Abdominal obesity as assessed by anthropometric measures associates with urinary incontinence in females: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2018.

BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence (UI) is significantly link to abdominal obesity. This study aimed to assess the association between anthropometric indices of abdominal obesity, including body roundness index (BRI), conicity index (CI), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and UI risk in adult females. METHODS: We analyzed data from 10, 317 adult females in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database (2005-2018). Weighted multivariable-adjusted regression analysis was conducted to determine the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between BRI, CI, WHtR, and UI. Stratified analyses revealed the association based on the population type. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were used to assess the predictive value of UI. RESULTS: All indices of abdominal obesity investigated were positively and independently associated with the prevalence and severity of three types of UI. After adjusting for all relevant confounding variables, a significantly positive association between BRI and the prevalence of UI were observed (OR quartile 4 vs. quartile 1: urge UI (UUI): 1.93, 95% CI 1.61-2.30; stress UI (SUI): 2.29, 95% CI 1.94-2.70; mixed UI (MUI): 2.26, 95% CI 1.82-2.82; all P < 0.0001, P for trend < 0.0001, respectively), as well as WHtR and CI, which particularly prominent for female in premenopausal. Moreover, a one-unit increment of BRI was significantly associated with an increased severity index of UUI (ß: 0.06, 95% CI 0.04-0.09, P < 0.0001), SUI (ß: 0.10, 95% CI 0.07-0.13, P < 0.0001) and MUI (ß: 0.07, 95% CI 0.04-0.10, P < 0.0001), which this trend was also observed in each subtype of UI for WHtR and CI. Furthermore, the ROC analysis demonstrated a higher diagnostic efficacy of BRI and WHtR compared with BMI in discriminating UI with an AUC of 0.600 for SUI, 0.617 for UUI, and 0.622 for MUI (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An increased BRI, CI, and WHtR are significantly associated with higher prevalence and severity of UI in females.

Predictive value of CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT features on spread through air space in lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma, a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, demands precise prognostic indicators for effective management. The presence of spread through air space (STAS) indicates adverse tumor behavior. However, comparative differences between 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography(PET)/computed tomography(CT) and CT in predicting STAS in lung adenocarcinoma remain inadequately explored. This retrospective study analyzes preoperative CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT features to predict STAS, aiming to identify key predictive factors and enhance clinical decision-making. METHODS: Between February 2022 and April 2023, 100 patients (108 lesions) who underwent surgery for clinical lung adenocarcinoma were enrolled. All these patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT, thin-section chest CT scan, and pathological biopsy. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT image characteristics. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to identify a cut-off value. RESULTS: Sixty lesions were positive for STAS, and 48 lesions were negative for STAS. The STAS-positive was frequently observed in acinar predominant. However, STAS-negative was frequently observed in minimally invasive adenocarcinoma. Univariable analysis results revealed that CT features (including nodule type, maximum tumor diameter, maximum solid component diameter, consolidation tumor ratio, pleural indentation, lobulation, spiculation) and all 18F-FDG PET/CT characteristics were statistically significant difference in STAS-positive and STAS-negative lesions. And multivariate logistic regression results showed that the maximum tumor diameter and SUVmax were the independent influencing factors of CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT in STAS, respectively. The area under the curve of maximum tumor diameter and SUVmax was 0.68 vs. 0.82. The cut-off value for maximum tumor diameter and SUVmax was 2.35 vs. 5.05 with a sensitivity of 50.0% vs. 68.3% and specificity of 81.2% vs. 87.5%, which showed that SUVmax was superior to the maximum tumor diameter. CONCLUSION: The radiological features of SUVmax is the best model for predicting STAS in lung adenocarcinoma. These radiological features could predict STAS with excellent specificity but inferior sensitivity.

Glycoursodeoxycholic Acid Alleviates Arterial Thrombosis via Suppressing Diacylglycerol Kinases Activity in Platelet.

