Core Decompression Prevents Progression of Asymptomatic Type C Osteonecrosis of Femoral Head According to the Japanese Investigation Committee Classification: A Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether core decompression could prevent progression of asymptomatic type C osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) according to the Japanese Investigation Committee (JIC) classification. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 124 hips (117 patients) with asymptomatic type C ONFH. Seventy-one hips (67 patients) received core decompression (core decompression group) and 53 hips (50 patients) received no surgical treatment (control group). Clinical and radiological follow-up was conducted at 6 and 12 months, then annually until 5 years. Clinical outcomes were evaluated in terms of the Oxford hip score and UCLA Activity Level rating. Radiological outcomes were evaluated using X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging. Survival analysis was performed based on collapse of the femoral head as the first endpoint and total hip arthroplasty (THA) as the second endpoint. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes between the core decompression group and the control group within 2 years after surgery. Patients in the core decompression group had significantly better Oxford hip score and UCLA Activity Level from year 3 to the end of follow-up (P < 0.05). In year 5, the absolute difference in Oxford hip score (5.3 points) exceeded the reported minimal clinically important difference (MCID, 5.2 points). In years 3-5, the absolute difference in UCLA Activity Level rating (0.95 points, 0.95 points, and 0.99 points, respectively) exceeded the reported MCID (0.92 points). By 5-year follow-up, significantly fewer patients in the core decompression group had experienced femoral head collapse (40.8% vs 62.3%, P = 0.011) or received THA (26.8% vs 45.3%, p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Core decompression can prevent progression of asymptomatic type C ONFH according to the JIC classification, leading to better medium-term hip function and activity levels than no surgical treatment. Core decompression is recommended for early intervention against asymptomatic type C ONFH.

Effect of Lactoferrin on the Expression Profiles of Long Non-coding RNA during Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Lactoferrin (LF) has demonstrated stimulation of osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in regulating the osteogenic differentiation processes. However, the impact of LF on lncRNA expression in MSC osteogenic differentiation is poorly understood. Our aim was to investigate the effects of LF on lncRNAs expression profiles, during osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCs), by RNA sequencing. A total number of 1331 putative lncRNAs were identified in rBMSCs during osteogenic differentiation in the study. LF influenced the expression of 120 lncRNAs (differentially expressed lncRNAs [DELs], Fold change > 1.5 or < -1.5; p < 0.05) in rBMSCs on day 14 of osteogenic differentiation, consisted of 60 upregulated and 60 down-regulated. Furthermore, the potential functions of DELs were of prediction by searching their target cis- and trans-regulated protein-coding genes. The bioinformatic analysis of DELs target gene revealed that LF led to the disfunction of transforming growth factor beta stimulus (TGF-ß) and positive regulation of I-κappa B kinase/NF-κappa B signaling pathway, which may relate to osteogenic differentiation of rBMSCs. Our work is the first profiling of lncRNA in osteogenic differentiation of rBMSCs induced by LF, and provides valuable insights into the potential mechanisms for LF promoting osteogenic activity.

The In Vitro Protective Role of Bovine Lactoferrin on Intestinal Epithelial Barrier.

The intestinal epithelial barrier plays a key protective role in the gut lumen. Bovine lactoferrin (bLF) has been reported to improve the intestinal epithelial barrier function, but its impact on tight junction (TJ) proteins has been rarely described. Human intestinal epithelial crypt cells (HIECs) were more similar to those in the human small intestine, compared with the well-established Caco-2 cells. Accordingly, both HIECs and Caco-2 cells were investigated in this study to determine the effects of bioactive protein bLF on their growth promotion and intestinal barrier function. The results showed that bLF promoted cell growth and arrested cell-cycle progression at the G2/M-phase. Moreover, bLF decreased paracellular permeability and increased alkaline phosphatase activity and transepithelial electrical resistance, strengthening barrier function. Immunofluorescence, western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that bLF significantly increased the expression of three tight junction proteins-claudin-1, occludin, and ZO-1-at both the mRNA and protein levels, and consequently strengthened the barrier function of the two cell models. bLF in general showed higher activity in Caco-2 cells, however, HIECs also exhibited desired responses to barrier function. Therefore, bLF may be incorporated into functional foods for treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases which are caused by loss of barrier integrity.

Development of a stable biosensor based on a SiO2 nanosheet-Nafion-modified glassy carbon electrode for sensitive detection of pesticides.

