ALBERT

Description: Cartilage tissues have poor self-repairing abilities. Regenerative medicine can be applied to recover cartilage tissue damage in the oral and maxillofacial regions. However, hitherto it has not been possible to predict the maturity of the tissue construction after transplantation or to prepare mature cartilage tissues before transplantation that can meet clinical needs. Macrophages play an important role in cartilage tissue regeneration, although the exact mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we established and verified an in vitro experimental system for the direct co-culture of cell pellets prepared from mouse auricular chondrocytes and macrophages polarized into four phenotypes (M1-like, M1, M2-like, and M2). We demonstrate that cartilage pellets co-cultured with M1-like promoted collagen type 2 and aggrecan production and induced the most significant increase in chondrogenesis. Furthermore, M1-like shifted to M2 on day 7 of co-culture, suggesting that the cartilage pellet supplied factors that changed the polarization of M1-like. Our findings suggest that cartilage regenerative medicine will be most effective if the maturation of cartilage tissues is induced in vitro by co-culture with M1-like before transplantation.

Description: Sargassum serratifolium (C. Agardh) C.Agardh, a marine brown alga, has been consumed as a food and traditional medicine in Asia. A previous study showed that the meroterpenoid-rich fraction of an ethanolic extract of S. serratifolium (MES) induced adipose tissue browning and suppressed diet-induced obesity and metabolic syndrome when orally supplemented. Sargahydroquinoic acid (SHQA) is a major component of MES. However, it is unclear whether SHQA regulates energy homeostasis through the central nervous system. To examine this, SHQA was administrated through the third ventricle in the hypothalamus in high-fat diet-fed C57BL/6 mice and investigated its effects on energy homeostasis. Chronic administration of SHQA into the brain reduced body weight without a change in food intake and improved metabolic syndrome-related phenotypes. Cold experiments and biochemical analyses indicated that SHQA elevated thermogenic signaling pathways, as evidenced by an increase in body temperature and UCP1 signaling in white and brown adipose tissues. Peripheral denervation experiments using 6-OHDA indicated that the SHQA-induced anti-obesity effect is mediated by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, possibly by regulating genes associated with sympathetic outflow and GABA signaling pathways. In conclusion, hypothalamic injection of SHQA elevates peripheral thermogenic signaling and ameliorates diet-induced obesity.

Description: Air quality improvements pollution changes due to COVID-19 restrictions have been reported for many urban developments and large metropolitan areas, but the respective impacts at rural and remote zones are less frequently analysed. This study evaluated air pollution changes across all Portugal (68 stations) considering all urban, suburban and rural zones. PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, ozone was analysed in pre-, during, and post-lockdown period (January–May 2020) and for a comparison also in 2019. NO2 was the most reduced pollutant in 2020, which coincided with decreased traffic. Significant drop (15–71%) of traffic related NO2 was observed specifically during lockdown period, being 55% for the largest and most populated region in country. PM was affected to a lesser degree (with substantial differences found for largely populated areas (Lisbon region ~ 30%; North region, up to 49%); during lockdown traffic-related PM dropped 10–70%. PM10 daily limit was exceeded 50% less in 2020, with 80% of exceedances before lockdown period. SO2 decreased by 35%, due to suspended industrial productions, whereas ozone concentrations slightly (though not significantly) increased (83 vs. 80 µg m–3).

Description: Periprocedural antithrombotic management with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPI) for intracranial artery stenting is still controversial. We sought to assess the safety and efficacy of prophylactic tirofiban infusion for acute intracranial intraprocedural stent thrombosis in routine clinical practice. From January 2013 to December 2019, consecutive patients treated with endovascular stenting for symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) were identified and dichotomized by whether tirofiban was used. The efficacy and safety outcomes were compared by propensity score matching. A total of 160 consecutive patients in the tirofiban group and 177 patients in the non-tirofiban group were enrolled. Propensity score matching analysis selected 236 matched patients. One acute intraprocedural stent thrombosis (AIST) occurred in patients receiving prophylactic tirofiban, while 8 in the non-tirofiban group. The incidence of AIST in the tirofiban group was significantly lower than that in the non-tirofiban group (0.8% vs 6.8%, P = 0.039). The periprocedural ischemic events (8.5% vs 5.1%, P = 0.424), periprocedural intracranial hemorrhage (4.2% vs 0.8%, P = 0.219) and 30-day total mortality (3.4% vs 0%, P = 0.125) were not statistically different between the two groups. Compared with conventional stenting angioplasty without tirofiban, tirofiban prophylactic infusion can lower the incidence of AIST, without increasing the risk of periprocedural intracranial hemorrhage and 30-day total mortality. However, there is no superiority in reducing periprocedural ischemic events. The current study adds more important insights to the available clinical evidence on the use of tirofiban during stenting of ICAS.

