[Gait and neuromuscular activity changes in female older adults with knee osteoarthritis].

From November to December of 2018, twenty 65-year-old or older women patients with knee osteoarthritis were recruited from the Department of Physical Therapy, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. Meanwhile, twenty healthy 65-year-old or older women were recruited from the local community. The results showed that the knee contact angle of the patient group was more flexed (P=0.040), and the minimum angle of the knee joint increased (P=0.008) during the stance period compared to the healthy group. However, there was no significant difference in the maximum contact angle between the angle of hip and ankle joints. In addition, the tibialis anterior muscle of the patients was significantly smaller than the healthy group (P=0.023). Therefore, knee osteoarthritis could change the gait and muscle activity of older women, especially the knee joint.

Effect of everolimus on the expression of Ki-67 and caspase-3 in patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

Tumors, especially neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), can cause adverse effects on human health. The expression and significance of Ki-67 and caspase-3 in NET remain to be further explored. Everolimus is an important drug used for the treatment of NETs. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether everolimus exerts anti-tumor effects by suppressing the expression of Ki-67 and caspase-3 in NET. Tumor (different developmental stages) and adjacent tissues were collected from patients with NET. The expression of Ki-67 and caspase-3 were detected in 244 paraffin sections of NET using immunohistochemistry. RT-PCR and western blot were used to detect the expression of Ki-67 and caspase-3 at mRNA and protein levels, respectively. The patients (N = 244) were randomly divided into everolimus-intervention and control groups. RT-PCR and western blot were used to measure the expression changes of Ki-67 and caspase-3 before and after everolimus treatment. The rates of Ki-67 expression in NET grades 1-6 were 14.2, 22.1, 37.5, 59.9, 69.9, and 77.8%, respectively. The difference between the groups was significant. The rates of caspase-3 expression in NET grades 1-6 were 28.6, 33.3, 31.3, 60.0, 80.0, and 88.9%, respectively, and the difference between groups was significant. Moreover, the expression of Ki-67 and caspase-3 showed a significant negative correlation. The expression of Ki-67 decreased while that of caspase-3 increased after everolimus treatment. In conclusion, the decrease in Ki-67 expression and increase in caspase-3 expression after everolimus treatment indicated that everolimus exerted its anti-cancer effect by regulating the expression of Ki-67 and caspase-3.

[Clinicopathologic characteristics of thyroid-like follicular carcinoma of the kidney: an analysis of five cases and review of literature].

Objective: To study the clinicopathologic features of thyroid-like follicular renal cell carcinoma. Methods: Clinical data were collected in 5 cases of thyroid-like follicular renal cell carcinoma. HE staining and immunohistochemistry were carried out in surgically-removed specimen to analyze the clinical and pathological features with review of the literatures. Results: The patients aged 20-55 years, with one male and four females; the tumor occurred in the left kidney in three cases and right kidney in two cases. One case had a history of thyroid papillary carcinoma 3 years ago, and the patient had left flank pain, macroscopic haematuria for 2 weeks. The rest four cases had no consciousness of clinical symptoms and signs, without history of thyroid gland surgery; the physical examination found a mass in the kidney and normal thyroid glands. Three patients underwent radical nephrectomy, and the other two patients underwent tumor partial nephrectomy. The tumors were 2-4 cm in size. They showed a solitary nodular mass of well circumscribed with taupe and gray on cut surface. Microscopically, most of tumor cells arranged in thyroid follicular pattern in different sizes, with papillary configuration in a small portion, in four cases; the follicular structure was intermixed with the papillary each half in one case. A large amount of thyroid colloid was deposited within follicule-like structure or papillary axis, lined by simple columnar cells or cubic cells, with obvious atypia, ground-glass nuclei, nuclear groove and rare mitosis. Immunohistochemical staining showed tumor cells were positive for PAX8, and negative for thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF1) and thyroglobulin (Tg). One of five patients presented with lymph node metastases (4/4) of renal hilum the same time in the diagnosis. Five cases were followed up for 5-84 months after operation, and no tumor progression was found. Conclusions: Thyroid-like follicular renal cell carcinoma is primary renal epithelial malignant tumor. The diagnosis mainly depends on its characteristics of histological appearance, namely similar to the histological morphology of well-differentiated thyroid follicular carcinoma and papillary carcinoma, and the metastasis from the thyroid papillary or follicular carcinoma must be excluded. On the premise of clinical history, immunohistochemical markers TTF1 and Tg have certain value in the differential diagnosis.

Aberrantly high DEPDC1B expression leads to poor prognosis in patients with lower-grade gliomas.

OBJECTIVE: DEPDC1B, which encodes DEP domain-containing protein 1B, exerts pathogenic effects in diverse cancers, but no such effect has been reported in the case of lower-grade glioma (LGG). Therefore, we sought to investigate the relationship between DEPDC1B expression and the prognosis of patients with LGG and reveal the underlying molecular mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, RT-qPCR and immunohistochemical staining were used to examine DEPDC1B mRNA and protein expression in LGG. Second, transcriptomic data were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas databases to investigate the impact of DEPDC1B expression on LGG patients by using the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, receiver operating characteristic analysis and Cox models. Third, the effects of DEPDC1B on LGG cell proliferation and migration were revealed using wound-healing and Cell Counting Kit-8 assays and Ki67 immunofluorescence staining. Fourth, the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource database was used to examine how DEPDC1B affects the LGG immune microenvironment, and gene set enrichment analysis was used to uncover the signaling pathways in which DEPDC1B is involved in LGG. RESULTS: DEPDC1B was significantly upregulated in both LGG cells and tissues, and high expression of DEPDC1B contributed to poor prognosis of LGG patients and represented an independent risk factor for LGG. Moreover, DEPDC1B knockdown reduced the proliferation and migration abilities of LGG cells. Lastly, DEPDC1B was found to be positively associated with multiple immune infiltrates and immune-checkpoint markers. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate for the first time that DEPDC1B is a pathogenic gene in LGG. More importantly, we provide a new biomarker and immunotherapeutic target for improving the diagnosis and treatment of LGG patients.

SP1-induced lncRNA TUG1 regulates proliferation and apoptosis in islet cells of type 2 diabetes mellitus via the miR-188-3p/FGF5 axis.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the role of TUG1 in the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the potential mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Relative levels of TUG1 and SP1 in high-fat diet animal model and high-glucose cell model were detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), and their correlation was analyzed. Potential binding sites in the promoter sequences of TUG1 and SP1 were predicted using the JASPAR. Their interaction was further confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and Dual-Luciferase reporter assay. The influences of TUG1 on proliferative and apoptotic potentials in Min6 cells were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Subsequently, the interaction in the TUG1/miR-188-3p /FGF5 axis was similarly explored by Dual-Luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: SP1 and TUG1 were downregulated in high-fat and high-glucose models, and they displayed a positive correlation. TUG1 bound E2 region in SP1 promoters. Knockdown of TUG1 inhibited proliferative rate and induced apoptosis in high-glucose-treated Min6 cells. Furthermore, the TUG1 / miR-188-3p /FGF5 axis was identified to be responsible for regulating Min6 cell functions. CONCLUSIONS: SP1 induces TUG1 downregulation in T2DM cell models, which further regulates proliferative and apoptotic potentials in islet cells by activating the miR-188-3p/FGF5 axis.

Correlations between blood uric acid and the incidence and progression of type 2 diabetes nephropathy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationships between blood uric acid (BUA) level and the incidence, progression and deterioration of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of fifty patients with T2DM alone whose glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were under normal range (4-6.5%) at their admission to our hospital were randomly selected as diabetes mellitus (DM) group. Fifty patients with hyperuricemia alone were randomly selected as hyperuricemia (HUA) group. Fifty patients with T2DM complicated with hyperuricemia who were admitted to the hospital with HbAlc of 4-6.5% were randomly selected as diabetes mellitus hyperuricemia (DM-HUA) group. In addition, fifty healthy persons who passed the health examination were randomly selected as normal control (NC) group. The general data such as name and body mass index (BMI), metabolic-related indexes such as fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) as well as kidney-related indexes such as blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and albumin-creatinine-ratio (ACR) in four groups were tested and recorded at the same time. The interrelationships between uric acid (UA) and the above indexes were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: In DM-HUA group, serum TC, TG and low density lipoprotein (LDL) as well as urine ACE were greatly increased (p<0.05) compared with the other three groups, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was significantly decreased compared with the remaining three groups (p<0.05), and BMI and Cr were increased compared with those in NC group and DM group (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in metabolic indexes and renal functions in DM group and HUA group. Compared with NC group, TC, LDL, serum ß2 macroglobulin and BMI in above two groups were greatly increased (p<0.05); BUN and Cr in HUA group were slightly higher than those in NC group (p<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that UA level was the main factor affecting ACR (R2=0.636, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: UA level is an independent risk factor for early renal disease in patients with T2DM, which can promote the progression and deterioration of renal disease in T2DM patients.

Note: A simple feedback control method based on a real time acquisition voltage to avoid second breakdown of PFL.

To avoid serious damage in the pulse forming line (PFL) caused by repeated breakdown, a simple feedback control method based on a reverse peak voltage of the primary capacitor of the transformer is presented in this paper. The theoretical analysis of the breakdown circuit is carried out. The results indicate that once the breakdown occurs, the reverse peak voltage of the primary capacitor of the transformer increases obviously. A simple comparison function is added in the control system of the accelerator. If the collected reverse peak voltage of the primary capacitor is higher than the reference value, then the accelerator stops working immediately. The experimental result shows that this method can prevent the re-breakdown of the PFL effectively.

Carbides and possible hydrogen irreversible trapping sites in ultrahigh strength round steel.

The carbides in ultrahigh strength round steel have been investigated by using laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in this paper. Two kinds of carbides are found and one is iron carbide M6C, where carbide formation elements Cr, Mn and Mo replace partial Fe, while the other is niobium carbide MC, where M includes V and Mo besides Nb. These two carbides, due to their different evaporation field, have various densities in reconstructed image of APT. After correction, the hydrogen content within these two carbides illustrates that M6C cannot trap hydrogen, while MC can. The different behaviors in trapping hydrogen between these two carbides may result from elements Fe or Cr in M6C carbide having weaker affinity for hydrogen than Nb and V have in MC.

Application of nerve growth factor by gel increases formation of bone in mandibular distraction osteogenesis in rabbits.

The long period of bony consolidation is a concern in mandibular distraction osteogenesis (DO). We have previously shown that repeated local injections of human nerve growth factor beta (NGFß) can appreciably improve bony consolidation in a rabbit model of DO. The present study was designed to test the effect of a single injection of human NGFß delivered by collagen/nano-hydroxyapatite/kappa-carrageenan gels to sites of new bony formation in DO. Rabbits underwent mandibular DO at a rate of 0.75 mm/12h for 6 days. At the end of the distraction period, the following injections were given percutaneously into the callus (n=6 in each of the four groups): human NGFß in the gel; human NGFß in saline; the gels alone; and saline alone. Fourteen days after the end of distraction, mechanical testing, histological and histomorphometric variables of the new bone were evaluated. Histologically, the NGFß group had more advanced consolidation than the other three groups. Both maximal load and bone volume/total volume in this group were significantly higher than in the other three (P<0.05). In conclusion, the delivery of human NGFß in the gels results in better acceleration of new bone formation than when it is given in saline, and may be a possible way to shorten the duration of craniofacial DO.

Cloning and expression of heat-labile enterotoxin operon of an enterotoxigenic human Escherichia coli strain.

Plasmid pJY11 of the Escherichia coli H10407 strain was isolated and completely digested with restriction endonuclease PstI in order to isolate the heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) operon. The resulting fragments were then separated by electrophoresis on agarose gel, and the location of the LT region in pJY11 was determined by Southern hybridization. The LT region was found to be located on a 5.3 kb fragment of pJY11. This fragment was recovered and subsequently ligated to PstI-linearized pUC8 DNA. After transformation and selection, a clone that effectively expressed LT was obtained. Biological and immunological assays showed the LT synthesized by this clone to be biologically and immunologically identical to that synthesized by the parent E. coli strain H10407; the LT production level of this recombinant strain was 15 times greater.