Prenatal chromosomal microarray analysis and karyotyping in fetuses with isolated choroid plexus cyst: A retrospective case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the the diagnostic yield of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) in fetuses with isolated CPC (iCPC). METHODS: A total of 315 fetuses with iCPC (iCPC group) and 364 fetuses without abnormal ultrasound findings (control group) were recruited between July 2014 to March 2018. RESULTS: The overall diagnostic yield of chromosomal abnormalities by CMA and karyotyping in iCPC group was up to 4.1 %, higher than 1.4 % in the control group, p < 0.05. The detection rate of pathogenic or likely pathogenic copy number variants (CNVs) with clinical significance by CMA in iCPC group (1.3 %) was higher than in control group (0 %), p < 0.05. According to the type of chromosome abnormalities, the missed diagnosis rate of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) was 1.6 % in our study. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of iCPC on ultrasound examination suggests a potential indication for genetic counseling. Karyotyping and chromosomal microarray analysis may be considered for fetuses with iCPC. It is important to be aware of the limitations of non-invasive prenatal testing, as there is a possibility of residual risk.

Nano-matrixes propped self-enhanced electrochemiluminescence biosensor for microRNA detection.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are the potential biomarker for breast cancer, a biosensor for detecting miRNA-21 was successfully prepared by covalently linking carbohydrazide (CON4H6) and tris (4,4 '- dicarboxylic acid-2,2' - bipyridyl) ruthenium dichloride (Ru (dcbpy)32+) as a self-enhanced emitter (Ru-CON4H6). The biosensor was prepared by coating the electrode with mesoporous silica encapsulated Ru-CON4H6 as luminophores (RMSNs) to covalently link a couple of DNA strands (Q1-H2). The RMSNs coated electrode exhibited strong ECL emission due to the intramolecular electron transfer between the electrochemically oxidized Ru (dcbpy)32+ and co-reactant CON4H6. In the presence of target miRNA-21 and an assistant hairpin H1, H2 could be released from the surface through a strand displacement reaction (SDR), and the reserved Q1 could form G-quadruplex upon the addition of K+. The formed G-quadruplex then interacted with Q2-Fc in the presence of Mg2+ to form a DNA complex on the biosensor surface, which quenched the nano-matrixes propped self-enhanced ECL emission through the electron exchange between Fc and electrode or oxidized ECL intermediates. Under optimal conditions, the ECL decrease showed a correlation with target concentration, leading to a biosensing method for sensitive detection of miRNA-21. The proposed ECL method demonstrated a detectable concentration range from 0.1 fM to 1 nM along with a detection limit of 0.03 fM, good accuracy, and acceptable reproducibility, showing that the self-enhanced ECL biosensing strategy supported by nano-matrix provided a new way for the ultrasensitive detection of miRNA, and promoted the development of breast cancer diagnosis.

[Application of flat-sided culture tubes during prenatal diagnosis].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of using flat-sided culture tubes for preparing chromosomes through chorionic villi (CV) and amniotic fluid (AF) cell cultures during prenatal diagnosis. METHODS: From February to March 2020, 157 CV samples and 147 AF samples subjected to prenatal diagnosis at the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were selected as the study subjects. For each sample, one flat-sided tube and one flask culture were set up by following the standard protocols. The methods were evaluated by comparing the cell growth, experimental process, quality of chromosome preparation and costs. RESULTS: The success rates for the culturing of CV and AF samples by the flat-sided culture tube method were 97.45% (153/157) and 97.96% (144/147), respectively. By contrast, the success rates for the conventional flask method were 98.72% (155/157) for CV and 98.64% (145/147) for AF samples. No significant difference was found between the two methods (P > 0.05). The average harvest time required by the flat-sided culture tube method was 8.45 days for CV and 9.43 days for AF cultures, whilst the average harvest time for conventional flask method was 9.05 days and 9.54 days, respectively. The flat-sided culture tube method for CV had required significantly shorter average harvest time than the conventional method (P < 0.001). No statistical significant difference was found in the average harvest time for AF by the two methods (P > 0.05). The conventional culturing method had required three containers with two sample transfers. By contrast, the flat-sided culture tube method was carried out in one tube without any sample transfer. The average total amount of medium used was 3.91 mL for each flat-sided culture tube and 6.26 mL for each conventional flask. CONCLUSION: The flat-sided culture tube method can provide a simple, cost-effective and error-reducing procedure for the CV and AF samples culture during prenatal diagnosis.

