Investigating the effect of history of fractures and hypertension on the risk of all-cause death from osteoporosis: A retrospective cohort study.

To assess the coexistence effect between history of fractures and hypertension on the all-cause death risk of osteoporosis. In this retrospective cohort study, some characteristics of osteoporosis patients aged ≥ 20 years were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database (2005-2010, 2013-2014), such as age, gender, smoking, drinking, the history of diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, fractures and hypertension. The outcome of this study was defined as all-cause death of osteoporosis. These patients were followed up until 2015 with an average follow-up time of 62.00 ± 34.79 months. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was utilized to evaluate the association of history of fractures and hypertension on all-cause death risk of osteoporosis, respectively. The death risk factors were presented by using relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The attributable proportion (AP) to explore the interaction between history of fractures and hypertension on the all-cause death risk of osteoporosis. Of the total 801 osteoporosis patients, 227 died. After adjusting age, gender, marital status, education background, annual household income, diabetes, the prior use of prednisone or cortisone medication, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the history of fractures (RR = 1.502, 95% CI: 1.035-2.180), spine fracture (RR = 2.944, 95% CI: 1.244-6.967), hip fracture (RR = 2.033, 95% CI: 1.066-3.875) was significantly associated with the increased death risk of osteoporosis. However, there was no significant difference between hypertension and the all-cause death risk of osteoporosis (P > .05). Additionally, there was a significant interaction between the history of fractures and hypertension on the all-cause death risk of osteoporosis, and the interaction was an enhancement effect (AP = 0.456, 95% CI: 0.005-0.906). The co-existence of the history of fractures and hypertension could increase the all-cause death risk of osteoporosis, which indicated that osteoporosis patients with the history of fractures should actively monitor blood pressure levels and prevent the occurrence of hypertension.

Pluronic F127-liposome-encapsulated curcumin activates Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway to promote cell migration of HaCaT cells.

Curcumin (CUR) is an extract of Curcuma longa Linn., which has various pharmacological activities. The instability, low water solubility and bioavailability of CUR greatly limit its clinical application. This work prepared Pluronic F127-liposome-encapsulated curcumin (CUR-LIP-F127) and explored its functional role in wound healing. Liposome-encapsulated curcumin (CUR-LIP) and CUR-LIP-F127 were prepared. Human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) was treated with CUR, Pluronic F127-liposome (LIP-F127) and CUR-LIP-F127, or combined with ML385 (Nrf2 inhibitor). The expression of mRNAs and proteins was detected by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. MTT and wound healing assays were performed to detect cell viability and migration. CUR, LIP-F127 and CUR-LIP-F127 all had no influence on cell viability of HaCaT cells. CUR-LIP-F127 treatment significantly accelerated cell migration and enhanced the expression of nuclear factor erythroid-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and kelch-like erythroid cell-derived protein 1 (Keap1) in HaCaT cells with respect to CUR or LIP-F127 treatment. ML385 treatment impaired CUR-LIP-F127-mediated promotion of migration and up-regulation of Nrf2 and Keap1 in HaCaT cells. This work demonstrated that CUR-LIP-F127 activated Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway to promote migration of HaCaT cells, suggesting that CUR-LIP-F127 may contribute to wound healing.

Study on Green Degradation Process of Polyurethane Foam Based on Integral Utilization and Performance of Recycled Polyurethane Oil-Absorbing Foam.

Ester exchange glycolysis of flexible polyurethane foam (PU) usually results in split-phase products, and the recovered polyether polyols are obtained after separation and purification, which can easily cause secondary pollution and redundancy. In this paper, we propose a green recycling process for the degradation of waste polyurethane foam by triblock polyether, and the degradation product can be used directly as a whole. The polyurethane foam can be completely degraded at a minimum mass ratio of 1.5:1. The secondary full utilization of the degradation product as a whole was directly synthesized into recycled polyurethane foam, and the compression cycle test proved that the excess glycolysis agent had less effect on the resilience of the recycled foam. The hydrophobic modification of the recycled foam was carried out, and the oil absorption performance of the recycled foam before and after the hydrophobic modification was compared. The oil absorption capacity for diesel oil ranged from 4.3 to 6.7, while the oil absorption performance of the hydrophobic modified recycled foam was significantly improved and had excellent reusability (absorption-desorption oil processes can be repeated at least 25 times). This economical and green process has large-scale application prospects, and the hydrophobic recycling foam can be applied to the field of oil and water separation.

