[Rapid determination of 15 N-nitrosamines in air-dried yak meat using one-step QuEChERS-gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry].

A method based on gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) coupled with one-step QuEChERS technique was developed for the simultaneous determination of 15 N-nitrosamines in air-dried yak meat. The hydration volume, extraction solvent, extracting salt, and cleaning material were optimized according to the characteristics of the N-nitrosamines and sample matrix. The optimized conditions were as follows: 10 mL of purified water for sample hydration, acetonitrile as the extraction solvent for the sample after hydration, 4.0 g of anhydrous MgSO4 and 1.0 g of NaCl as extracting salts, 500 mg of MgSO4+25 mg of C18+50 mg of PSA as cleaning materials. Favorable recoveries of the 15 N-nitrosamines were obtained when the extraction solution was incompletely dried. Thus, the final extract was dried to below 0.5 mL under a mild nitrogen stream and then redissolved to 0.5 mL with acetonitrile. After filtration, 200 µL of the sample was transferred to an autosampler vial for GC-MS/MS analysis. The 15 N-nitrosamines were determined using GC-MS/MS on a DB-HeavyWAX column (30 m×0.25 mm×0.25 µm) with an electron impact ion source in multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, and quantified using an external standard method. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the results showed that the calibration curves exhibited good linearities for the 15 N-nitrosamines, with correlation coefficients (r2) greater than 0.9990. The limits of detection (LODs) and the limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 0.05 to 0.20 µg/kg and from 0.10 to 0.50 µg/kg, respectively. At spiked levels of 1LOQ, 2LOQ, and 10LOQ, the average recoveries were 79.4%-102.1%, 80.6%-109.5%, and 83.0%-110.6%, respectively, and the relative standard deviations were in the range of 0.8%-16.0%. The low matrix effects of the 15 N-nitrosamines indicated the high sensitivity of the proposed method. The method was applied to detect representative commercial air-dried yak meat samples obtained using different processing techniques. Seven N-nitrosamines, including N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosodiisobutylamine, N-nitrosodibutylamine, N-methyl-N-phenylnitrous amide, N-ethyl-N-nitrosoaniline, N-nitrosopyrrolidine, and N-nitrosodiphenylamine were detected in all samples. The average contents of the seven N-nitrosamines was 0.08-20.18 µg/kg. The detection rates and average contents of the N-nitrosamines in cooked air-dried yak meat samples were higher than those in traditional raw air-dried yak meat samples. Compared with the manual QuEChERS method, the one-step QuEChERS method developed integrated the extraction and clean-up procedures into one single run, and the detection efficiency was considerably improved. The developed method is simple, rapid, highly sensitive, and insusceptible to human errors. Thus, it is useful for the determination of N-nitrosamines in air-dried yak meat and can be extended to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of N-nitrosamines in other meat products. It also provides method support and a data reference for the general determination of N-nitrosamines, which is of great significance for food safety.

Risk factors of non-sentinel lymph node metastasis in breast cancer with 1-2 sentinel lymph node macrometastases underwent total mastectomy: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The randomized trials which include ACOSOG Z0011 and IBCSG 23-01 had found that the survival rates were not different in patients with cT1/2N0 and 1-2 sentinel lymph node (SLN)-positive, macro/micrometastases who underwent breast-conserving therapy, and micrometastases who underwent total mastectomy (TM), when axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) was omitted. However, for patients with cT1/2N0 and 1-2 SLN macrometastases who underwent TM; there was still insufficient evidence from clinical studies to support whether ALND can be exempted. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of non-sentinel lymph node (nSLN) metastasis in breast cancer patients with 1-2 SLN macrometastases undergoing TM. METHODS: The clinicopathological data of 1491 breast cancer patients who underwent TM and SLNB from January 2017 to February 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to analyze the risk factors for nSLN metastasis. RESULTS: A total of 273 patients with 1-2 SLN macrometastases who underwent TM were enrolled. Postoperative pathological data showed that 35.2% patients had nSLN metastasis. The results of multivariate analysis indicated that tumor size (TS) (P = 0.002; OR: 1.051; 95% CI: 1.019-1.084) and ratio of SLN macrometastases (P = 0.0001; OR: 12.597: 95% CI: 4.302-36.890) were the independent risk factors for nSLN metastasis in breast cancer patients with 1-2 SLN macrometastases that underwent TM. The ROC curve analysis suggested that when TS ≤22 mm and ratio of SLN macrometastases ≤0.33, the incidence of nSLN metastasis could be reduced to 17.1%. CONCLUSIONS: The breast cancer patients with cT1/2N0 stage, undergoing TM and 1-2 SLN macrometastases, when the TS ≤22 mm and macrometastatic SLN does not exceed 1/3 of the total number of detected SLN, the incidence of nSLN metastasis is significantly reduced, but whether ALND can be exempted needs further exploration.

