Tranexamic acid dosage for spinal surgery: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: We conducted this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compare the efficacy of different doses of intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA) in spinal surgery. METHODS: We searched relevant academic articles from PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and CNKI. Two reviewers independently selected studies, assessed quality, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias. RevMan 5.4 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Ten randomized controlled trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria and were identified, including 740 patients. According to the different dose regimens of intravenous TXA, the included studies' patients were divided into the high dose of intravenous TXA group and the low dose of intravenous TXA group. Compared with the low-dose group, the high-dose group can reduce the intraoperative blood loss (MD = - 100.87, 95% CI: [- 147.81, - 53.92], P < 0.0001). For the postoperative Hb and HCT, the high-dose group can separately maintain 4.54 g/dL (MD = 4.54, 95% CI: [2.08, 6.99], P = 0.003) and 1.27% (MD = 1.27, 95% CI: [0.59, 1.94], P = 0.0002). There were no statistically significant differences in total blood loss, preoperative Hb and HCT, operative time, and blood transfusion rate between the high-dose group and the low-dose group. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the present meta-analysis, compared with the low-dose of intravenous TXA in spinal surgery, the high dose of intravenous TXA decreases the intraoperative blood loss and preserves higher postoperative Hb and HCT levels without increasing the operative time and blood transfusion rate.

Inducing laccase activity in white rot fungi using copper ions and improving the efficiency of azo dye treatment with electricity generation using microbial fuel cells.

This work presents a white rot fungus-microbial fuel cell (WRF-MFC) that uses WRF that is grown at its cathode. Adding Cu2+ to the fungi-containing solid medium stimulated WRF-secreting laccase, which catalyzed the redox reaction in the MFC and thereby promoting the generation of electricity. Adding 12.5 mg L-1 Cu2+ to a G. lucidum-containing medium provided the greatest laccase stimulation and increased the laccase activity by a factor of 1.6. Adding 12.5 mg L-1 Cu2+ to the WRF chamber of WRF-MFC increased its decolorization of Acid Orange 7 (AO-7) and increased its power density to 223 mW m-2, which was 1.77 times that of an MFC without WRF. The enhancement of decolorization and electricity generation improved the performance of the WRF-MFC, indicating that a laccase-catalyzed cathode has great potential effectiveness in microbial fuel cells.

IL-16 regulates macrophage polarization as a target gene of mir-145-3p.

BACKGROUND: Interleukin 16 is an immunomodulatory chemokine that signals through CD4 + T cells, monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. Its expression in immune-related cells enhances the antimicrobial effect and inhibits HIV replication in macrophages. However, the role of IL-16 in macrophage polarization is uncertain. Mir-145 was reported to regulate IL-10 expression by targeting histone deacetylase 11 and promotes alternatively activated macrophage (M2) polarization. Mir-145 was also predicted to target IL-16 mRNA. We aimed to explore the roles of IL-16 and mir-145 in macrophage polarization and antimicrobial functions. METHODS: THP1 monocytes were employed in this study, and their cell activity when incubated with different concentrations of IL-16 was evaluated using the CCK-8 cell counting kit. To obtain polarized macrophages, THP-1 cells were induced by IL-4 and IL-13 following PMA incubation (M2 polarized macrophages) or induced by IFN-gamma and LPS (M1 classical macrophage activation). The influence of IL-16 on macrophage phagocytosis was quantified by the amount of chicken red blood cell phagocytized. IL-16, IL-10 and miR-145 expression in THP1 monocytes and induced macrophages was quantified by quantitative PCR. The miR-145 and IL-16 targeting relationship was verified by the dual luciferase reporter assay. The influence of IL-16 and mir-145 on macrophage polarization was evaluated by M1 and M2 macrophage characterized marker gene expression. RESULTS: The M0 macrophage subtype was induced by PMA. The M1 and M2 subtypes of macrophage were successfully induced by M1- and M2-specific induction. M1 macrophages express higher levels of IL-16 than M2 macrophages but express lower levels of IL-10 and mir-145 than M2 cells. IL-16 with a concentration up to 150 ng/mL has no influence on THP-1 cell proliferation but improves macrophage phagocytosis ability with the down-expression of IL-10 and up-expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1a and IL-6. Knockdown with its target siRNA is beneficial for macrophage maintenance but reduces phagocytosis ability. Mir-145 specifically targets the IL-16 3'UTR verified by the dual luciferase reporter assay. Mir-145 downregulates IL-16 expression and upregulates IL-10 expression, thereby promoting M2 macrophage polarization. CONCLUSION: IL-16 modulates macrophage polarization through regulating IL-10, IL-1a and IL-6 expression. Mir-145 is involved in M2 macrophage polarization by targeting IL-16 and enhancing IL-10 expression.

An inorganic-organic hybrid photochromic material with fast response to hard and soft X-rays at room temperature.

A photochromic compound with fast response to Mo-Kα (4 min) and Al-Kα (1 s) X-rays was synthesized using a cluster of high-Z atoms and a flexible viologen zwitterion. The coloration time of 1 s when exposed to soft X-rays is the recorded minimum for X-ray-induced photochromic materials, indicating a potential to detect low-energy X-rays.