Classification of clinical skin lesions with double-branch networks.

Introduction: Malignant skin lesions pose a great threat to the health of patients. Due to the limitations of existing diagnostic techniques, such as poor accuracy and invasive operations, malignant skin lesions are highly similar to other skin lesions, with low diagnostic efficiency and high misdiagnosis rates. Automatic medical image classification using computer algorithms can effectively improve clinical diagnostic efficiency. However, existing clinical datasets are sparse and clinical images have complex backgrounds, problems with noise interference such as light changes and shadows, hair occlusions, etc. In addition, existing classification models lack the ability to focus on lesion regions in complex backgrounds. Methods: In this paper, we propose a DBN (double branch network) based on a two-branch network model that uses a backbone with the same structure as the original network branches and the fused network branches. The feature maps of each layer of the original network branch are extracted by our proposed CFEBlock (Common Feature Extraction Block), the common features of the feature maps between adjacent layers are extracted, and then these features are combined with the feature maps of the corresponding layers of the fusion network branch by FusionBlock, and finally the total prediction results are obtained by weighting the prediction results of both branches. In addition, we constructed a new dataset CSLI (Clinical Skin Lesion Images) by combining the publicly available dataset PAD-UFES-20 with our collected dataset, the CSLI dataset contains 3361 clinical dermatology images for six disease categories: actinic keratosis (730), cutaneous basal cell carcinoma (1136), malignant melanoma (170) cutaneous melanocytic nevus (391), squamous cell carcinoma (298) and seborrheic keratosis (636). Results: We divided the CSLI dataset into a training set, a validation set and a test set, and performed accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, f1score, balanced accuracy, AUC summary, visualisation of different model training, ROC curves and confusion matrix for various diseases, ultimately showing that the network performed well overall on the test data. Discussion: The DBN contains two identical feature extraction network branches, a structure that allows shallow feature maps for image classification to be used with deeper feature maps for information transfer between them in both directions, providing greater flexibility and accuracy and enhancing the network's ability to focus on lesion regions. In addition, the dual branch structure of DBN provides more possibilities for model structure modification and feature transfer, and has great potential for development.

Identification of significant prognostic risk markers for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a bioinformatic analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify novel prognostic biomarkers of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) using bioinformatics analyzes. METHODS: Clinical information, microRNAs (miRNAs), and genes expression profile data from PDAC cases were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The potential prognostic risk miRNAs and genes were screened using the Elastic Net Cox proportional risk regression hazards (EN-COX) model. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the Kaplan-Meier (KM) curve were used to identify miRNAs and genes of significant prognostic risk. Furthermore, significant prognostic risk miRNAs were functional enrichment analyses based on their target genes. Furthermore, the survival analyzes of the hub genes were validated through OncoLnc. RESULTS: Complete clinical records and expression data of 797 miRNAs and 19969 genes from 137 PDAC cases were obtained, of which 59 potential prognostic risk factors, including 54 genes and 5 miRNAs, were selected by EN-COX analyzes. A total of 17 significant prognostic risk markers were identified (all P<0.05), including 16 genes and 1 miRNA (miRNA-125a). The miRNA-125a target genes were found in the MiRWalk database and the function enrichment analyzes were performed in the the DAVID website. Furthermore, according to data from the Oncomine and Human Protein Atlas (HPA) databases, the mRNA and protein level of frizzled class receptor 8 (FZD8) were overexpressed in pancreatic cancer tissues compared to the corresponding noncancer normal tissues (P<0.001). However, both glutathione S-transferase mu 4 (GSTM4) and inducible T cell costimulator ligand (ICOSLG) were negatively regulated in tissues of pancreatic cancer tissues (P<0.001). Finally, survival analysis was used to validate these factors by the OncoLnc database, and the results revealed that overexpression of ICOSLG was associated with a better prognosis (P=0.025). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the expression levels of FZD8, GSTM4 and ICOSLG were significantly different between PDAC and non-tumor tissues, especially ICOSLG, which could be a prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for PDAC.