Detection of Transdermal Drug Delivery Efficiency by Shock Wave.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to observe the drug distribution ex-vivo after transdermal drug delivery (TDD) by Shock Wave (SW) and to explore the different effects of the two types of shock waves. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nine female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: (i) control group; (ii) RESW group (0.35mJ/mm2, 2 Hz, 400 pulse); (iii) FESW group (0.16mJ/mm2, 2 Hz, 400 pulse). Micro positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) was used to observe the distribution of [18]F-NaF. Furthermore, 12 SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: (i) control group; (ii) FESW group 1 (0.03mJ/mm2, 2 Hz, 400 pulse); (iii) FESW group 2 (0.16mJ/mm2, 2 Hz, 400 pulse); (iv) FESW group 3 (0.35mJ/mm2, 2 Hz, 400 pulse). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) tested diclofenac sodium and glucose percutaneously TDD by FESW. Statistical significance was conducted by analysis of variance of repeated measurement. RESULTS: The micro PET/CT observed FESW could penetrate [18]F-NaF through the skin, while RESW could not. The second study found the higher the energy of the FESW, the more diclofenac sodium and glucose penetration. Repeated measures analysis of variance found a within-subject effect (diclofenac sodium, F = 4.77, p = 0.03), (glucose, F = 8.95, p = 0.006), significant differences between the control group, FESW group 1, and FESW group 2 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The study found that FESW can penetrate [18]F-NaF, sugar and diclofenac sodium into the rat body. FESW has a good indication of drug penetration, which provides new biological evidence for route administration.

Rapid cultivation of anammox sludge based on Ca-alginate cell beads.

Current gel entrapment technology has certain advantages for the enrichment of anammox sludge. In this study, the optimal preparation conditions and cultivation equipment of Ca-alginate cell beads for the culturing anammox sludge were proposed. The preparation parameters of the Ca-alginate cell beads were as follows: 3% sodium alginate, 4% CaCl2, VSA:Vcell = 1:1, a drop height of 9 cm, stirring speed of 300 rpm, and cross-linking time of 24 h. The prepared cell beads were regular spheres with a uniform size and hard texture. Throughout the 9 days of cultivation, the number of anammox bacteria in the Ca-alginate cell beads was 4.3 times that of the initial sludge, and the color of the cell beads changed from yellowish-brown to reddish-brown. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the SA gel beads had a good microporous structure. The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) results illustrated that the bacteria were mostly dispersed inside the Ca-alginate cell beads. Additionally, the qPCR results implied that only a relatively small amount of anammox biomass (2.74×106 copies/gel-bead) was required to quickly start the anammox process. The anammox bacteria in the Ca-alginate cell beads grew with a fast growth rate in a short period and exhibited high activity due to diffusion limitations. In addition, the anammox bacteria cultivated in the Ca-alginate cell beads could adapt to the increase in substrate concentration in a short period. The optimal incubation time of this gel entrapment method for anammox sludge was no more than 17 days under the experimental conditions of this work. Therefore, this simple and practicable gel entrapment method may serve as a suitable pre-culture means for the rapid enrichment of anammox bacteria.

