The Suitable Population for Opportunistic Low Bone Mineral Density Screening Using Computed Tomography.

Objective: To explore the suitable population of CT value for predicting low bone mineral density (low-BMD). Methods: A total of 1268 patients who underwent chest CT examination and DXA within one-month period retrospectively analyzed. The CT attenuation values of trabecular bone were measured in mid-sagittal plane from thoracic vertebra 7 (T7). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the ability to diagnose low-BMD. Results: The AUC for diagnosing low BMD was larger in women than in men (0.894 vs 0.744, p < 0.05). The AUC increased gradually with the increase of age but decreased gradually with the increase in height and weight (p < 0.05). In females, when specificity was adjusted to approximately 90%, a threshold of 140.25 HU has a sensitivity of 69.3%, which is higher than the sensitivity of 36.5% in males for distinguishing low-BMD from normal. At the age of 70 or more, when specificity was adjusted to approximately 90%, a threshold of 126.31 HU has a sensitivity of 76.1%, which was higher than that of other age groups. Conclusion: For patients who had completed chest CTs, the CT values were more effective in predicting low-BMD in female, elderly, lower height, and lower weight patients.

HIV patients' bone loss before and after antiretroviral treatment and its possible mechanisms.

HIV infection has been reported to cause bone loss and a higher risk of fracture. Under normal conditions, bone metabolism is regulated by mesenchymal cells, osteoclasts differentiated from mononuclear macrophages, osteoblasts, and their expression of regulatory factors, such as receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), M-SCF, and transforming growth factor-beta. The balance between bone resorption and osteogenesis depends on the balance between osteoclasts and osteoblasts. In addition, some immune cells, such as B-cells, T-cells, and other non-immune cells expressing RANKL, can contribute to osteoporosis under inflammatory conditions. HIV proteins consist of three types: regulatory proteins, accessory proteins, and structural proteins, which contribute to HIV-mediated bone loss partly by upregulating NF-κB expression, tumor necrosis factor alpha content, and release of inflammatory cytokines. Even worse, although antiretroviral therapy has reduced HIV infection mortality and successfully transformed acquired immunodeficiency syndrome into a chronic disease, its impact on bone loss should not be overlooked, especially when the drug contains tenofovir. This review analyzes some reports focusing on the overall osteolytic situation due to imbalances in osteogenesis and bone resorption due to HIV infection and antiviral therapy. The intrinsic mechanism of bone loss provides a reference for researchers to analyze the risk factors for HIV patients complicated with bone loss and helps clinicians to provide ideas for the intervention and prevention of bone loss during clinical treatment and chronic disease management of HIV patients.

Comparison of Three Different Extraction Methods on Osmanthus Volatile Oil: Aroma and Biological Activity.

The osmanthus volatile oil was welcomed by consumers even if the high price since the unique and pleasant odor. Meanwhile, the low yield of osmanthus volatile oil restricts industrial production. In this work, an osmanthus volatile oil was obtained by means of a novel ultrasonic-assisted flash extraction method and was compared with the oil from hydrodistillation and supercritical fluid extraction on yield, aroma, and biological activities. The volatile oil obtained from the ultrasonic-assisted flash extraction was obtained with the petroleum ether and got a high yield at 3.51 % within a 40-min process, an increase of nearly 81 % from the single solvent extraction. This oil also showed a high aroma intensity and aroma compound concentration. Meanwhile, the oil also has the highest antioxidant ability but lower antibacterial activity against oil from hydrodistillation. It was considered that this work was helpful for the optimization of the extraction method of osmanthus volatile oil.

Study on the Effect of Mentha × piperita L. Essential Oil on Electroencephalography upon Stimulation with Different Visual Effects.

Essential oils have long been used to fight infections and treat various diseases. Peppermint (Mentha × piperita L.) is an herbal medicine that has been widely used in daily life since ancient times, and it has a wide range of applications in food, cosmetics, and medicine. Mint oil is refreshing because of its cool and comfortable smell; therefore, it is often used in ethnopharmacological studies. The present study investigated the effects of peppermint essential oil in electroencephalographic activity response to various visual stimuli. The electroencephalographic changes of participants during peppermint essential oil inhalation under white, red, and blue colour stimulations were recorded. A rapid Fourier transform analysis was used to examine the electroencephalograph power spectra of the various microstates induced by inhaling the oils. Peppermint essential oil had various effects on the brain when subjected to different visual stimuli. Alpha waves increased in the prefrontal area in the white-sniffing group, which facilitated learning and thinking. In the blue-sniffing group, the changes were less pronounced than those in the red group, and the increased alpha wave activity in the occipital area was more controlled, indicating that the participants' visual function increased in this state. Based on EEG investigations, this is the first study to indicate that vision influences the effects of peppermint essential oils. Hence, the results of this study support the use of essential oils in a broader context to serve as a resource for future studies on the effects of different types of essential oils.

LncRNA SNHG5 promotes the progression of osteosarcoma by sponging the miR-212-3p/SGK3 axis.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SNHG5 has been found to play an important role in tumors. Nevertheless, the function and mechanism of lncRNA SNHG5 in osteosarcoma (OS) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether lncRNA SNHG5 can regulate the occurrence and development of OS cells. METHODS: We performed quantitative real time PCR to detect the expression of lncRNA SNHG5 in OS cells. 143B, MG63 (knockdown) and U2OS, U2R (overexpression) cell lines were chosen for the function study of SNHG5. The effect of SNHG5, miR-212-3p, and SGK3 in OS cells was explored by MTT assays, clony formation, flow cytometry, transwell assays, wound healing assays, and cell spreading assays. Quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot analysis and luciferase assays were used to detect the interaction between lncRNA SNHG5 and miR-212-3p. RESULTS: In this study, knockdown of lncRNA SNHG5 suppressed the growth and metastasis of OS cells, whereas the overexpression of SNHG5 produced an opposite result. Mechanistically, lncRNA SNHG5 functions as a sponger against miR-212-3p and suppresses the miR-212-3p/SGK3 signaling pathway. Introduction of miR-212-3p mimics or inhibitors reverses SNHG5 overexpression or silences the exerted tumor promoting or suppressing effect. In addition, our results showed that the function of SNHG5 can be rescued by miR-212-3p and can regulate the growth and metastasis of OS cells via SGK3, the downstream target of miR-212-3p. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our study demonstrated that lncRNA SNHG5 can regulate the proliferation and metastasis of OS cells through the miR-212-3p/SGK3 axis. This axis may provide a new target for future clinical treatment.