Abstract The present study was aimed to investigate the clinical significance of methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) in patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). This prospective case control study enrolled 319 cases of PHN patients from April 2017~December 2019. The patients’ sleep quality and quality of life were evaluated using the Pittsburgh sleep quality score and the SF- 36 scale, respectively. The serum levels of MECP2, CRP, IL -6 and TNF-α were tested using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The pain condition of the patients was evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS). The levels of MECP2 were significantly increased in PHN patients compared with the patients without PHN. Serum MECP2 levels were the highest in patients with severe pain, and were the lowest in patients with mild pain. Similarly, the frequency of severe pain in patients with low expression of MECP2 was significantly lower than the patients with higher MECP2 expression. Besides, serum levels of inflammatory factors CRP, IL -6 and TNF-α were markedly increased in PHN patients, which were also increased with the increase of the severity of pain. CRP, IL -6 and TNF-α were positively correlated with serum levels of MECP2 in PHN patients. Before the study, patients with lower MECP2 levels showed a significantly higher SF-36 score and lower Pittsburgh and VAS scores than patients with higher levels of MECP2. However, after one month, no significant difference was found between the patients. ROC curve showed MECP2 had the potential as a diagnostic biomarker for PHN. In conclusion, higher serum MECP2 levels are associated with a more severe pain condition and increased release of inflammatory factors.

Resumen El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar la importancia clínica de la MECP2 en pacientes con neuralgia posherpética (NPH). Este estudio observacional prospectivo incluyó 319 pacientes con NPH entre abril de 2017 y diciembre de 2019. La calidad del sueño y la calidad de vida de los pacientes se evaluaron con la escala de calidad del sueño de Pittsburgh y la escala SF - 36, respectivamente. Los niveles séricos de MECP2, PCR, IL -6 y TNF-α fueron determinados por ELISA. Se utilizó la escala visual analógica (EVA) para evaluar la intensidad del dolor. Los niveles de MECP2 en pacientes con NPH aumentaron significativamente en comparación con los pacientes sin NPH. El nivel sérico de MECP2 fue más alto en pacientes con dolor grave y el más bajo en pacientes con dolor leve. Además, la incidencia de dolor grave en pacientes con baja expresión de MECP2 fue significativamente menor que en pacientes con alta expresión de MECP2. Además, los niveles séricos de PCR, IL -6 y TNF-α aumentaron significativamente en pacientes con NPH, y se incrementaron con el aumento del grado de dolor. Los niveles séricos de PCR, IL -6 y TNF-α en pacientes con NPH se correlacionaron positivamente con los niveles séricos de MECP2. Antes del estudio, los pacientes con niveles más bajos de MECP2 tenían puntuaciones significativamente más altas de SF - 36, y puntuaciones más bajas de Pittsburgh y EVA que los pacientes con niveles más altos de MECP2. Sin embargo, no se encontraron diferencias significativas entre los pacientes un mes después. Las curvas ROC mostraron que la MECP2 podría ser un biomarcador de diagnóstico para la NPH. En general, los niveles séricos más altos de la MECP2 se asociaron con condiciones de dolor más graves y un aumento de la liberación de factores inflamatorios.

RESUMO Introdução: Nos últimos anos, a engenharia genética tem contribuído de forma notável para os esportes, além de ter uma função importante na promoção do desenvolvimento de áreas relacionadas ao esporte. Objetivo: Analisamos a origem de tecidos do crescimento ósseo e sua regeneração através do estudo da proteína morfogenética óssea e fatores de transformação do crescimento em fraturas causadas pela prática do esporte. Métodos: Criamos um modelo de fratura humana para expressar a forma e o conteúdo da proteína morfogenética óssea e de fatores de transformação do crescimento durante a recuperação de fraturas. Resultados: Na fase de recuperação da fratura causada por diversos esportes, os níveis de expressão dos dois genes são diferentes. A proteína morfogenética óssea se apresenta em alta quantidade na fase osteogenetica da membrana, e o fator de transformação de crescimento apresenta alta quantidade na fase de ossificação da cartilagem. Conclusão: A terapia genética para fraturas causadas por exercícios físicos apresenta diversas vantagens. Osteoblastos e condrócitos tem um papel na síntese dos fatores de transformação do crescimento. Nível de evidência II; Estudos terapêuticos – investigação de resultados de tratamento.

ABSTRACT Introduction: In recent years, genetic engineering has made outstanding contributions to sports, and it has played a huge role in promoting the development of sports-related fields. Objective: We analyze the tissue source of bone growth and healing by studying the role of bone morphogenetic protein and transforming growth factors in fracture injuries caused by sports. Methods: We established a human fracture model to express the shape and content of bone morphogenetic protein and transforming growth factor during fracture healing. Results: In the fracture healing stage caused by different sports, the expression levels of the two genes are different. Bone morphogenetic protein has a high content in the osteogenesis stage of the membrane, while transforming growth factor is high in the cartilage ossification stage. Conclusion: Gene therapy for fractures caused by physical exercise has certain advantages. Osteoblasts and chondrocytes are involved in the synthesis of transforming growth factors. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment results.

