Effect of total flavonoids of Dracocephalum moldavica L. On neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease model amyloid-β (Aβ1-42)-peptide-induced astrocyte activation

One of the main pathological features noted in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the presence of plagues of aggregated β-amyloid (Aβ1-42)-peptides. Excess deposition of amyloid-β oligomers (AβO) are known to promote neuroinflammation. Sequentially, following neuroinflammation astrocytes become activated with cellular characteristics to initiate activated astrocytes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether total flavonoids derived from Dracocephalum moldavica L. (TFDM) inhibited Aβ1-42-induced damage attributed to activated C8-D1A astrocytes. Western blotting and ELISA were used to determine the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and complement C3 to establish the activation status of astrocytes following induction from exposure to Aβ1-42. Data demonstrated that stimulation of C8-D1A astrocytes by treatment with 40 μM Aβ1-42 for 24 hr produced significant elevation in protein expression and protein levels of acidic protein (GFAP) and complement C3 accompanied by increased expression and levels of inflammatory cytokines. Treatment with TFDM or the clinically employed drug donepezil in AD therapy reduced production of inflammatory cytokines, and toxicity initiated following activation of C8-D1A astrocytes following exposure to Aβ1-42. Therefore, TFDM similar to donepezil inhibited inflammatory secretion in reactive astrocytes, suggesting that TFDM may be considered as a potential compound to be utilized in AD therapy.

[A prospective cohort study on BMI levels and risk of acute pancreatitis]

Objective: To investigate the effects of body mass index (BMI) levels at different baseline on the risk of new-onset acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods: The subjects were from the Kailuan Study Cohort and divided into 3 groups according to baseline BMI levels: BMI<24 kg/m², normal weight; BMI 24-28 kg/m², overweight; BMI≥28 kg/m², obesity. The incidence of new-onset AP in these three groups was analyzed. The survival curve was plotted by Kaplan-Meier method, the cumulative incidence was calculated and tested by log-rank method. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to calculate HR of baseline BMI levels for AP. Results: A total of 123 841 subjects were included and followed up for (11.94±2.13) years, during which, 395 cases were found with AP. The incidence of AP was 2.67 per 10 000 person years in total population, and the incidences of AP were 2.20, 2.72 and 3.58 per 10 000 person-years in the normal, overweight and obesity groups, respectively. The cumulative incidences of AP was 0.32%, 0.40% and 0.49% in normal, overweight and obesity groups, respectively, which showed a significant inter-group difference by log-rank test (χ ²=13.17,P<0.01). The results of multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis indicated that obesity group (HR=1.45, 95%CI: 1.10-1.92) had a higher risk for AP compared with the normal BMI group. The subgroup analyses by age and sex showed that compared with the normal weight group,the HRs for AP in the obesity group was 1.58(95%CI:1.14-2.19) and 1.40(95%CI:1.03-1.90) among subjects younger than 60 years old and male subjects, respectively. After excluded onset AP within two years from baseline,with a control group from normal weight,the results of multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis indicated that the AP in the obesity group was 1.60 (95%CI: 1.18-2.15). Conclusion: Obesity may increase the risk of developing AP, particularly among young and middle-aged men.

An image-guided hybrid robot system for dental implant surgery

PURPOSE

Dental implant surgery is an effective method for remediating the loss of teeth. Robot is expected to increase the accuracy of dental implant surgery. However, most of them are industrial serial robot, with low stiffness and non-unique inverse kinematic solution, which may reduce the success rate and safety of robotic surgery. Compared to serial robot, parallel robot is more stiffness and has unique inverse kinematic. However, its workspace is small, which may not meet surgical requirements. Therefore, a novel hybrid robot dedicated to dental implant is proposed.

METHODS

The hybrid robot is composed of three translation joints, two revolute joints, and Stewart parallel manipulator. Stewart is used for performing surgical operation, while the joints are used for enlarging the workspace of Stewart. In order to ensure the safety of robot motion, physical human-robot interaction based on a variable admittance controller is applied in the robotic system. In addition, considering the small workspace of Stewart, an optimal model is proposed to minimize the joint movement of Stewart in adjusting the orientation of drill bit.

RESULTS

Phantom experiments were carried out based on the prototype robot. In the experiments, the optimal model could be solved after 20 iterations, finding an ideal joint configuration. The proposed variable admittance controller could enhance comfort level effectively. The accuracy of robot is evaluated by angle, entry and exit deviation, which are 0.74 ± 0.25°, 0.93 ± 0.28 mm, and 0.96 ± 0.23 mm, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The phantom experiments validate the functionality of the proposed hybrid robot. The satisfactory performance makes it more widely used in the practical dental implant surgery in the future.

[The role definition of lateral arm free flap in reconstruction after head and neck cancer surgery]

Application of free flap is one of the important repair means in head and neck surgery. A variety of free flaps, such as anterolateral thigh flap, have showed unique advantages in repair for tissue defects after resection of head and neck tumor, and have became increasing popularity. Lateral arm flee flap is an important repair means in plastic surgery, which has developed more than 30 years, but the application of this flap for reconstruction in head and neck surgery is relatively backward, with few reports. This review focuses on the creativity and innovation, the relationship between anatomy and clinical application, and the application status and prospects for lateral arm flee flap in individual head and neck reconstruction surgery.

Ultrasonic destruction of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride in aqueous solution

The sonochemical destruction of binary mixtures of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride in aqueous solution at 30 kHz has been studied. The influences of initial concentration, bicarbonate/chloride, and acoustical intensity on the destruction rates have been observed. It was found that the destruction of the two compounds appeared to follow pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics with the current experimental concentration range. The rate constant of chloroform for initial concentration as high as 100.4 mg/L decreased compared to initial concentration 36.13 micrograms/L, when the rate constants of carbon tetrachloride hardly changed. However, their destruction rates increased with increasing acoustical intensity and were independent of addition of bicarbonate or chloride. The resulting yield of ionic product (Cl-) for chloroform was determined.

Transparent heat mirrors for solar-energy applications

Transparent heat-mirror films, which transmit solar radiation but reflect ir thermal radiation, have potentially important applications in solar/thermal/electric conversion, solar heating, solar photovoltaic conversion, and window insulation. We have used rf sputtering to prepare two types of films: TiO(2)/Ag/TiO(2) and Sn-doped In(2)O(3). To characterize the properties of heat-mirror films for solar-energy collection, we define the parameters alpha(eff), the effective solar absorptivity, and epsilon(eff), the effective ir emissivity. For our Sn-doped In(2)O(3) films, alpha(eff)/epsilon(eff) is comparable to the values of alpha/epsilon reported for the leading selective absorbers. Even higher values of alpha(eff)/epsilon(eff) are obtained for the TiO(2)/Ag/TiO(2) films.