Thoughts and suggestions about ethical requirement in acupuncture animal experiments. / 针刺动物实验中的伦理要求思考及建议.

The animal experiment is an important form of acupuncture research, which is of great significance for revealing the regularities and mechanisms of acupuncture effects. The ethical principle of animal welfare is the important guarantee of animal rights and experimental scientificity in the process of research. Starting from the "3R principle" and "five welfare" rules, and the specific operation process of acupuncture animal experiments, we, in this paper, proposed the implementation methods of animal ethics in acupuncture experiments, including ethical execution before acupuncture experiments, and ethical requirements during the experimental stage (such as animal fixation method that meets the needling needs, selection of acupuncture apparatus, acupuncture manipulations, acupuncture stimulation intensity, and sampling of animal tissues). These proposed methods may provide some appropriate references for the guarantee of animal ethics in acupuncture research, and provide ideas for establishing a new paradigm of animal welfare ethics in acupuncture animal experiments, and finally promote the standardization and scientificity process of the implementation of animal welfare ethics in acupuncture animal experiments.

Development of Hydrophobic Coal-Fly-Ash-Based Ceramic Membrane for Vacuum Membrane Distillation.

Membrane distillation is an emerging separation technology with a high separation factor in water desalination. Ceramic membranes are increasingly used in membrane distillation because of high thermal and chemical stabilities. Coal fly ash is a promising ceramic membrane material with low thermal conductivity. In this study, three hydrophobic coal-fly-ash-based ceramic membranes were prepared for saline water desalination. The performances of different membranes in membrane distillation were compared. The effects of membrane pore size on permeate flux and salt rejection were researched. The coal-fly-ash-based membrane showed both a higher permeate flux and a higher salt rejection than the alumina membrane. As a result, using coal fly ash as the material for membrane fabrication can effectively increase the performance when applied to MD. Increasing the membrane pore size improved the permeate flux, but reduced the salt rejection. When the mean pore size increased from 0.15 µm to 1.57 µm, the water flux rose from 5.15 L·m-2·h-1 to 19.72 L·m-2·h-1, but the initial salt rejection was reduced from 99.95% to 99.87%. The hydrophobic coal-fly-ash-based membrane with a mean pore size of 0.18 µm exhibited a water flux of 9.54 L·m-2·h-1 and a salt rejection of higher than 98.36% in membrane distillation.

Self-assembled insulin-like growth factor 1 peptides induce adipose stem cell differentiation to repair cartilage injury.

BACKGROUND: Tissue engineering using adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) promotes the regeneration of articular cartilage. However, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which is used to induce the differentiation of ADSCs into chondrocytes during treatment, is prone to instability and short tissue retention. METHODS: Nap-FFG-GYGSSSRRAPQT was used as an IGF-1 mimicking molecule. MTT and CCK-8 assays were performed to evaluate the proliferation ability of ADSCs. QRT-PCR and Western blot assays were used to assess the expression of cartilage-related genes. International Cartilage Regeneration and Joint Preservation Society (ICRS) scoring was used for the evaluation of cartilage repair. Repaired tissues were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin, Safranin-O and immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: Nap-FFG-GYGSSRRAPQT stimulated the proliferation and migration of ADSCs through the activation of IGF-1 receptor. Gel Nap-FFG-GYGSSRRAPQT treatment upregulated the expression of cartilage-related genes in ADSCs. ADSCs/Gel Nap-FFG-GYGSSRRAPQT treatment significantly promoted the regeneration of cartilages. CONCLUSION: Self-assembled IGF-1 peptide, Nap-FFG-GYGSSRRAPQT, can induce ADSC differentiation and proliferation to repair cartilage injury.

Barbaloin Promotes Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Involvement of Wnt/ß-catenin Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Barbaloin, found in Aloe vera, exerts broad pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer. This study aims to investigate the effects of barbaloin on the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). METHODS: Osteogenic induction of hBMSCs was performed in the presence or absence of barbaloin. Cell viability was determined by using the CCK-8 assay. The characteristic of hBMSCs was identified by using flow cytometry. Intracellular alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining was performed to evaluate the ALP activity in hBMSCs. Alizarin Red S staining was performed to evaluate the matrix mineralization. The mRNA and protein levels of target genes were determined using qRT-PCR and western blotting, respectively. RESULTS: Treatment with barbaloin (10 and 20 µg/mL) significantly increased cell viability of hBMSCs after 72 hours. In addition, treatment with barbaloin increased the mRNA expression levels of ALP and its activities. Treatment with barbaloin also increased matrix mineralization and the mRNA and protein levels of late-differentiated osteoblast marker genes BMP2, RUNX2, and SP7 in hBMSCs. The underlying mechanisms revealed that barbaloin increased the protein expressions of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway-related biomarkers. CONCLUSION: Barbaloin promotes osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs by the regulation of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Quercetin promotes osteogenic differentiation and antioxidant responses of mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells through activation of the AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathway.

Decrepitude and apoptosis of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) lead to inhibited osteogenic differentiation, causing decreased bone density and osteoporosis. Quercetin, a bioactive component of Solanum muricatum extracts, promotes the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs and ameliorates the symptoms of osteoporosis in vivo. However, the detailed mechanism underlying this process remains unclear. The study aims to reveal the regulatory mechanism of quercetin in BMSCs. Mouse BMSCs (mBMSCs) were isolated from the bone marrow and characterized by flow cytometry. QRT-PCR and western blot assays were performed to evaluate the expression levels of related genes and proteins. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and Oil Red O staining of lipids were used to estimate the osteogenesis and adipogenesis levels of mBMSCs, respectively. Quercetin treatment (2 and 5 µM) induced significant upregulation of antioxidant enzymes, SOD1 and SOD2, in mBMSCs. Quercetin promoted osteogenic differentiation and inhibited adipogenic differentiation of mBMSCs. Quercetin treatment enhanced the phosphorylation of AMPK protein and upregulated the expression of SIRT1, thus activating the AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathway in mBMSCs. Quercetin promoted osteogenic differentiation and antioxidant responses of mBMSCs by activating the AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathway.

Polycaprolactone/polysaccharide functional composites for low-temperature fused deposition modelling.

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a commonly used 3D printing technology. The development of FDM materials was essential for the product quality of FDM. In this work, a series of polycaprolactone (PCL)-based composites for low-temperature FDM were developed. By melt blending technique, different ratios of starch were added into PCL to improve the performances of FDM, and the printability, tensile strength, rheological properties, crystallization behaviors and biological performances of the composites were studied. The PCL/starch composite had the best performance in FDM process with the starch ratio of 9 ph at 80-90 °C. The melting strength and solidification rate of PCL/starch composites were improved. The starch also increased the crystallization temperature, degree of crystallinity and crystallization rate of PCL/starch composites, while had no negative effects on the tensile strength of PCL. Due to the low printing temperature, various kinds of bioactive components were added into PCL/starch composites for preparation of antibacterial and biocompatible materials for FDM. The present work provides a new method to develop novel low-temperature FDM materials with various functions.