BACKGROUND: Glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA) has been acknowledged for its ability to regulate lipid homeostasis and provide benefits for various metabolic disorders. However, the impact of GUDCA on arterial thrombotic events remains unexplored. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of GUDCA on thrombogenesis and elucidate its underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Plasma samples from patients with arterial thrombotic events and diet-induced obese mice were collected to determine the GUDCA concentrations using mass spectrometry. Multiple in vivo murine thrombosis models and in vitro platelet functional assays were conducted to comprehensively evaluate the antithrombotic effects of GUDCA. Moreover, lipidomic analysis was performed to identify the alterations of intraplatelet lipid components following GUDCA treatment. RESULTS: Plasma GUDCA level was significantly decreased in patients with arterial thrombotic events and negatively correlated with thrombotic propensity in diet-induced obese mice. GUDCA exhibited prominent suppressing effects on platelet reactivity as evidenced by the attenuation of platelet activation, secretion, aggregation, spreading, and retraction (P<0.05). In vivo, GUDCA administration robustly alleviated thrombogenesis (P<0.05) without affecting hemostasis. Mechanistically, GUDCA inhibited DGK (diacylglycerol kinase) activity, leading to the downregulation of the phosphatidic acid-mediated signaling pathway. Conversely, phosphatidic acid supplementation was sufficient to abolish the antithrombotic effects of GUDCA. More importantly, long-term oral administration of GUDCA normalized the enhanced DGK activity, thereby remarkably alleviating the platelet hyperreactivity as well as the heightened thrombotic tendency in diet-induced obese mice (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study implicated that GUDCA reduces platelet hyperreactivity and improves thrombotic propensity by inhibiting DGKs activity, which is a potentially effective prophylactic approach and promising therapeutic agent for arterial thrombotic events.

Migration of l-Selenomethionine in the Water-Soil Interface Dominated by Iron Oxides.

Organic selenium (Se) accounts for up to 10-80% of total Se in soils, and l-selenomethionine (SeMet) is a typical organic Se species. However, the migration of SeMet in soils remains elusive. This study investigated the solid-liquid distribution, adsorption, desorption by phosphate, and self-oxidization of SeMet in solution under the influence of ferrihydrite, goethite, and hematite through batch experiments. Iron oxides could adsorb a much larger amount of SeMet than inorganic Se. At the initial Se element concentrations of 0-200 mg/L, the solid/liquid partition coefficient of SeMet was constant, which was 0.41, 0.43, and 0.50 on ferrihydrite, goethite, and hematite, respectively. In addition, the adsorption process of SeMet on the three iron oxides could be well described by the linear driving force model. Accordingly, the intraparticle diffusion coefficient of SeMet in ferrihydrite, goethite, and hematite was 1.4 × 103, 7.9 × 104, and 1.2 × 105 nm2/min, respectively. The adsorption of SeMet on the three iron oxides was slightly influenced by the pH and the coexisting ions, such as Cl-, NO3-, SO42-, and H2PO4-. The desorption ratio of SeMet on the three iron oxides by phosphate was lower than 2.5%. SeMet would aggregate the nanoparticles of iron oxides, resulting in a synergistic effect on the adsorption of phosphate. The oxidization ratio of SeMet was 23.9% in the solution, while it decreased to 17.1-17.5% in iron oxide suspensions. For this oxidization process, the three iron oxides exhibited varying effects to decelerate SeMet oxidation, as represented by the equivalent reaction. The findings of this study reveal the migration of SeMet in the water-soil interface under the influence of iron oxides, which can improve the understanding of Se cycling in the environment as well as provide some guidance for the better utilization of Se in soils and environmental remediation of Se pollution.

