The regeneration of dental pulp tissue is very important, but difficult, in dentistry. The biocompatibility, water content, and viscoelastic properties of pulp-like tissue must be optimized to achieve the efficient transfer of metabolites and nutrients, a suitable degradation rate, distribution of encapsulated cells, injectability, and gelation in situ under physiological conditions. As promising materials for pulp regeneration, hydrogel scaffolds have been produced to simulate the extracellular matrix and transmit signaling molecules. It is imperative to develop hydrogels to effectively regenerate pulp tissue for clinical application. Here, two injectable double-network (DN) hydrogelbased three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems were developed for regenerating dental pulp. The microstructure, mechanical property, rheology property, and degradation behavior of the injectable DN glycol chitosan-based hydrogels in a simulated root canal model were characterized and compared to a single-network (SN) glycol chitosan-based hydrogel. Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) were then encapsulated into the GC-based hydrogels for the regeneration of pulp tissue, and the biological performance was investigated both in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that the DN hydrogels had ideal injectability under physiological conditions due to the dynamic nature of the crosslinks. Besides, the DN hydrogels exhibited better mechanical properties and longer degradation duration than the corresponding SN hydrogel. As a 3D cell culture system, the characteristics of the DN hydrogel facilitated odontogenic differentiation and mineralization of hDPSCs in vitro. Further in vivo analysis confirmed that the chemical composition, matrix stiffness, and degradation rate of the DN hydrogel matched those of pulp-like fibrous connective tissue, which might be related to Smad3 activation. These findings demonstrate that DN glycol chitosan-based hydrogels are suitable for the regeneration of pulp tissue.

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Background: Access-related hand ischemia (ARHI) is a major complication of arteriovenous fistula (AVF). This study aimed to assess the predictive efficacy of skin perfusion pressure (SPP) measurement for ARHI by examining the relationship between SPP and ARHI development and progression after AVF surgery. Methods: Twenty-five patients (16 men and 9 women) who underwent AVF surgery based on the brachial artery between January 2018 and December 2018 were included. The pre- and postoperative SPP values were measured on the day of surgery. ARHI occurrence and severity were measured within 3 days and at 6 months after surgery. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate the prediction model of ARHI, and the cutoff points for the calculated coefficients were determined. Results: There was a significant correlation between the occurrence of immediate ARHI and the SPP gradient ( p = 0.024). An SPP gradient value >50 mmHg had sensitivity and specificity values of 53.85% and 91.67%, respectively, in predicting the occurrence of immediate ARHI. A postoperative SPP <48 mmHg was significantly correlated with the occurrence of 6-month ARHI ( p = 0.005), with sensitivity and specificity values of 71.43% and 83.33%, respectively. Conclusion: The SPP gradient and postoperative SPP values may be effective clinical predictors of ARHI occurring immediately and 6 months after surgery, respectively, with high specificity. These findings could allow clinicians to diagnose and begin early interventions to help prevent ischemic tissue damage in hemodialysis patients following AVF surgery.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between duplex ultrasonography (DUS) and ultrasound dilution (UD) measurement’s results and determine the factors affecting the correlation of the measured values among other clinical factors in patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2020 to May 2020 and included 60 patients who visited our dialysis centre. The flow of the fistula was measured in the proximal brachial artery using DUS. While dialysis was performed on the same day, the access flow was measured using the UD method. The correlation and agreement between the access flows acquired by each measurement method were analysed. Similarly, the correlation was analysed by classifying the groups based on the predisposing factor, and statistically significant factors were observed through comparison. Results: Both measurements showed a moderate positive correlation ( r = 0.60, p < 0.01). The bias (mean of UD-DUS) between the two measurements was about 230 mL/min. When the measurement site of DUS was near the inflow artery and in the same anatomical section, a strong correlation with the measurement value of UD was observed (brachial based fistula: r = 0.85, radial based fistula: r = 0.87). Similarly, for patients without diabetes and those who regularly underwent access surveillance for the dialysis route, strong correlations were observed between the two measurements ( r = 0.79 and r = 0.88). Conclusions: Several factors can influence the correlation between UD and DUS. The findings showed a high correlation for DUS measurement sites within the same anatomical section as the inflow artery, patients without diabetes, and patients undergoing periodic surveillance.

Intercropping is a cropping strategy that makes efficient use of space, nutrients, and soil. A 2-year field trial was conducted in 2019 and 2020 to study the effects of different soybean sowing times (9 days before corn sowing (ST1), 0 days at corn sowing (ST2), and 9 days after corn sowing (ST3), respectively) and densities (120,000 plants ha−1 (PD1), 150,000 plants ha−1 (PD2), and 180,000 plants ha−1 (PD3), respectively, and the planting density of corn was 60,000 plants ha−1 constantly) on total yield and on mixed silage quality in corn-soybean strip intercropping system. The yield decreased with an increase in soybean planting density. Before ensiling, the total dry matter (DM) content increased with an increase in soybean planting density, while that of crude protein content decreased with sowing time. The interaction of planting density × sowing time was significant for neutral detergent fiber and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content. After ensiling, the WSC content of PD2ST3 (4.90% DM) was the highest. The PD1 (4.51%) had a higher content of ammonia–nitrogen to total nitrogen than that of PD2 and PD3. The lactic acid content of PD2ST3 (3.14% DM) was the highest. In general, better silage quality and a higher total yield were obtained when soybean was sown at the planting density of 150,000 plants ha−1 after 9 days of corn sowing.