Recent publications have investigated the potential role of the protein level of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) in the susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). However, no unanimous conclusion was obtained. Therefore, we carried out a meta-analysis to explore the association between MMP-1 expression and these two clinical disorders. After database searching and screening, we enrolled a total of eighteen articles for the pooled analysis. We observed a significant association between RA cases and controls in the whole population [SMD (standard mean difference)=1.01, P=0.017]. There were similar positive results in the subgroup analysis of “population-based control” (SMD=1.50, P=0.032) and “synovial fluid” (SMD=1.32, P=0.049). In addition, we observed an increased risk in OA cases, compared with controls, in the overall analysis (SMD=0.47, P=0.004) and subsequent subgroup analysis of “knee OA” (SMD=0.86, P<0.001), “Asian/China” (SMD=0.76, P=0.003), “cartilage-Asian/China” (SMD=1.21, P<0.001), and “synovial fluid-Asian/China” (SMD=0.73, P=0.004). In summary, a high protein level of MMP-1 in synovial fluid may be associated with the susceptibility to RA, and the high MMP-1 level in the cartilage tissue or synovial fluid may be related to the pathogenesis of knee OA in the Chinese population. This should be confirmed by larger sample sizes.

Hypoxia-induced apoptosis and inflammation play an important role in cardiovascular diseases including myocardial infarction (MI). miR-369 has been suggested to be a key regulator of cardiac fibrosis. However, the role of miR-369 in regulating hypoxia-induced heart injury remains unknown. Our data indicated that miR-369 expression was significantly down-regulated and TRPV3 was significantly up-regulated in myocardial tissue after MI in rats and in hypoxic-treated neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs). In addition, we observed that hypoxia significantly promoted apoptosis and the inflammatory response, accompanied by increased caspase-3 activity and the secretion of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. miR-369 overexpression significantly suppressed cell apoptosis and inflammatory factor production triggered by hypoxia, whereas miR-369 inhibition had an opposite effect. Importantly, we identified TRPV3 as a direct target of miR-369-3p. TRPV3 inhibition with small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly inhibited hypoxia-induced inflammation and apoptosis, which can reverse the injury effects of miR-369 inhibitors. Our findings indicated that miR-369 reduced hypoxia-induced apoptosis and inflammation by targeting TRPV3.

This article focuses on the educational quality of the newly emerged quasi-state schools for rural migrant children in urban China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 government officers, school leaders, teachers and migrant parents in Shanghai. Adopting a theoretical perspective of policy as a temporary settlement of interests, the article deconstructs the power relations that constructed the disadvantaged positionality of these schools in the local school system. What can be identified from the empirical data is the emergence of an "interim quasi-state school system" with three interrelated features: it belongs to the state sector, offers quasi-state education and has an interim nature. Under the local government's low-cost and inferior schooling approach, the whole system is treated as an emergency mechanism for solving the floating children's schooling problem, rather than as regular schools offering high quality education. While realising the children's right to education, this system does not guarantee them a "good" education.

Abstract Purpose To investigate whether heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is involved in complement regulation in ischemic postconditioning (IPC). Methods The left coronary artery of rats underwent 30 min of occlusion, followed by 120 min of reperfusion and treatment with IPC via 3 cycles of 30s reperfusion and 30s occlusion. The rats were injected intraperitoneally with 1 mg/kg HSP90 inhibitor geldanamycin (GA) after anesthesia. Eighty rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham, ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), IPC and IPC + GA. Myocardial infarct size, apoptosis index and the expression of HSP90, C3, C5a, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1β and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were assessed. Results Compared with the I/R injury, the IPC treatment significantly reduced infarct size, release of troponin T, creatine kinase-MB, and lactate dehydrogenase, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. These beneficial effects were accompanied by a decrease in TNF-α, IL-1β, C3, C5a and JNK expression levels. However, all these effects were abrogated by administration of the HSP90 inhibitor GA. Conclusion HSP90 exerts a profound effect on IPC cardioprotection, and may be linked to the inhibition of the complement system and JNK, ultimately attenuating I/R-induced myocardial injury and apoptosis.

