Parathyroid hormone-related protein as a potential prostate cancer biomarker: Promoting prostate cancer progression through upregulation of c-Met expression.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) plays a significant role in various tumor types, including prostate cancer. However, its specific role and underlying mechanisms in prostate cancer remain unclear. This study investigates the role of PTHrP and its interaction with the c-Met in prostate cancer. PTHrP was overexpressed and knocked down in prostate cancer cell lines to determine its effect on cell functions. Xenograft tumor models were employed to assess the impact of PTHrP overexpression on tumor growth. To delve into the interaction between PTHrP and c-Met, rescue experiments were conducted. Clinical data and tissue samples from prostate cancer patients were gathered and analyzed for PTHrP and c-Met expression. PTHrP overexpression in prostate cancer cells upregulates c-Met expression and augments cell functions. In contrast, PTHrP-knockdown diminishes c-Met expression and inhibits cell functions. In vivo experiments further demonstrated that PTHrP overexpression promoted tumor growth in xenograft models.Moreover, modulating c-Met expression in rescue experiments led to concurrent alterations in prostate cancer cell functions. Immunohistochemical analysis of clinical samples displayed a significant positive correlation between PTHrP and c-Met expression. Additionally, PTHrP expression correlated with clinical parameters like prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, tumor stage, lymph node involvement, distant metastasis, and Gleason score. PTHrP plays a crucial role in prostate cancer progression by upregulating c-Met expression. These insights point to PTHrP as a promising potential biomarker for prostate cancer.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of completely retroperitoneoscopic nephroureterectomy versus traditional retroperitoneoscopic nephroureterectomy in upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of completely retroperitoneoscopic nephroureterectomy (CRNU) for the treatment of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). METHODS: A systematic review of PubMed and Web of Science databases was conducted to identify trials comparing the outcomes of CRNU and other surgical procedures. A total of 6 case-control studies were selected for analysis. The efficacy and safety of CRNU were evaluated using mean difference or hazard ratio (HR) with 95% CIs, employing continuous or dichotomous method with a random or fixed-effect model. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA 11.0 software. RESULTS: The meta-analysis indicated that CRNU in subjects with UTUC was significantly associated with a shorter operation time (standardized mean difference, -1.36; 95% CI, -1.61 to -1.11, P < .001) and lower blood loss (standardized mean difference, -0.54; 95% CI, -0.77 to -0.31, P < .001) when compared to traditionally retroperitoneoscopic nephroureterectomy (TRNU). No significant difference was observed in the occurrence of grade I & II complications (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.49-2.2, P = .915) and total complications (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.38-1.27, P = .238) between CRNU and TRNU. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that CRNU is an advanced surgical technique that is safe and effective for the treatment of UTUC. We recommend that CRNU be further employed for patients with UTUC. Further randomized, multicenter trials are needed to validate these results, given the limitations of this study.

Development and validation of quantitative optical index of skin blood content.

SIGNIFICANCE: We present an approach to estimate with simple instrumentation the amount of red blood cells in the skin microvasculature, designated as parameter LRBC. Variations of parameter LRBC are shown to reflect local changes in the quantity of skin red blood cells during a venous occlusion challenge. AIM: To validate a simple algebraic model of light transport in skin using the Monte Carlo method and to develop a measure of the red blood cell content in skin microvessels using the Monte Carlo predictions; to guide the development of an instrument to measure experimentally variations of the amount of red blood cells in the skin. APPROACH: Monte Carlo simulations were carried out in a multilayer model of the skin to compute remitted light intensities as a function of distance from the illumination locus for different values of the skin blood content. The simulation results were used to compute parameter LRBC and its variations with local skin blood content. An experimental setup was developed to measure parameter LRBC in human volunteers in whom skin blood content of the forearm increased during temporary interruption of the venous outflow. RESULTS: In the simulations, parameter LRBC was ∼16 µm in baseline conditions, and it increased in near proportion with the blood content of the skin layers. Measuring the diffusely reflected light intensity 0.5 to 1.2 mm away from the illumination locus was optimal to detect appreciable changes of the reflected light intensity as skin blood content was altered. Parameter LRBC measured experimentally on the human forearm was 17 ± 2 µm in baseline conditions it increased at a rate of 4 ± 2 µm / min when venous outflow was temporarily interrupted. CONCLUSION: Parameter LRBC derived experimentally with a two-wavelength diffuse reflectometer can be used to measure local variations of the amount of red blood cells in skin microvessels.

Interactive Effects on Motor Performance of Mindfulness, Performance Under Pressure, Self-Talk, and Motor Task Characteristics.