Effects of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex versus motor cortex in patients with neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury: a study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Neuropathic pain is one of the common complications of spinal cord injuries (SCI), which will slow down the recovery process and result in lower quality of life. Previous studies have shown that repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the motor cortex (M1) can reduce the average pain and the most severe pain of neuropathic pain after SCI. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) area is a common target of rTMS. Recently, a few studies found that rTMS of DLPFC may relieve the neuropathic pain of SCI. Compared with the M1 area, the efficacy of rTMS treatment in the DLPFC area in improving neuropathic pain and pain-related symptoms in patients with SCI is still unclear. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate the non-inferiority of rTMS in the DLPFC vs M1 in patients with neuropathic pain after SCI, in order to provide more options for rTMS in treating neuropathic pain after SCI. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will recruit 50 subjects with neuropathic pain after SCI. They will be randomly assigned to the DLPFC- rTMS and M1-rTMS groups and be treated with rTMS for 4 weeks. Except for the different stimulation sites, the rTMS treatment programmes of the two groups are the same: 10 Hz, 1250 pulses, 115% intensity threshold, once a day, five times a week for 4 weeks. VAS, simplified McGill Pain Questionnaire, Spinal Cord Injury Pain Date Set, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Hamilton Anxiety Scale will be evaluated at baseline, second week of treatment, fourth week of treatment and 4 weeks after the end of treatment. And VAS change will be calculated. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University has approved this trial, which is numbered KY2020041. Written informed consent will be provided to all participants after verification of the eligibility criteria. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2000032362.

Effects of Umbilical Cord Milking on Anemia in Preterm Infants: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether umbilical cord milking (UCM) prevents and controls anemia in preterm infants, as compared with immediate cord clamping (ICC). STUDY DESIGN: Pregnant women delivering at <34 weeks' gestation in four hospitals were randomly assigned to undergo UCM or ICC from July 2017 to June 2019. Hematological parameters and iron status were collected and analyzed as primary outcomes at 24 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 6 months after delivery. RESULTS: Neonates receiving UCM had significant higher levels of hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit, and serum iron (p < 0.05). Lower prevalence of anemia and lower need for transfusions were noted in UCM group. Although UCM was associated with prolonged duration of phototherapy, the maximum levels of bilirubin were similar between two groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: UCM is an effective intervention to help preterm infants experience less anemia with the potential to increase blood volume, as seen by higher Hb levels and more enhanced iron stores.

Effects of electromyography biofeedback for patients after knee surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

There has been no systematic review evaluating the efficacy of electromyography (EMG) biofeedback after knee surgery recently. This meta-analysis aimed to determine whether EMG-biofeedback is effective for improving the range of motion (ROM), physical function, and pain relief in patients after knee. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of EMG-biofeedback after any knee surgery were retrieved from EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, ClinicalTrials.gov, ProQuest. This review identified 773 unique studies, and six RCTs were in the final meta-analysis. EMG-Biofeedback treatment has a significant difference compared to other rehabilitation therapy in knee ROM improving (SMD = -0.48, 95% CI = -0.82 to -0.14, p = 0.006, I2 = 37%). Moreover, there was no significant difference in pain (SMD = -0.33, 95% CI = -0.67 to0.02, p = 0.07, I2 = 41%) and physical function scores (MD = 1.83, 95% CI = -3.48 to7.14, p = 0.50, I2 = 0%). The results illustrate that EMG-biofeedback can improve knee ROM in patients after knee surgery. However, it is not superior to other rehabilitation methods for pain relief and physical function improvement.

The effect of VNS on the rehabilitation of stroke: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies.