Redispersible Reduced Graphene Oxide Prepared in a Gradient Solvent System.

We designed a gradient solvent strategy for the reduction of graphene oxide, matching the hydrophilic properties of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO), respectively. A third solvent was added dropwise to regulate the hydrophilic variation of the continuous gradient system which maintained the whole reduction process without aggregation, and the obtained RGO dispersions could maintain stability for a long time. The separated RGO solid powder can be directly ultrasonically redispersed in N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) with an average particle size as low as 200 nm. Furthermore, RGO with a high C/O ratio of 13.75 was prepared on the basis of the gradient solvent system. Using different structures of dispersants and polymers as representatives, we employed successive solvent rinsing, thermal solvent extraction, and thermal treatment to study adsorption and desorption. It was found that the above measures differed significantly in the removal of surface sorbates. The selected fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (AEO) series achieved a good balance between the system dispersion and surface adsorbate removal. The conductivity was originally 5236 S m-1, and it increased from 9024 to 18,000 S m-1 after thermal treatment at 300 and 500 °C, respectively.

Taohong Siwu decoction promotes the process of fracture healing by activating the VEGF-FAK signal pathway and systemically regulating the gut microbiota.

AIMS: This study aimed to explore the effect of Taohong Siwu Decoction (THSWD) on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) at the cellular level and the possible mechanism of systemic regulation of gut microbiota on fracture recovery. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) experiments show that THSWD effectively promotes the proliferation of BMSCs. Transwell and wound healing assays show that THSWD effectively promotes the invasion and migration of BMSCs. Alizarin red staining showed that the THSWD model enhanced the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Moreover, the effect of THSWD on BMSCs is time- and concentration-dependent. RT-qPCR and western blot results showed that THSWD treatment up-regulated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) at mRNA and protein levels, respectively. Haematoxylin-eosin and crocin O-quick green staining showed that after 14 days of THSWD treatment, the area of callus and cartilage regeneration at the fracture site increased significantly in rats with right femoral shaft fractures. Gut microbiota was changed in fractured rats, such as the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes was increased. THSWD showed positive regulation of both to a certain extent. CONCLUSION: THSWD up-regulates VEGF and activates the FAK signalling pathway to enhance the development and differentiation of BMSCs, and systematically regulates the gut microbiota to promote fracture healing. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: This study provides new insights on the cellular and systemic level to understand the mechanism of THSWD in the treatment of fractures.

Respiratory Adsorption of Organic Pollutants in Wastewater by Superhydrophobic Phenolic Xerogels.

Organogel adsorbents are widely used for the adsorption of hard-to-degrade organic pollutants in wastewater due to their natural affinity to the organic phase in water. In this study, phenolic xerogels (PF) synthesised in the ethylene glycol inorganic acid system are used as a backbone and superhydrophobic phenolic xerogels (ASO-PF) are obtained by grafting aminosilanes onto the PF backbone via the Mannich reaction. The modified ASO-PF not only retains the pore structure of the original PF (up to 90% porosity), but also has excellent superhydrophobic properties (water contact angle up to 153°). Owing to the unique pore structure, ASO-PF has excellent compression properties, cycling 50% compression deformation more than 10 times without being damaged, with a maximum compression deformation of up to 80%. A squeeze-suction-squeeze approach is proposed for selective adsorption of organic pollutants in homogeneous solutions based on the recyclable compression properties of ASO-PF. The ASO-PF is put under negative pressure by squeezing, and when the pressure is released, the adsorbed liquid enters the ASO-PF, where the organic pollutants are retained by the adsorption sites in the skeleton, and then the remaining water is discharged by squeezing. This breathing ASO-PF holds great promise for organic pollutant adsorption and recovery applications.