SiO(2) nanosheets (SNS) have been prepared by a chemical method using montmorillonite as raw material and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. SiO(2) nanosheet-Nafion nanocomposites with excellent conductivity, catalytic activity, and biocompatibility provided an extremely hydrophilic surface for biomolecule adhesion. Chitosan was used as a cross-linker to immobilize acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and Nafion was used as a protective membrane to efficiently improve the stability of the AChE biosensor. The AChE biosensor showed favorable affinity for acetylthiocholine chloride and catalyzed the hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine chloride with an apparent Michaelis-Menten constant of 134 µM to form thiocholine, which was then oxidized to produce a detectable and fast response. Based on the inhibition by pesticides of the enzymatic activity of AChE, detection of the amperometric response from thiocholine on the biosensor is a simple and effective way to biomonitor exposure to pesticides. Under optimum conditions, the biosensor detected methyl parathion, chlorpyrifos, and carbofuran at concentrations ranging from 1.0 × 10(-12) to 1 × 10(-10) M and from 1.0 × 10(-10) to 1 × 10(-8) M. The detection limits for methyl parathion, chlorpyrifos, and carbofuran were 5 × 10(-13) M. The biosensor developed exhibited good sensitivity, stability, reproducibility, and low cost, thus providing a new promising tool for analysis of enzyme inhibitors.

Puqienine E: an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory steroidal alkaloid from Fritillaria puqiensis.

Eight steroidal alkaloids, puqienine A, puqienine B, puqienine C, puqienine D, puqienine E, puqietinone, puqiedine and peimisine were isolated from Fritillaria puqiensis G. D. Yu et. G. Y. Chen, and their anti-hypertensive effect were assessed in vitro based on the inhibition of the purified angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) using high-performance liquid chromatography assay. The results showed that puqienine E, puqienine B and puqienine A exhibited better inhibitory activity against ACE than others, with inhibition ratios of 70.2+/-0.5%, 24.7+/-0.5% and 20.4+/-2.8%, respectively at the concentration of 200 microM. The 50% inhibiting concentration of puqienine E was determined to be 68 microM.

Two-dimensional turbulent flow chromatography coupled on-line to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for solution-based ligand screening against multiple proteins.

We present herein a novel bioseparation/chemical analysis strategy for protein-ligand screening and affinity ranking in compound mixtures, designed to increase screening rates and improve sensitivity and ruggedness in performance. The strategy is carried out by combining on-line two-dimensional turbulent flow chromatography (2D-TFC) with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and accomplished through the following steps: (1) a reversed-phase TFC stage to separate the protein/ligand complex from the unbound free molecules, (2) an on-line dissociation process to release the bound ligands from the complexes, and (3) a second mixed-mode cation-exchange/reversed-phase TFC stage to trap the bound ligands and to remove the proteins and salts, followed by LC-MS analysis for identification and determination of the binding affinities. The technique can implement an ultra-fast isolation of protein/ligand complex with the retention time of a complex peak in about 5s, and on-line prepare the "clean" sample to be directly compatible with the LC-MS analysis. The improvement in performance of this 2D-TFC/LC-MS approach over the conventional approach has been demonstrated by determining affinity-selected ligands of the target proteins acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase from a small library with known binding affinities and a steroidal alkaloid library composed of structurally similar compounds. Our results show that 2D-TFC/LC-MS is a generic and efficient tool for high-throughput screening of ligands with low-to-high binding affinities, and structure-activity relationship evaluation.

[Mental status of surgical medical staff who treated or did not treat the victims in Wenchuan earthquake].

OBJECTIVE: To compare and analyze the mental status of medical staff between Orthopedics Department who treated the victims in the earthquake and other surgical departments who did not treat the victims in the earthquake, and to provide evidence for psychological prevention and intervention in the earthquake aids. METHODS: Cross-sectional study was used to choose staff in the Orthopedics Department who treated the victims and other surgical departments who did not treat victims in the earthquake as eligible subject with convenient sampling. The research tool is Symptom Checklist-90. The questionnaire was done by participants with the same psychological instruction. Data were analyzed by SPSS16.0. RESULTS: The scores in somatization, depression,anxiety and opposition, phobic anxiety in the orthopedic staff were significantly higher than those of the other surgical staff (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is disorder in mental health of medical staff in Orthopedics Department and mental intervention is needed.