No abstract

No abstract

His research interests include multiphase induction motor and grid-connected inverter.

Constructing biomimetic structure and immobilizing antithrombus factors are two effective methods to ensure rapid endothelialization and long-term anticoagulation for small-diameter vascular grafts. However, few literatures are available regarding simultaneous implementation of these two strategies. Herein, a nano-micro-fibrous biomimetic graft with a heparin coating was prepared via a step-by-step in situ biosynthesis method to improve potential endothelialization and anticoagulation. The 4-mm-diameter tubular graft consists of electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) microfibers and entangled bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) nanofibers with heparin coating on dual fibers. The hybridized and heparinized graft possesses suitable pore structure that facilitates endothelia cells adhesion and proliferation but prevents infiltration of fibrous tissue and blood leakage. In addition, it shows higher mechanical properties than those of bare CA and hybridized CA/BNC grafts, which match well with native blood vessels. Moreover, this dually modified graft exhibits improved blood compatibility and endothelialization over the counterparts without hybridization or heparinization according to the testing results of platelet adhesion, cell morphology, and protein expression of von Willebrand Factor. This novel graft with dual modifications shows promising as a new small-diameter vascular graft. This study provides a guidance for promoting endothelialization and blood compatibility by dual modifications of biomimetic structure and immobilized bioactive molecules.

Status epilepticus (SE) is a common, life-threatening neurological disorder that may lead to permanent brain damage. In rodent models, SE is an acute phase of seizures that could be reproduced by injecting with pilocarpine and then induce chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) seizures. However, how SE disrupts brain activity, especially communications among brain regions, is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify the characteristic abnormalities of network connections among the frontal cortex, hippocampus and thalamus during the SE episodes in a pilocarpine model with functional and effective connectivity measurements. We showed that the coherence connectivity among these regions increased significantly during the SE episodes in almost all frequency bands (except the alpha band) and that the frequency band with enhanced connections was specific to different stages of SE episodes. Moreover, with the effective analysis, we revealed a closed neural circuit of bidirectional effective interactions between the frontal regions and the hippocampus and thalamus in both ictal and post-ictal stages, implying aberrant enhancement of communication across these brain regions during the SE episodes. Furthermore, an effective connection from the hippocampus to the thalamus was detected in the delta band during the pre-ictal stage, which shifted in an inverse direction during the ictal stage in the theta band and in the theta, alpha, beta and low-gamma bands during the post-ictal stage. This specificity of the effective connection between the hippocampus and thalamus illustrated that the hippocampal structure is critical for the initiation of SE discharges, while the thalamus is important for the propagation of SE discharges. Overall, our results demonstrated enhanced interaction among the frontal cortex, hippocampus and thalamus during the SE episodes and suggested the modes of information flow across these structures for the initiation and propagation of SE discharges. These findings may reveal an underlying mechanism of aberrant network communication during pilocarpine-induced SE discharges and deepen our knowledge of TLE seizures.