The Prediction of Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on A Four Long Non-coding RNAs Expression Signature.

Prognostic stratification in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is still challenging. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proven to play a crucial role in tumorigenesis and progression of cancers. The aim of this study is to develop a useful prognostic index based on lncRNA signature to identify patients at high risk of disease progression. We obtained lncRNA expression profiles from three publicly available datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). By the risk scoring method, we built an individualized four-lncRNA signature (HCCLnc-4) to predict survival of HCC patients in the discovery set (ROC curve, AUC: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.65-1.00, P < 0.05, Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test, P < 0.01). Similar prognostic value of HCCLnc-4 has been further verified in two other independent sets. Stratified analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis suggested the independence of HCCLnc-4 for prediction of HCC patient survival from traditional clinicopathological factors. Area under curve (AUC) analysis suggested that HCCLnc-4 could compete sufficiently with, or might be even better than classical pathological staging systems to predict HCC patient prognosis in the same data sets. Functional analysis and network analysis suggested the potential implication of lncRNA biomarkers. Our study developed and validated the lncRNA prognostic index of HCC patients, warranting further clinical evaluation and preventive interventions.

Hydrogel Cryopreservation System: An Effective Method for Cell Storage.

At present, living cells are widely used in cell transplantation and tissue engineering. Many efforts have been made aiming towards the use of a large number of living cells with high activity and integrated functionality. Currently, cryopreservation has become well-established and is effective for the long-term storage of cells. However, it is still a major challenge to inhibit cell damage, such as from solution injury, ice injury, recrystallization and osmotic injury during the thawing process, and the cytotoxicity of cryoprotectants. Hence, this review focused on different novel gel cryopreservation systems. Natural polymer hydrogel cryopreservation, the synthetic polymer hydrogel cryopreservation system and the supramolecular hydrogel cryopreservation system were presented, respectively. Due to the unique three-dimensional network structure of the hydrogel, these hydrogel cryopreservation systems have the advantages of excellent biocompatibility for natural polymer hydrogel cryopreservation systems, designability for synthetic polymer hydrogel cryopreservation systems, and versatility for supramolecular hydrogel cryopreservation systems. To some extent, the different hydrogel cryopreservation methods can confine ice crystal growth and decrease the change rates of osmotic shock in cell encapsulation systems. It is notable that the cryopreservation of complex cells and tissues is demanded in future clinical research and therapy, and depends on the linkage of different methods.

Influence of sinomenine upon mesenchymal stem cells in osteoclastogenesis.

With the advent of aging, the morbidity rates of such diseases as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoporosis has witnessed a significant increase. As a common rattan drug, sinomenine (SIN) has been widely applied for the treatment of various arthritic diseases in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinics. Given that SIN has been reported to inhibit the expression of Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in several types of cells, in this study, the influence of SIN treatment on PGE2 expression in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), thereby changing the osteoprotegerin (OPG) receptor/activator for the nuclear factor-κ B ligand (RANKL) ratio, was investigated. Our results showed that, when compared with the untreated cells, treatment with 0.25mM SIN can down-regulate the mRNA and protein expression levels of the Prostaglandin E synthase 3 (PTGES3) or PGE2 and RANKL, while the OPG was up-regulated. After being cultured with SIN treated MSC-conditioned medium (stMSC-CM), the amount of TRAP-positive multinucleated osteoclasts differentiated from RAW264.7 cells was reduced. Also, the expression levels of specific markers for active osteoclasts were decreased when incubated with stMSC-CM. Moreover, these changes were able to be recovered when the exogenous RANKL was added to the MSC-CM culture. This indicates that the increased OPG/RANKL ratio can reduce the osteoclastogenesis of RAW264.7 cells. Our results demonstrated that SIN has an inhibitory effect on osteoclast differentiation through mechanisms involving the inhibition of the PGE2-induced OPG/RANKL ratio. SIN can also serve as a proinflammatory mediator to regulate the MSC immunosuppressive effects. Our findings suggest that SIN can be useful for the treatment of bone diseases associated with over-activity of osteoclasts.