Osteoblast Derived Exosomes Alleviate Radiation- Induced Hematopoietic Injury.

As hematopoietic stem cells can differentiate into all hematopoietic lineages, mitigating the damage to hematopoietic stem cells is important for recovery from overdose radiation injury. Cells in bone marrow microenvironment are essential for hematopoietic stem cells maintenance and protection, and many of the paracrine mediators have been discovered in shaping hematopoietic function. Several recent reports support exosomes as effective regulators of hematopoietic stem cells, but the role of osteoblast derived exosomes in hematopoietic stem cells protection is less understood. Here, we investigated that osteoblast derived exosomes could alleviate radiation damage to hematopoietic stem cells. We show that intravenous injection of osteoblast derived exosomes promoted WBC, lymphocyte, monocyte and hematopoietic stem cells recovery after irradiation significantly. By sequencing osteoblast derived exosomes derived miRNAs and verified in vitro, we identified miR-21 is involved in hematopoietic stem cells protection via targeting PDCD4. Collectively, our data demonstrate that osteoblast derived exosomes derived miR-21 is a resultful regulator to radio-protection of hematopoietic stem cells and provide a new strategy for reducing radiation induced hematopoietic injury.

Anoctamin 1 controls bone resorption by coupling Cl- channel activation with RANKL-RANK signaling transduction.

Osteoclast over-activation leads to bone loss and chloride homeostasis is fundamental importance for osteoclast function. The calcium-activated chloride channel Anoctamin 1 (also known as TMEM16A) is an important chloride channel involved in many physiological processes. However, its role in osteoclast remains unresolved. Here, we identified the existence of Anoctamin 1 in osteoclast and show that its expression positively correlates with osteoclast activity. Osteoclast-specific Anoctamin 1 knockout mice exhibit increased bone mass and decreased bone resorption. Mechanistically, Anoctamin 1 deletion increases intracellular Cl- concentration, decreases H+ secretion and reduces bone resorption. Notably, Anoctamin 1 physically interacts with RANK and this interaction is dependent upon Anoctamin 1 channel activity, jointly promoting RANKL-induced downstream signaling pathways. Anoctamin 1 protein levels are substantially increased in osteoporosis patients and this closely correlates with osteoclast activity. Finally, Anoctamin 1 deletion significantly alleviates ovariectomy induced osteoporosis. These results collectively establish Anoctamin 1 as an essential regulator in osteoclast function and suggest a potential therapeutic target for osteoporosis.

3' untranslated region of Ckip-1 inhibits cardiac hypertrophy independently of its cognate protein.

AIMS: 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of mRNA is more conserved than other non-coding sequences in vertebrate genomes, and its sequence space has substantially expanded during the evolution of higher organisms, which substantiates their significance in biological regulation. However, the independent role of 3' UTR in cardiovascular disease was largely unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using bioinformatics, RNA fluorescent in situ hybridization and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, we found that 3' UTR and coding sequence regions of Ckip-1 mRNA exhibited diverse expression and localization in cardiomyocytes. We generated cardiac-specific Ckip-1 3' UTR overexpression mice under wild type and casein kinase 2 interacting protein-1 (CKIP-1) knockout background. Cardiac remodelling was assessed by histological, echocardiography, and molecular analyses at 4 weeks after transverse aortic constriction (TAC) surgery. The results showed that cardiac Ckip-1 3' UTR significantly inhibited TAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy independent of CKIP-1 protein. To determine the mechanism of Ckip-1 3' UTR in cardiac hypertrophy, we performed transcriptome and metabolomics analyses, RNA immunoprecipitation, biotin-based RNA pull-down, and reporter gene assays. We found that Ckip-1 3' UTR promoted fatty acid metabolism through AMPK-PPARα-CPT1b axis, leading to its protection against pathological cardiac hypertrophy. Moreover, Ckip-1 3' UTR RNA therapy using adeno-associated virus obviously alleviates cardiac hypertrophy and improves heart function. CONCLUSIONS: These findings disclose that Ckip-1 3' UTR inhibits cardiac hypertrophy independently of its cognate protein. Ckip-1 3' UTR is an effective RNA-based therapy tool for treating cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.