Role of NF-κB p65/TNF-α in Cell Apoptosis in the Fetal Membranes of Pregnant Women with Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the roles of nuclear factor-kappa B p65 (NF-[Formula: see text]B p65) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in cell apoptosis occurring in the fetal membranes of pregnant women who experience preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). METHODS: This was a case-control study involving 57 pregnant women who delivered in the obstetric department of Affiliated Loudi Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, from June 2021 to June 2022. Samples of fetal membrane tissue were collected from pregnant women with PPROM (n=27) and pregnant women who had normal deliveries (control group; n=30). The membrane tissue morphology of both groups was observed, and the expression of NF-[Formula: see text]B p65, p-NF-[Formula: see text]B p65, TNF-α, and caspase-3 was detected. Apoptosis in fetal membranes was examined. RESULTS: Morphological evaluation of the fetal membrane tissues obtained from patients with PPROM revealed an abnormal structure with a thin collagen fiber layer and cells with a largely vacuolar cytoplasm. There was a positive correlation between the expression of p-NF-[Formula: see text]B p65/NF-[Formula: see text]B p65 and cell apoptosis (r1 =0.89, R2 =0.805, P=0.00). Furthermore, TNF-α was positively correlated with fetal membrane cell apoptosis (r2 =0.93, R2=0.881, P=0.00). CONCLUSION: NF-[Formula: see text]B p65 is involved in the occurrence of PPROM by promoting the expression of TNF-α, which upregulates caspase-3 to cause apoptosis of fetal membrane cells.

Comparative Analysis of the Diagonal Stride Technique during Roller Skiing and On-Snow Skiing in Youth Cross-Country Skiers.

Roller skiing is one primary form of training method as it is an off-snow equivalent to cross-country (XC) skiing during the dry land preseason training, but the results could only be applied to on-snow skiing with appropriate caution. The aim of this present study was to investigate the similarities and differences in roller skiing and on-snow skiing with the diagonal stride (DS) technique. Six youth (age: 14.3 ± 2.9 years) skiers participated in this study. Two high-definition video camcorders and FastMove 3D Motion 2.23.3.3101 were used to obtain the three-dimensional kinematic data. The cycle characteristics and joint angle ROM of the DS technique while skiing on different surfaces were similar. Almost all joint angle-time curves that were obtained from roller skiing showed a moderate-to-high degree of similarity to the angle-time curves obtained from on-snow skiing, except the hip adduction-abduction angle. The differences between roller skiing and on-snow skiing were mainly found in the body and calf anteversion angles, and the joint angles at critical instants. DS roller skiing can simulate DS on-snow skiing to a large extent in youth athletes. The hip movement, knee flexion, and calf anteversion at ski/roller ski touchdown and take-off, pole inclination at pole touchdown, body anteversion angle, and trunk anteversion angle at pole touchdown were the points that required caution when transferring preseason practice roller skiing to on-snow skiing.

Functional Connectivity Changes in Amygdala Subregions of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients After Six Months of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment.

Purpose: Previous studies demonstrated that there was abnormal functional connectivity (FC) in the amygdala subregions in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which was associated with cognitive function. However, it is not clear whether these abnormalities can be improved after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the changes in FC of amygdala subregions with other brain regions after 6 months of CPAP treatment (post-CPAP) in patients with OSA. Patients and Methods: Fifteen OSA patients underwent Magnetic Resonance Imaging prior to CPAP treatment (pre-CPAP) and following CPAP treatment. The amygdala was divided into six subregions, including bilateral dorsal amygdala (DA), medial amygdala (MA) and ventral amygdala (VA). The FC was calculated by using the amygdala subregions as seeds. A paired sample T-test was employed to assess alterations in the amygdala subregions FC of pre-CPAP and post-CPAP OSA patients, and correlation analysis was then conducted to evaluate the association between the changed FC and clinical assessment. Results: Compared to pre-CPAP OSA patients, post-CPAP OSA patients displayed an enhanced FC between the left DA and the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), whereas the FC between the left MA and the right postcentral gyrus, and between the right MA and the left middle frontal gyrus, decreased. Moreover, significant correlation between the FC value of left DA-right PCC and Hamilton Anxiety Inventory scores was found in pre-CPAP OSA patients. Conclusion: Altered FC between the amygdala subregions and other brain regions in OSA patients induced by CPAP treatment was related to cognitive, emotional, and sensorimotor function. Our study found altered FC between amygdala subregions and cognitive and motor-related brain regions in post-CPAP OSA patients, providing potential neuroimaging indicators for CPAP treatment.