High mindfulness individuals have been found to perform better on motor tasks under various conditions, but it is unknown whether mindfulness and performance relate when performing under pressure or using different types of self-talk with different motor tasks. In this study, 46 male participants (Mage = 21.4, SD = 1.72 years) with high mindfulness (n = 23) and low mindfulness (n = 23) performed dart-throwing and two-hand coordination tasks under pressure and non-pressure conditions and when using instructional and unrelated self-talk. First, on the two-hand coordination task, a three-way mixed ANOVA found: (a) a significant 3-way interaction in which a significantly poorer performance occurred under pressure (vs. without pressure), with low (vs. high) mindfulness and when using unrelated (vs. instructional) self-talk and (b) a significant interaction in which, both under pressure and not, both high and low mindfulness participants performed comparably when using instructional (vs. unrelated) self-talk. Second, on the dart-throwing task, mindfulness interacted with self-talk such that both high and low mindfulness participants performed better when using instructional self-talk, and pressure interacted with self-talk such that participants using instructional (vs. unrelated) self-talk performed better in both pressure and non-pressure conditions. We concluded that instructional self-talk was a useful cognitive strategy, perhaps particularly in pressure conditions and regardless of the degree of mindfulness, and its effectiveness extended to two different motor tasks. We discussed the theoretical implications of these findings, in terms of attention theory, self-talk, and motor control; and we highlighted our study's limitations and practical applications and gave recommendations for future research.

Effects of 17ß-Estradiol on growth-related genes expression in female and male spotted scat (Scatophagus argus).

Growth hormone (GH) is the most important endocrine factor to regulate somatic growth. Spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) is a famous marine aquaculture species in China with a typical sexual growth dimorphism in which females grow faster and larger than males. In this study, gh messenger RNA (gh mRNA) and GH protein expression were examined in the pituitary glands of female and male spotted scat. Based on qPCR analysis, gh mRNA was mainly expressed in the pituitary gland, and weakly in the gonads and hypothalamus. Furthermore, gh mRNA expression in the pituitary gland was significantly higher in females at stages II-IV than in males at stages III-V. In addition, gh mRNA was highly expressed in the ovary and testis during mature development stages. In this study, spotted scat GH polyclonal antibody was produced. Western blot analysis showed that the molecular weight of spotted scat GH was about 21 KDa. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) in pituitary glands showed that GH was mainly expressed in the proximal pars distal (PPD) and a few cells were distributed in the rostral pairs distal (RPD). After injecting 17ß-Estradiol (E2) in vivo, gh mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated in the pituitary gland, whereas igf1 and ghr1 mRNA levels were down-regulated in the liver, which might regulate gh mRNA expression in the pituitary gland. These results provide valuable insight into the molecular mechanisms of E2 regulating gh expression in spotted scat.

Image-based ß-adrenergic sweat rate assay captures minimal cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator function.

BACKGROUND: There is a need to prognosticate the severity of cystic fibrosis (CF) detected by newborn screening (NBS) by early assessment of CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein function. We introduce novel instrumentation and protocol for evaluating CFTR activity as reflected by ß-adrenergically stimulated sweat secretion. METHODS: A pixilated image sensor detects sweat rates. Compounds necessary for maximum sweat gland stimulation are applied by iontophoresis, replacing ID injections. Results are compared to a validated ß-adrenergic assay that measures sweat secretion by evaporation (evaporimetry). RESULTS: Ten healthy controls (HC), 6 heterozygous (carriers), 5 with CFTR-related metabolic syndrome (CRMS)/CF screen-positive, inconclusive diagnosis (CFSPID), and 12 CF individuals completed testing. All individuals with minimal and residual function CFTR mutations had low ratios of ß-adrenergically stimulated sweat rate to cholinergically stimulated sweat rate (ß/chol) as measured by either assay. CONCLUSIONS: ß-Adrenergic assays quantitate CFTR dysfunction in the secretory pathway of sweat glands in CF and CRMS/CFSPID populations. This novel image-sensor and iontophoresis protocol detect CFTR function with minimal and residual function and is a feasible test for young children because it is insensible to movement and it decreases the number of injections. It may also assist to distinguish between CF and CRMS/CFSPID diagnosis.

Cooperative Sensing Data Collection and Distribution with Packet Collision Avoidance in Mobile Long-Thin Networks.

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) have gained a lot of interests in research communities for the infrastructure-less self-organizing nature. A MANET with fleet cyclists using smartphones forms a two-tier mobile long-thin network (MLTN) along a common cycling route, where the high-tier network is composed of 3G/LTE interfaces and the low-tier network is composed of IEEE 802.11 interfaces. The low-tier network may consist of several path-like networks. This work investigates cooperative sensing data collection and distribution with packet collision avoidance in a two-tier MLTN. As numbers of cyclists upload their sensing data and download global fleet information frequently, serious bandwidth and latency problems may result if all members rely on their high-tier interfaces. We designed and analyzed a cooperative framework consisting of a distributed grouping mechanism, a group merging and splitting method, and a sensing data aggregation scheme. Through cooperation between the two tiers, the proposed framework outperforms existing works by significantly reducing the 3G/LTE data transmission and the number of 3G/LTE connections.

Exercise alters resting-state functional connectivity of motor circuits in parkinsonian rats.

