The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of subconjunctivally administered mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on corneal wound healing in the acute stage of an alkali burn. A corneal alkali burn model was generated by placing a piece of 3-mm diameter filter paper soaked in NaOH on the right eye of 48 Sprague-Dawley female rats. 24 rats were administered a subconjunctival injection of a suspension of 2×106 MSCs in 0.1 ml phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) on day 0 and day 3 after the corneal alkali burn. The other 24 rats were administered a subconjunctival injection of an equal amount of PBS as a control. Deficiencies of the corneal epithelium and the area of corneal neovascularization (CNV) were evaluated on days 3 and 7 after the corneal alkali burn. Infiltrated CD68+ cells were detected by immunofluorescence staining. The mRNA expression levels of macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1α), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). In addition, VEGF protein levels were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). MSCs significantly enhanced the recovery of the corneal epithelium and decreased the CNV area compared with the control group. On day 7, the quantity of infiltrated CD68+ cells was significantly lower in the MSC group and the mRNA levels of MIP-1α, TNF-α, and VEGF and the protein levels of VEGF were also down-regulated. However, the expression of MCP-1 was not different between the two groups. Our results suggest that subconjunctival injection of MSCs significantly accelerates corneal wound healing, attenuates inflammation and reduces CNV in alkaline-burned corneas; these effects were found to be related to a reduction of infiltrated CD68+ cells and the down-regulation of MIP-1α, TNF-α and VEGF.
Background Schizophrenia is a leading cause of disability, and a shift from facility- to community-based care has been proposed to meet the resource challenges of mental healthcare in low- and middle-income countries. We hypothesized that the addition of mobile texting would improve schizophrenia care in a resource-poor community setting compared with a community-based free-medicine program alone. Methods and findings In this 2-arm randomized controlled trial, 278 community-dwelling villagers (patient participants) were randomly selected from people with schizophrenia from 9 townships of Hunan, China, and were randomized 1:1 into 2 groups. The program participants were recruited between May 1, 2015, and August 31, 2015, and the intervention and follow-up took place between December 15, 2015, and July 1, 2016. Baseline characteristics of the 2 groups were similar. The patients were on average 46 years of age, had 7 years of education, had a duration of schizophrenia of 18 years with minimal to mild symptoms and nearly one-fifth loss of functioning, and were mostly living with family (95%) and had low incomes. Both the intervention and the control groups received a nationwide community-based mental health program that provided free antipsychotic medications. The patient participants in the intervention group also received LEAN (Lay health supporters, E-platform, Award, and iNtegration), a program that featured recruitment of a lay health supporter and text messages for medication reminders, health education, monitoring of early signs of relapses, and facilitated linkage to primary healthcare. The primary outcome was medication adherence (proportion of dosages taken) assessed by 2 unannounced home-based pill counts 30 days apart at the 6-month endpoint. The secondary and other outcomes included patient symptoms, functioning, relapses, re-hospitalizations, death for any reason, wandering away without notifying anyone, violence against others, damaging goods, and suicide. Intent-to-treat analysis was used. Missing data were handled with multiple imputations. In total, 271 out of 278 patient participants were successfully followed up for outcome assessment. Medication adherence was 0.48 in the control group and 0.61 in the intervention group (adjusted mean difference [AMD] 0.12 [95% CI 0.03 to 0.22]; p = 0.013; effect size 0.38). Among secondary and other outcomes we noted substantial reduction in the risk of relapse (26 [21.7%] of 120 interventional participants versus 40 [34.2%] of 117 controls; relative risk 0.63 [95% CI 0.42 to 0.97]; number needed to treat [NNT] 8.0) and re-hospitalization (9 [7.3%] of 123 interventional participants versus 25 [20.5%] of 122 controls; relative risk 0.36 [95% CI 0.17 to 0.73]; NNT 7.6). The program showed no statistical difference in all other outcomes. During the course of the program, 2 participants in the intervention group and 1 in the control group died. The limitations of the study include its lack of...
Delicate elaboration of the nanostructures of multimetal catalytic materials with well-defined shapes and compositions to reveal their potential use as heterogeneous nanocatalysts for organic synthetic reactions with the combined merits of heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis is both scientifically and technologically important, but this type of investigation has remained rarely pursued. In this work, we demonstrated a facile hydrothermal approach toward the one-pot shape-selective syntheses of Pd−Rh nanocrystals with tunable compositions and morphologies, including hollow nanocubes (NCs), nanoicosahedrons (NIs), and nanotruncated octahedrons (NTOs), using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) as both reductant and capping agent and halide anions (Br − /I − ) as shape control agents. The formation of Pd−Rh hollow NCs was induced by an iodine adsorbate-induced reconstruction mechanism with KI, whereas the formation of Pd−Rh NIs and NTOs were realized by controlling the selective nucleation of twinned seeds or single crystal seeds and their relative growth rates along different facets (e.g., ( 111) and (100) facets) through finely adjusting the Pd/Rh ratio and the amount of KBr added in the absence of KI. Due to the great significance of Pd-catalyzed organic reactions, the catalytic performances of Pd−Rh nanocrystals for Suzuki cross-coupling reactions with different reactants were evaluated. The measured turnover frequencies (TOFs) suggested that Pd−Rh hollow NCs held considerably enhanced catalytic activities (at least 3 times) than other Pd-based solid nanocrystals including Pd−Rh NIs, Pd−Rh NTOs, Pd−Rh NCs, Pd NCs, and commercial Pd/C, with iodobenzene as the reactant. In addition, even for more inert reactants such as bromobenzene or 4-bromotoluene, the catalytic activities of Pd−Rh hollow NCs were still impressive (showing similar TOFs to those of other shapes for reactions with iodobenzene as the reactant), indicating the promising application of Pd-based nanocatalysts for other powerful Pd-catalyzed organic synthesis reactions. Meanwhile, Pd-based solid NCs, enclosed with (100) facets only, showed better catalytic performance than NIs as well as NTOs, which had a larger fraction of (111) facets other than (100) ones, further suggesting that morphology differences were vitally significant to tune the catalytic performances of bimetallic nanocatalysts.
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