Implant placement with simultaneous GBR resulted in more gain of buccal soft tissue contour in comparison with implant placement without GBR. Abutment connection increased the contour of the marginal mucosa at the augmented and the nonaugmented sites. GBR procedure contributed more to the contour gain than did the abutment connection. The augmented and the nonaugmented ridges exhibited stable peri-implant mucosal contour over a 3-year period.

Four unknown strains belonging to the genus Arthrobacter were isolated from plateau wildlife on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of PR China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the four isolates were separated into two clusters. Cluster I (strains 785T and 208) had the greatest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Arthrobacter citreus (98.6 and 98.7 %, respectively), Arthrobacter luteolus (98.0 and 98.1%, respectively), Arthrobacter gandavensis (97.9 and 98.0 %, respectively) and Arthrobacter koreensis (97.6 and 97.7 %, respectively). Likewise, cluster II (strains J391T and J915) had the highest sequence similarity to Arthrobacter ruber (98.6 and 98.3 %, respectively) and Arthrobacter agilis (98.1 and 97.9  %, respectively). Average nucleotide identity and the digital DNA–DNA hybridization values illustrated that the two type strains, 785T and J391T, represented two separate novel species that are distinct from all currently recognized species in the genus Arthrobacter . These strains had DNA G+C contents of 66.0–66.1 mol% (cluster I) and 68.0 mol% (cluster II). The chemotaxonomic properties of strains 785T and J391T were in line with those of the genus Arthrobacter : anteiso-C15:0 (79.3 and 40.8 %, respectively) as the major cellular fatty acid, MK-8(H2) (65.8 %) or MK-9(H2) (75.6 %) as the predominant respiratory quinone, a polar lipid profile comprising diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, glycolipids and phospholipid, and A3α or A4α as the cell wall peptidoglycan type. On the basis of our results, two novel species in the genus Arthrobacter are proposed, namely Arthrobacter yangruifuii sp. nov. (type strain, 785T=CGMCC 1.16725T=GDMCC 1.1592T=JCM 33491T) and Arthrobacter zhaoguopingii sp. nov. (type strain, J391T=CGMCC 1.17382T=GDMCC 1.1667T=JCM 33841T).

No abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the preventive effect and possible mechanisms of transcutaneous electrical acustimulation (TEA) on stroke-induced constipation. A total of 86 ischemic stroke patients were randomly allocated to 2-wk TEA or sham-TEA group. Bowel dairy and Bristol Stool Form Scale were recorded daily. Constipation and dyspeptic symptom assessment was performed at the end of the 14-day treatment. Electrocardiogram was recorded for the assessment of autonomic function. The correlation between autonomic function at admission and stroke severity was assessed. The univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to investigate the risk factors for stroke-induced constipation. The cumulative incidence of stroke-induced constipation was 68.2% at the acute stage. Sympathetic nerve activity at admission was positively correlated with stroke severity ( R = 0.47, P < 0.001). Sympathetic nerve activity and stroke severity were independent risk factors for stroke-induced constipation. TEA decreased cumulative incidence of stroke-induced constipation (42.9 vs. 68.2%, P = 0.029). TEA significantly increased frequency of bowel movements (4.5 vs. 5.5, P = 0.001) and spontaneous bowel movements (3.0 vs. 4.5, P = 0.003) per week. TEA decreased straining defecations (0.2 vs. 0, P < 0.001) and laxative use (1 vs. 0, P < 0.001). TEA improved stool consistency and patients' quality of life ( P < 0.05, resp.). TEA increased vagal activity ( P < 0.001 vs. baseline) and decreased sympathetic activity ( P < 0.001 vs. baseline). Ischemic stroke patients are predisposed to autonomic function imbalance. TEA was effective in the prevention of stroke-induced constipation, and the effect was possibly mediated via the autonomic function. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study illustrated that the brain-gut dysfunction, primarily autonomic function imbalance, was correlated with the stroke-induced constipation. This was the first study to report that transcutaneous electrical acustimulation had a preventive effect on stroke-induced constipation, suggesting a potential novel therapy for bowel problem management. The effect was possibly mediated via the autonomic function.

No abstract

CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), a highly conserved zinc finger protein, is a master organizer of genome spatial organization and has multiple functions in gene regulation. Mounting evidence indicates that CTCF regulates the imprinted genes Igf2 and H19 by organizing chromatin at the Igf2/H19 locus, although the mechanism by which CTCF carries out this function is not fully understood. By yeast two-hybrid screening, we identified vigilin, a multi-KH-domain protein, as a new partner of CTCF. Subsequent coimmunoprecipitation and glutathione S-transferase pulldown experiments confirmed that vigilin interacts with CTCF. Moreover, vigilin is present at several known CTCF target sites, such as the promoter regions of c-myc and BRCA1, the locus control region of b-globin, and several regions within the Igf2/H19 locus. In vivo depletion of vigilin did not affect CTCF binding; however, knockdown of CTCF reduced vigilin binding to the H19 imprinting control region. Furthermore, ectopic expression of vigilin significantly downregulated Igf2 and upregulated H19, whereas depletion of vigilin upregulated Igf2 and downregulated H19, in HepG2, CNE1 and HeLa cells. These results reveal the functional relevance of vigilin and CTCF, and show that the CTCF-vigilin complex contributes to regulation of Igf2/H19.

Most synthetic polymeric materials currently used for bone tissue engineering lack specific signals through which cells can identify and interact with the surface, resulting in incompatibility and compromised osteogenic activity. Soluble inductive factors also have issues including a short half-live in vivo. Bone forming peptide-1 is a truncated peptide from the immature form of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) that displays higher osteogenic activity than full-length, mature BMP-7. In this study, we used a mussel-inspired immobilization strategy mediated by polymerization of dopamine to introduce recently discovered stimulators of bone forming peptide-1 (BFP-1) onto the surface of poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) substrate to form a biomaterial that overcomes these challenges. Human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs), being abundant and easy accessible, were used to test the osteogenic activity of BFP-1 and the novel biomaterial. Under osteoinductive conditions, cells treated with both BFP-1 alone and BFP-1-coated biomaterials displayed elevated expression of the osteogenic markers alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OC), and RUNX2. Furthermore, hASCs associated with poly-dopamine-assisted BFP-1-immobilized PLGA (pDA-BFP-1-PLGA) scaffolds promoted in vivo bone formation in nude mice. Our novel materials may hold great promise for future bone tissue engineering applications.

The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains CF-49 T and CF-210 are MF967438 and MK588838, respectively. The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the genome sequences of strains CF-49 T and CF-210 are CP038865 and SRHU01000000, respectively. One supplementary table and one supplementary figure are available with the online version of this article.