Iron overload facilitates neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage via SLC7A11-mediated ferroptosis.

Oxidative damage and cell death are involved in the pathogenesis of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD). Ferroptosis is a newly identified mode of cell death that results from the oxidative damage induced by excessive iron. In HIBD, iron accumulates in brain tissues due to the massive destruction of red blood cells and increased permeability of the blood brain barrier vasculature, which can trigger ferroptosis. Ferroptosis is implicated in various diseases involving neuronal injury; however, the roles of iron and ferroptosis in HIBD have not been identified. In the present study, we investigated the role of iron overload in neuronal ferroptosis both in HIBD rat models and in oxygen- and glucose-deprived (OGD) SH-SY5Y cells. We observed that iron deposition in the cerebral cortex was significantly increased in HIBD rats. Features of ferroptosis such as shrunken mitochondria, increased MDA (malondialdehyde) levels, and reduced solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) expression were observed in the cerebral cortex of HIBD rats. Administration of an iron chelator in HIBD rats upregulated SLC7A11 expression and alleviated neuronal ferroptosis in cerebral cortex tissue. Additionally, overexpression of SLC7A11 in SH-SY5Y cells increased cell viability and attenuated OGD-induced ferroptosis. Our results demonstrate that iron overload induces neuronal ferroptosis by inhibiting SLC7A11 expression in HIBD. Inhibition of neuronal ferroptosis may be a promising strategy to alleviate brain damage in HIBD.

Evaluating overall survival and competing risks of survival in patients with early-stage breast cancer using a comprehensive nomogram.

BACKGROUND: Patients with early-stage breast cancer (BC) live long but have competing comorbidities. This study aimed to estimate the effect of cancer and other causes of death in patients with early-stage BC and further quantify the survival differences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data of patients diagnosed with BC between 2010 and 2016 were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. The cumulative incidence function for breast cancer-specific mortality (BCSM) and other cause-specific mortality (OCSM) was estimated, and the differences were tested using the Gray test. The nomogram for estimating 3-, 4-, and 5-year overall survival (OS), breast cancer-specific survival, and other cause-specific survival was established based on Cox regression analysis and Fine and Gray competing risk analysis. The discriminative ability, calibration, and precision of the nomogram were evaluated and compared using C statistics, calibration plots, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: A total of 196 304 eligible patients with early-stage BC were identified in this study. Of these, 12 417 (6.3%) patients died: 5628 (45.3%) due to BC and 6789 (54.7%) due to other causes. Five validated variables were incorporated to develop the prognostic nomogram: age, grade, tumor size, subtype, and surgery of primary site (Figure 3). Age was a strong predictive factor, which was more obvious in OCSM. The effect of surgery was more prominent in BCSM. Increased tumor size was correlated with OS and BCSM and slightly correlated with OCSM. Grade and subtype differences were more predominant in BCSM than in OCSM. The established nomogram was well calibrated and displayed good discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: We evaluate OS and competing risks of death in patients with early-stage BC, establishing the first comprehensive prognostic nomogram.

Preparation and characterization of carboxymethyl chitosan sulfate/oxidized konjac glucomannan hydrogels.

Hydrogel wound dressing is a new type of biomaterial with performance that is better than traditional and biological dressings. It has been extensively researched and the application in the field of biomedicine is common. In this study, we developed a simple and nontoxic method for preparing a new type of composite hydrogel, which formed through the Schiff-base reaction between the aldehyde of oxidized konjac glucomannan (OKGM) and the amino of carboxymethyl chitosan sulfate (CMSS). The chemical structures of this composite hydrogel were characterized by transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The micro-morphology of hydrogels were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Meanwhile, the properties of composite hydrogels including gelation time, swelling ability, water evaporation rate, hemolytic potential and biological compatibility were also investigated in different means. The results gained from these studies show that this composite hydrogels have a series of properties such as short gelation time, good swelling ability, appropriate water evaporation rate, excellent hemocompatibility and well biological compatibility. Considering these excellent performance, this composite hydrogels can be used as a wound dressing to treat injured skin.

Efficient incorporation of diverse components into metal organic frameworks via metal phenolic networks.

Metal phenolic networks (MPNs) were used for the first time for the construction of core@shell MOF materials. Diverse functional nanocores with different shapes and sizes could be coated with ZIF-8 shells mediated by MPNs. The obtained Fe3O4@TA-Fe3+@ZIF-8 powder showed a superhydrophobic nature which could efficiently absorb n-hexane from water.

Remote controlled drug release from multi-functional Fe3O4/GO/Chitosan microspheres fabricated by an electrospray method.

The construction of multifunctional microspheres for remote controlled drug release requires the exquisite selection of composite materials and preparation approaches. In this study, chitosan, an amino polysaccharide, was blended with inorganic nanocomponents, Fe3O4 and graphene oxide (GO) and electrosprayed to fabricate uniform microspheres with the diameters ranging from 100µm to 1100µm. An anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX), was loaded to the microspheres by an adsorption or embedding method. The microsphere is responsive to magnetic fields due to the presence of Fe3O4, and the incorporation of GO enhanced the drug loading capacity. The fast stimuli-responsive release of DOX can be facilely controlled by using NIR irradiation due to the strong photo-thermal conversion of Fe3O4 and GO. In addition, ultrasound was used as another external stimulus for DOX release. The results suggest the Fe3O4/GO/Chitosan microspheres fabricated by the electrospray method provide an efficient platform for remote controlled drug release, which may have potential applications in drug eluting microspheres.

[Current situation of the standardization of acupuncture and moxibustion in Taiwan].

The current situation of the standardization of acupuncture and moxibustion in the Taiwan region is introduced in this paper from the three aspects, named the development state of standard of acupuncture and moxibustion in Taiwan, the implementation of Taiwan district standard and the standardization of acupuncture and moxibustion in Taiwan. At present, the relevant standards of acupuncture and moxibustion in Taiwan just include the standard operation procedure of acupuncture and moxibustion, the reference guideline of the safe operation in the medical service centers of traditional Chinese medicine, and the faculty standard of Chinese medicine hospital, etc. It is concluded that the current situation of the standardization of acupuncture and moxibusiton presented the weak awareness of the standardization of acupuncture and moxibustion in the industry, insufficient enterprise standard, less-quantity of the implemented standards and narrow coverage.

Colorimetric detection of Hg²+ ions in aqueous media using CA-Au NPs.

Based on the selective interaction between Hg(2+) ions and cyanuric acid (CA) and the anti-aggregation of CA stabilized gold nanoparticles (CA-Au NPs), a simple colorimetric method was developed for detecting Hg(2+) ions. In a medium of pH 7.4 tris-HCl buffer containing 8×10(-3) M NaCl, the CA-Au NPs solution was red, which was due to CA adsorbed onto the surface of Au NPs, stabilizing Au NPs against aggregation. When CA-Hg(II)-CA complex was formed in the presence of Hg(2+), the stability of CA-Au NPs reduced, and then aggregation of Au NPs occurred. Consequently, the color of the solution changed from red to blue and could easily be measured with a common spectrophotometer. The aggregation of Au NPs was also validated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The controlled experiment showed that other ions including Ba(2+), Ca(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+), Co(2+), Mn(2+), Cu(2+), Mg(2+), and Ni(2+) ions did not induce any distinct spectral changes, which constituted a Hg(2+)-selective sensor. A dynamic range of 1.6-16×10(-6)M Hg(2+) ions was observed at the optimized reaction condition. This method provides a potentially useful tool for Hg(2+) detection.