EMBER Swift seems to be a walking collection of improbabilities and contradictions, which probably means she blends seamlessly into modern China. She is a white, foreign female singing original lyrics in both Chinese and
My eyes kept being drawn to the cartoon characters on the bob-bing bus ceiling. Mickey Mouse and Pluto were pasted between metallic paper roses, hearts and butterflies. It seemed incongruous, hovering over an eclectic...My eyes kept being drawn to the cartoon characters on the bob-bing bus ceiling. Mickey Mouse and Pluto were pasted between metallic paper roses, hearts and butterflies. It seemed incongruous, hovering over an eclectic collection of rural passengers jabbering away in a jarring dialect, crammed into a bus chugging its way to the mountains high above Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China.展开更多
Gastro-esophageal reflux disease(GERD)is a verycommon disorder that results primarily from the loss of an effective antireflux barrier,which forms a mechanical obstacle to the retrograde movement of gastric content.GE...Gastro-esophageal reflux disease(GERD)is a verycommon disorder that results primarily from the loss of an effective antireflux barrier,which forms a mechanical obstacle to the retrograde movement of gastric content.GERD can be currently treated by medical therapy,surgical or endoscopic transoral intervention.Medical therapy is the most common approach,though concerns have been increasingly raised in recent years about the potential side effects of continuous longterm medication,drug intolerance or unresponsiveness,and the need for high dosages for long periods to treat symptoms or prevent recurrences.Surgery too may in some cases have consequences such as longlasting dysphagia,flatulence,inability to belch or vomit,diarrhea,or functional dyspepsia related to delayed gastric emptying.In the last few years,transoral incisionless fundoplication(TIF)has proved an effective and promising therapeutic option as an alternative to medical and surgical therapy.This review describes the steps of the TIF technique,using the Esophy X®device and the MUSETM system.Complications and their management are described in detail,and the recent literature regarding the outcomes is reviewed.TIF reconfigures the tissue to obtain a full-thickness gastroesophageal valve from inside the stomach,by serosato-serosa plications which include the muscle layers.To date the procedure has achieved lasting improvement of GERD symptoms(up to six years),cessation or reduction of proton pump inhibitor medication in about 75%of patients,and improvement of functional findings,measured by either p H or impedance monitoring.展开更多
The best tissue-engineered spinal cord grafts not only match the structural characteristics of the spinal cord but also allow the seed cells to grow and function in situ.Platelet-derived growth factor（PDGF） has been...The best tissue-engineered spinal cord grafts not only match the structural characteristics of the spinal cord but also allow the seed cells to grow and function in situ.Platelet-derived growth factor（PDGF） has been shown to promote the migration of bone marrow stromal cells;however,cytokines need to be released at a steady rate to maintain a stable concentration in vivo.Therefore,new methods are needed to maintain an optimal concentration of cytokines over an extended period of time to effectively promote seed cell localization,proliferation and differentiation.In the present study,a partition-type tubular scaffold matching the anatomical features of the thoracic 8–10 spinal cord of the rat was fabricated using chitosan and then subsequently loaded with chitosan-encapsulated PDGF-BB microspheres（PDGF-MSs）.The PDGF-MS-containing scaffold was then examined in vitro for sustained-release capacity,biocompatibility,and its effect on neural progenitor cells differentiated in vitro from multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring cells（MUSE-NPCs）.We found that pre-freezing for 2 hours at-20°C significantly increased the yield of partition-type tubular scaffolds,and 30 μL of 25% glutaraldehyde ensured optimal crosslinking of PDGF-MSs.The resulting PDGF-MSs cumulatively released 52% of the PDGF-BB at 4 weeks in vitro without burst release.The PDGF-MS-containing tubular scaffold showed suitable biocompatibility towards MUSE-NPCs and could promote the directional migration and growth of these cells.These findings indicate that the combination of a partition-type tubular scaffold,PDGF-MSs and MUSENPCs may be a promising model for the fabrication of tissue-engineered spinal cord grafts.展开更多
文摘EMBER Swift seems to be a walking collection of improbabilities and contradictions, which probably means she blends seamlessly into modern China. She is a white, foreign female singing original lyrics in both Chinese and
文摘My eyes kept being drawn to the cartoon characters on the bob-bing bus ceiling. Mickey Mouse and Pluto were pasted between metallic paper roses, hearts and butterflies. It seemed incongruous, hovering over an eclectic collection of rural passengers jabbering away in a jarring dialect, crammed into a bus chugging its way to the mountains high above Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China.
文摘Gastro-esophageal reflux disease(GERD)is a verycommon disorder that results primarily from the loss of an effective antireflux barrier,which forms a mechanical obstacle to the retrograde movement of gastric content.GERD can be currently treated by medical therapy,surgical or endoscopic transoral intervention.Medical therapy is the most common approach,though concerns have been increasingly raised in recent years about the potential side effects of continuous longterm medication,drug intolerance or unresponsiveness,and the need for high dosages for long periods to treat symptoms or prevent recurrences.Surgery too may in some cases have consequences such as longlasting dysphagia,flatulence,inability to belch or vomit,diarrhea,or functional dyspepsia related to delayed gastric emptying.In the last few years,transoral incisionless fundoplication(TIF)has proved an effective and promising therapeutic option as an alternative to medical and surgical therapy.This review describes the steps of the TIF technique,using the Esophy X®device and the MUSETM system.Complications and their management are described in detail,and the recent literature regarding the outcomes is reviewed.TIF reconfigures the tissue to obtain a full-thickness gastroesophageal valve from inside the stomach,by serosato-serosa plications which include the muscle layers.To date the procedure has achieved lasting improvement of GERD symptoms(up to six years),cessation or reduction of proton pump inhibitor medication in about 75%of patients,and improvement of functional findings,measured by either p H or impedance monitoring.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81501610,81350030the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutes of China
文摘The best tissue-engineered spinal cord grafts not only match the structural characteristics of the spinal cord but also allow the seed cells to grow and function in situ.Platelet-derived growth factor（PDGF） has been shown to promote the migration of bone marrow stromal cells;however,cytokines need to be released at a steady rate to maintain a stable concentration in vivo.Therefore,new methods are needed to maintain an optimal concentration of cytokines over an extended period of time to effectively promote seed cell localization,proliferation and differentiation.In the present study,a partition-type tubular scaffold matching the anatomical features of the thoracic 8–10 spinal cord of the rat was fabricated using chitosan and then subsequently loaded with chitosan-encapsulated PDGF-BB microspheres（PDGF-MSs）.The PDGF-MS-containing scaffold was then examined in vitro for sustained-release capacity,biocompatibility,and its effect on neural progenitor cells differentiated in vitro from multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring cells（MUSE-NPCs）.We found that pre-freezing for 2 hours at-20°C significantly increased the yield of partition-type tubular scaffolds,and 30 μL of 25% glutaraldehyde ensured optimal crosslinking of PDGF-MSs.The resulting PDGF-MSs cumulatively released 52% of the PDGF-BB at 4 weeks in vitro without burst release.The PDGF-MS-containing tubular scaffold showed suitable biocompatibility towards MUSE-NPCs and could promote the directional migration and growth of these cells.These findings indicate that the combination of a partition-type tubular scaffold,PDGF-MSs and MUSENPCs may be a promising model for the fabrication of tissue-engineered spinal cord grafts.
