Incidence and risk factors of subsequent vertebral fracture following percutaneous vertebral augmentation in postmenopausal women.

PURPOSE: Subsequent vertebral fracture (SVF) is a severe advent event of percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA). However, the incidence and risk factors of SVF following PVA for OVCF in postmenopausal women remain unclear. This research aims to investigative the incidence and risk factors of SVF after PVA for OVCF in postmenopausal women. METHODS: Women who underwent initial PVA for OVCF between August 2019 and December 2021 were reviewed. Univariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify possible risk factors of SVF, and independent risk factors were determined by multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 682 women after menopause were enrolled in the study. Of these women, 100 cases had an SVF after PVA, with the incidence of 14.66%. Univariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that age (p = 0.001), body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.001), steroid use (p = 0.008), history of previous vertebral fracture (p < 0.001), multiple vertebral fracture (p = 0.033), postoperative wedge angle (p = 0.003), and HU value (p < 0.001) were significantly correlated with SVF following PVA. Furthermore, BMI (OR [95%CI] = 0.892 [0.825 - 0.965]; p = 0.004), steroid use (OR [95%CI] = 3.029 [1.211 - 7.574]; p = 0.018), history of previous vertebral fracture (OR [95%CI] = 1.898 [1.148 - 3.139]; p = 0.013), postoperative wedge angle (OR [95%CI] = 1.036 [1.004 - 1.070]; p = 0.028), and HU value (OR [95%CI] = 0.980 [0.971 - 0.990]; p < 0.001) were identified as independent risk factors of SVF after PVA by multivariate logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of SVF following PVA for OVCF in postmenopausal women was 14.66%. BMI, steroid use, history of previous vertebral fracture, postoperative wedge angle, and HU value were independent risk factors of SVF after PVA for OVCF in postmenopausal women.

Correction: Polydiacetylene-based colorimetric and fluorometric sensors for lead ion recognition.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D2RA03435B.].

Directed Evolution of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 to Utilize Allulose as Sole Carbon Source.

Sugar substitutes are popular due to their akin taste and low calories. However, excessive use of aspartame and erythritol can have varying effects. While D-allulose is presently deemed a secure alternative to sugar, its excessive consumption is not devoid of cellular stress implications. In this study, the evolution of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) is directed to utilize allulose as sole carbon source through a combination of adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) and fluorescence-activated droplet sorting (FADS) techniques. Employing whole genome sequencing (WGS) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats interference (CRISPRi) in conjunction with compensatory expression displayed those genetic mutations in sugar and amino acid metabolic pathways, including glnP, glpF, gmpA, nagE, pgmB, ybaN, etc., increased allulose assimilation. Enzyme-substrate dynamics simulations and deep learning predict enhanced substrate specificity and catalytic efficiency in nagE A247E and pgmB G12R mutants. The findings evince that these mutations hold considerable promise in enhancing allulose uptake and facilitating its conversion into glycolysis, thus signifying the emergence of a novel metabolic pathway for allulose utilization. These revelations bear immense potential for the sustainable utilization of D-allulose in promoting health and well-being.

Research on brain functions related to visual information processing and body coordination function of pilots based on the low-frequency amplitude method.

