How to effectively promote osseointegration of dental implants remains a pressing clinical challenge. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in accelerating the healing of various bodily tissues, including bone tissue. In recent years, there has been extensive research on its application in promoting osseointegration in the field of dental implantology. Animal studies have shown that LIPUS exhibits significant potential in facilitating osseointegration of dental implants. In vitro experiments have further revealed that LIPUS can enhance the expression of key osteogenic factors, extracellular matrix mineralization, and induce local neurons to secrete αCGRP. Through the regulation of signaling pathways such as bone morphogenetic protein/Smad (Bmp/Smad), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3k/Akt), LIPUS promotes the proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation of osteogenic-related cells, thereby enhancing osseointegration of dental implants. Additionally, clinical studies have shown that bone mass increases around the implants after LIPUS treatment, with more pronounced growth observed on the buccal bone plate than on the palatal side. Furthermore, there is a lack of research that systematically summarizes the clinical evidence, in vitro and in vivo studies, and mechanisms of action regarding the role of LIPUS in promoting osseointegration of implants. Therefore, the aim of this study is to discuss the mechanisms of effect of LIPUS on osseointegration of implants, with the goal of further enhancing the outcome of implant-supported prosthodontic treatment.

A biosynthetic gene cluster for the bioactive fungal sesterterpenoids variecolin ( 1) and variecolactone ( 2) was identified in Aspergillus aculeatus ATCC 16872. Heterologous production of 1 and 2 was achieved in Aspergillus oryzae by expressing the sesterterpene synthase VrcA and the cytochrome P450 VrcB. Intriguingly, the replacement of VrcB with homologous P450s from other fungal terpenoid pathways yielded three new variecolin analogues ( 5- 7). Analysis of the compounds' anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo revealed that although 5 and 1 had comparable activities, 5 was associated with significantly reduced toxic side effects in cancer-bearing mice, indicating its potentially broader therapeutic window. Our study describes the first tests of variecolin and its analogues in animals and demonstrates the utility of synthetic biology for creating molecules with improved biological activities.

Microglia are the central nervous system's resident myeloid-derived immune cells, which play a major role in the innate and acquired immunological responses of brain. In the maintenance of brain tissue function under both healthy and pathological conditions, microglia take a protective or damaging role, depending on cell phenotypes and functions. The traditional microglia classification of pro- or anti-inflammatory phenotypes refers to the profile of macrophages, hence the term “brain macrophages:has been drawn. More microglia phenotypes are being discovered as new technologies and research methods are developed, and the newly discovered microglia phenotypes are often disease-, brain region-, and function-specific, providing an important foundation for studying the pathological processes underlying the development of specific diseases and developing appropriate interventions. Here, we provide a retrospective review of recent advances in the study of phenotype and function of microglia, and analyze the microglial cell lineage composition and its heterogeneous function.

The identification of suitable seed cells represents a critical scientific problem to be solved in the field of oral and maxillofacial bone tissue regeneration. The application of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) in tissue and organ repair and regeneration has been studied extensively. In recent years, dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells have also shown broad application prospects in the field of bone tissue engineering. DFAT cells express stem cell-related markers and have the potential to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, nerve cells, cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells. In addition, DFAT cells also have the advantages of minimally invasive acquisition, strong proliferation and high homogeneity. Currently, all studies involving the application of DFAT cells in scaffold-based and scaffold-free bone tissue engineering can confirm their effectiveness in promoting bone regeneration. However, cytological research still faces some challenges, including relatively low cell culture purity, unclear phenotypic characteristics and undefined dedifferentiation mechanisms. It is believed that with the continuous development and improvement of isolation, culture, identification and directional induction of osteogenic differentiation methods, DFAT cells are expected to become excellent seed cells in the field of oral and maxillofacial bone tissue engineering in the future.

Microglia are the central nervous system's resident myeloid-derived immune cells,which play a major role in the in-nate and acquired immunological responses of brain.In the ma-intenance of brain tissue function under both healthy and patho-logical conditions,microglia take a protective or damaging role,depending on cell phenotypes and functions.The traditional mi-croglia classification of pro-or anti-inflammatory phenotypes re-fers to the profile of macrophages,hence the term"brain macro-phages:has been drawn.More microglia phenotypes are being discovered as new technologies and research methods are devel-oped,and the newly discovered microglia phenotypes are often disease-,brain region-,and function-specific,providing an important foundation for studying the pathological processes un-derlying the development of specific diseases and developing ap-propriate interventions.Here,we provide a retrospective review of recent advances in the study of phenotype and function of mi-croglia,and analyze the microglial cell lineage composition and its heterogeneous function.

Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of prone positioning in the treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome(NRDS)using invasive respiratory support.Methods A prospective study was conducted from June 2020 to September 2023 at Suining County People's Hospital,involving 77 preterm infants with gestational ages less than 35 weeks requiring invasive respiratory support for NRDS.The infants were randomly divided into a supine group(37 infants)and a prone group(40 infants).Infants in the prone group were ventilated in the prone position for 6 hours followed by 2 hours in the supine position,continuing in this cycle until weaning from the ventilator.The effectiveness and safety of the two approaches were compared.Results At 6 hours after enrollment,the prone group showed lower arterial blood carbon dioxide levels,inspired oxygen concentration,oxygenation index,rates of tracheal intubation bacterial colonization,and Neonatal Pain,Agitation and Sedation Scale scores compared to the supine group(P<0.05).There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of pH,arterial oxygen pressure,positive end-expiratory pressure,duration of mechanical ventilation,accidental extubation,ventilator-associated pneumonia,air leak syndrome,skin pressure sores,feeding intolerance,and grades II-IV intraventricular hemorrhage(P>0.05).Conclusions Compared to supine positioning,prone ventilation effectively improves oxygenation,increases comfort,and reduces tracheal intubation bacterial colonization in neonates requiring mechanical ventilation for NRDS,without significantly increasing adverse reactions.

Objective To explore mechanism of piracetam for the treatment of spinal cord injury in rats through mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)pathway.Methods Fifty-four healthy 6-week-old SD female rats with body weight of 80 to 100 g were divided into sham operation group,spinal cord injury group and piracetam group by random number table method,with 18 rats in each group.Spinal cord injury model was established in spinal cord injury group and piracetam group using percussion apparatus,while sham operation group did not damage spinal cord.Piracetam group was injected with pirac-etam injection through tail vein according to 5 ml·kg-1 standard,once a day for 3 days;the other two groups were injected with normal saline at the same dose,the same frequency and the same duration.The rats were sacrificed at 1,3,and 7 days after surgery,and changes of Basso,Beattie and Bresnahan(BBB)locomotor rating scale was observed and compared.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was used to detect spinal cord inflammatory factors,such as interleukin-6(IL-6),in-terleukin-10(IL-10),interleukin-1β(interleukin-1β),necrosis factor-α(IL-1β)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α);HE staining was used to observe morphological changes of rats with spinal cord injury,and immunohistochemistry was used to observe expression level of aquaporin 4(AQP4).The activation of MAPK signaling pathway in spinal cord of rats after spinal cord injury was observed by western blotting(WB).Results BBB scores of sham operation group on 1,3 and 7 day were 21 points.In spinal cord injury group,the scores were(1±1),(4±1)and(7±2);piracetam group was(1±1),(5±1),(9±2),re-spectively;the difference between spinal cord injury group and sham operation group was statistically significant(P＜0.05).HE staining showed that no abnormality was found in sham operation group.In spinal cord injury group,bleeding and degeneration of spinal cord tissue appeared at 1 day after operation;flaky necrotic areas were appeared in spinal cord at 3 days after surgery,and spinal cord tissue began to slowly repair at 7 days after surgery.In piracetam group,the bleeding area was less than that of spinal cord injury group at 1 day after surgery;at 3 days after operation,the necrotic area was reduced and the range of nuclear disappearance was reduced;and the spinal cord began to recover slowly at 7 days after surgery.AQP4 staining of spinal cord of rats in sham operation group was weak at 1,3 and 7 days after modeling,AQP4 staining was deepened and area increased in spinal cord injury group,AQP4 staining of piracetam group was lighter than that of spinal cord injury group,and the positive cells were slightly increased and the staining was slightly darker than that of sham operation group.At 1,3 and 7 days,the level of IL-6,IL-10,IL-1β and TNF-α in spinal cord injury group were higher than those in sham operation group and piracetam group(P＜0.05).Compared with spinal cord injury group,the area of spinal cord bleeding and necrosis were de-creased by HE staining in piracetam group,and AQP4 staining was decreased by immunohistochemistry.WB results showed that P-ERK,P-JNK and P-P38 levels in spinal cord injury group at 3 days were higher than those in sham operation group and piracetam group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Piracetam not only showed significant effect in promoting motor function recovery after spinal cord injury,but also showed positive therapeutic potential in reducing lesion area,regulating AQP4 expression to reduce edema,and reducing inflammatory response by regulating MAPK signaling pathway.

As one of the common traumatic diseases in clinical practice,peripheral nerve injury(PIN)often causes nerve pain,abnormal reflexes,autonomic disorders,and even sensorimotor disorders due to the slow regeneration rate after injury,which seriously affects body function.Even as the gold standard of treatment,autologous nerve transplantation has limitations such as limited donor area and donor injury,which greatly limits its clinical application effect.Therefore,the preparation of ar-tificial nerve grafts suitable for clinical practice has become the future development trend of peripheral nerve injury treatment,and the repair of injury defects and the promotion of nerve regeneration have also become research hotspots in tissue engineer-ing and regenerative medicine.In recent years,extensive research has been carried out on nerve guidance conduits(NGCs)in the field of nerve regeneration and repair,in which scaffold materials and intemal fillers have also become the focus of research as the core elements of neural catheters,and a series of achievements have been made in the application of new materials,em-bedding stem cells/precursor cells,and developing trophic factors and drug-loaded sustained-release systems.Therefore,this paper focuses on the application progress of hydrogel and its related derivative materials in the field of peripheral nerve injury repair,and provides new ideas for promoting the related research of tissue engineering and clinical medicine.