Few studies have examined changes in functional connectivity after long-term aerobic exercise. We examined the effects of 4 weeks of forced running wheel exercise on the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of motor circuits of rats subjected to bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the dorsal striatum. Our results showed substantial similarity between lesion-induced changes in rsFC in the rats and alterations in rsFC reported in Parkinson's disease subjects, including disconnection of the dorsolateral striatum. Exercise in lesioned rats resulted in: (1) normalization of many of the lesion-induced alterations in rsFC, including reintegration of the dorsolateral striatum into the motor network; (2) emergence of the ventrolateral striatum as a new broadly connected network hub; and (3) increased rsFC among the motor cortex, motor thalamus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Our results showed for the first time that long-term exercise training partially reversed lesion-induced alterations in rsFC of the motor circuits, and in addition enhanced functional connectivity in specific motor pathways in the parkinsonian rats, which could underlie recovery in motor functions observed in these animals.

Exercise training reinstates cortico-cortical sensorimotor functional connectivity following striatal lesioning: development and application of a subregional-level analytic toolbox for perfusion autoradiographs of the rat brain.

Current rodent connectome projects are revealing brain structural connectivity with unprecedented resolution and completeness. How subregional structural connectivity relates to subregional functional interactions is an emerging research topic. We describe a method for standardized, mesoscopic-level data sampling from autoradiographic coronal sections of the rat brain, and for correlation-based analysis and intuitive display of cortico-cortical functional connectivity (FC) on a flattened cortical map. A graphic user interface "Cx-2D" allows for the display of significant correlations of individual regions-of-interest, as well as graph theoretical metrics across the cortex. Cx-2D was tested on an autoradiographic data set of cerebral blood flow (CBF) of rats that had undergone bilateral striatal lesions, followed by 4 weeks of aerobic exercise training or no exercise. Effects of lesioning and exercise on cortico-cortical FC were examined during a locomotor challenge in this rat model of Parkinsonism. Subregional FC analysis revealed a rich functional reorganization of the brain in response to lesioning and exercise that was not apparent in a standard analysis focused on CBF of isolated brain regions. Lesioned rats showed diminished degree centrality of lateral primary motor cortex, as well as neighboring somatosensory cortex-changes that were substantially reversed in lesioned rats following exercise training. Seed analysis revealed that exercise increased positive correlations in motor and somatosensory cortex, with little effect in non-sensorimotor regions such as visual, auditory, and piriform cortex. The current analysis revealed that exercise partially reinstated sensorimotor FC lost following dopaminergic deafferentation. Cx-2D allows for standardized data sampling from images of brain slices, as well as analysis and display of cortico-cortical FC in the rat cerebral cortex with potential applications in a variety of autoradiographic and histologic studies.

[Research progress of the side effect of the prostaglandin drugs].

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness , second to cataract. Lowering intraocular pressure is the most effective therapeutic means for this disease, with prostaglandin analogs as the first-line medication. These drugs are efficacious and safe, with well-tolerated local adverse effects. They are also generally regarded to have almost no systemic untoward effect. Nonetheless, with the continuous rise in their popularity, systemic adverse effects caused by topical ocular use of prostaglandins have attracted increasing attention. These adverse effects include digestive, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems, as well as skin and hair. Although the incidence of these adverse effects is low, physicians need to be aware of their occurrence. Research progress of the prostacyclin class lOP-lowering medication side effects are reviewed.

Cross-scale electric manipulations of cells and droplets by frequency-modulated dielectrophoresis and electrowetting.

Two important electric forces, dielectrophoresis (DEP) and electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD), are demonstrated by dielectric-coated electrodes on a single chip to manipulate objects on different scales, which results in a dielectrophoretic concentrator in an EWOD-actuated droplet. By applying appropriate electric signals with different frequencies on identical electrodes, EWOD and DEP can be selectively generated on the proposed chip. At low frequencies, the applied voltage is consumed mostly in the dielectric layer and causes EWOD to pump liquid droplets on the millimetre scale. However, high frequency signals establish electric fields in the liquid and generate DEP forces to actuate cells or particles on the micrometre scale inside the droplet. For better performance of EWOD and DEP, square and strip electrodes are designed, respectively. Mammalian cells (Neuro-2a) and polystyrene beads are successfully actuated by a 2 MHz signal in a droplet by positive DEP and negative DEP, respectively. Droplet splitting is achieved by EWOD with a 1 kHz signal after moving cells or beads to one side of the droplet. Cell concentration, measured by a cell count chamber before and after experiments, increases 1.6 times from 8.6 x 10(5) cells ml(-1) to 1.4 x 10(6) cells ml(-1) with a single cycle of positive DEP attraction. By comparing the cutoff frequency of the voltage drop in the dielectric layer and the cross-over frequency of Re(fCM) of the suspended particles, we can estimate the frequency-modulated behaviors between EWOD, positive DEP, and negative DEP. A proposed weighted Re(fCM) facilitates analysis of the DEP phenomenon on dielectric-coated electrodes.