INTRODUCTION: The efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for the rehabilitation of stroke remains controversial. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the influence of VNS on the rehabilitation of stroke. METHODS: We search PubMed, EMbase, Web of science, EBSCO, and Cochrane library databases through March 2020 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of VNS on the rehabilitation of stroke. This meta-analysis is performed using the random-effect model. RESULTS: Three RCTs are included in the meta-analysis. Overall, compared with control group in stroke, VNS is associated with significantly improved FMA-UE (SMD = 3.86; 95% CI = 1.19 to 6.52; P = 0.005) and Motor Function Test (SMD = 0.33; 95% CI = 0.04 to 0.62; P = 0.03), but has no obvious impact on Box and Block Test (SMD = -0.31; 95% CI = -3.48 to 2.86; P = 0.85), Nine-Hole Peg Test (SMD = 8.35; 95% CI = -40.59 to 57.28; P = 0.74), atrial fibrillation (RR = 3.46; 95% CI = 0.39 to 30.57; P = 0.26) or adverse events (RR = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.21 to 1.61; P = 0.30). CONCLUSIONS: VNS may be beneficial to the rehabilitation of stroke.

What You Should Know About Osteoarthritis Rehabilitation: A Bibliometric Analysis of the 50 Most-Cited Articles.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that commonly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people. High-quality articles in the field of osteoarthritis rehabilitation have not been studied in detail. OBJECTIVE: To identify and conduct a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the 50 most-cited articles on osteoarthritis rehabilitation and provide valuable scientific information for researchers. METHODS: Fifty articles related to the rehabilitation of individuals with osteoarthritis were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Basic information, such as the authors, title, number of citations, year of publication, journal, country/territory, and research type, was extracted. CiteSpace was used to visualize the keywords. RESULTS: The average number of citations per article was 244.54. The top 50 articles were published in 27 journals and published by 262 authors. Most of the top 50 articles were published in the United States. The top 50 articles included 23 randomized controlled trials, 21 cohort studies, 2 case series, and 4 expert opinion articles. The most commonly studied topics in osteoarthritis rehabilitation included rehabilitation for pain, gait abnormalities, muscle strength deficiencies, and other functional impairments caused by osteoarthritis in elderly people. CONCLUSIONS: The top articles in the field of osteoarthritis rehabilitation have a high level of evidence. Collaboration between authors was high for highly-cited articles. Moreover, the eminent articles can provide important information for the education of doctors and therapists specializing in osteoarthritis rehabilitation.

AKR1C2 acts as a targetable oncogene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma via activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

The aldo-keto reductases family 1 member C2 (AKR1C2) has critical roles in the tumorigenesis and progression of malignant tumours. However, it was also discovered to have ambiguous functions in multiple cancers and till present, its clinical significance and molecular mechanism in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has been unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the role of AKR1C2 in the tumorigenesis of ESCC. Here, we showed that AKR1C2 expression was found to be up-regulated in ESCC tissues and was significantly associated with pathological stage, lymph node metastasis and worse outcomes. Functional assays demonstrated that an ectopic expression of AKR1C2 in ESCC cells resulted in increased proliferation, migration and cisplatin resistance, while knockdown led to inversing effects. Bioinformation analyses and mechanistic studies demonstrated that AKR1C2 activated the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway, furthermore, the inhibitor of PI3K or the selective inhibitor of AKR1C2 enzyme activity could reverse the aggressiveness and showed synergistic antitumour effect when combined with cisplatin, both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, Our findings revealed that AKR1C2 could function as an oncogene by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway, as a novel prognostic biomarker and/or as a potential therapeutic target to ESCC.

[Normativity of overview report of the systematic review of acupuncture and moxibustion at home and abroad based on PRIO-harms scale].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the normativity of overview report of systematic review (Overviews) of acupuncture and moxibustion at home and abroad so as to further improve the report quality of Overviews of acupuncture and moxibustion in China and provide reliable evidences. METHODS: The articles relevant with Overviews of acupuncture and moxibustion at home and abroad were retrieved by computer from the databases of CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, China BioMedical Literature database (SinoMed), PubMed, Embase and Conchrane Library, dated from the time of establishment to February 12, 2019. The preferred reporting items for Overviews (PRIO-harms) was adopted to evaluate their normativity and make the comparison of the articles between China and foreign countries. RESULTS: A total of 13 articles of Overviews of acupuncture and moxibustion were included, 9 articles of them were of Chinese version and the rest were of English version. The results of PRIO-harms indicated that the proportions of the item numbers related to adequate, partial and inadequate adherence of Chinese version were 3.7%, 63.8% and 32.5%, and those of English version were 12.0%, 57.4% and 30.6% respectively. The reports on the item 10 "additional search for primary studies", the item 12 "data items" and the item 26 "Dual/(co-)authorship" were inadequate adherence by 100% in the articles of both Chinese and English version. CONCLUSION: The overall information of English article report is better than Chinese one, but the reports of either Chinese or English articles are not so satisfactory. It is suggested that the Overviews report should be in reference to the specification in PRIO-harms and the Chinese researchers should study the advantages of English article report and improve the normalization and report quality so as to obtain the high-quality evidences in evidence-based medicine.

A Bibliometric Analysis Using CiteSpace of Publications from 1999 to 2018 on Patient Rehabilitation After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND Following total knee arthroplasty (TKA), postoperative patient rehabilitation is important to achieve the optimal level of knee function and mobility. Clinical research in this field is growing, and bibliometric analysis of publication may provide direction for research clinicians and raise awareness of research trends, journal selection, and key topics. Therefore, this bibliometric study aimed to analyze the current status and trends during the past two decades, between 1999 and 2018, of publications on rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and used CiteSpace. MATERIAL AND METHODS The global literature was searched between 2018 to 2019 for publications related to rehabilitation after TKA. Publication data were identified using relevant search terms and the Web of Science Core Collection database. CiteSpace (5.3.R11) software was used to analyze the journals, authors, institutions, countries, cited references, and keywords using standard bibliometric indicators. RESULTS A total of 1,292 publications were retrieved between 1999 to 2018, and the most active journals, countries, authors, and institutions in the field of TKA rehabilitation were identified. Key areas of research included postoperative analgesia, muscle inhibition, range of motion, inhibitors, knee flexion, pain control, self-reporting, spectral analysis, in vivo forces, and rotator cuff repair. The emerging research topics included epidural analgesia, physiotherapy, postoperative analgesia, recovery, and the use of ropivacaine local analgesia. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this bibliometric study provided insight into trends in clinical research publications in the field of rehabilitation following TKA for the past 20 years, including global trends in emerging areas of research.

Influence of different cooking methods on the nutritional and potentially harmful components of peanuts.

This study investigated the comparative effects of boiling, roasting, deep-frying methods on the content of nutritional and potentially harmful components in peanuts. After cooking, the contents of total reducing sugar, sucrose, unsaturated fatty acids and almost all individual amino acids were reduced. Free methionine disappeared after heating processing, whereas fructose, starch, cis-palmitoleic acid and saturated fatty acids were increased in processed samples. Micronutrients including flavonoids and phenolic reduced significantly after boiling process but increased after roasting process. Both of frying and roasting promoted the formation of potentially harmful components including HMF, acrylamide and furan. The overall compositional difference between samples were further displayed and identified by a combination application of HCA and PCA, which showed that the roasting and frying process had a significant impact on the nutritional composition of peanuts.

[Literature quality analysis of RCTs regarding acupuncture for chronic neck pain].

The internationally-accepted Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials (CONSORT) and Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) were applied to evaluate the literature quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding acupuncture for chronic neck pain in past 10 years. The literature of RCTs regarding acupuncture for chronic neck pain was searched by computer; the English literature was searched in PubMed and EMbase, while the Chinese literature was searched in CNKI, Wanfang database, VIP database and China Biomedical Literature Database. The literature published from January 2008 to January 2018 was searched. As a result, 29 Chinese articles and 10 English articles were included. According to CONSORT, among Chinese articles, 28 articles (96.6%) described baseline data, 23 articles (79.3%) described randomization, 0 articles (0.0%) described allocation concealment, 3 articles (10.3%) described blind method; among English articles, 6 articles (60.0%) described baseline data, 8 articles (80.0%) described randomization, 8 articles (80.0%) described allocation concealment, and 7 articles (70.0%) described blind method. According to STRICTA, among Chinese articles, 8 articles (27.6%) described needle instrument selection, 18 articles (62.1%) described needle depth, 24 articles (82.8%) described needling sensation, and 0 articles (0.0%) described acupuncturist' qualifications; among English articles, 5 articles (50.0%) described needle instrument selection, 8 articles (80.0%) described needle depth, 3 articles (30.0%) described needling sensation, and 4 articles (40.0%) described acupuncturist' qualifications. In conclusion, the reporting of acupuncture details in Chinese literature is superior to that in English literature, while the reporting of trial design in English literature is slightly superior to that in Chinese literature. Moreover, both Chinese and English literature need to further improve clinical trial design to improve the reporting quality of clinical evidence based on CONSORT and STRICTA.

