of adult/adolescent patients with chronic symmetrical eczema/AD and to propose Chinese diagnostic criteria for adult/adolescent AD.

METHODSA hospital-based study was performed. Forty-two dermatological centers participated in this study. Adult and adolescent patients (12 years and over) with chronic symmetrical eczema or AD were included in this study. Questionnaires were completed by both patients and investigators. The valid questionnaires were analyzed using EpiData 3.1 and SPSS 17.0 software.

RESULTSA total of 2662 valid questionnaires were collected (1369 male and 1293 female). Of all 2662 patients, 2062 (77.5%) patients had the disease after 12 years old, while only 600 (22.5%) patients had the disease before 12 years old, suggesting late-onset eczema/AD is common. Two thousand one hundred and thirty-nine (80.4%) patients had the disease for more than 6 months. One thousand one hundred and forty-four (43.0%) patients had a personal and/or family history of atopic diseases. One thousand five hundred and forty-eight (58.2%) patients had an elevated total serum IgE and/or eosinophilia and/or positive allergen-specific IgE. Based on these clinical and laboratory features, we proposed Chinese criteria for adult/adolescent AD. Of all 2662 patients, 60.3% were satisfied with our criteria, while only 48.2% satisfied with Hanifin Rajka criteria and 32.7% satisfied with Williams criteria, suggesting a good sensitivity of our criteria in adult/adolescent AD patients.

CONCLUSIONLate-onset of eczema or AD is common. The clinical manifestations of AD are heterogeneous. We have proposed Chinese diagnostic criteria for adolescent and adult AD, which are simple and sensitive for diagnosis of adult/adolescent AD.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; diagnosis ; immunology ; Eczema ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CC-RCC) are serious disorders and usually fatal, and always accompanied with pathological changes in the kidney. Signal-induced proliferation-associated protein 1 (SIPA-1) is a Rap1GTPase activating protein (Rap1GAP) expressed in the normal distal and collecting tubules of the murine kidney. Lupus-like autoimmune disease and leukemia have been observed in SIPA-1 deficient mice, suggesting a pathological relevance of SIPA-1 to SLE and carcinoma in human being. The expression pattern of SIPA-1 is as yet undefined and the pathogenesis of these diseases in humans remains elusive. In this study, we used both immunohistochemistry and quantum dot (QD)-based immunofluorescence staining to investigate the expression of SIPA-1 in renal specimens from SLE and CC-RCC patients. MTT assay and Western blotting were employed to evaluate the effects of SIPA-1 overexpression on the proliferation and apoptosis of renal cell lines. Semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) was applied to examine the changes of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) mRNA level. Results showed that SIPA-1 was highly expressed in the proximal and collecting tubules of nephrons in SLE patients compared to normal ones, and similar results were obtained in the specimens of CC-RCC patients. Although SIPA-1 overexpression did not affect cellular proliferation and apoptosis of both human 786-O renal cell carcinoma cells and rat NRK-52E renal epithelial cell lines, RT-PCR results showed that HIF-1α mRNA level was down-regulated by SIPA-1 overexpression in 786-O cells. These findings suggest that SIPA-1 may play critical roles in the pathological changes in kidney, and might provide a new biomarker to aid in the diagnosis of SLE and CC-RCC.
Apoptosis ; Base Sequence ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; DNA Primers ; GTPase-Activating Proteins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Kidney Tubules, Proximal ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; metabolism ; pathology ; Nuclear Proteins ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in PC-12 cells, and preliminarily discuss the potential molecular mechanism of mTOR/Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway.

METHODThe OGD PC-12 cell model was established. The cell viability was measured by MTT assay. After the pretreatment with Rg1 with the concentration of 10, 20, 40 micromol x L(-1) for 24 h, the cell viability was observed. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, superoxide dismutase (SOD) ac- tivity and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were detected by colorimetry assay. mTOR, p-Akt(ser473), p-Akt(tjr308), Akt, p-FoxO3, FoxO3 in cytoplasm and nucleus, and total FoxO3 protein expression were detected by Western blot assay.

RESULTOGD could significantly in- hibit cell proliferation in 4-24 h in a time-dependent manner. After pretreatment for 24 h, Rg1 (20, 40 micromol x L(-1)) could notably elevate the cell viability and SOD viability and reduce the LDH release and MDA content. Besides, Rg1 also inhibited OGD-induced mTOR and p-Akt(ser473) decreases. After treatment for 6 h, OGD could reduce FoxO3 phosphorylation and promote FoxO3 in cytoplasm. This data suggested that Rg1 could protect PC-12 cell injury through mTOR/p-Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONGinsenoside Rg1 could attenuate OGD-induced PC-12 cell injury. Its action mechanism may be closely related to activation of mTOR/p-Akt/FoxO3 signaling pathway.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Forkhead Box Protein O3 ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Oxygen ; metabolism ; PC12 Cells ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the effectiveness of waist circumference cut-off values in predicting the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and risk factors in adults in China.

METHODSA cross-sectional survey was condcuted in 14 provinces (autonomous region, municipality) in China. A total of 47,325 adults aged⋝20 years were selected by multistage stratified sampling, and questionnaire survey and physical and clinical examination were conducted among them. MetS was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria and modified IDF criteria.