Targeting E3 Ubiquitin Ligase WWP1 Prevents Cardiac Hypertrophy Through Destabilizing DVL2 via Inhibition of K27-Linked Ubiquitination.

BACKGROUND: Without adequate treatment, pathological cardiac hypertrophy induced by sustained pressure overload eventually leads to heart failure. WWP1 (WW domain-containing E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1) is an important regulator of aging-related pathologies, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of WWP1 in pressure overload-induced cardiac remodeling and heart failure is yet to be determined. METHODS: To examine the correlation of WWP1 with hypertrophy, we analyzed WWP1 expression in patients with heart failure and mice subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC) by Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. TAC surgery was performed on WWP1 knockout mice to assess the role of WWP1 in cardiac hypertrophy, heart function was examined by echocardiography, and related cellular and molecular markers were examined. Mass spectrometry and coimmunoprecipitation assays were conducted to identify the proteins that interacted with WWP1. Pulse-chase assay, ubiquitination assay, reporter gene assay, and an in vivo mouse model via AAV9 (adeno-associated virus serotype 9) were used to explore the mechanisms by which WWP1 regulates cardiac remodeling. AAV9 carrying cardiac troponin T (cTnT) promoter-driven small hairpin RNA targeting WWP1 (AAV9-cTnT-shWWP1) was administered to investigate its rescue role in TAC-induced cardiac dysfunction. RESULTS: The WWP1 level was significantly increased in the hypertrophic hearts from patients with heart failure and mice subjected to TAC. The results of echocardiography and histology demonstrated that WWP1 knockout protected the heart from TAC-induced hypertrophy. There was a direct interaction between WWP1 and DVL2 (disheveled segment polarity protein 2). DVL2 was stabilized by WWP1-mediated K27-linked polyubiquitination. The role of WWP1 in pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy was mediated by the DVL2/CaMKII/HDAC4/MEF2C signaling pathway. Therapeutic targeting WWP1 almost abolished TAC induced heart dysfunction, suggesting WWP1 as a potential target for treating cardiac hypertrophy and failure. CONCLUSIONS: We identified WWP1 as a key therapeutic target for pressure overload induced cardiac remodeling. We also found a novel mechanism regulated by WWP1. WWP1 promotes atypical K27-linked ubiquitin multichain assembly on DVL2 and exacerbates cardiac hypertrophy by the DVL2/CaMKII/HDAC4/MEF2C pathway.

Breast cancer exosomes contribute to pre-metastatic niche formation and promote bone metastasis of tumor cells.

Rationale: Breast cancer preferentially develops osteolytic bone metastasis, which makes patients suffer from pain, fractures and spinal cord compression. Accumulating evidences have shown that exosomes play an irreplaceable role in pre-metastatic niche formation as a communication messenger. However, the function of exosomes secreted by breast cancer cells remains incompletely understood in bone metastasis of breast cancer. Methods: Mouse xenograft models and intravenous injection of exosomes were applied for analyzing the role of breast cancer cell-derived exosomes in vivo. Effects of exosomes secreted by the mildly metastatic MDA231 and its subline SCP28 with highly metastatic ability on osteoclasts formation were confirmed by TRAP staining, ELISA, microcomputed tomography, histomorphometric analyses, and pit formation assay. The candidate exosomal miRNAs for promoting osteoclastogenesis were globally screened by RNA-seq. qRT-PCR, western blot, confocal microscopy, and RNA interfering were performed to validate the function of exosomal miRNA. Results: Implantation of SCP28 tumor cells in situ leads to increased osteoclast activity and reduced bone density, which contributes to the formation of pre-metastatic niche for tumor cells. We found SCP28 cells-secreted exosomes are critical factors in promoting osteoclast differentiation and activation, which consequently accelerates bone lesion to reconstruct microenvironment for bone metastasis. Mechanistically, exosomal miR-21 derived from SCP28 cells facilitates osteoclastogenesis through regulating PDCD4 protein levels. Moreover, miR-21 level in serum exosomes of breast cancer patients with bone metastasis is significantly higher than that in other subpopulations. Conclusion: Our results indicate that breast cancer cell-derived exosomes play an important role in promoting breast cancer bone metastasis, which is associated with the formation of pre-metastatic niche via transferring miR-21 to osteoclasts. The data from patient samples further reflect the significance of miR-21 as a potential target for clinical diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer bone metastasis.

Psychometric properties of the Breast Cancer Awareness Measurement among Chinese women: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To perform the cross-cultural adaption of the Breast Cancer Awareness Measurement (BCAM) and to test its psychometric properties among Chinese women. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study. SETTINGS: This study was conducted in communities, schools and institutions in Changchun, Jilin Province, China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 328 women voluntarily participated in and completed the Chinese version of the BCAM (C-BCAM), resulting in an effective response rate of 91.1%. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychometric properties, including item analysis (the extreme group comparison and item-total correlations), content validity (item-level content validity index (I-CVI) and scale-level content validity index (S-CVI)), construct validity (exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)) and internal consistency (Cronbach's α and test-retest reliability), were measured. RESULTS: The C-BCAM has excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.90), with alpha coefficients of 0.88, 0.84 and 0.94 for its three domains. The test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.72. The I-CVI ranged from 0.86 to 1.00, and the S-CVI was 0.92. CFA showed that the three-factor model explained 51.56% of the total variance, with a good model fit (likelihood ratio χ2/df=1.86, incremental fit index=0.94, comparative fit index=0.94, goodness-of-fit index=0.84, adjusted goodness-of-fit index=0.80, standardised root mean square error of approximation=0.06 and root mean square residual=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The C-BCAM has satisfactory validity and reliability and is a culturally appropriate and reliable tool for evaluating breast cancer awareness among Chinese women. This reliable instrument can help researchers and health professionals evaluate women's knowledge about the symptoms and risk factors of breast cancer and identify their barriers to seeking medical help. It also helps healthcare providers identify women with poor breast cancer awareness and encourage them to perform screening practice.

miR-214 stimulated by IL-17A regulates bone loss in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

OBJECTIVE: Bone loss is common in AS, and miR-214 plays an important role in regulating bone formation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of miR-214, the production of which is stimulated by IL-17A, on bone loss in AS. METHODS: Peripheral blood was obtained from 32 patients with AS and 24 healthy controls. Levels of IL-17A, soluble RANK ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin in serum were evaluated by ELISA, and the relative level of miR-214 in serum was detected by real-time quantitative PCR. In addition, we assessed the relationship between levels of miR-214, IL-17A and bone loss in primary murine osteoblasts and mouse bone marrow cells. RESULTS: The expression of RANKL and miR-214 in osteoblasts was increased following stimulation by IL-17A, and osteoblasts stimulated by IL-17A promoted the expression of miR-214 in osteoclasts and the activity of osteoclasts. We showed that osteoblast-derived miR-214 could be transferred to osteoclasts and could then regulate their activity. The levels of IL-17A and miR-214 were much higher in the serum of patients with AS than in that of healthy controls, and the relative level of miR-214 was positively correlated with the level of IL-17A in the serum and synovial fluid of the patients with AS, not healthy controls. The level of miR-214 in the serum of AS patients has potential diagnostic value. CONCLUSION: The production of miR-214 in osteoblasts is stimulated by IL-17A. It is an important inhibitor of bone formation in AS, and the serum level of miR-214 might be of potential diagnostic value for AS.

AAV-Anti-miR-214 Prevents Collapse of the Femoral Head in Osteonecrosis by Regulating Osteoblast and Osteoclast Activities.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head, an intractable but common disease that eventually triggers collapse of the femoral head, is characterized by increased osteoclast activity and markedly decreased osteoblast activity in the necrotic region of the femoral head. MicroRNA (miRNA)-214 (miR-214) may play important roles in vertebrate skeletal development by inhibiting osteoblast function by targeting activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and promoting osteoclast function via phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). This study revealed significantly increased levels of miR-214 in necrotic regions, with commensurate changes in the numbers of its target cells (both osteoblasts and osteoclasts). To investigate whether targeting miR-214 could prevent femoral head collapse, we constructed an adeno-associated virus (AAV)-associated anti-miR-214 (AAV-anti-miR-214) and evaluated its function in vivo. AAV-anti-miR-214 promoted osteoblast activity and diminished osteoclast activity, effectively preventing collapse of the femoral head in a rat model of osteonecrosis.

Complementary and alternative medicine for natural and treatment-induced vasomotor symptoms: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) are very common in menopausal populations and cancer patients and can cause physical and mental discomfort. We aim to summarize the findings of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) that assessed the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicines(CAMs)on VMS to provide solid evidence for future practice. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched from inception to May 2019 to identify relevant SRs/MAs. The methodological quality of SRs/MAs and evidence levels of the outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 29 SRs/MAs were reviewed. Evidence has shown that acupuncture, hypnosis, paced respiration, cognitive behavioural therapy, genistein, soy isoflavones, S-equol, combined preparations of black cohosh, and omega-3 supplements could significantly reduce VMS. The methodological quality of the SRs/MAs was moderate or high. CONCLUSION: CAMs might be beneficial for reducing VMS, but the evidence levels were not high. Several priorities for future practice were identified.

Tools for the assessment of breast cancer screening beliefs in women: a literature review.

Aim: This review aims to compare the development, characteristics and validity of three widely used breast cancer screening belief tools (the Champion's Health Belief Model Scale [CHBMS], the Breast Module of a Cancer Awareness Measures [BCAM] and the Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Questionnaire [BCSBQ]). Materials & methods: Literature reports were retrieved from electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library, and other references. All three tools had good reliability and validity. Certain significant differences between these tools should be noted. Results: CHBMS, BCAM and BCSBQ are valid and reliable instruments within certain populations. Due to the high heterogeneity among the targeted population, their characteristics and those of the instruments should be fully considered for clinical decision-making. Conclusion: The conclusion of this review contributes to the development of a more comprehensive and objective instruments based on the deficiencies of the existing studies.

TMCO1-mediated Ca2+ leak underlies osteoblast functions via CaMKII signaling.

Transmembrane and coiled-coil domains 1 (TMCO1) is a recently identified Ca2+ leak channel in the endoplasmic reticulum. TMCO1 dysfunction in humans is associated with dysmorphism, mental retardation, glaucoma and the occurrence of cancer. Here we show an essential role of TMCO1 in osteogenesis mediated by local Ca2+/CaMKII signaling in osteoblasts. TMCO1 levels were significantly decreased in bone from both osteoporosis patients and bone-loss mouse models. Tmco1-/- mice exhibited loss of bone mass and altered microarchitecture characteristic of osteoporosis. In the absence of TMCO1, decreased HDAC4 phosphorylation resulted in nuclear enrichment of HADC4, which leads to deacetylation and degradation of RUNX2, the master regulator of osteogenesis. We further demonstrate that TMCO1-mediated Ca2+ leak provides local Ca2+ signals to activate the CaMKII-HDAC4-RUNX2 signaling axis. The establishment of TMCO1 as a pivotal player in osteogenesis uncovers a novel potential therapeutic target for ameliorating osteoporosis.