Abnormal temporal variability of thalamo-cortical circuit in patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.

This study investigated the abnormal dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) variability of the thalamo-cortical circuit in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and explored the relationship between these changes and the clinical characteristics of patients with OSA. A total of 91 newly diagnosed patients with moderate-to-severe OSA and 84 education-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included. All participants underwent neuropsychological testing and a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. We explored the thalamo-cortical dFC changes by dividing the thalamus into 16 subregions and combining them using a sliding-window approach. Correlation analysis assessed the relationship between dFC variability and clinical features, and the support vector machine method was used for classification. The OSA group exhibited increased dFC variability between the thalamic subregions and extensive cortical areas, compared with the HCs group. Decreased dFC variability was observed in some frontal-occipital-temporal cortical regions. These dFC changes positively correlated with daytime sleepiness, disease severity, and cognitive scores. Altered dFC variability contributed to the discrimination between patients with OSA and HCs, with a classification accuracy of 77.8%. Our findings show thalamo-cortical overactivation and disconnection in patients with OSA, disrupting information flow within the brain networks. These results enhance understanding of the temporal variability of thalamo-cortical circuits in patients with OSA.

Association of tirofiban treatment with outcomes following endovascular therapy in cardioembolic stroke: insights from the RESCUE BT randomized trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The efficacy and safety of tirofiban in endovascular therapy for cardioembolic ischemic stroke patients remain controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the role of intravenous tirofiban before endovascular therapy in cardioembolic stroke. METHODS: This post hoc analysis utilized data from the RESCUE BT (Endovascular Treatment With versus Without Tirofiban for Patients with Large Vessel Occlusion Stroke) trial, which was an investigator-initiated, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Participants were randomized to receive either tirofiban or a placebo in a 1:1 ratio before undergoing endovascular therapy. The study included patients aged 18 years or older, presenting with occlusion of the internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery (MCA) M1/M2 within 24 h of the last known well time, and with a stroke etiology of cardioembolism. The primary efficacy outcome was global disability at 90 days, assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). The safety outcome included symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) within 48 h and mortality within 90 days. RESULTS: A total of 406 cardioembolic stroke patients were included in this study, with 212 assigned to the tirofiban group and 194 assigned to the placebo group. Tirofiban treatment did not correlate with a favorable shift towards a lower 90-day mRS score (adjusted common odds ratio [OR], 0.91; 95% CI 0.64-1.3; p = 0.617). However, the tirofiban group had a significantly higher risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) within 48 h (adjusted OR, 3.26; 95% CI 1.4-7.57; p = 0.006) compared to the placebo group. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for mortality within 90 days was 1.48 (95% CI 0.88-2.52; p = 0.143). CONCLUSIONS: Tirofiban treatment was not associated with a lower level of disability and increased the incidence of sICH after endovascular therapy in cardioembolic stroke patients.

Targeting the DNA repair pathway for breast cancer therapy: Beyond the molecular subtypes.

DNA repair is a vital mechanism in cells that protects against DNA damage caused by internal and external factors. It involves a network of signaling pathways that monitor and transmit damage signals, activating various cellular activities to repair DNA damage and maintain genomic integrity. Dysfunctions in this repair pathway are strongly associated with the development and progression of cancer. However, they also present an opportunity for targeted therapy in breast cancer. Extensive research has focused on developing inhibitors that play a crucial role in the signaling pathway of DNA repair, particularly due to the remarkable success of PARP1 inhibitors (PARPis) in treating breast cancer patients with BRCA1/2 mutations. In this review, we summarize the current research progress and clinical implementation of BRCA and BRCAness in targeted treatments for the DNA repair pathway. Additionally, we present advancements in diverse inhibitors of DNA repair, both as individual and combined approaches, for treating breast cancer. We also discuss the clinical application of DNA repair-targeted therapy for breast cancer, including the rationale, indications, and summarized clinical data for patients with different breast cancer subtypes. We assess their influence on cancer progression, survival rates, and major adverse reactions. Last, we anticipate forthcoming advancements in targeted therapy for cancer treatment and emphasize prospective areas of development.

Abnormal dynamic functional connectivity in the hippocampal subregions of patients with untreated moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the dynamic change characteristics of dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) between the hippocampal subregions (anterior and posterior) and other brain regions in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and its relationship with cognitive function, and to explore whether these characteristics can be used to distinguish OSA from healthy controls (HCs). METHODS: Eighty-five patients with newly diagnosed moderate-to-severe OSA and 85 HCs were enrolled. All participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The difference between dFC values between the hippocampal subregions and other brain regions in OSA patients and HCs was compared using the two-sample t tests. Correlation analyses were used to assess the relationship between dFC, clinical data, and cognitive functions in OSA patients. dFC values from different brain regions were used as classification features to distinguish between the two groups using a support vector machine. RESULTS: Compared with HCs, the dFC values between the left anterior hippocampus and right culmen of the cerebellum anterior lobe, right anterior hippocampus and left lingual gyrus, and left posterior hippocampus and left precentral gyrus were significantly lower, and the dFC values between the left posterior hippocampus and precuneus were significantly higher in OSA patients. The dFC values between the left posterior hippocampus and the precuneus of OSA patients were associated with sleep-related indicators and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores. Support vector machine analysis results showed that dFC values in different brain regions could distinguish OSA patients from HCs. CONCLUSION: dFC patterns between the hippocampal subregions and other brain regions were altered in patients with OSA, including the cerebellum, default mode networks, sensorimotor networks, and visual function networks, which is possibly associated with cognitive decline. In addition, the dFC values of different brain regions could effectively distinguish OSA patients from HCs. These findings provide new perspectives on neurocognition in these patients.

Constraints on the maintenance of wild Taxus cuspidata populations based on regression conservation.

To clarify the key factors constraining the maintenance of wild Taxus cuspidata populations and to develop conservation strategies and technical links for current populations, we investigated the renewal status and distribution patterns of wild T. cuspidata populations in the main distribution areas of China. We analyzed the effects of stand factors and human disturbance on population renewal and maintenance. The results showed that the overall regeneration of wild T. cuspidata populations was poor. The basal diameter and height class structure of renewed individuals showed an unhealthy state. 19% of the area was well regenerated. There were three types of regeneration, including poor regeneration with few adult trees, poor regeneration with many adult trees, and good regeneration with few adult trees. The communities in which T. cuspidata was found could be classified into Abies nephrolepis + Tilia amurensis forest, spinney forest, and Picea jezoensis var. microsperma + A. nephrolepis forest. The renewal number of A. nephrolepis + T. amurensis forest was significantly higher than that of spinney forest. Increased stand density and moderate human disturbance contributed to the regeneration of T. cuspidata. The regenerating T. cuspidata seedlings increased significantly when stand density increased from low to medium. The number of regenerating populations in moderately disturbed habitats was significantly higher than those in lightly disturbed habitats. Human disturbance and habitat were currently critical constraints to maintaining and regenerating wild T. cuspidata populations. The conservation of T. cuspidata should consider current status of population regeneration in each habitat patch to develop corresponding in situ conservation and regression conservation measures and focus on the influence of critical factors such as disturbances and habitat conditions.

Effects of Bacillus velezensis GUAL210 control on edible rose black spot disease and soil fungal community structure.

