Nucleus Pulposus(NP)Replacement is a developing surgical methodology for the treatment of pathology related to degeneration of intervertebral discs(IVDs).This article provides necessary context regarding the patholo-gies treated with this technology,the biomechanical structure and function of the IVD,and the procedures this technology aims to replace.Primarily,it provides an overview and discussion of commercial and experimental preformed and in situ curing prosthesis designs reported in the scientific literature and summarizes the results of biomechanical and clinical studies evaluating their efficacy.Contextual and updated information on the most recent research into NP replacement with novel hydrogel and tissue engineering(TE)strategies is described.Replacement of the NP allows for potential improvement in the treatment of degenerative spinal pathologies through minimally invasive surgical techniques.
The recent progresses on the wobbling motion are briefly introduced.So far 17 wobbling candidates have been reported in odd-A and even-even nuclei that spread over A≈100,130,160 and 190 mass regions.The two-quasiparticle configuration wobbling in ^(130)Ba and the wobbling motion in a triaxial rotor are taken as examples in this paper to show the wobbling motion in even-even nuclei.For the ^(130)Ba,the wobbling are investigated based on the combination of the covariant density functional theory(CDFT)and the particle rotor model(PRM).The CDFT provides crucial information on the configuration and deformation parameters of observed bands,serving as input for PRM calculations.The corresponding experimental energy spectra and electromagnetic transition probabilities are reproduced.An analysis of the angular momentum geometry reveals the enhanced stability of transverse wobbling of a two-quasiparticle configuration compared to a single-quasiparticle one.For the triaxial rotor,the time evolution of wobbling motion is explored through the solution of Euler equations.This investigation yields valuable insights into the evolution of orientation angles(φ and θ)and angular momentum components.Notably,the study reveals that low-energy states of a triaxial rotor predominantly exhibit wobbling motion around the intermediate axis.Moreover,an increase in excitation energy corresponds to a prolonged period of intermediate axis wobbling motion.Conversely,a contrasting trend is observed in the case of long axis wobbling,where an increase in excitation energy leads to a decrease in the wobbling period.
Aging has a profound impact on the gingiva and significantly increases its susceptibility to periodontitis,a worldwide prevalent inflammatory disease.However,a systematic characterization and comprehensive understanding of the regulatory mechanism underlying gingival aging is still lacking.Here,we systematically dissected the phenotypic characteristics of gingiva during aging in primates and constructed the first single-nucleus transcriptomic landscape of gingival aging,by which a panel of cell type-specific signatures were elucidated.Epithelial cells were identified as the most affected cell types by aging in the gingiva.Further analyses pinpointed the crucial role of YAP in epithelial self-renew and homeostasis,which declined during aging in epithelial cells,especially in basal cells.The decline of YAP activity during aging was confrmed in the human gingival tissues,and downregulation of YAP in human primary gingival keratinocytes recapitulated the major phenotypic defects observed in the aged primate gingiva while overexpression of YAP showed rejuvenation effects.Our work provides an in-depth understanding of gingival aging and serves as a rich resource for developing novel strategies to combat aging-associated gingival diseases,with the ultimate goal of advancing periodontal health and promoting healthy aging.
The basis functions of the translation invariant shell model are used to construct the ground state nuclear wave functions of 3H. The used residual two-body interactions consist of central, tensor, spin orbit and quadratic spin orbit terms with Gaussian radial dependence. The parameters of these interactions are so chosen in such a way that they represent the long-range attraction and the short-range repulsion of the nucleon-nucleon interactions. These parameters are so chosen to reproduce good agreement between the calculated values of the binding energy, the root mean-square radius, the D-state probability, the magnetic dipole moment and the electric quadrupole moment of the deuteron nucleus. The variation method is then used to calculate the binding energy of triton by varying the oscillator parameter which exists in the nuclear wave function. The obtained nuclear wave functions are then used to calculate the root mean-square radius and the magnetic dipole moment of the triton.