Objective: Research on the differences in physiological and psychological mechanisms of practitioners in different occupations is a current hot spot, such as pilots. This study explores the frequency-dependent changes of pilots' low-frequency amplitudes in the classical frequency band and sub-frequency band between pilots and general occupations. The goal of the current work is to provide objective brain images for the selection and evaluation of outstanding pilots. Methods: Twenty-six pilots and 23 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls were included in this study. Then the mean low-frequency amplitude (mALFF) of the classical frequency band and sub-frequency band was calculated. The two-sample t-test was performed on SPM12 to analyze the differences between the flight group and control group in the classic frequency band. To explore the main effects and the inter-band effects of the mean low-frequency amplitude (mALFF), the mixed design analysis of variance was applied in the sub-frequency bands. Results: Compared with the control group, left cuneiform lobe and the right cerebellum six area of pilots show significant difference in the classic frequency band. And the main effect results in the sub-frequency bands show that the area with higher mALFF in the flight group is located on the left middle occipital gyrus, the left cuneiform lobe, the right superior occipital gyrus, the right superior gyrus, and the left lateral central lobule. However, the area where the value of mALFF decreased is mainly located on the left rectangular cleft with surrounding cortex and the right dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus. Besides, compared with the slow-4 frequency band, the mALFF of the left middle orbital middle frontal gyrus of the slow-5 frequency band was increased, while the mALFF value of the left putamen, left fusiform gyrus, and right thalamus was decreased. The sensitivity of the slow-5 frequency band and the slow-4 frequency band to the pilots' different brain areas was also different. Also, the different brain areas in the classic frequency band and the sub-frequency band were significantly correlated with pilots' flight hours. Conclusion: Our findings showed that the left cuneiform brain area and the right cerebellum of pilots changed significantly during resting state. And there was a positive correlation between the mALFF value of those brain area and flight hours. The comparative analysis of sub-frequency bands found that the slow-5 band could elucidate a wider range of different brain regions, providing new ideas for exploring the brain mechanisms of pilots.

Percutaneous endoscopic interlaminar discectomy for L5-S1 calcified lumbar disc herniation: A retrospective study.

Background: Calcified lumbar disc herniation (CLDH) is considered to be a special type of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Percutaneous endoscopic interlaminar discectomy (PEID), with safety and efficacy, has been proved to be a minimally invasive surgery for LDH. However, there are few studies on PEID in the treatment of CLDH at the L5-S1 level. This study aimed to analyze the clinical efficacy of PEID for L5-S1 CLDH. Methods: From August 2016 to April 2020, we retrospectively analyzed 28 consecutive patients (17 males and 11 females) with L5-S1 CLDH treated with PEID at our institution. All the patients were monitored for more than 1 year postoperatively. The demographic characteristics, surgical results, and clinical outcomes estimated by the visual analog scale (VAS) for leg pain, the Oswestry disability index (ODI), and the modified MacNab criteria were collected. Results: All patients successfully underwent PEID. The mean operative time and intraoperative blood loss were 65.36 ± 5.26 min and 13.21 ± 4.35 ml, respectively. The VAS for leg pain and ODI scores improved remarkably from 7.54 ± 0.96 to 1.50 ± 0.51 (P < 0.05) and from 69.29 ± 9.91 to 17.43 ± 3.69 (P < 0.05) a year after operation, respectively. According to the modified MacNab criteria of the last follow-up, the excellent and good rates are 92.86%. Two of the patients had complications, one had nerve root injury and the other had postoperative dysesthesia. Conclusions: PEID achieved good clinical outcomes in the treatment of L5-S1 CLDH, and it was a safe and effective minimally invasive surgery for L5-S1 CLDH.

A versatile Cas12k-based genetic engineering toolkit (C12KGET) for metabolic engineering in genetic manipulation-deprived strains.

The genetic modification of microorganisms is conducive to the selection of high-yield producers of high-value-added chemicals, but a lack of genetic tools hinders the industrialization of most wild species. Therefore, it is crucial to develop host-independent gene editing tools that can be used for genetic manipulation-deprived strains. The Tn7-like transposon from Scytonema hofmanni has been shown to mediate homologous recombination-independent genomic integration after heterologous expression in Escherichia coli, but the integration efficiency of heterologous sequences larger than 5 kb remains suboptimal. Here, we constructed a versatile Cas12k-based genetic engineering toolkit (C12KGET) that can achieve genomic integration of fragments up to 10 kb in size with up to 100% efficiency in challenging strains. Using C12KGET, we achieved the first example of highly efficient genome editing in Sinorhizobium meliloti, which successfully solved the problem that industrial strains are difficult to genetically modify, and increased vitamin B12 production by 25%. In addition, Cas12k can be directly used for transcriptional regulation of genes with up to 92% efficiency due to its naturally inactivated nuclease domain. The C12KGET established in this study is a versatile and efficient marker-free tool for gene integration as well as transcriptional regulation that can be used for challenging strains with underdeveloped genetic toolkits.

Polydiacetylene-based colorimetric and fluorometric sensors for lead ion recognition.

Development of novel sensors for the detection of lead ions (Pb2+) has attracted increasing interest due to their inherent toxic effects on human health and the environment. In this study, we describe two new polydiacetylene (PDA)-based liposome sensors for the colorimetric and fluorometric recognition of Pb2+ in aqueous solution. In the sensor system, a thymine-1-acetic acid (TAA) or orotic acid (OA) group was reasonably introduced into the diacetylene monomer to work as a strong binding site for Pb2+. The TAA- or OA-functionalized monomer and 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA) were incorporated into PDA liposomes in aqueous solution. After UV light-induced polymerization, deep blue colored liposome solutions were obtained. Upon the addition of a series of transition metal cations into the liposome solutions, only Pb2+ could induce a color change from blue to red observable by the naked eye and a large fluorescence enhancement. The results clearly showed that the PDA-EDEA-TAA and PDA-EDEA-OA liposomes could act as highly selective and sensitive probes to detect Pb2+ in aqueous solution. The detection limits of PDA-EDEA-TAA and PDA-EDEA-OA systems are 38 nM and 25 nM, respectively. The excellent selectivity of PDA liposomes could be attributed to the stronger complexation behavior of Pb2+ with TAA (or OA) and the carboxylic acid at the lipid-solution interface which could perturb the PDA conjugated backbone. In addition, the proposed sensors were successfully applied to detect trace amounts of Pb2+ in real water samples with excellent recovery, indicating that the developed method had a good accuracy and precision for the analysis of trace Pb2+ in practical samples.

Analysis of CT imaging changes of psoas major muscles in patients with lumbar disc herniation mainly based on low back pain and lower limb pain.

Background: The study aimed to compare the area changes of CT (computed tomograghy) imaging of psoas major muscle (PM) in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) mainly based on low back pain (LBP) and lower limb pain (LLP), and to analyze the correlation among them. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the lumbar CT imaging data of 120 patients with LDH and 60 healthy control people in our hospital from July 2017 to August 2019. They were divided into LBP group (60 cases), LLP group (60 cases) and healthy controls group (60 cases). According to the pain duration and pain degree, LBP group and LLP group were divided into three subgroups respectively. The maximum cross-sectional area (CSA) of PM and the CSA of L5 vertebral body were calculated by Image J software, and the ratio of them was the maximum CSA index of PM. The maximum CSA indices of PM among three groups and three subgroups were compared, respectively. Results: The baseline data among the three groups weren't significantly different (P > 0.05), yet the maximum CSA index of PM did (P < 0.05). In the LBP group, the maximum CSA indices of PM among the three subgroups (short, medium and long) according to the pain duration were significantly different (P < 0.05), and those among the three subgroups (light, medium and heavy) according to pain degree did (P < 0.05). In the LLP group, the maximum CSA indices of PM among the three subgroups (short, medium and long) were compared, but there was not statistical difference among the three subgroups (P > 0.05). No statistical difference in terms of the maximum CSA indices of PM among the three subgroups (light, medium and heavy) was observed (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The atrophy and thinning of PM may be related to LDH. The correlation between the atrophy of PM and LBP was greater than that of LLP. The atrophy of PM in LDH patients with LBP increased with the prolongation of pain duration and aggravation of pain degree.

Intradural lumbar disc herniation of L2-L3: A case report and literature review.

Background: Intradural lumbar disc herniation (ILDH), especially upper lumbar intradural disc herniation, is a rare type of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). However, it may have severe and complex symptoms, causing serious impact on the patients. Additionally, it is difficult to be diagnosed with limited experience. Few studies on L2-L3 ILDH have been reported in the literature. This study presents such a case and reviews the incidence, etiology, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of this disease, so as to provide guidance and experience for clinicians. Case presentation: A 27-year-old male patient had a one-month history of severe lower back pain and left lower extremity weakness after lumbar sprain. He could not walk due to progressive symptoms. Physical examination revealed that straight leg raising and femoral nerve stretch tests on the left side were positive. Magnetic resonance imaging of lumbar showed an intradural disc protruding into the ventral dural sac at the L2-L3 level. He was diagnosed ILDH of L2-L3, finally. An urgent operation was performed to remove the intradural disc fragment. The patient's symptoms improved significantly, postoperatively. After eight months of follow-up, he returned to normal life with only slight lower back pain. Conclusions: ILDH at the L2-L3 level is an extremely rare type of LDH. Its diagnosis often requires a combination of symptom, physical examination, and imaging examination due to no typical symptoms or imaging features. A detailed preoperative plan including the definition of the position, calcification, migration, and adhesion of intradural intervertebral discs to decrease the risk of surgery, prevent the occurrence of complications, and promote postoperative prognosis of patients.

The Neural Underpinnings of Emotional Conflict Control in Pilots.

BACKGROUND: Piloting an aircraft is a complex cognitive task. Human error represents a major contributing factor in aviation accidents. Emotion plays an important role in aviation safety. We performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to explore whether pilots and nonpilots may differ in the neural mechanisms responsible for the processing of conflict emotional information.METHODS: A total of 27 civil aviation pilots and 24 nonpilot controls performed the emotional Stroop task, in which participants were required to identify the facial expressions of the stimuli while ignoring the congruent or incongruent emotional words superimposed on the faces. Neural responses to the stimuli were compared between pilots and controls. Also, a psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis was performed to explore whether there were differences in effective connectivity between pilots and nonpilots.RESULTS: Behavioral data showed that pilots (21.23 ms) and nonpilots (26.78 ms) had equivalent congruency effects. Nevertheless, their neural activation patterns differed. Compared with pilots, nonpilots exhibited neural activity in the right supramarginal gyrus when processing incongruent stimuli, and more regions were activated in the process of conflict monitoring. The PPI analysis showed greater activity between the right supramarginal gyrus and the right lingual gyrus when nonpilots confronted incongruent vs. congruent stimuli. However, this effective connectivity was not found in pilots.CONCLUSION: These results suggest different mechanisms underlying emotional conflict control between pilots and the general population.Jiang H, Xu K, Chen X, Wang Q, Yang Y, Fu C, Guo X, Chen X, Yang J. The neural underpinnings of emotional conflict control in pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(10):798805.

Increased functional dynamics in civil aviation pilots: Evidence from a neuroimaging study.

Civil aviation is a distinctive career. Pilots need to monitor the entire system in real time. However, the psychophysiological mechanism of flying is largely unknown. The human brain is a large-scale interconnected organization, and many stable intrinsic large-scale brain networks have been identified. Among them are three core neurocognitive networks: default mode network (DMN), central executive network (CEN), and salience network (SN). These three networks play a critical role in human cognition. This study aims to examine the dynamic properties of the three large-scale brain networks in civil aviation pilots. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from pilots. Independent component analysis, which is a data-driven approach, was combined with sliding window dynamic functional connectivity analysis to detect the dynamic properties of large-scale brain networks. Our results revealed that pilots exhibit an increased interaction of the CEN with the DMN and the SN along with a decreased interaction within the CEN. In addition, the temporal properties of functional dynamics (number of transitions) increased in pilots compared to healthy controls. In general, pilots exhibited increased between-network functional connectivity, decreased within-network functional connectivity, and a higher number of transitions. These findings suggest that pilots might have better functional dynamics and cognitive flexibility.

Cascade reaction-based trinal-site probe for sensing and imaging of cysteine and glutathione.

Biothiols, such as glutathione (GSH) and cysteine (Cys), play important roles in many physiological processes, and variations in their levels are related to different diseases. Many fluorescence probes have been developed to understand the function of biothiols, but only few of such probes can detect both Cys and GSH. Herein, a new strategy for specific colorimetric and fluorescent detection of Cys and GSH by different cascade reactions was developed. By utilizing this strategy, we designed and synthesized two fluorescent probes, namely, CR1 and CR2, for detection of Cys and GSH under physiological conditions. CR1 contains a stronger electron-withdrawing substituent group and provides high selectivity and sensitivity for Cys and GSH. This probe is based on the mechanism of Cys-induced native-chemical-ligation-cyclization and GSH-induced transthioesterification-cyclization cascade reactions, with detection limits of 0.029 and 0.371 µM, respectively. CR1 can be successfully applied for imaging Cys and GSH in living cells with low cell toxicity.

Altered Default Mode Network Dynamics in Civil Aviation Pilots.

BACKGROUND: Airlines occupy an increasingly important place in the economy of many countries. Because air disasters may cause substantial losses, comprehensive surveys of the psychophysiological mechanism of flying are needed; however, relatively few studies have focused on pilots. The default mode network (DMN) is an important intrinsic connectivity network involved in a range of functions related to flying. This study aimed to examine functional properties of the DMN in pilots. METHOD: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 26 pilots and 24 controls were collected. Independent component analysis, a data-driven approach, was combined with functional connectivity analysis to investigate functional properties of the DMN in pilots. RESULTS: The pilot group exhibited increased functional integration in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and left middle occipital gyrus. Subsequent functional connectivity analysis identified enhanced functional connection between the precuneus/PCC and medial superior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSION: The pilot group exhibited increased functional connections within the DMN. These findings highlight the importance of the DMN in the neurophysiological mechanism of flying.

MiR-27a targets DKK2 and SFRP1 to promote reosseointegration in the regenerative treatment of peri-implantitis.

In the inflamed microenvironment of peri-implantitis, limited osteogenesis on the implant surface impedes well-established reosseointegration using current clinical therapies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) function as potent molecular managers that may simultaneously regulate multiple endogenous processes such as inflammation and osteogenesis. The delivery of miRNAs may provide a way to effectively treat some diseases. In this study, we showed that miR-27a was differentially downregulated in samples from a canine peri-implantitis model. We found that overexpressing miR-27a positively regulated osteogenesis-angiogenesis coupling by ameliorating the TNF-α inhibition of bone formation in vitro. Mechanistically, we identified Dickkopf2 (DKK2) and secreted frizzled related protein 1 (SFRP1) as two essential direct miR-27a targets that were osteogenic and angiogenic. Furthermore, we constructed a miR-27a-enhanced delivery system to repair the bone defect around implants in a canine peri-implantitis model. The results demonstrated that the miR-27a-treated group could optimize new bone formation and reosseointegration in vivo. Our assay provides evidence that this strategy exerts therapeutic effects on peri-implantitis, suggesting that it represents a feasible method to maintain the stability and masticatory function of dental implants. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Regioselectivity inversion tuned by iron(iii) salts in palladium-catalyzed carbonylations.

Impactful regioselectivity control is crucial for cost-effective chemical synthesis. By using cheap and abundant iron(iii) salts, the hydroxycarbonylations of both aromatic and aliphatic alkenes were significantly enhanced in both reactivity and selectivity (iso/n or n/iso up to >99 : 1). Moreover, Pd-catalyzed carbonylation selectivity can be switched from branched to linear by using different Fe(iii) salts. In addition, similar results were obtained for the carbonylation of secondary alcohols.

Elevated FKBP52 expression indicates a poor outcome in patients with breast cancer.