Objective To explore clinical effect of distal tibial tubercle-high tibial osteotomy(DTT-HTO)in treating knee osteoarthritis(KO A)with medial meniscus posterior root tear(MMPRT).Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 21 patients with varus KOA with MMPRT from May 2020 to December 2021,including 3 males and 18 females,aged from 49 to 75 years old with an average of(63.81±6.56)years old,the courses of disease ranged from 0.5 to 18.0 years with an average of(5.9±4.2)years,and 4 patients with grade Ⅱ,14 patients with grade Ⅲ,and 3 patients with grade Ⅳ according to Kellgren-Lawrence;14 patients with type 1 and 7 patients with type 2 according to MMPRT damage classification.The distance of medi-al meniscusextrusion(MME)and weight-bearing line ratio(WBLR)of lower extremity were compared before and 12 months after operation.Visual analogue scale(V AS),Western Ontarioand and McMaster Universities(WOMAC)osteoarthritis index,and Lysholm knee score were used to evaluate knee pain and functional improvement before operation,1,6 and 12 months after operation,respectively.Results Twenty-one patients were followed up for 12 to 18 months with an average of(13.52±1.72)months.MME distance was improved from(4.99±1.05)mm before operation to(1.87±0.76)mm at 12 months after operation(P＜0.05).WBLR was increased from(15.49±7.04)％before operation to(62.71±2.27)％at 12 months after operation(P＜0.05).VAS was decreased from(7.00±1.14)before operation to(2.04±0.80),(0.90±0.62)and(0.61±0.50)at 1,6 and 12 months after operation.WOMAC were decreased from preoperative(147.90±9.88)to postoperative(103.43±8.52),(74.00±9.54)and(47.62±9.53)at 1,6 and 12 months,and the difference were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Lysholm scores were increased from(46.04±7.34)before oepration to(63.19±8.93),(81.10±6.41)and(89.29±3.04)at 1,6 and 12 months after operation(P＜0.05).Conclusion For the treatment of varus KOA with MMPRT,DTT-HTO could reduce medial meniscus pro-trusion distance,improve the ratio of lower limb force line,and effectively reduce knee pain and improve knee joint function.

Objective To explore the mechanism of'homotherapy for heteropathy'Zhigancao Decoction in the treatment of coronary heart disease arrhythmia and pulmonary fibrosis by network pharmacology and molecular docking technology.Methods All the active components of Zhigancao Decoction were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP)and Herbal Compendium(HERB).The SwissTargetPrediction database was used to predict the targets.Cytoscape software was used to construct the drugs-targets network diagram and network topology analysis was performed to obtain the core drug targets.The disease targets of coronary heart disease,arrhythmia and pulmonary fibrosis were obtained in GeneCards and OMIM databases,and the intersection targets of Chinese medicine and disease were obtained by Venny software.The intersection targets were imported into the STRING online database to construct a protein-protein interaction network,and the data were imported into Cytoscape software for visualization and screening of core targets.Gene ontology(GO)function enrichment analysis and kyto encyclo-pedia of genes and genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analysis were performed on the intersection targets using the Metascape database.Molecular docking verification and heat map visualization were performed on the core intersection target and the core drug target through the CB-DOCK2 online platform.Results A total of 137 active components of Zhigancao Decoction were screened out,and 848 corresponding drug targets were obtained by removing repeated values.A total of 9 962 targets of coronary heart disease,5 735 targets of arrhythmia and 7 722 targets of pulmonary fibrosis were obtained.A total of 362 drug-disease intersection targets were obtained by Venny platform processing.The potential core targets with higher degree values were GAPDH,IL-6,ALB,STAT3,TNF,MMP-9 and so on by network topology analysis.GO functional enrichment analysis showed that the main biological processes(BP)involved in Zhigancao Decoction'homotherapy for heteropathy'were the response to hormones,the positive regulation of circulatory system process,phosphorus metabolism process,the response to exogenous stimulation,and the response to organic matter,the main cellular components(CC)include lipid rafts,receptor complexes,cytoplasmic perinuclear regions,dendrites,membrane sides,etc.,the main molecular functions(MF)include protein kinase activity,kinase binding,protein homopolymerization activity,nuclear receptor activity,heme binding,etc..KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the main signaling pathways involved in Zhigancao Decoction'homotherapy for heteropathy'were lipid and atherosclerosis,calcium signaling pathway,cAMP signaling pathway,insulin resistance,cGMP-PKG signaling pathway,JAK-STAT signaling pathway,NF-κB signaling pathway,etc..The results of molecular docking suggested that there was a good binding activity between the main active component targets of Zhigancao Decoction and the core targets of'homotherapy for heteropathy'.Conclusion Zhigancao Decoction mainly regulates JAK-STAT,NF-κB,cAMP and other signaling pathways,acts on IL-6,STAT3,TNF,MMP-9 and other gene targets,and exerts the effect of'homotherapy for heteropathy'on coronary heart disease arrhythmia and pulmonary fibrosis.