Introduction: Rose black spot is an economically important disease that significantly decreases flower yield. Fungicide and biological control are effective approaches for controlling rose black spot. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of application of biological and chemical control agents, including Bacillus velezensis (GUAL210), Bacillus sp. (LKW) and fungicide (CP) on the black spot disease and rhizosphere fungal community structure of edible rose. Methods: In this study, the R. chinensis 'Crimson Glory' was taken as the research object, and the field experiment was designed by randomized block design. The experiment contained 3 treatments (CP, GUAL210, LKW) and 1 control. The control effect and growth promoting effect of fungicide and biological control on rose black spot were compared. The composition and diversity of rhizosphere soil fungal community of different treatments of rose were studied by high-throughput sequencing method. The fungal community composition, correlation of environmental factors and differences in metabolic pathways related to rose disease were analyzed, and the correlation between rhizosphere soil fungal community of rose and biological control of disease was explored. Results and discussion: Both disease incidence and disease index differed significantly among groups (LKW < GUAL210 < CP < CK), and disease control effect exhibited no significant difference between GUAL210 and LKW (60.96% and 63.86%, respectively). Biological control was superior to chemical control in terms of disease prevention effects and duration, and it significantly increased the number of branches and flowers of rose plants. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota accounted for more than 74% of the total fungal abundance, and the abundance of Ascomycota was highest in CK, followed by GUAL210, CP and LKW, which was consistent with the disease occurrence in each group. The analysis of metabolic pathways showed that the HSERMETANA-PWY in each experimental group was significantly lower than that in control group. The Shannon index in each experimental group was significantly lower than that in control group. PCoA analysis showed that the rhizosphere fungal community structure in each experimental group was significantly different from that in control group. Trichoderma, Paraphaeosphaeria, Suillus, Umbelopsis in GUAL210, and Galerina in LKW replaced Mortierella, Pestalotiopsis, Ustilaginoidea, Paraconiothyrium, Fusarium, and Alternaria as dominant flora, and played a nonneglectable role in reducing disease occurrence. The difference in rhizosphere fungal community structure had an important impact on the incidence of rose black spot disease. Biological control is crucial for establishing environment-friendly ecological agriculture. GUAL210 has promising prospects for application and development, and may be a good substitute for chemical control agents.

Genome Mining and Biosynthetic Reconstitution of Fungal Depsidone Mollicellins Reveal a Dual Functional Cytochrome P450 for Ether Formation.

Depsidones are significant in structural diversity and broad in biological activities; however, their biosynthetic pathways have not been well understood and have attracted considerable attention. Herein, we heterologously reconstituted a depsidone encoding gene cluster from Ovatospora sp. SCSIO SY280D in Aspergillus nidulans A1145, leading to production of mollicellins, a representative family of depsidones, and discovering a bifunctional P450 monooxygenase that catalyzes both ether formation and hydroxylation in the biosynthesis of the mollicellins. The functions of a decarboxylase and an aromatic prenyltransferase are also characterized to understand the tailoring modification steps. This work provides important insights into the biosynthesis of mollicellins.

Predicting ankle and knee sagittal kinematics and kinetics using an ankle-mounted inertial sensor.

The purpose of this study was to develop a machine learning model to reconstruct time series kinematic and kinetic profiles of the ankle and knee joint across six different tasks using an ankle-mounted IMU. Four male collegiate basketball players performed repeated tasks, including walking, jogging, running, sidestep cutting, max-height jumping, and stop-jumping, resulting in a total of 102 movements. Ankle and knee flexion-extension angles and moments were estimated using motion capture and inverse dynamics and considered 'actual data' for the purpose of model fitting. Synchronous acceleration and angular velocity data were collected from right ankle-mounted IMUs. A time-series feature extraction model was used to determine a set of features used as input to a random forest regression model to predict the ankle and knee kinematics and kinetics. Five-fold cross-validation was performed to verify the model accuracy, and statistical parametric mapping was used to determine the difference between the predicted and experimental time series. The random forest regression model predicted the time-series profiles of the ankle and knee flexion-extension angles and moments with high accuracy (Kinematics: R2 ranged from 0.782 to 0.962, RMSE ranged from 2.19° to 11.58°; Kinetics: R2 ranged from 0.711 to 0.966, RMSE ranged from 0.10 Nm/kg to 0.41 Nm/kg). There were differences between predicted and actual time series for the knee flexion-extension moment during stop-jumping and walking. An appropriately trained feature-based regression model can predict time series knee and ankle joint angles and moments across a wide range of tasks using a single ankle-mounted IMU.