Candidate tumor suppressor gene IRF6 is involved in human breast cancer pathogenesis via modulating PI3K-regulatory subunit PIK3R2 expression.

Background/Aims: The tumor-suppressive functions of interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) in some tumors have been preliminarily established, but its pathogenesis and underlying molecular mechanisms in breast cancer, the most common malignancy in women, remains poorly understood. Methods: Pairs of typical breast cancer cell lines (high- and low-aggressive) in addition to 27 breast cancer tissue samples and 31 non-cancerous breast tissues were used to investigate the expression level of IRF6 and Lentivirus-mediated gain-of-function studies, short hairpin RNA-mediated loss-of-function studies in vivo and in vitro were used to validate the role of IRF6 in breast cancer. Next, we performed RNA-Seq analysis to identify the molecular mechanisms of IRF6 involved in breast cancer progression. Results: Our findings showed that IRF6 was downregulated in highly invasive breast cancer cell lines but upregulated in poorly aggressive ones. Functional assays revealed that elevated IRF6 expression could suppress cell proliferation and tumorigenicity, and enhanced cellular chemotherapeutic sensitivity. To identify the molecular mechanisms involved, we performed a genome-wide and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis in breast cancer cells using RNA sequencing of gene expression profiles following the overexpression of IRF6. Genome-wide and KEGG analyses showed that IRF6 might mediate the PI3K-regulatory subunit PIK3R2, which in turn modulated the PI3K/AKT pathway to control breast cancer pathogenesis. Conclusion: We provide the first evidence of the involvement of IRF6 in breast cancer pathogenesis, which was found to modulate the PI3K/AKT pathway via mediating PIK3R2; indicating that IRF6 can be targeted as a potential therapeutic treatment of breast cancer.

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound repair in mandibular condylar cartilage injury rabbit model.

OBJECTIVES: Beneficial effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound(US) have been reported for knee articular cartilage injury. It is unclear whether the same effect could be observed on mandibular condylar cartilage. This study was designed to explore the efficacy of ultrasound cartilage repair via autophagy regulation. METHODS: A total of 18 adult rabbits were divided into a sham operation group (exposure to condylar articular surface only), operation without US group (only cartilage surgery), and operation with US group (received ultrasonic therapy daily on day 4 after cartilage surgery). The rabbits were then sacrificed to construct a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) cartilage injury model and HE staining was conducted to observe pathological changes of cartilage in each group. Expression of FGF18, FGFR4, beclin1, ATG3 and ATG7 in rabbit TMJ cartilage were detected using RT-PCR and western blotting. Finally, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis was used to observe the interaction among the network of important biomarkers in this injury model. RESULTS: Compared to the operation without US group, the severity of cartilage injury was decreased in the operation with US group according to HE staining. The expression of autophagy biomarkers, beclin1, ATG3, ATG7, FGF18 and FGFR4, in operation with US group were up-regulated compared with those in sham operation group and operation without US group p < 0.05). In PPI analysis, ATG3, ATG7, PIK3C3, PIK3R4, BECN1 were identified as hub nodes connecting with most proteins network. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest US has therapeutic potential for the treatment of mandibular condylar cartilage injury, and may affect chondrocyte autophagy.

