Associations between ERα/ß gene polymorphisms and osteoporosis susceptibility and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have reported associations between estrogen receptor (ER) gene polymorphisms and postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) risk and bone mineral density (BMD), but the results are controversial. The aim of the present meta-analysis is to verify the association between ERα and ERß gene polymorphisms and osteoporosis susceptibility and BMD in postmenopausal women. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library and China WeiPu Library were searched. OR and WMD with 95% CI were calculated to assess the association. RESULTS: Overall, no significant association was observed between ERα XbaI, ERα PvuII and PMOP susceptibility in either overall, Caucasian or Asian populations. ERα G2014A was significantly associated with a decreased risk of PMOP in Caucasian populations. There was a significant association between ERß RsaI and PMOP risk in both overall and Asian populations. Caucasian PMOP women with ERα XbaI XX and Xx genotypes had a higher LS Z value than women with xx genotype. ERα XbaI XX genotype was associated with increased FN BMD in overall and Caucasian populations, an increased FN Z value in Asians, and a decreased FN Z value in Caucasians. There was also a significant association between ERα XbaI Xx genotype and an increased FN Z value in either Asians or Caucasians. ERα PvuII PP genotype was associated with a low LS Z value in Caucasians and a low FN BMD and Z value in Asians. Pp genotype in PMOP women was significantly correlated with low LS BMD in overall populations, a low FN Z value in either overall, Caucasian or Asian populations. CONCLUSION: Each ERα and ERß gene polymorphism might have different impact on PMOP risk and BMD in various ethnicities.

Comparison of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extraction from two different activated sludges.

The characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extracted with five different extraction protocols from two different activated sludges were studied. The results showed that the major EPS constituent extracted by centrifugation was protein for the sludge in sequencing batch reactor treating chemical wastewater, and nucleic acid for the sludge in moving bed biofilm reactor treating synthetic urban wastewater. The order of EPS extraction amounting from the two sludges was formaldehyde + NaOH > formaldehyde + heating > EDTA > heating > centrifugation. The different extraction methods, the wastewater type, and activated sludge source greatly affected the amount and composition of EPS. The chemical extracted methods were more effective than the physical methods in extracting EPS for the two sludges. Moreover, formaldehyde combined NaOH was most effective in extracting EPS for the two sludges. However, chemical extraction could contaminate the EPS solution, which was pointed out by infra-red analysis and was also proved by cell lyses during EPS extraction and carrying over of the chemical extractant. Therefore, this study highlights that the choice of EPS extraction method should consider both the extraction yield and content and the contamination of extracting reagents to the EPS solution. The extraction procedures should be optimized and most effective.

Inorganic fractions in extracellular polymeric substance extracted from activated sludge and biofilm samples by different methods.

This study highlighted the inorganic fractions in the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) extract from two activated sludges and one biofilm. Nine EPS extraction methods (centrifugation, sonication, cation exchange resin (CER) + sonication, CER, heating, formaldehyde + heating, formaldehyde + NaOH, ethanol and EDTA) were used in the study. The EPS extracts had large inorganic fractions, which ranged from 28% to 94% of the EPS dry weight. The EPS inorganic fraction was dependent on the source of the sludge and wastewater, the kinds of bacteria and the extraction method. The EPS extracts obtained by heating and sonication had smaller inorganic fractions than those obtained by centrifugation. The compositions of the inorganic fraction of EPS extracts obtained with CER and sonication + CER showed similar trends. The chemical extraction methods could contaminate the inorganic composition of EPS extracts by impurities, carrying over of the extractant itself or by changing the pH of the solution. Ethanol was the most effective extractant for obtaining inorganic ions.

Silencing of Aurora kinase A by RNA interference inhibits tumor growth in human osteosarcoma cells by inducing apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest.

