The present study was carried out to investigate the effect and mechanisms of aloe-emodin (AE)-mediated photodynamic therapy (AE-PDT) on the human osteosarcoma cell line MG-63. After treatment with AE-PDT, the human osteosarcoma cell line MG-63 was tested for levels of viability, autophagy, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis and changes in cell morphology with the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), monodansylcadaverine (MDC) and Hoechst staining and transmission electron microscopy. The expression of proteins including LC-3, cleaved caspase-3, Beclin-1, Bcl-2, p-JNK, t-JNK and β-actin was examined with western blotting. AE-PDT significantly inhibited the viability of the MG-63 cells in an AE-concentration- and PDT energy density-dependent manner. Autophagy and apoptosis of MG-63 cells was substantially promoted in the AE-PDT group compared to the control group, the AE alone group and the light emitting diode (LED) alone group. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-meth-yladenine (3-MA) (5 mM) and chloroquine (CQ) (15 µM) significantly promoted the apoptosis rate and improved the sensitivity of the MG-63 cells to AE-PDT. AE-PDT was found to induce the expression of ROS and p-JNK. ROS scavenger, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, 5 mM), was able to hinder the autophagy, apoptosis and phosphorylation of JNK, and JNK inhibitor (SP600125, 10 µM) significantly inhibited the autophagy and apoptosis, and attenuated the sensitivity of MG63 cells to AE-PDT. In conclusion, AE-PDT induced the autophagy and apoptosis of human osteosarcoma cell line MG-63 through the activation of the ROS-JNK signaling pathway. Autophagy may play a protective role during the early stage following treatment of AE-PDT.

Objective A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to determine the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in recovering motor function in patients with stroke. Design A comprehensive literature search was performed to identify studies published before September 20, 2018. Electronic databases were searched. Standard mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were used to evaluate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. The stability and sensitivity of the results and sources of heterogeneity were also analyzed. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to determine the quality of the studies. Result Twenty randomized controlled trials (N = 841 patients) were included. The results showed that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is beneficial to patients with poststroke hemiplegia, as demonstrated by the following four scales: the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (standard mean difference = 0.635, 95% confidence interval = 0.421 to 0.848); grip strength (standard mean difference = 1.147, 95% confidence interval = 0.761 to 1.534); Barthel Index (Standard mean difference = 0.580, 95% confidence interval = 0.377 to 0.783); and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (standard mean difference = −0.555, 95% confidence interval = −0.813 to −0.298). Few adverse events were observed. Conclusions The analysis showed that low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has a positive effect on grip strength and lower limb function as assessed by FMA.

It is important to improve the dynamic performance and the low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) capability of a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system. This paper presents synergetic control for the control of a grid-connected PV system. Modeling of a grid-connected PV system is described, and differential-algebra equations are obtained. Two control strategies are used in normal operation and during LVRT of a PV system. Practical synergetic controllers with two control strategies are synthesized. The mathematical expressions are derived for computing control variables. The design of the synergetic controllers does not require the linearization of the grid-connected PV system. A grid-connected PV system with synergetic controllers is simulated in Simulink surroundings. The control performance is studied in normal operation and during LVRT. Simulation results show that the synergetic controllers are robust and have good dynamic characteristics under different operation states.