GTSE1 is involved in breast cancer progression in p53 mutation-dependent manner.

BACKGROUND: With the rapid development of the high throughput detection techniques, tumor-related Omics data has become an important source for studying the mechanism of tumor progression including breast cancer, one of the major malignancies worldwide. A previous study has shown that the G2 and S phase-expressed-1 (GTSE1) can act as an oncogene in several human cancers. However, its functional roles in breast cancer remain elusive. METHOD: In this study, we analyzed breast cancer data downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases and other online database including the Oncomine, bc-GenExMiner and PROGgeneV2 database to identify the molecules contributing to the progression of breast cancer. The GTSE1 expression levels were investigated using qRT-PCR, immunoblotting and IHC. The biological function of GTSE1 in the growth, migration and invasion of breast cancer was examined in MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468 and MCF7 cell lines. The in vitro cell proliferative, migratory and invasive abilities were evaluated by MTS, colony formation and transwell assay, respectively. The role of GTSE1 in the growth and metastasis of breast cancer were revealed by in vivo investigation using BALB/c nude mice. RESULTS: We showed that the expression level of GTSE1 was upregulated in breast cancer specimens and cell lines, especially in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and p53 mutated breast cancer cell lines. Importantly, high GTSE1 expression was positively correlated with histological grade and poor survival. We demonstrated that GTSE1 could promote breast cancer cell growth by activating the AKT pathway and enhance metastasis by regulating the Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway. Furthermore, it could cause multidrug resistance in breast cancer cells. Interestingly, we found that GTSE1 could regulate the p53 function to alter the cell cycle distribution dependent on the mutation state of p53. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal that GTSE1 played a key role in the progression of breast cancer, indicating that GTSE1 could serve as a novel biomarker to aid in the assessment of the prognosis of breast cancer.

Identification of gene expression profiles and key genes in subchondral bone of osteoarthritis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) significantly influences the quality life of people around the world. It is urgent to find an effective way to understand the genetic etiology of OA. We used weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) to explore the key genes involved in the subchondral bone pathological process of OA. Fifty gene expression profiles of GSE51588 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The OA-associated genes and gene ontologies were acquired from JuniorDoc. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis was used to find disease-related networks based on 21756 gene expression correlation coefficients, hub-genes with the highest connectivity in each module were selected, and the correlation between module eigengene and clinical traits was calculated. The genes in the traits-related gene coexpression modules were subject to functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis using ClusterProfiler. A total of 73 gene modules were identified, of which, 12 modules were found with high connectivity with clinical traits. Five modules were found with enriched OA-associated genes. Moreover, 310 OA-associated genes were found, and 34 of them were among hub-genes in each module. Consequently, enrichment results indicated some key metabolic pathways, such as extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction (hsa04512), focal adhesion (hsa04510), the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)-Akt signaling pathway (PI3K-AKT) (hsa04151), transforming growth factor beta pathway, and Wnt pathway. We intended to identify some core genes, collagen (COL)6A3, COL6A1, ITGA11, BAMBI, and HCK, which could influence downstream signaling pathways once they were activated. In this study, we identified important genes within key coexpression modules, which associate with a pathological process of subchondral bone in OA. Functional analysis results could provide important information to understand the mechanism of OA.

An Elaborate Supramolecular Assembly for a Smart Nanodevice for Ratiometric Molecular Recognition and Logic Gates.

Ingenious approaches to supramolecular assembly for fabricating smart nanodevices is one of the more significant topics in nanomaterials research. Herein, by using surface quaternized cationic carbon dots (CDots) as the assembly and fluorescence platform, anionic sulfonatocalix[4]arene with modifiable lower and upper rims as a connector, as well as in situ coordination of Tb(3+) ions, we propose an elaborate supramolecular assembly strategy for the facile fabrication of a multifunctional nanodevice. The dynamic equilibrium characteristics of the supramolecular interaction can eventually endow this nanodevice with functions of fluorescent ratiometric molecular recognition and as a nano-logic gate with two output channels.