The overexpression of Aurora kinase A (AURKA), a member of serine/threonine kinase family, has been observed in various types of human cancers. However, the role of AURKA in osteosarcoma (OS), the most common type of primary malignancy arising from bone, has not been clarified. We used AURKA-specific lentivirus-delivered short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to significantly and sustainably silence the endogenous AURKA expression in human OS cells SAOS-2 and U2OS. We found that AURKA downregulation in OS cells prominently decreased colony formation ability in vitro and tumorigenesis ability in vivo. We further evaluated the effect of AURKA silence on cell viability by MTT assay, cell apoptosis and cell cycle by flow cytometer detection. The results showed that AURKA silence inhibited cell viability by inducing cell apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest in OS cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that AURKA plays a crucial role on OS growth by inhibiting cell apoptosis and propelling cell cycle. Inhibition of AURKA by lentivirus-delivered specific shRNA showed the therapeutic potential in treatment of osteosarcoma.

A study on screening of osteosarcoma U2OS cell inhibiting active components from nidus vespae.

This paper mainly examined the anti-osteosarcoma activity of total flavonoids extract from traditional Chinese medicine, nidus vespae. Orthogonal design was used to design the extraction process of total flavonoids. L(3(4)) orthogonal test was performed and the extracts obtained by three optimal extraction processes were used for anti-tumour activity screening in order to determine the optimal anti-tumour effective component of nidus vespae. MTT assay was used to investigate the effect of nidus vespae extract on proliferation activity of osteosarcoma cells. Meanwhile, U2OS cell inhibitory capacities of extracts in three groups with higher total flavonoid contents were investigated and compared, and inhibition rates were calculated. The results showed that the optimal extraction process was ethanol concentration of 95%, 12-fold amount of ethanol relative to the weight of medicinal material, extraction times of 3 times, and extraction time of 2 hours. 9 extraction processes all showed proportional trend of cancer cell inhibition rate to extract concentration.

Impact of fly ash and phosphatic rock on metal stabilization and bioavailability during sewage sludge vermicomposting.

Sewage sludge (SS) was mixed with different proportions of fly ash (FA) and phosphoric rock (PR), as passivators, and earthworms, Eisenia fetida, were introduced to allow vermicomposting. The earthworm growth rates, reproduction rates, and metal (except Zn and Cd) concentrations were significantly higher in the vermireactors containing FA and PR than in the treatments without passivators. The total organic carbon (TOC) and total metal concentrations in the mixtures decreased, and the mixtures were brought to approximately pH 7 during vermicomposting. There were significant differences in the decreases in the metal bioavailability factors (BFs) between the passivator and control treatments, and adding 20% FA (for Cu and Zn) or 20% PR (for Pb, Cd, and As) to the vermicompost were the most effective treatments for mitigating metal toxicity. The BF appeared to be dependent on TOC in the all treatments, but was not closely dependent on pH in the different vermibeds.

[Rainfall redistribution in subalpine Quercus aquifolioides forest in upper reaches of Minjiang River].

Based on the meteorological data from June to September 2007, the rainfall redistribution in subalpine Quercus aquifolioides forest in the upper reaches of Minjiang River was investigated by permanent plot method. The results showed that the total rainfall outside the forest was 486.7 mm, and the throughfall, stemflow, and canopy interception accounted for 82.6%, 0.9%, and 16.5% of the total rainfall, respectively. The throughfall and stemflow had significant linear relationships with rainfall (P < 0.01, n = 49), and the relationships of throughfall ratio and stemflow ratio with rainfall could be described with nonlinear curves. When the rainfall outside the forest was more than 3.2 mm, stemflow would happen, and there existed a significant exponential (R2 = 0.623) relationship between the stemflow volume and the tree basal area. The canopy interception rate decreased hyperbolically with the increase of rainfall, being significantly negatively correlated with the rainfall amount, duration, and intensity as well as the air relative humidity during rainfall (P < 0.01, n = 49), but positively correlated with wind velocity (P < 0.01, n = 49).