ABSTRACT Degradation and desertification are extremely significant environmental problems in arid and semi-arid grassland ecosystems. Long-term overgrazing is the most fundamental cause of grassland degradation. We investigated relationships between grazing intensity and bacterial communities in non-rhizospheric and rhizospheric soils in desert steppe, including 0-10, 10- 20 and 20-30 cm depth soils, as well as Stipa breviflora Griseb., Cleistogenes songorica (Roshev.) Ohwi, Artemisia frigida Willd. and plant community rhizospheric soils. This involved simulating grazing intensities in a long-term localization experiment, using a randomized block design. The effects of grazing on non-rhizospheric soil bacterial abundance were reflected in the 0-10 cm layer, increasing under light grazing and decreasing rapidly under moderate and heavy grazing, mainly related to Bacillus. Bacterial abundance in dominant plant rhizosphere responded differently. In A. frigida Willd. Rhizosphere, it decreased with increasing grazing intensity (a trend repeated in mixed rhizosphere). Bacterial abundance in S. breviflora and C. songorica rhizosphere increased under light and decreased under moderate and heavy grazing. Thus, changes in the dominant plant rhizospheric bacterial community did not significantly affect bacterial abundance in mixed rhizosphere. Changes in the rhizospheric bacterial abundance mainly resulted from levels of the dominant species, Streptomyces and Arthrobacter. There were significantly different results for bacterial community structure. Specifically, grazing had a nonsignificant and significant impact on bacterial community structures in non-rhizospheric (FPERMANOVA = 1.38, p = 0.199) and rhizospheric (FPERMANOVA = 2.03, p = 0.012) soil, respectively, varying significantly among plants (FPERMANOVA = 1.9, p = 0.022). In conclusion, bacterial communities in rhizosphere were mainly affected by plant species and were more sensitive to changing grazing intensity than in non-rhizospheric soil.

ABSTRACT: Yellowing is a key stage in the curing of flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum L.) as much of the chemical transformation occurs during this period. This study examined the effect of different yellowing degrees on the value of flue-cured tobacco leaves at the farm level for both processing and manufacturing. The study was conducted in the counties of Chuxiong, Dali, and Yuxi in Yunnan, China over two years. Yellowing treatments have been designed to have either a mild or a regular yellowing degree. Yield, value, appearance, suction property, smoking characteristics, and physical resistance to further processing were investigated to evaluate the effect of degree of yellowing on the industrial utilization of flue-cured tobacco leaves. The regular yellowing degree enhanced yield, value, and appearance compared to the mild yellowing degree, regardless of cultivar or location; however, physical resistance to further processing and the suction property of the mild yellowing degree treatment were better than with the regular yellowing degree regardless of cultivar or location. Furthermore, although the regular yellowing degree recorded higher smoking characteristic scores than the mild yellowing degree immediately after flue-curing, the scores of mild yellowing degree leaves could be further augmented by increasing intensity in the re-drying stage. The smoking characteristic score in the regular yellowing degree can only be increased by low intensity re-drying, and significantly decreased by mild and high intensity re-drying. Therefore, in terms of industrial utilization, mild yellowing is the better choice for flue-curing tobacco. This study also suggested that the current regular yellowing stage in Yunnan should be shortened to meet the demands of the traditional tobacco industry.

Mechanical loss of the coating materials, and hence thermal noise from the mirror coatings, is a limiting factor for the sensitivity of the laser interferometer gravitational waves detector at its most sensitive frequency range. Mechanical loss of the thin films are often measured using the cantilever ring-down method. But when the thin film is under stress, the regular ring-down method gives incorrect results. We report a method to obtain the mechanical loss of stressed thin film using the cantilever ring-down technique. A proof-of-concept example is given to demonstrate and verify our method. The method can also be applied to obtain the mechanical loss angle of a rough interface; an example showed that loss angle of the interface between silicon nitride film deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method and silicon substrate is highly frequency dependent.

Abstract The dynamic response and failure mechanism of clamped thin aluminum alloy plates subjected to underwater impulsive loading are investigated by laboratory experiments and finite element (FE) simulations. The effects of plate thickness, impulsive loading and fluid-structure interaction on failure modes in clamped thin aluminum plates are comprehensively assessed in this study. The underwater explosive shock loading experiments were performed by underwater non-contact explosive simulator to identify failure modes of target plates under loads with different intensities. The 3D digital image correlation was applied to measure the real-time deformation of the specimens throughout the impulsive event. Depending on the loading intensity, the failure modes of thin aluminum plates were subdivided into three modes. The Scanning electron micrographs of the fracture surfaces show that the local failure mechanism was tensile necking in all cases. A calibrated FE model was adopted to predict the overall dynamic behavior of plates. The results indicate that the thickness of plates had no significant effect on the deformation modes. In addition, the quantitative relations of plate thickness, the effect of fluid-structure interaction and the failure of plate subjected to underwater shock loading were revealed by the combination of the experimental and simulation results. The results obtained in this research provide a potential guidance to enhance the impulsive resistance of underwater structure.