The 52-kDa FK506-binding protein (FKBP52), a regulator of steroid hormone receptor signaling, is potentially involved in a variety of hormone-dependent cancer types. The present study investigated the expression and clinical implications of FKBP52 in breast cancer. Immunohistochemistry was performed on samples from 145 breast cancer patients and on 66 unmatched breast non-cancerous tissues (as controls) to determine the expression level of FKBP52. Publicly available microarray and RNA-seq datasets used in the present study were downloaded from the European Bioinformatics Institute ArrayExpress. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was also performed. FKBP52 expression was moderately higher in the tumors than that in the non-cancerous tissues, but this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.176). However, available microarray datasets exhibited a significant difference in FKBP52 mRNA levels between breast tumors and controls. In the 145 breast cancer patients, elevated FKBP52 expression was significantly associated with advanced Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage (P=0.015), lymph node metastasis (P=0.015) and tumors with poor histological differentiation (P=0.047). FKBP52 expression was negatively associated with estrogen receptor expression (P=0.033), but positively associated with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expression (P=0.033). However, there was no association between FKBP52 and progesterone receptor expression. Survival analyses demonstrated that FKBP52 was indicative of a poor overall survival rate (P=0.026), which was consistent with the result of Kaplan-Meier analysis, exhibiting a negative association between the mRNA of FKBP52 and overall survival (OS) (P=0.044). Other than for FKBP52 [hazard ratio (HR), 2.315; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.077-4.975; P=0.032], univariate analysis revealed that clinical stage exhibited a significant influence on the prognosis of the breast cancer patients (HR, 2.148; 95% CI, 1.011-4.566; P=0.047). However, multivariate analysis revealed that only clinical stage, not FKBP52, was an independent prognostic factor (HR, 2.721; 95% CI, 1.169-6.335; P=0.020). Patients were further classified according to their OS. Compared with the controls (3.94±2.992), FKBP52 expression in breast cancer patients with OS of ≤3 years (5.39±3.409; P=0.042) or OS of ≤5 years (5.88±3.473; P=0.005) was significantly increased, respectively. However, no significant difference in FKBP52 expression was observed between controls and individuals with an OS time of >3 years (4.84±3.769; P=0.109) or >5 years (5.32±3.372; P=0.090). Elevated FKBP52 expression may be involved in tumor progression and invasion, given its positive association with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. Although it is not an independent predictor, FKBP52 has promise as a biological marker for estimating the progression of breast cancer.

MicroRNA sequence analysis identifies microRNAs associated with peri-implantitis in dogs.

Peri-implantitis, which is characterized by dense inflammatory infiltrates and increased osteoclast activity, can lead to alveolar bone destruction and implantation failure. miRNAs participate in the regulation of various inflammatory diseases, such as periodontitis and osteoporosis. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the differential expression of miRNAs in canine peri-implantitis and to explore the functions of their target genes. An miRNA sequence analysis was used to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in peri-implantitis. Under the criteria of a fold-change >1.5 and P<0.01, 8 up-regulated and 30 down-regulated miRNAs were selected for predictions of target genes and their biological functions. Based on the results of Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analyses, these miRNAs may fine-tune the inflammatory process in peri-implantitis through an intricate mechanism. The results of quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed that let-7g, miR-27a, and miR-145 may play important roles in peri-implantitis and are worth further investigation. The results of the present study provide insights into the potential biological effects of the differentially expressed miRNAs, and specific enrichment of target genes involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was observed. These findings highlight the intricate and specific roles of miRNAs in inflammation and osteoclastogenesis, both of which are key aspects of peri-implantitis, and thus may contribute to future investigations of the etiology, underlying mechanism, and treatment of peri-implantitis.

miR-33a-5p modulates TNF-α-inhibited osteogenic differentiation by targeting SATB2 expression in hBMSCs.

miRNAs play a number of roles in bone, including mediating the pathological effects of inflammation. Here, we found that miR-33a-5p expression was significantly increased after TNF-α treatment during BMP-2-induced osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. Luciferase reporter assays and western blotting demonstrated that special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2) is a target of miR-33a-5p. Moreover, we show that BMP-2 induces SATB2 expression by interacting with SATB2 directly via the BMP-2-RUNX2 pathway. However, TNF-α first decreases SATB2 expression by inhibiting miR-33a-5p degradation. We thus conclude that miR-33a-5p plays a central role in this complex regulatory network. These findings will help to understand the regulatory role of miR-33a-5p in the inflammatory process.