Evaluating the risk of knee osteoarthritis following unilateral ACL reconstruction based on an EMG-assisted method.

Objective: Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) cannot decrease the risk of knee osteoarthritis after anterior cruciate ligament rupture, and tibial contact force is associated with the development of knee osteoarthritis. The purpose of this study was to compare the difference in bilateral tibial contact force for patients with unilateral ACLR during walking and jogging based on an EMG-assisted method in order to evaluate the risk of knee osteoarthritis following unilateral ACLR. Methods: Seven unilateral ACLR patients participated in experiments. The 14-camera motion capture system, 3-Dimension force plate, and wireless EMG test system were used to collect the participants' kinematics, kinetics, and EMG data during walking and jogging. A personalized neuromusculoskeletal model was established by combining scaling and calibration optimization. The inverse kinematics and inverse dynamics algorithms were used to calculate the joint angle and joint net moment. The EMG-assisted model was used to calculate the muscle force. On this basis, the contact force of the knee joint was analyzed, and the tibial contact force was obtained. The paired sample t-test was used to analyze the difference between the participants' healthy and surgical sides of the participants. Results: During jogging, the peak tibial compression force on the healthy side was higher than on the surgical side (p = 0.039). At the peak moment of tibial compression force, the muscle force of the rectus femoris (p = 0.035) and vastus medialis (p = 0.036) on the healthy side was significantly higher than that on the surgical side; the knee flexion (p = 0.042) and ankle dorsiflexion (p = 0.046) angle on the healthy side was higher than that on the surgical side. There was no significant difference in the first (p = 0.122) and second (p = 0.445) peak tibial compression forces during walking between the healthy and surgical sides. Conclusion: Patients with unilateral ACLR showed smaller tibial compression force on the surgical side than on the healthy side during jogging. The main reason for this may be the insufficient exertion of the rectus femoris and vastus medialis.

Variational mode decomposition-based abnormal wheel-rail relationship detection in distributed acoustic sensing.

The distributed acoustic sensing system can obtain the vibration signal caused by the vibration of the train. By analyzing these wheel-rail vibration signals, an abnormal wheel-rail relationship identification scheme is proposed. The variational mode decomposition is employed for signal decomposition, thereby obtaining intrinsic mode functions with prominent abnormal fluctuations. The kurtosis value of each intrinsic mode function is calculated, which is compared with the threshold value for the identification of trains with abnormal wheel-rail relationship. And the extreme point of the abnormal intrinsic mode function is used to locate the bogie with an abnormal wheel-rail relationship. Experimental demonstration verifies that the proposed scheme can identify the train and locate the bogie with an abnormal wheel-rail relationship.

The influence and mechanistic action of sperm DNA fragmentation index on the outcomes of assisted reproduction technology.