Description: There have been several reports about the difficulties in removing 3.5-mm titanium locking screws from plates due to the stripping or rounding of the hexagonal screw socket. We investigated whether stripping the locking screw sockets can be prevented by using different screwdrivers or interposing materials into the socket during removal. We overtightened 120 3.5-mm titanium locking screws (Depuy Synthes, Paoli, PA) equally into locking plates on sawbone tibia models, applying a uniform torque of 4.5 Nm, exceeding the recommended torque of 1.5 Nm. Twenty screws each were removed using a straight-handle 2.5-mm screwdriver, T-handle screwdriver, hex key wrench, and straight-handle screwdriver with a non-dominant hand. In addition, 20 screws were removed using foil from a suture packet inserted into the screw socket or using parts of a latex glove inserted into the screw socket. The incidence rates of screw stripping using the straight-handle screwdriver, T-handle screwdriver, hex key wrench, non-dominant hand, foil interposition, and latex glove interposition were 75%, 40%, 35%, 90%, 60%, and 70%, respectively. When a T-handle screwdriver or hex key wrench was used, the probability of screw stripping was 4.50 times (odds ratio = 4.50, 95% confidence interval = 1.17 to 17.37, p = 0.03) and 5.57 times (odds ratio = 5.57, 95% confidence interval = 1.42 to 21.56, p = 0.01) lower than that with the straight-handle screwdriver, respectively. Foil or latex glove interpositions did not prevent screw stripping. Thus, in the current experimental study, T-handle screwdriver or hex key wrench usage decreased the incidence rate of screw stripping during removal compared to straight-handle screwdriver use.

Description: Skeletal muscle is an adaptive tissue with the ability to regenerate in response to exercise training. Cross-sectional area (CSA) quantification, as a main parameter to assess muscle regeneration capability, is highly tedious and time-consuming, necessitating an accurate and automated approach to analysis. Although several excellent programs are available to automate analysis of muscle histology, they fail to efficiently and accurately measure CSA in regenerating myofibers in response to exercise training. Here, we have developed a novel fully-automated image segmentation method based on neutrosophic set algorithms to analyse whole skeletal muscle cross sections in exercise-induced regenerating myofibers, referred as MyoView, designed to obtain accurate fiber size and distribution measurements. MyoView provides relatively efficient, accurate, and reliable measurements for CSA quantification and detecting different myofibers, myonuclei and satellite cells in response to the post-exercise regenerating process. We showed that MyoView is comparable with manual quantification. We also showed that MyoView is more accurate and efficient to measure CSA in post-exercise regenerating myofibers as compared with Open-CSAM, MuscleJ, SMASH and MyoVision. Furthermore, we demonstrated that to obtain an accurate CSA quantification of exercise-induced regenerating myofibers, whole muscle cross-section analysis is an essential part, especially for the measurement of different fiber-types. We present MyoView as a new tool to quantify CSA, myonuclei and satellite cells in skeletal muscle from any experimental condition including exercise-induced regenerating myofibers.

Description: If the brain structure is assessed at neonatal intensive care units, covert clinical events related with subtle brain injury might be identified. The reduced scattering coefficient of near-infrared light (μS’) obtained using time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy from the forehead of infants is associated with gestational age, body weight and Apgar scores, presumably reflecting subtle changes of the brain related to foetal growth and birth transition. One hundred twenty-eight preterm and term infants were studied to test whether μS’ obtained from the head at term-equivalent age is associated with foetal growth, birth transition and nutritional status after birth, which are key independent variables of developmental outcomes. As potential independent variables of μS’, birth weight, Apgar scores, age at full enteral feeding and post-conceptional age at the study were assessed to represent foetal growth, birth transition and nutritional status after birth. Subsequently, higher μS’ values were associated with higher Apgar scores (p = 0.003) and earlier establishment of enteral feeding (p 

Description: This study assessed the pupil responses in the sensory integration of various directional optic flows during the perception of gravitational vertical. A total of 30 healthy participants were enrolled with normal responses to conventional subjective visual vertical (SVV) which was determined by measuring the difference (error angles) between the luminous line adjusted by the participants and the true vertical. SVV was performed under various types of rotational (5°/s, 10°/s, and 50°/s) and straight (5°/s and 10°/s) optic flows presented via a head-mounted display. Error angles (°) of the SVV and changes in pupil diameters (mm) were measured to evaluate the changes in the visually assessed subjective verticality and related cognitive demands. Significantly larger error angles were measured under rotational optic flows than under straight flows (p 

Description: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mainly originates from combustion emissions. On-road transportation is considered one of the primary sources of PM2.5 emission. The relationship between on-road transportation and PM2.5 concentration varies temporally and spatially, and the estimation for this variation is important for policymaking. Here, we reveal the quantitative association of PM2.5 concentration with on-road transportation by the spatial panel Durbin model and the geographical and temporal weighted regression. We find that 6.17 billion kilometres (km) per km2 on-road transportation increase is associated with a 1-μg/m3 county-level PM2.5 concentration increase in the contiguous United States. On-road transportation marginally contributes to PM2.5, only 1.09% on average. Approximately 3605 premature deaths are attributed to PM2.5 from on-road transportation in 2010, and about a total of 50,223 premature deaths ascribe to PM2.5 taking 6.49% from 2003 to 2016. Our findings shed light on the necessity of the county-level policies considering the temporal and spatial variability of the relationship to further mitigate PM2.5 from on-road transportation.