RESULTSThe age-standardized prevalence of MetS was 24.2% (22.1% in men and 25.8% in women) and 19.5% (22.1% in men and 18.0% in women) according to the IDF criteria and modified IDF criteria respectively. The age-standardized prevalence of pre-MetS was 8.1% (8.6% in men and 7.8% in women) according to the modified IDF criteria. The prevalence of MetS was higher in urban residents than rural residents and in northern China residents than in southern China residents. The prevalence of central obesity was about 30% in both men and women according to the ethnicity-specific cut-off values of waist circumference for central obesity (90 cm for men and 85 cm for women). Multivariate regression analysis revealed no significant difference in risk factors between the two MetS definitions.

CONCLUSIONUsing both the modified IDF criteria and ethnicity-specific cut-off values of waist circumference can provide more useful information about the prevalence of MetS in China. Conclusion Using both the modified IDF criteria and ethnicity-specific cut-off values of waist circumference can provide more useful information about the prevalence of MetS in China.

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Waist Circumference

The present paper is aimed to study the preparation and application of individual artificial bone of carbon/carbon composites. Using computer tomography images (CT), we acquired a three-dimensional image. Firstly, we described bone contour line outlined with manual and automatic method by the binary volume data. Secondly, we created 3D object surface information by marching cubes. Finally, we converted this information to non-uniform rational B-spine (NURBS) by using geomagic software. Individual artificial bone with carbon/carbon composite was prepared through the CNC Machining Center. We replaced the humeral head of the tested rabbit, and then observed the effects of implantation in neuroimaging and pathological section. Using this method, we found that the bone shape processed and bone shape replaced was consistent. After implantation, the implant and the surrounding bone tissue bound closely, and bone tissue grew well on the surface of the implant. It has laid a sound foundation of the preparation using this method for individual artificial bone of carbon/carbon composite material.
Animals ; Bone Substitutes ; chemistry ; Carbon ; chemistry ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Rabbits ; Software ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of weekly paclitaxel combined with S-1 or fluorouracil in the first line treatment of advanced gastric carcinoma.

METHODSTwo hundred and forty patients with untreated advanced gastric carcinoma were randomized into two arms, patients in the experimental arm were given paclitaxel and S-1, while those in the control arm received paclitaxel and fluorouracil. The regimen of experimental arm was paclitaxel 60 mg/m(2) by intravenous infusion, day 1, 8, 15; S-1 80 - 120 mg/day given by oral administration, day 1 - 14. The regimen of control arm was fluorouracil 500 mg/m(2) by intravenous infusion continuously, day 1 - 5; CF 20 mg/m(2) by intravenous infusion, day 1 - 5. The regimens in both arms were repeated every 28 days. The efficacy and safety of both arms were assessed.

RESULTSTwo hundred and twenty-eight patients were analyzed in the full analysis set, and 192 patients were analyzed in per-protocol set (experimental arm 100 patients, control arm 92 patients). The overall response rates of experimental and control arms were 50.0% and 28.3% (P = 0.002), and the disease control rates were 82.0% and 70.7% (P = 0.064), respectively. The primary endpoints of experimental arm were non-inferior to that of the control arm. The secondary endpoint of experimental arm in terms of median progression free survival was significantly better than that of control arm (5 months versus 4 months, P = 0.006). The experimental arm had a higher incidence of grade III-IV bone marrow suppression than the control arm, but the incidence of fever in both arms was not significantly different.

CONCLUSIONSOral administration of S-1 is an alternative option of venous infusional fluorouracil. Weekly paclitaxel combined with S-1 is a safe regimen and has a promising efficacy.

Adenocarcinoma ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Diarrhea ; chemically induced ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukopenia ; chemically induced ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Oxonic Acid ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Prospective Studies ; Remission Induction ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Survival Rate ; Tegafur ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects

BACKGROUNDVascular control and tissue dissection are crucial steps in successful laparoscopic surgery. Recently, a new commercially available vessel sealing technology, the LigaSure vessel sealing system (Valleylab, Boulder, USA), has been introduced. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the benefits of the LigaSure in laparoscopic nephrectomy.

METHODSFrom January 2005 to March 2010, 170 laparoscopic nephrectomies were performed with the LigaSure vessel sealing system, including simple and radical nephrectomy and nephroureterectomy. In a retrospective study, the laparoscopic operating time, estimated intraoperative blood loss, duration of postoperative drainage, total amount of postoperative drainage, as well as postoperative hospital stay, were recorded and studied.

RESULTSAll 170 laparoscopic nephrectomies using LigaSure were accomplished successfully without conversion to open surgery. There was no severe vascular complication or other serious complications. The mean laparoscopic operating time was 124.2 minutes (range, 14 - 230 minutes); mean blood loss was 148.6 ml (range, 20 - 540 ml); mean time for postoperative drainage was 3.1 days (range, 1 - 7 days); mean amount of postoperative drainage was 206.5 ml (range, 27 - 435 ml) and mean postoperative hospital stay was 6.9 days (range, 3 - 18 days).

CONCLUSIONSLaparoscopic nephrectomy using LigaSure appears technically feasible and easy, and produces satisfactory results. The LigaSure provides a safe and fast way to seal vessels and tissue bundles during nephrectomy.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nephrectomy ; methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult