Reprogramming of DNA methylation and changes of gene expression in grafted Hevea brasiliensis.

Rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is reproduced by bud grafting for commercial planting, but significant intraclonal variations exist in bud-grafted clones. DNA methylation changes related to grafting may be partly responsible for intraclonal variations. In the current study, whole-genome DNA methylation profiles of grafted rubber tree plants (GPs) and their donor plants (DPs) were evaluated by whole-genome bisulfite sequencing. Data showed that DNA methylation was downregulated and DNA methylations in CG, CHG, and CHH sequences were reprogrammed in GPs, suggesting that grafting induced the reprogramming of DNA methylation. A total of 5,939 differentially methylated genes (DMGs) were identified by comparing fractional methylation levels between GPs and DPs. Transcriptional analysis revealed that there were 9,798 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the DP and GP comparison. A total of 1,698 overlapping genes between DEGs and DMGs were identified. These overlapping genes were markedly enriched in the metabolic pathway and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Global DNA methylation and transcriptional analyses revealed that reprogramming of DNA methylation is correlated with gene expression in grafted rubber trees. The study provides a whole-genome methylome of rubber trees and an insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the intraclonal variations existing in the commercial planting of grafted rubber trees.

Association between anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations and sperm retrieval outcomes in patients with idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: Microdissection testicular sperm extraction (mTESE) is commonly performed to retrieve sperm in the testes for assisted reproductive techniques in patients with idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia (iNOA). However, the success rate of sperm retrieval varies among individuals. We aim to investigate the association between clinical parameters and sperm retrieval outcomes in patients with iNOA. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from database inception to August 2, 2023. The main measure was whether sperm retrieval was successful in patients with iNOA who underwent mTESE. Pooled estimates of the sperm retrieval rate and weighted mean differences were calculated using random-effects models. The overall sperm retrieval rate was 36.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27.5%-46.0%, I2 = 95.0%) in nine studies comprising 1892 patients with iNOA. No significant differences were found in age, testicular volume, serum total testosterone concentrations, or inhibin B concentrations between positive and negative sperm retrieval outcomes. Lower anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations in patients with iNOA were associated with a positive outcome of mTESE (weighted mean differences: -2.70; 95% CI: -3.94--1.46, I2 = 79.0%). In conclusion, this study shows a significant relationship between anti-Müllerian hormone and sperm retrieval outcomes in patients with iNOA, while age, testicular volume, total testosterone, and inhibin B show no significant association. These findings have important implications for assessing the potential success of sperm retrieval and selecting appropriate treatment strategies in patients with iNOA.

Pseudomonas mosselii: a potential alternative for managing pyrethroid-resistant Aedes aegypti.

BACKGROUND: Aedes aegypti is a widespread mosquito in tropical and subtropical regions that causes significant mortality and morbidity in humans by transmitting diseases, such as dengue fever and Zika virus disease. Synthetic insecticides, such as pyrethroids, have been used to control Ae. aegypti, but these insecticides can also affect nontarget organisms and contaminate soil and water. This study aimed to investigate the mosquitocidal activity of Pseudomonas mosselii isolated from pond sludge against larvae of Ae. aegypti. RESULTS: Based on the initial results, similar time-course profiles were obtained for the mosquitocidal activity of the bacterial culture and its supernatant, and the pellet resuspended in Luria-Bertani (LB) medium also showed delayed toxicity. These results imply that the toxic component can be released into the medium from live bacteria. Further research indicated that the toxic component appeared in the supernatant approximately 4 h after a 3-mL stock was cultured in 200 mL of LB medium. The stabilities of the P. mosselii culture and supernatant stored at different temperatures were also evaluated, and the best culture stability was obtained at 28 °C and supernatant stability at 4 °C. The bacterial culture and supernatant were toxic to larvae and pupae of not only susceptible Ae. aegypti but also pyrethroid-resistant strains. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the value of the mosquitocidal activity of P. mosselii, which has potential as an alternative insecticide to control pyrethroid-resistant Ae. aegypti in the field. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Testicular volume is a noninvasive predictor of sperm retrieval failure in idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia.

We investigated the prognostic importance of noninvasive factors in predicting sperm retrieval failure in idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia (iNOA). We studied 193 patients with nonobstructive azoospermia who underwent microsurgical testicular sperm extraction. The Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U tests for clinical parameters and seminiferous tubule distribution were used for between-group comparisons. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of retrieval failure. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for each variable was evaluated, and the net clinical benefit was calculated using a clinical decision curve. Patients with iNOA had a lower sperm retrieval rate than those with known causes. Moreover, testicular volume was an independent factor affecting sperm extraction outcomes (odds ratio = 0.79, P < 0.05). The testicular volume cut-off value was 6.5 ml (area under the curve: 0.694). The patients with iNOA were categorized into two groups on the basis of the distribution of seminiferous tubules observed. The sperm retrieval rate and testicular volume were significantly different between the groups with a uniform or heterogeneous tubule distribution. There was also a significant association between a uniform tubule distribution and testicular volume. In conclusion, a testicular volume of more than 6.5 ml effectively predicts microsurgical testicular sperm extraction failure due to a uniform tubule distribution in patients with iNOA.

New phenylbutenoids and terpene glycosides from Ginkgo biloba leaves.

Our continued works on the chemical constituents of Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba) leaves has led to the isolation of two novel phenylbutenoids (1, 2), along with five previously unidentified terpene glycosides (3-7). Among them, compounds 1 and 2 represent unique (Z)-phenylbutenoids, 3-6 are megastigmane glycosides, and 7 is identified as a rare bilobanone glycoside (Fig. 1). This study marks the first reported isolation of phenylbutenoid and bilobanone glycoside from G. biloba. The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HR-ESI-MS and various 1D and 2D NMR experiments. Furthermore, the absolute configurations of these molecules were determined using Mosher's method, ECD experiments, and Cu-Kα X-ray crystallographic analyses.

Broadband lens and graphene/silicon photodiode for wide spectral imaging.

We designed a broadband lens along with a graphene/silicon photodiode for wide spectral imaging ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths. By using five spherical glass lenses, the broadband lens, with the modulation transfer function of 0.38 at 100 lp/mm, corrects aberrations ranging from 340 to 1700 nm. Our design also includes a broadband graphene/silicon Schottky photodiode with the highest responsivity of 0.63 A/W ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared. By using the proposed broadband lens and the broadband graphene/silicon photodiode, several single-pixel imaging designs in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths are demonstrated. Experimental results show the advantages of integrating the lens with the photodiode and the potential to realize broadband imaging with a single set of lens and a detector.

Efficacy of various surgical approaches in treating hematospermia using transurethral seminal vesiculoscopy.

PURPOSE: To explore the efficacy of different approaches of seminal vesiculoscopy surgery and the predictive factors of good treatment outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 68 patients who underwent seminal vesiculoscopy for hematospermia in our hospital from January 2015 to January 2021. According to different surgical approaches, they were divided into three groups: natural ejaculatory ducts (method A, 45 cases), assisted transurethral resection/incision of ejaculatory ducts (method B, 14 cases), fenestration in prostatic utricle (method C, 9 cases). We analyzed the recurrence rate of the three surgical approaches and the predictive factors of treatment efficacy. RESULTS: The total recurrence rate after the seminal vesiculoscopy for hematospermia in this group was 32.35%. The postoperative recurrence rates of the three methods were 24.44% for method A, 50.00% for method B and 44.44% for method C, and there was no significant difference among the three methods (P > 0.05). The data of five predictors of 45 cases in method A group were included in the Univariate Logistic analysis, the results suggest that whether complicated with seminal tract stones/cysts was an effective predictor (OR 0.250, P = 0.022), which was still an effective predictor in the Multivariate Logistic analysis model (OR 0.244, P = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: The Transurethral seminal vesiculoscopy technique demonstrates a low postoperative recurrence rate in treating hematospermia. Among the various approaches, the intraoperative use of natural orifices through the ejaculatory duct exhibits the lowest recurrence rate. Additionally, seminal tract stones/cysts effectively predict favorable postoperative outcomes.

Clinical outcomes of KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer under untargeted therapeutic regimes in the real world: a retrospective observational study.

Background: Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) mutation seemingly suffered less effective therapeutic regimens in the absence of widely-accepted targeted drugs compared with other mutation types in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, whether these non-selective therapy schedules for KRAS mutation matters is still under debate. Correspondingly, we aimed to compare the long term expectancy of indicated therapeutic regimes and further explore the optimal schemes of KRAS mutated NSCLC in the absence of targeted drugs in this retrospective study cohort. Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective analysis among 66 patients diagnosed with KRAS-mutant advanced NSCLC from November 2018 to December 2020. These enrolled cases were divided into different subgroups in light of mutant isotypes, pathological characteristics, and therapeutic regimes to uncover indicated long-term survival benefits. Additionally, clinical outcomes of treatment schedules and interventional lines to KRAS-mutant NSCLC were described in detail. Results: This cohort enrolled 8 patients with stage IIIB (12.1%) and 58 patients with stage IV (87.9%) with the median age 62 years, ranging from 32 to 91 years old. Genetically, G12C conducted as the most common KRAS mutation type, accounting for 30.3%. Pemetrexed combined with platinum chemotherapy seemed to be a priority (72.7%), and chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy became an alternative (15.2%) in clinic. Performing further analysis of long-term survival of patients receiving different treatment methods indicated that the median overall survival (mOS) in first-line therapy with antiangiogenesis or untreated was 13 and 12 months, respectively (P=0.79). In the first-line regimen, median survival was 17 months for patients who received combined immune checkpoint inhibitors and 12 months for those who did not (P=0.34). The mOS was 20 months for those who had used immune checkpoint inhibitors and 12 months for those who had not (P=0.11). Survival analysis results of NSCLC patients with different KRAS mutation types showed the median survival time of patients with G12C mutation type and patients without with nonG12C mutation type was 19 and 12 months, respectively (P=0.37). Conclusions: In the absence of KRAS targeted drugs, available treatment plans failed to benefit KRAS mutant sufferers regardless of isotypes, making the KRAS-targeted drugs urgent.

A new species of Pseudopoda (Araneae, Sparassidae) from China, with the description of different and distinctive internal ducts of the female vulva.

One new species of the genus Pseudopoda Jäger, 2000, Pseudopodadeformis Gong & Zhong, sp. nov. (♂, ♀), is described and documented with digital images from Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province, China, based on morphology and DNA barcodes. This new species is separated from other Pseudopoda species by the unique type of internal ducts of the female vulva that are curved longitudinally, forming a narrow triangle or trapezoidal shape. In addition, DNA barcodes for this species are provided.

[Nomographic Model for Predicting Severe Foot Pain in Nurses from Tertiary Hospitals in China].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and common sites of severe foot pain among nurses, to define the risk factors of severe foot pain in nurses in tertiary hospital in China, and to construct a nomograph model for predicting individuals' risks for severe foot pain. Methods: Between August 2019 and December 2019, a stratified global sampling method was used to select 10691 nurses from 351 tertiary hospitals in China to investigate the incidence of severe foot pain among them. The variables that may affect the occurrence of severe foot pain were analyzed by single factor analysis to identify the influencing factors of severe foot pain in nurses. Furthermore, the independent risk factors of severe foot pain were analyzed by stepwise logistic regression analysis. The statistically significant factors identified in the multivariate regression analysis were incorporated into the nomograph prediction model. The predictive performance of the nomograph was measured by the consistency index (C-index) and calibrated with 1000 Bootstrap samples. Results: A total of 3419 nurses out of the 10691 had foot pain, resulting in an incidence of 31.98%. The incidence of severe pain (VAS score 7-10) was 2.27% (243 of 10691). The locations of severe pain were more commonly found in the soles and heels of both feet. Six factors, including age, education, the material of the work shoes, comfortableness of the work shoes, number of complications, and foot injure history, were incorporated in the nomograph predicting model. The C-index value was 0.706 and the standard curve fitted well with the calibrated prediction curve. Conclusion: The risk prediction model constructed in this study showed sound performance in predicting the risk of severe foot pain in nurses, and all the indicators involved are simple and the relevant data are easily obtained. The model can provide reference for preventing severe foot pain in nurses.

Comprehensive analysis of mitophagy in HPV-related head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common tumour type in otorhinolaryngology, and its occurrence is related to long-term exposure to tobacco and alcohol. Recently, HPV infection has become an increasingly important contributor to HNSCC, and HPV-associated HNSCC has a different clinical course and better prognosis than non-HPV-associated HNSCC. However, the exact molecular mechanism of HNSCC is unclear. Here, we obtained data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and gene expression omnibus (GEO) to analyse the mitophagy process and related influencing factors of HPV-associated HNSCC via the integration of bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation. We found that in HPV-associated HNSCC, process of mitophagy affects tumour development, immune cell infiltration and prognosis. In the mitophagy process of HPV-related HNSCC: NOS2, IL17REL, TMSB15A, TUBB4A and other hub genes showed significantly higher expression levels than in non-HPV-related HNSCC. Furthermore, this was also confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT‒PCR), which was used to detect the expression of differentially expressed genes in HNSCC tissues. Furthermore, we found that the unique immunological characteristics by expressing CD8+ T cell in a high level in HPV-related HNSCC, and the scores obtained from the score model affected the prognosis of patients. In conclusion, our study revealed the unique biomolecular signature of mitophagy in HPV-associated HNSCC, which may contribute to the development of precise treatment regimens for HPV-associated HNSCC patients.

Guided Colorization Using Mono-Color Image Pairs.

Compared to color images captured by conventional RGB cameras, monochrome (mono) images usually have higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and richer textures due to the lack of color filter arrays in mono cameras. Therefore, using a mono-color stereo dual-camera system, we can integrate the lightness information of target monochrome images with the color information of guidance RGB images to accomplish image enhancement in a colorization manner. In this work, based on two assumptions, we introduce a novel probabilistic-concept guided colorization framework. First, adjacent contents with similar luminance are likely to have similar colors. By lightness matching, we can utilize colors of the matched pixels to estimate the target color value. Second, by matching multiple pixels from the guidance image, if more of these matched pixels have similar luminance values to the target one, we can estimate colors with more confidence. Based on the statistical distribution of multiple matching results, we retain the reliable color estimates as initial dense scribbles and then propagate them to the rest of the mono image. However, for a target pixel, the color information provided by its matching results is quite redundant. Hence, we introduce a patch sampling strategy to accelerate the colorization process. Based on the analysis of the posteriori probability distribution of the sampling results, we can use much fewer matches for color estimation and reliability assessment. To alleviate incorrect color propagation in the sparsely scribbled regions, we generate extra color seeds according to the existed scribbles to guide the propagation process. Experimental results show that, our algorithm can efficiently and effectively restore color images with higher SNR and richer details from the mono-color image pairs, and achieves good performance in solving the color bleeding problem.

Proteomics and transcriptomics profiling reveals distinct aspects of kidney stone related genes in calculi rats.

BACKGROUNDS: Kidney stone also known as urolithiasis or nephrolithiasis, is one of the oldest diseases known to medicine, however, the gene expression changes and related kidney injury remains unclear. METHODS: A calculi rat model was developed via ethylene glycol- and ammonium chloride-induction. Integrated proteomic and transcriptomic analysis was performed to characterize the distinct gene expression profiles in the kidney of calculi rat. Differential expressed genes (DEGs) were sub-clustered into distinct groups according to the consistency of transcriptome and proteome. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment was performed to analyze the functions of each sub-group of DEGs. Immunohistochemistry was performed to validated the expression of identified proteins. RESULTS: Five thousand eight hundred ninety-seven genes were quantified at both transcriptome and proteome levels, and six distinct gene clusters were identified, of which 14 genes were consistently dysregulated. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the calculi rat kidney was increased expression of injured & apoptotic markers and immune-molecules, and decreased expression of solute carriers & transporters and many metabolic related factors. CONCLUSIONS: The present proteotranscriptomic study provided a data resource and new insights for better understanding of the pathogenesis of nephrolithiasis, will hopefully facilitate the future development of new strategies for the recurrence prevention and treatment in patients with kidney stone disease.

Comparison of Long-Term Clinical and Radiographical Outcomes between the Anterior and Combined Anterior and Posterior Approaches for Treating Lumbosacral Tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: Both anterior and combined anterior and posterior approaches have been used to treat lumbosacral tuberculosis. However, long-term follow-up studies of each approach have not been conducted. We aimed to compare the long-term clinical and radiographical outcomes between the two approaches. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we included 49 patients with a minimum 6-year follow-up between January 2008 and March 2012. Twenty-four patients underwent the anterior approach (anterior group), and 25 underwent the combined anterior and posterior approach (anterior-posterior group). Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Pearson's chi-square test were used to compare the two groups regarding clinical data, such as visual analogue scale scores, Oswestry disability index scores and neurological status, and radiographical data, such as lumbosacral angle, lumbar lordosis, and L5-S1 height. Furthermore, operative time, length of stay, and intraoperative and postoperative blood loss (IBL, PBL) were recorded. RESULTS: Both groups had satisfactory clinical and radiographical outcomes until the final follow-up. All patients achieved bony fusion, and no group differences were found in any of the clinical indices. Both groups corrected and maintained the lumbosacral angle, lumbar lordosis, and L5-S1 height. However, the operative time, length of stay, maximum Hb drop, IBL, and PBL of the anterior group (140.63 ± 24.73 min, 12.58 ± 2.45 days, 28.33 ± 9.70 g/L, 257.08 ± 110.47 ml, and 430.60 ± 158.27 ml, respectively) were significantly lower than those of the anterior-posterior group (423.60 ± 82.81 min, P < 0.001; 21.32 ± 3.40 days, P < 0.001; 38.48 ± 8.03 g/L, P < 0.001; 571.60 ± 111.04 ml, P < 0.001; and 907.01 ± 231.99 ml, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This retrospective study demonstrated long-term efficacy of the anterior approach with a single screw fixation, which was as effective as that of the combined anterior and posterior approach, with the advantage of less trauma.

Incidence and Risk Factors for Postoperative Ileus after Posterior Surgery in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.

OBJECTIVE: Postoperative ileus (POI) is a relatively common complication after spinal fusion surgery, which can lead to delayed recovery, prolonged length of stay and increased medical costs. However, little is known about the incidence and risk factors of POI after corrective surgery for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). This study was performed to report the incidence of POI and identify the independent risk factors for POI after postoperative corrective surgery. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, A total of 318 patients with AIS who underwent corrective surgery from April 2015 to February 2021 were enrolled and divided into two groups: those with POI and those without POI. The Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Pearson's chi-square test were used to compare the two groups regarding patient demographics and preoperative characteristics (age, sex and the major curve type), intraoperative and postoperative parameters (lowest instrumented vertebra [LIV], number of screws, and length of stay), radiographic parameters (T5-12 thoracic kyphosis [TK], T10-L2 thoracolumbar kyphosis and height [TLK and T10-L2 height], L1-S1 lumbar lordosis [LL], and L1-5 height). Then, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for POI, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to assess the predictive values of these risk factors. RESULTS: Forty-two (13.2%) of 318 patients who developed POI following corrective surgery were identified. The group with POI had a significantly longer length of stay, more lumbar screws, higher proportions of a major lumbar curve and lumbar anterior screw breech, and a lower LIV. Among radiographic parameters, the mean lumbar Cobb angle at baseline, the changes in the lumbar Cobb angle, and T10-L2 and L1-5 height from before to after surgery were significantly larger in the group with POI than in the group without POI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that large changes in T10-L2 (odds ratio [OR] =2.846, P = 0.007) and L1-5 height (OR = 31.294, p = 0.000) and lumbar anterior screw breech (OR = 5.561, P = 0.006) were independent risk factors for POI. The cutoff values for the changes in T10-L2 and L1-5 height were 1.885 cm and 1.195 cm, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this study, we identified that large changes in T10-L2 and L1-5 height and lumbar anterior screw breech were independent risk factors for POI after corrective surgery. Improving the accuracy of pedicle screw placement might reduce the incidence of POI, and greater attention should be given to patients who are likely to have large changes in T10-L2 and L1-5 height after corrective surgery.

Kinase inhibit region of SOCS3 attenuates IL6-induced proliferation and astrocytic differentiation of neural stem cells via cross talk between signaling pathways.

AIMS: Efficiency of neural stem cells (NSCs) therapy for brain injury is restricted by astrogliosis around the damaged region, in which JAK2/STAT3 signaling plays a key role. The SOCS3 that can directly inhibit JAK/STAT3 pathway. Here, we investigated the effects of a fusion peptide that combined kinase inhibitory region (KIR) of SOCS3 and virus trans-activator of transcription (TAT) on biological behavior of cultured NSCs under inflammatory conditions. METHODS: NSCs were isolated from embryonic brain of SD rats, TAT-KIR was synthesized, and penetration rate was evaluated by flow cytometry (FACS). CCK8, immunostaining, and FACS were used to detected of TAT-KIR on the proliferation of NSCs. The expressions of GFAP and ß tubulin III positive cells induced by IL6 with/without TAT-KIR were examined by immunostaining and Western blotting to observe the NSCs differentiation, and the effect of TAT-KIR on signaling cross talk was observed by Western blotting. RESULTS: Penetration rate of TAT-KIR into primary cultured NSCs was up to 94%. TAT-KIR did not affect the growth and viability of NSCs. It significantly reduced the NSCs proliferation that enhanced by IL-6 stimulation via blocking the cell cycle progression from the G0/G1 to S phase. In addition, TAT-KIR attenuated astrocytic differentiation and kept high level of neuronal differentiation derived from IL-6-induced NSCs. The fate of NSCs differentiation under inflammatory conditions was affected by TAT-KIR, which was associated with synchronous inhibition of STAT3 and AKT, while promoting JNK expression. CONCLUSION: TAT-KIR mimetic of SOCS3 could be a promising approach for brain repair via regulating the biological behaviors of exogenous NSCs.

COMIRE: A Consistence-Based Mislabeled Instances Removal Method.

Training neural network classifiers (NNCs) usually requires all instances to be correctly labeled, which is difficult and/or expensive to satisfy in some practical applications. When label noise is present, mislabeled data will severely mislead the training of NNCs, resulting in poor generalization performance. In this work, we address the label noise issue by removing mislabeled instances from the training data. A COnsistence-based Mislabeled Instances REmoval (COMIRE) method is proposed. The main idea is based on the observation that during the training of the NNC, the training loss and the model's prediction uncertainty of correctly labeled instances show similar trends, while those of mislabeled instances have quite different trends. Thus, the consistency between the two trends can be used to distinguish correctly labeled instances from mislabeled ones. On this basis, an iteration scheme is introduced to further increase the separability between the two types of data. Experimental results show that COMIRE can effectively identify the mislabeled instances. Moreover, the classification performance is significantly improved after removing the identified instances from the noisy training data.

Induction of lncRNA MALAT1 by hypoxia promotes bone formation by regulating the miR-22-3p/CEBPD axis.

Adaptation to hypoxia promotes fracture healing. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unknown. Increasing evidence has indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in several diseases, including fracture healing. In the present study, lncRNA microarray analysis was performed to assess the expression levels of different lncRNAs in MC3T3-E1 cells cultured under hypoxic conditions. A total of 42 lncRNAs exhibited significant differences in their expression, including metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), maternally expressed 3, AK046686, AK033442, small nucleolar RNA host gene 2 and distal-less homeobox 1 splice variant 2. Furthermore, overexpression of MALAT1 promoted osteoblast differentiation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and matrix mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells, whereas its knockdown diminished hypoxia-induced cell differentiation, ALP activity and matrix mineralization in these cells. Moreover, functional analysis indicated that MALAT1 regulated the mRNA and protein expression levels of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein δ by competitively binding to microRNA-22-3p. Adenoviral-mediated MALAT1 knockdown inhibited fracture healing in a mouse model. Taken together, the results indicated that MALAT1 may serve a role in hypoxia-mediated osteogenesis and bone formation.

Comparison of Long-Term Outcomes between the n-HA/PA66 Cage and the PEEK Cage Used in Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion for Lumbar Degenerative Disease: A Matched-Pair Case Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: The nanohydroxyapatite/polyamide-66 (n-HA/PA66) cage is a novel bioactive nonmetal cage that is now used in some medical centers, while the polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage is a typical device that has been widely used for decades with excellent clinical outcomes. This study was performed to compare the long-term radiographic and clinical outcomes of these two different cages used in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). METHODS: In this retrospective and matched-pair case control study, we included 200 patients who underwent TLIF from January 2010 to December 2014 with a minimum 7-year follow-up. One hundred patients who used n-HA/PA66 cages were matched with 100 patients who used PEEK cages for age, sex, diagnosis, and fusion level. The independent student's t-test and Pearson's chi-square test were used to compare the two groups regarding radiographic (fusion status, cage subsidence rate, segmental angle [SA], and interbody space height [IH]) and clinical (Oswestry Disability Index [ODI], and Visual Analog Scale [VAS] for back and leg) parameters preoperatively, postoperatively, and at the final follow-up. RESULTS: The n-HA/PA66 and PEEK groups had similar fusion rates of bone inside and outside the cage at the final follow-up (95.3% vs 91.8%, p = 0.181, 92.4% vs 90.1%, p = 0.435). The cage union ratios exposed to the upper and lower endplates of the n-HA/PA66 group were significantly larger than those of the PEEK group (p < 0.05). The respective cage subsidence rates in the n-HA/PA66 and PEEK groups were 10.5% and 17.5% (p = 0.059). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the SA, IH, ODI scores, or VAS scores at any time point. The n-HA/PA66 group showed high fusion and low subsidence rates during long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: Both n-HA/PA66 and PEEK cages can achieve satisfactory long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes in TLIF. However, the n-HA/PA66 group showed significantly larger cage union ratios than the PEEK group. Therefore, the results indicated that the n-HA/PA66 cage is an ideal alternative material comparable to the PEEK cage in TLIF.

Moxibustion combined with western medication for rheumatoid arthritis with blood stasis obstruction and its effect on platelet activation / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the clinical efficacy and action mechanism of moxibustion combined with western medication for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with blood stasis obstruction.@*METHODS@#Fifty-six patients of RA with blood stasis obstruction were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, with 28 patients in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with oral administration of leflunomide tablets and celecoxib capsules, while the patients in the observation group were treated with moxibustion in addition to the treatment used in the control group. Moxibustion was performed at bilateral Zusanli (ST 36), Shenshu (BL 23), Xuehai (SP 10), and ashi points, once every other day, three times a week. The treatment duration for both groups was 12 weeks. The TCM syndrome score, disease activity score-28 (DAS-28), rheumatoid factor (RF), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), hemorheological indexes (whole blood viscosity high shear, whole blood viscosity low shear, plasma viscosity), serum calcium ion (Ca2+) level, and platelet count (PLT) were observed before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated after treatment in the two groups.@*RESULTS@#Compared with those before treatment, the TCM syndrome scores, DAS-28 scores, RF, hs-CRP, ESR, whole blood viscosity high shear, whole blood viscosity low shear, plasma viscosity, and PLT were decreased after treatment in both groups (P<0.01), with the observation group showing lower values compared with those in the control group (P<0.05). Compared with those before treatment, the serum Ca2+ levels were increased after treatment in both groups (P<0.01), and the observation group showed a higher increase than that in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 85.7% (24/28) in the observation group, which was higher than 67.9% (19/28) in the control group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Moxibustion combined with western medication could alleviate clinical symptoms in patients with RA of blood stasis obstruction, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of platelet activation.