Background:Hypoplastic left heart syndrome(HLHS)is one of the most challenging congenital heart diseases in clinical treatment.In cardiac tissues,resident macrophages fulfill critical functions in maintaining a stable cardiac state and have strong regenerative capacity and organ specificity.However,the molecular mechanisms of macro-phages in HLHS remained unclear.Methods:Single-nucleus RNA sequencing(snRNA-seq)data of HLHS and healthy control(donors)samples obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database were normalized and clustered using the Seurat package.The“FindMarkers”function was used to screen differentially expressed genes(DEGs)between the HLHS and donor groups and to analyze the functional enrichment of the set of genes of interest.Finally,cell-cell communication,pseudotime,and single-cell regulatory network inference and cluster-ing(SCENIC)analyses were used to study the mechanisms of macrophages in HLHS.Results:Based on the snRNA-seq data of HLHS and donors,we identified a total of 9 cell clusters,among which the proportion of macrophages was significantly less in the HLHS group than in the control group.Subdivision of macrophage subpopulations(Macrophages 1,2,and 3)showed that Macrophages 1 was mainly involved in nervous system development,angiogenesis,and apoptotic processes.In addition,analysis of communication between Macro-phages 1 and cardiomyocytes revealed that ligand-acceptor pairs such as GAS6/AXL,IL6,IGF1,THY1,and L1CAM were present only in the donor group.Finally,pesudotime and SCENIC analyses demonstrated that FOXO3 and ELF2 played a critical role for Macrophages 1 to maintain cardiac function in patients with HLHS.Conclusion:Our study improved the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of macrophage devel-opment in HLHS,showing that manipulating the regulatory role of macrophages in the heart can be a novel treat-ment for HLHS.
Aging increases the risk ofliver diseases and systemic susceptibility to aging-related diseases.However,cell type-specific changes and the underlying mechanism of liver aging in higher vertebrates remain incompletely characterized.Here,we constructed the first single-nucleus transcriptomic landscape of primate liver aging,in which we resolved cell type-specific gene expression fluctuation in hepatocytes across three liver zonations and detected aberrant cell-cell interactions between hepatocytes and niche cells.Upon in-depth dissection of this rich dataset,we identifed impaired lipid metabolism and upregulation of chronic inflammation-related genes prominently associated with declined liver functions during aging.In particular,hyperactivated sterol regulatory element-binding protein(SREBP)signaling was a hallmark of the aged liver,and consequently,forced activation of SREBP2 in human primary hepatocytes recapitulated in vivo aging phenotypes,manifesting as impaired detoxification and accelerated cellular senescence.This study expands our knowledge of primate liver aging and informs the development of diagnostics and therapeutic interventions for liver aging and associated diseases.
Shanshan YangChengyu LiuMengmeng JiangXiaoqian LiuLingling GengYiyuan ZhangShuhui SunKang Wangjian YinShuai MaSi WangJuan Carlos Izpisua BelmonteWeiqi ZhangJing QuGuang-Hui Liu
The precise movement speed regulation is a key factor to improve the control effect and efficiency of the cyborg rats.However,the current stimulation techniques cannot realize the graded control of the speed.In this study,we achieved the multi-level speed regulation of cyborg rats in the large open field and treadmill by specifically targeting the Cuneiform Nucleus(CnF)of the Mesencephalic Locomotor Region(MLR).Detailed,we measured the influence of each stimulation parameter on the speed control process which included the real-time speed,accelerated speed,response time,and acceleration period.We concluded that the pulse period and the pulse width were the main determinants influencing the accelerated speed of cyborg rats.Whereas the amplitude of stimulation was found to affect the response time exhibited by the cyborg rats.Our study provides valuable insights into the regulation of rat locomotion speed and highlights the potential for utilizing this approach in various experimental settings.
Background Structural imaging holds great potential for precise targeting and stimulation for deep brain stimulation(DBS).The anatomical information it provides may serve as potential biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of DBS in treatment-resistant depression(TRD).Aims The primary aim is to identify preoperative imaging biomarkers that correlate with the efficacy of DBS in patients with TRD.Methods Preoperative imaging parameters were estimated and correlated with the 6-month clinical outcome of patients with TRD receiving combined bed nucleus of the stria terminalis(BNST)-nucleus accumbens(NAc)DBS.White matter(WM)properties were extracted and compared between the response/non-response and remission/non-remission groups.Structural connectome was constructed and analysed using graph theory.Distances of the volume of activated tissue(VAT)to the main modulating tracts were also estimated to evaluate the correlations.Results Differences in fibre bundle properties of tracts,including superior thalamic radiation and reticulospinal tract,were observed between the remission and nonremission groups.Distance of the centre of the VAT to tracts connecting the ventral tegmental area and the anterior limb of internal capsule on the left side varied between the remission and non-remission groups(p=0.010,t=3.07).The normalised clustering coefficient(γ)and the small-world property(σ)in graph analysis correlated with the symptom improvement after the correction of age.Conclusions Presurgical structural alterations in WM tracts connecting the frontal area with subcortical regions,as well as the distance of the VAT to the modulating tracts,may influence the clinical outcome of BNST-NAc DBS.These findings provide potential imaging biomarkers for the DBS treatment for patients with TRD.