We investigated the influence of DNA fragmentation index (DFI) on in vitro fertilization (IVF), embryo transfer (ET), and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). We analyzed the semen parameters of 61 cycles in infertile couples undergoing IVF-ET and ICSI and determined DFI by sperm chromatin dispersion testing. Based on DFI, the patients were differentiated into a control group (DFI < 25%, n = 35) and a test group (DFI ≥ 25%, n = 26). Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence were used to investigate the extent of sperm reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis. We also investigated the effect of DFI on pregnancy outcomes of IVF-ET/ICSI. DFI was negatively related to sperm motility and positively correlated with ROS and apoptosis (P < 0.05). Abnormally elevated DFI reduced the rate of transplantable, high-quality embryos, implantation, clinical pregnancy, delivery, and live birth after IVF-ET, and increased the chance of early abortion per transfer cycle (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between DFI and fertilization rate, cleavage rate, transplantable rate, high-quality embryo rate, implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, early abortion rate, delivery rate and live birth rate when assisted by ICSI (P > 0.05). Sperm DNA integrity is crucial for fertilization and the development of healthy offspring. ROS may increase the level of DFI by inducing apoptosis in sperm.

Changes in Functional Connectivity of Hippocampal Subregions in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea after Six Months of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment.

Previous studies have shown that the structural and functional impairments of hippocampal subregions in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are related to cognitive impairment. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment can improve the clinical symptoms of OSA. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate functional connectivity (FC) changes in hippocampal subregions of patients with OSA after six months of CPAP treatment (post-CPAP) and its relationship with neurocognitive function. We collected and analyzed baseline (pre-CPAP) and post-CPAP data from 20 patients with OSA, including sleep monitoring, clinical evaluation, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results showed that compared with pre-CPAP OSA patients, the FC between the right anterior hippocampal gyrus and multiple brain regions, and between the left anterior hippocampal gyrus and posterior central gyrus were reduced in post-CPAP OSA patients. By contrast, the FC between the left middle hippocampus and the left precentral gyrus was increased. The changes in FC in these brain regions were closely related to cognitive dysfunction. Therefore, our findings suggest that CPAP treatment can effectively change the FC patterns of hippocampal subregions in patients with OSA, facilitating a better understanding of the neural mechanisms of cognitive function improvement, and emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis and timely treatment of OSA.

RPL21 interacts with LAMP3 to promote colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis by regulating focal adhesion formation.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis is the leading cause of death among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, it is important to explore the molecular mechanisms of metastasis to develop effective therapeutic targets for CRC. In the present study, ribosomal protein L21 (RPL21) was considered as being involved in promoting CRC metastasis, yet the underlying mechanism requires further investigation. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were performed to measure the expression of RPL21 and lysosome-associated membrane protein 3 (LAMP3) in CRC tissues and cells. Wound healing, transwell migration, and invasion assays were performed to study the migration and invasion of cultured CRC cells. An orthotopic CRC mouse model was developed to investigate the metastatic ability of CRC. Transcriptome sequencing was conducted to identify the genes related to RPL21. The dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was performed to determine the transcriptional activity of transcription factor EB (TFEB). The GST/His pull-down assay was performed to investigate the specific binding sites of RPL21 and LAMP3. The cell adhesion assay was performed to determine the adhesion ability of CRC cells. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to observe focal adhesions (FAs). RESULTS: RPL21 was highly expressed in CRC, contributing to tumor invasiveness and poor patient prognosis. Functionally, RPL21 promoted the migration and invasion of CRC cells in vitro and tumor metastasis in vivo. Moreover, LAMP3 was identified as being highly related to RPL21 and was essential in promoting the migration and invasion of CRC cells. Mechanistically, RPL21 activated the transcriptional function of TFEB to upregulate LAMP3 expression. RPL21 directly bound to the aa 341-416 domain of LAMP3 via its aa 1-40 and aa 111-160 segments. The combination of RPL21 and LAMP3 enhanced the stability of the RPL21 protein by suppressing the degradation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Furthermore, RPL21 and LAMP3 promoted the formation of immature FAs by activating the FAK/paxillin/ERK signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: RPL21 promoted invasion and metastasis by regulating FA formation in a LAMP3-dependent manner during CRC progression. The interaction between RPL21 and LAMP3 may function as a potential therapeutic target against CRC.