Self-efficacy and its influencing factors of breast cancer screening for female college students in China.

AIM: This investigation aimed to study the general self-efficacy level and its influential factors of breast cancer screening for the female college students in Changchun city of China. METHODS: A three-part questionnaire was designed to investigate 220 female college students' general self-efficacy for breast cancer screening and its associated factors and knowledge of breast cancer screening. The data were analyzed with spss 23.0 using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean total score of general self-efficacy for breast cancer screening was 22.2 ± 5.213 (average ± standard deviation [SD])). About 37.7% of participants had lower level of general self-efficacy for breast cancer screening. The average score of knowledge about breast cancer and screening was 5.26 ± 3.974 (average ± SD). About half (48.6%) of the students had poor breast cancer screening knowledge. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the level of breast cancer knowledge (P = 0.011) and sleep satisfaction (P = 0.008) were two predictive factors of good general self-efficacy for breast cancer screening in female college students. CONCLUSION: Female college students in Changchun did not have enough knowledge and self-efficacy to cope with the breast cancer screening through this survey. Therefore, primary healthcare professionals have the responsibility to improve their awareness of breast cancer screening by delivering enough breast cancer knowledge and implementing effective health promotion strategies to keep better health status and have satisfied sleep.

Hematopoietic stem cells and lineage cells undergo dynamic alterations under microgravity and recovery conditions.

Spaceflight leads to health risks including bone demineralization, skeletal muscle atrophy, cardiovascular dysfunction, and disorders of almost all physiologic systems. However, the impacts of microgravity on blood lineage cells and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in vivo are largely unknown. In this study, we analyzed peripheral blood samples from 6 astronauts who had participated in spaceflight missions and found significant changes in several cell populations at different time points. These dynamic alterations of lineage cells and the role of HSCs were further studied in a mouse model, using hindlimb unloading (HU) to simulate microgravity. Large reductions in the frequency of NK cells, B cells, and erythrocyte precursors in the bone marrow of the HU mice were observed, together with an increased frequency of T cells, neutrophils, and HSCs. T cell levels recovered faster than those of B cells and erythrocyte precursors, whereas the recovery rates of NK cells and granulocytes were slow. In addition, competitive reconstitution experiments demonstrated the impaired function of HSCs, although these changes were reversible. Deep sequencing showed changes in the expression of regulatory molecules important for the differentiation of HSCs. This study provides the first determination of altered HSC function under simulated microgravity in vivo. The impairment of HSC function and differentiation provides an explanation for the immune disorders that occur under simulated microgravity. Thus, our findings demonstrated that spaceflight and simulated microgravity disrupt the homeostasis of immune system and cause dynamic alterations on both HSCs and lineage cells.-Cao, D., Song, J., Ling, S., Niu, S., Lu, L., Cui, Z., Li, Y., Hao, S., Zhong, G., Qi, Z., Sun, W., Yuan, X., Li, H., Zhao, D., Jin, X., Liu, C., Wu, X., Kan, G., Cao, H., Kang, Y., Yu, S., Li, Y. Hematopoietic stem cells and lineage cells undergo dynamic alterations under microgravity and recovery conditions.

Fear of Cancer Recurrence: A Systematic Review of Randomized, Controlled Trials.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION: Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is prevalent among people with cancer; therefore, it is important to determine whether interventions offered to this population are effective in alleviating FCR. This review summarizes randomized, controlled trials in the literature about the effect of psychosocial interventions on FCR in people with cancer. LITERATURE SEARCH: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library. DATA EVALUATION: Extracted data included cancer type, number of participants, intervention type and duration, follow-ups, and primary and secondary outcomes. SYNTHESIS: 10 studies met inclusion criteria. Types of interventions included mindfulness-based therapy (n = 3), cognitive behavioral therapy (n = 4), psychoeducational interventions (n = 1), gratitude interventions (n = 1), and communication interventions (n = 1). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Psychosocial interventions are beneficial for alleviating FCR and positively affect depression, anxiety, and quality of life in people with cancer.