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Thanks to its simplicity, versatility, and secondary reactivity, dopamine self-polymerized coatings (pDA) have been widely used in surface modification of biomaterials, but the limitation in secondary molecular grafting and the high roughness restrain their application in some special scenarios. Therefore, some other catecholamine coatings analog to pDA have attracted more and more attention, including the smoother poly-norepinephrine coating (pNE), and the poly-levodopa coating (pLD) containing additional carboxyl groups. However, the lack of a systematic comparison of the properties, especially the biological properties of the above three catecholamine coatings, makes it difficult to give a guiding opinion on the application scenarios of different coatings. Herein, we systematically studied the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the three catecholamine coatings, and explored the feasibility of their application for the modification of biomaterials, especially cardiovascular materials. Among them, the pDA coating was the roughest, with the largest amount of amino and phenolic hydroxyl groups for molecule grafting, and induced the strongest platelet adhesion and activation. The pLD coating was the thinnest and most hydrophilic but triggered the strongest inflammatory response. The pNE coating was the smoothest, with the best hemocompatibility and histocompatibility, and with the strongest cell selectivity of promoting the proliferation of endothelial cells while inhibiting the proliferation of smooth muscle cells. To sum up, the pNE coating may be a better choice for the surface modification of cardiovascular materials, especially those for vascular stents and grafts, but it is still not widely recognized.

BackgroundTo investigate whether genetic variants of the HBV receptor gene NTCP are associated with HBV infection in the Han Chinese population.MethodsWe sequenced the entire 23 kb NTCP gene from 111 HBeAg-positive HBsAg carriers (PSE group), 110 HBeAg-negative HBsAg carriers (PS group), and 110 control subjects. Then, we performed association analyses of suggestively significant SNPs with HBV infection in 1075 controls, 1936 PSs and 639 PSEs.ResultsIn total, 109 rare variants (74 novel) and 38 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, one novel) were screened. Of the seven non-synonymous rare variants, six were singletons and one was a double hit. All three damaging rare singletons presented exclusively in the PSE group. Of the five SNPs validated in all 3650 subjects, the T allele of rs4646287 was significantly decreased (p = 0.002) in the PS group (10.1 %) and PSE group (8.1 %) compared to the controls (10.9 %) and was decreased to 7.4 % in the PSE hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) subgroup. Additionally, rs4646287-T was associated with a 0.68-fold (95 % CI = 0.51–0.89, p = 0.006) decreased risk of PSE compared with the controls. The NTCP mRNA level was lower in HCC tissues in “CT + TT” carriers than in “CC” carriers.ConclusionsWe found a genetic variant (rs4646287) located in intron 1 of NTCP that may be associated with increased risk of HBV infection in Han Chinese.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2257-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Many researchers have explored the impact of digital games on learning effects in different STEM subjects. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine the effect of digital game-based STEM education on the learning achievement of K-12 or higher education students. The analysis results of effect sizes from 33 studies (N = 3894) published from 2010 to 2020 showed that digital games contributed to a moderate overall effect size (ES = 0.667, 95% CI [0.520–0.814], p < 0.001) when compared with other instructional methods. Furthermore, the study explored multiple moderator variables and their potential impacts on learning outcomes such as control treatment, subject discipline, educational level, game type, gaming platform, and intervention duration. The findings suggest that digital games are a promising pedagogical method in STEM education that effectively improves learning gains. Additionally, the study concludes with three recommendations for future research and practices on digital games in STEM education.

This study did not support short-term associations of PM or gaseous pollutants with blood MtDNAcn and TL in type 2 diabetes patients.