ABSTRACT Purpose The percentage of parenchyma preserved plays a predominant role in predicting renal function after partial nephrectomy (PN). Currently there is no standard method to estimate preserved renal parenchyma. In this study we propose a formula of the percentage of resected and ischemic volume (PRAIV) determined by a geometric model and evaluate the relationships between renal functional change and PRAIV as well as other clinical parameters. Materials and Methods We identified 71 patients who underwent open PN between January 2004 and April 2014. Assuming the kidney to be an ellipsoid with bilaterally equal volume and tumor to be a sphere, we calculated PRAIV by integral calculus. Nadir estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between postoperative 3 and 12 months were recorded. The correlation between percent eGFR reduction, PRAIV, and other clinical parameters were examined. Results On univariate analysis, age (p=0.03), depth of tumor invasion (p=0.004), C index (p=0.003), RAIV (p=0.04), and PRAIV (p<0.001) were correlated with percent reduction of eGFR. However, only age (p=0.007) and PRAIV (p<0.001) were significantly correlated with percent reduction of eGFR on multivariate analysis. Depicting these values along the regression line, we found R2 was 0.194 and 0.073 for PRAIV and age, respectively. Conclusions PRAIV determined by a geometric model is a significant predictor of renal functional change after PN. Using PRAIV, we can estimate percent eGFR reduction preoperatively for better patient consultation and surgical planning.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have reported that depression may play a crucial role in the occurrence of vertebral fractures. However, a clear correlation between depressive disorders and osteoporotic fractures has not been established. We explored the association between depressive disorders and subsequent new-onset vertebral fractures. Additionally, we aimed to identify the potential risk factors for vertebral fracture in patients with a depressive disorder. METHODS: We studied patients listed in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database who were diagnosed with a depressive disorder by a psychiatrist. The comparison cohort consisted of age- and sex-matched patients without a depressive disorder. The incidence rate and hazard ratios of subsequent vertebral fracture were evaluated. We used Cox regression analysis to evaluate the risk of vertebral fracture among patients with a depressive disorder. RESULTS: The total number of patients with and without a depressive disorder was 44,812. The incidence risk ratio (IRR) between these 2 cohorts indicated that depressive disorder patients had a higher risk of developing a subsequent vertebral fracture (IRR=1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.26-1.57, p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the depressive disorder cohort showed a higher risk of vertebral fracture than the comparison cohort (adjusted hazard ratio=1.24, 95% CI=1.11-1.38, p<0.001). Being older than 50 years, having a lower monthly income, and having hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autoimmune disease, or osteoporosis were considered predictive factors for vertebral fracture in patients with depressive disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive disorders may increase the risk of a subsequent new-onset vertebral fracture.

NiFe2O4 nanosheets have been synthesized via a simple surfactant-assisted solution route, which are confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The NiFe2O4 sample exhibits the sheet-like structure, with width varying from 200 to 800 nm and thickness ranging from 20 to 60 nm. The electromagnetic properties of NiFe2O4 nanosheets-paraffin composites have been deeply investigated. The multiple dielectric relaxation loss in NiFe2O4 nanosheets is attributed to the size distribution and morphology of the NiFe2O4 nanosheets. The magnetic loss in the present system is caused mainly by the natural resonance. An absorber with a thickness of 4.3 mm exhibits an optimal reflection loss (RL) value of -47.1 dB at 7.67 GHz. RL values exceeding -20 dB in the 2.68-17.96 GHz range are obtained by choosing an appropriate absorption-layer thickness between 1.9 and 10 mm. Not only the RL peak frequency but also the number of the peaks can be well explained by the quarter-wavelength cancellation model.