Design Strategy for Improving Optical and Electrical Properties and Stability of Lead-Halide Semiconductors.

Broad absorption, long-lived photogenerated carriers, high conductance, and high stability are all required for a light absorber toward its real application on solar cells. Inorganic-organic hybrid lead-halide materials have shown tremendous potential for applications in solar cells. This work offers a new design strategy to improve the absorption range, conductance, photoconductance, and stability of these materials. We synthesized a new photochromic lead-chloride semiconductor by incorporating a photoactive viologen zwitterion into a lead-chloride system in the coordinating mode. This semiconductor has a novel inorganic-organic hybrid structure, where 1-D semiconducting inorganic lead-chloride nanoribbons covalently bond to 1-D semiconducting organic π-aggregates. It shows high stability against light, heat, and moisture. After photoinduced electron transfer (PIET), it yields a long-lived charge-separated state with a broad absorption band covering the 200-900 nm region while increasing its conductance and photoconductance. This work is the first to modify the photoconductance of semiconductors by PIET. The observed increasing times of conductivity reached 3 orders of magnitude, which represents a record for photoswitchable semiconductors. The increasing photocurrent comes mainly from the semiconducting organic π-aggregates, which indicates a chance to improve the photocurrent by modifying the organic component. These findings contribute to the exploration of light absorbers for solar cells.

Innovative encapsulated oxygen-releasing beads for bioremediation of BTEX at high concentration in groundwater.

Both a low concentration of dissolved oxygen and the toxicity of a high concentration of BTEX inhibit the bioremediation of BTEX in groundwater. A novel method of preparing encapsulated oxygen-releasing beads (encap-ORBs) for the biodegradation of BTEX in groundwater was developed. Experimental results show that the integrality and oxygen-releasing capacity of encap-ORBs exceeded those of ORBs. The use of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with high M.W. to prepare encap-ORBs improved their integrality. The encap-ORBs effectively released oxygen for 128 days. High concentration of BTEX (480 mg L-1) inhibited the biodegradation by the free cells. Immobilization of degraders in the encap-ORB alleviated the inhibition. Scanning electron microscope analysis reveals that the BTEX degraders grew on the surface of encap-ORB after bioremediation. The above results indicate that the encap-ORBs were effective in the bioremediation of BTEX at high concentration in groundwater.

Reversible Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Transformation and Magnetic Change of Nonporous Copper(II) Complexes by the Chemisorption/Desorption of HCl and H2O.

Vapor-responsive magnetic materials are highly promising for applications as chemical switches or sensors. Compared with porous materials, nonporous species benefit in overcoming the intrinsic conflict between magnetic exchange and porosity but usually suffer from the powdering of single crystals, which hinders the understanding of the structural nature of vapor response and magnetic switch. Single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) transformation of nonporous compounds through the desorption/absorption of gaseous HCl is unprecedented. Reported here is a discrete nonporous copper(II) complex, (H3O)[K(15-crown-5)2][CuCl4], that exhibits reversible SCSC transformation and magnetic change by the chemisorption/desorption of HCl and H2O. Significant changes in the coordination number (4 ↔ 3), space group (P1̅ ↔ P21/c), color (green ↔ red), and magnetic behavior (antiferromagnetic ↔ paramagnetic) were found during the SCSC transformation.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of combined Chinese medicine and Western medicine for ischemic stroke patients / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of combining Chinese medicine (CM) with Western medicine (WM) for ischemic stroke patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Hospitalization summary reports between 2006 and 2010 from eight hospitals in Beijing were used to analyze the length of stay (LOS), cost per stay (CPS), and outcomes at discharge.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among 12,009 patients (female, 36.44%; mean age, 69.98±13.06 years old), a substantial number of patients were treated by the WM_Chinese patent medicine (CPM)_Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) (38.90%); followed by the WM_CPM (32.55%), the WM (24.26%), and the WM_CHM (4.15%). With adjustment for confounding variables, LOS of the WM_CPM_CHM group was about 10 days longer than that of the WM group, and about 6 days longer than that of the WM_CPM group or the WM_CHM group (P<0.01); CPS of the WM_CPM_CHM group was United States dollar (USD) 1,288 more than that of the WM group, and about USD 600 more than that of the WM_CPM group or the WM_CHM group (P<0.01). Compared with the WM group, odd ratio (OR) of recovered and improved outcome of the WM_CPM_CHM group was the highest [OR: 12.76, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 9.23, 17.64, P<0.01], OR of death outcome of the WM_CPM_CHM group was the lowest (OR: 0.08, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.12, P<0.01). There was no significant difference between LOS, CPS and OR of the WM_CPM group and those of the WM_CHM group (P>0.05). Cost/effectiveness and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the WM_CPM_CHM group were robustly higher than those of the WM group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compared with WM alone, supplementing CPM and CHM to WM provides significant health benefits of improving the chance of recovered and improved outcome, and reducing the death rate, at an expense of longer LOS and higher CPS.</p>