RESUMEN Introducción: En los últimos años, la ingeniería genética ha contribuido de forma notable para los deportes, además de tener una función importante en la promoción del desarrollo de áreas relacionadas al deporte. Objetivo: Analizamos el origen de tejidos del crecimiento óseo y su regeneración a través del estudio de la proteína morfogenética ósea y factores de crecimiento transformante en fracturas causadas por la práctica del deporte. Métodos: Creamos un modelo de fractura humana para expresar la forma y el contenido de la proteína morfogenética ósea y de factores de crecimiento transformante durante la recuperación de fracturas. Resultados: En la fase de recuperación de la fractura causada por diversos deportes, los niveles de expresión de los dos genes son diferentes. La proteína morfogenética ósea se presenta en alta cantidad en la fase osteogénica de la membrana, y el factor de crecimiento transformante presenta alta cantidad en la fase de osificación del cartílago. Conclusión: La terapia genética para fracturas causadas por ejercicios físicos presenta diversas ventajas. Osteoblastos y condrocitos tienen un papel en la síntesis de los factores de crecimiento transformante. Nivel de evidencia II; Estudios terapéuticos – investigación de resultados de tratamiento.

In order to increase the specific surface area of Pt-Rh-Pd / Al2O3 automotive three-way catalyst and improve its low-temperature reduction performance, Ce, Zr, and La were added to the Pt-Rh-Pd / Al2O3 catalyst to prepare the fibrous Pt-Rh-Pd / CeO2-ZrO2-La2O3-Al2O3 catalyst via an electrospinning technique. The fibrous catalysts were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDS, H2-TPR and BET analysis. The catalytic effect of the catalyst on automobile exhaust was also studied. Results revealed that the surface of catalysts is mainly mesoporous. Ce, Zr and La can remarkably increase the specific surface area of the Pt-Rh-Pd / Al2O3 catalyst. The specific surface area of the catalyst prepared with Pt Rh Pd molar ratio of 0.75:0.01:1 is 301.5816 m2 g-1, and the average diameter of which is 790 nm. In addition, the reaction temperature of the catalyst is approximately 220 °C, which shows good low-temperature reduction performance. Moreover, the Pt-Rh-Pd / CeO2-ZrO2-La2O3-Al2O3 catalyst has a catalytic conversion efficiency for NOX of 90.0% in automobile exhaust, a catalytic conversion efficiency for CO of 88.8%, and a catalytic conversion efficiency for SO2 of 75%.

Abstract Introduction The temporal behavior of atrial electrograms (AEGs) collected during persistent atrial fibrillation (persAF) directly affects ablative treatment outcomes. We investigated different durations of AEGs collected during persAF using recurrence quantification analysis (RQA). Methods 797 bipolar AEGs with different durations (from 0.5 s to 8 s) from 18 patients were investigated. Four RQA-based attributes were evaluated based on AEG durations: determinism (DET); recurrence rate (RR); laminarity (LAM); and diagonal lines’ entropy (ENTR). The Spearman correlation (ρ) between each duration versus 8 s was calculated. AEG classification was performed following the CARTO criteria (Biosense Webster) and receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curves were created for the RQA variables. Results The RQA variables successfully discriminated the AEGs: the area under the ROC curves were as high as 0.70 for AEGs with 3.5 s or greater. Three types of AEGs were found using these variables: normal, fractionated and temporally unstable. The number of unstable AEGs decreased with longer AEG segments. Different AEG durations significantly affected the RQA variables (P<0.0001), with no statistical difference between the durations 6 s, 7 s and 8 s for DET, LAM and ENTR, and no difference between 7 s and 8 s for RR (P<0.0001). AEGs with 3 s or longer have shown ρ ≥ 80% for all variables. Conclusion The RQA variables have been shown effective in the characterization of AEGs collected during persAF with a shorter duration than current recommendations, which motivates their use for the characterization of atrial substrate during persAF ablation.

Abstract Rod structure has been widely used in aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Nondestructive testing is a very important method applied to detect unseen flaws in structures, ultrasonic wave nondestructive testing has been used in many areas. Finite Element Method is one of the most widely used numerical methods but would have a high cost when doing simulation on ultrasonic wave due to the requirement of small time interval and element size. Wavelet based finite element method could improve the spatial resolution with fewer elements needed but still needs very small time interval. Laplace transform could easily convert the time domain into frequency and then inverse to time domain. This paper presents an innovative method combining Laplace transform and B-spline wavelet on interval (BSWI) finite element method, which could not only decrease the element number but also increase the time integration interval. Moreover, this innovative method is applied to simulate the ultrasonic wave propagation in 1D rod structure as well as used for nondestructive testing of damages in rod structures.

A new Rhodamine B derivative RBMAB, namely 3-amino-N-(2-(3',6'-bis (diethylamino)-3-oxospiro[isoindoline-1,9'-xanthen]-2-yl)ethyl)benzamide, was designed, synthesized and structurally characterized to develop a chemosensor. The studies show that RBMAB exhibits high selectivity toward Fe3+ among many other metal cations in an ethanol-H2O (3:2, v/v, PBS buffer, 1.2 mmol L-1, pH 7.2) solution. It has a low detection limit of 0.021µm. Fluorescence microscopy experiments further demonstrate that RBMAB can be used as a fluorescent probe to detect Fe3+ in living cells.