Tetrametilpirazina (TMP), o principal componente do extrato de Ligusticum wallichi Franchat (erva chinesa), apresenta propriedades neuroprotetoras na isquemia. Nesse estudo, avaliamos seus efeitos protetores nas células de Schwann (SC), cultivando-as na presença de condições de depleção de oxigênio da glicose (OGD) e medindo a sobrevivência dos nervos de ratos isquêmicos pelo resfriamento. No modelo de lesão isquêmica em SC induzida por OGD, demonstramos que o tratamento com TMP não somente reduziu as perdas de viabilidade celular induzida por OGD, a morte celular, a apoptose de SC dose-dependente e inibiu a liberação de LDH, mas, também, suprimiu a infra-regulação do Vcl-2 e a supra-regulação de Bax e caspase-3, e inibiu a consequente ativação da caspase-3. No modelo de nervo isquêmico por resfriamento, observamos que a exposição prolongada ao resfriamento por quatro semanas estava, marcadamente, associada com a ausência de SC, com o decréscimo da viabilidade celular e a apoptose em segmentos de nervo incubados na solução da Universidade de Wisconsin apenas. Entretanto, a TMP atenuou o dano no segmento do nervo preservando SC e antagonizando a diminuição da viabilidade da fibra nervosa e o aumento das células TUNEL-positiva de modo dose-dependente. De forma conjunta, nossos resultados indicam que o TMP não só fornece efeitos protetores em um modelo de dano semelhante à isquemia de SC de ratos cultivados pela regulação de BCl-2, Bax e caspase 3, mas, também, aumenta a sobrevivência celular e suprime a apoptose no modelo de isquemia por resfriamento por exposição prolongada por quatro semanas. Então, TMP pode ser uma estratégia terapêutica eficaz para prevenir doenças isquêmicas do sistema nervoso periférico e melhora a armazenagem do nervo periférico.

Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), a major active ingredient of Ligusticum wallichi Franchat extract (a Chinese herb), exhibits neuroprotective properties in ischemia. In this study, we assessed its protective effects on Schwann cells (SCs) by culturing them in the presence of oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) conditions and measuring cell survival in cold ischemic rat nerves. In the OGD-induced ischemic injury model of SCs, we demonstrated that TMP treatment not only reduced OGD-induced cell viability losses, cell death, and apoptosis of SCs in a dose-dependent manner, and inhibited LDH release, but also suppressed OGD-induced downregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax and caspase-3, as well as inhibited the consequent activation of caspase-3. In the cold ischemic nerve model, we found that prolonged cold ischemic exposure for four weeks was markedly associated with the absence of SCs, a decrease in cell viability, and apoptosis in preserved nerve segments incubated in University of Wisconsin solution (UWS) alone. However, TMP attenuated nerve segment damage by preserving SCs and antagonizing the decrease in nerve fiber viability and increase in TUNEL-positive cells in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, our results indicate that TMP not only provides protective effects in an ischemia-like injury model of cultured rat SCs by regulating Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3, but also increases cell survival and suppresses apoptosis in the cold ischemic nerve model after prolonged ischemic exposure for four weeks. Therefore, TMP may be a novel and effective therapeutic strategy for preventing peripheral nervous system ischemic diseases and improving peripheral nerve storage.

The effects of Dangguibuxue Tang (DBT) on growth performance and immunity response in immunosuppressed broiler chicks were investigated in this study. 240 one-d-old broiler chicks (DaHeng S01) were randomly divided into 4 groups, 2.0% DBT-treatment (A), 0.5% DBT-treatment (B), cyclophosphamide-control (C), and control group (D). From 4 d to 7 d of age, chicks in group A, B and C were given cyclophosphamide (CY) at a dosage of 100mg/kg body weight (BW) daily by intraperitoneal injection to induce immunosuppression. Chicks in group D were given an equal volume of physiological saline daily by intraperitoneal injection and considered normal chicks. Groups A and B were supplemented with 2.0% or 0.5% of DBT in the drinking water from 8 d to 42 d of age. Groups C and D did not receive any additional medication. The results revealed that chicks from group B had lower feed:gain rate (FGR), lower total mortality, higher immunity organ indexes, higher levels of Newcastle disease (ND) antibody and infectious bursal disease (IBD) antibody, higher interleukin-2 and interleukin-6 levels, and greater lymphocyte proliferative responses to concanavalin A (ConA) during the experiment than those from group C. However, no significant difference in the immunity status in the two levels of DBT-treatment was observed. These results indicate that supplementation of 0.5% of DBT can improve both cellular immunity and humoral immunity in immunosuppressed broiler chicks.