Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide. COPD results from chronic inflammation of the lungs. Current treatments, including physical and chemical therapies, provide limited results. Stem cells, particularly mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are used to treat COPD. Here, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of umbilical cord-derived (UC)-MSCs for treating COPD. Methods: Twenty patients were enrolled, 9 at stage C and 11 at stage D per the Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) classification. Patients were infused with 10 6 cells/kg of expanded allogeneic UC-MSCs. All patients were followed for 6 months after the first infusion. The treatment end-point included a comprehensive safety evaluation, pulmonary function testing (PFT), and quality-of-life indicators including questionnaires, the 6-min walk test (6MWT), and systemic inflammation assessments. All patients completed the full infusion and 6-month follow-up. Results: No infusion-related toxicities, deaths, or severe adverse events occurred that were deemed related to UC-MSC administration. The UC-MSC-transplanted patients showed a significantly reduced Modified Medical Research Council score, COPD assessment test, and number of exacerbations. However, the forced expiratory volume in 1 s, C-reactive protein, and 6MWT values were nonsignificantly reduced after treatment (1, 3, and 6 months) compared with those before the treatment. Conclusion: Systemic UC-MSC administration appears to be safe in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD, can significantly improve their quality of life, and provides a basis for subsequent cell therapy investigations.
In this study, the g-C3N4/CoFe2O4/Reduced graphene oxide composites were successfully synthesized by the co-precipitation method combined with mixed phase mixture. The obtained results from characterization methods such as XRD, SEM, FT-IR, EDX,… showed that the composite has a high structure and crystallinity, and spinel ferrite particles were dispersed fairly evenly onto reduced graphene oxide sheets as well as layers of g-C3N4. The existence of Co/Fe-O and Co-O-C bonds in materials was determined. The photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4/CoFe2O4/Reduced graphene oxide (GCN/CF-rGO) was estimated through the degradation of Tetracycline (TC) in aqueous solution. TC decomposition efficiency is up to 95% after 240 minutes of reaction and is higher than that of each component material. GCN/CF-rGO is a potential catalyst for effective application in TC decomposition reaction under visible light and has the ability to implement treatment in practice.
Cố vấn học tậpcó vai trò đặc biệt quan trọng, không thể thiếu trong việc đảm bảo và nâng cao chất lượng đào tạo của các trường đào tạo theo phương thức tín chỉ. Bài báo đi vào phân tích kết quả nghiên cứu mong đợi của sinh viên đối với việc thực hiện công việc của cố vấn học tập Trường Đại học Sư phạm - Đại học Huế năm học 2016-2017. Từ đó, xác định các biện pháp giúp cố vấn học tập Trường Đại học Sư phạm - Đại học Huế nâng cao hiệu quả thực hiện công việc của mình.
Bac Giang is a province in the northern midland and mountainous region of Vietnam. Bac Giang has many potentials and advantages in terms of natural conditions and human resources for economic development. However, climate change has been having a great impact on the socio-economic development of the province. The study applied the correlation assessment method and regression analysis to process temperature data at 4 meteorological stations: Bac Giang, Hiep Hoa, Son Dong, and Luc Ngan. The results demonstrate that in 44 years (1970 - 2014) the trend of change in average temperature is from 0.012 oC\year to 0.018 oC\year. On the other hand, the changing trend of the annual absolute maximum temperature is common at a higher level, from 0.028 oC\year to 0.032 oC\year. The variability of extreme temperature values is much broader than that of the average temperature. The trend of temperature variation (average temperature, annual absolute maximum temperature) is highest in the eastern territory of the province, in mountainous districts including Son Dong, Luc Ngan, and lowest in the western lowland areas namely Hiep Hoa district. The research results will be the assisting tool for management agencies to find solutions to develop socio-economic adaptation to climate change.
Ehretia asperula ( E asperula) is a well-known traditional medicinal plant in Vietnam with potent activity against a wide range of diseases, including hepatitis B and various cancers. Although E asperula has been used in traditional medicine, the efficacy of E asperula and its bioactive components on retinal degenerative diseases has not been fully evaluated. In present this study, we found that ethanolic extracts of E asperula increased cell viability in retinal precursor cells exposed to glutamate/BSO-induced excitotoxicity/oxidative stress. The major responsible bioactive compounds were rosmarinic acid and methylrosmarinic acid. First, 10 known compounds were isolated from E asperula leaves. Their chemical structures were determined using 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance, and compared with published data. Using high-performance liquid chromatography, we determined the content of 4 compounds in E asperula extract: rosmarinic acid, lithospermic acid B, astragalin, and kaempferol 3-rutinoside. The most abundant of these compounds was lithospermic acid B. The protective effects of the pure compounds and ethanolic extracts against excitotoxicity and oxidative stress-induced retinal cell death were tested in R28 cells. Both 70% and 95% ethanolic extracts of E asperula increased cell viability in these conditions. Rosmarinic acid and methyl rosmarinic acid were more effective at protecting against retinal cell death and elevated reactive oxygen species in cells subjected to glutamate/BSO-induced excitotoxicity/oxidative stress. These findings suggested that E asperula could potentially be used to treat retinal degeneration.
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