Hemodynamics in nutcracker syndrome: implications for diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Nutcracker syndrome is a disease characterized by complex symptoms, making its diagnosis challenging and often delayed, often resulting in a painful experience for the patients. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the pathogenesis of nutcracker syndrome through the perspective of hemodynamics by simulating blood flow with varying compression degrees of the left renal vein. METHODS: 3D patient-specific vascular models of the abdominal aorta, superior mesenteric artery and left renal vein were constructed based on CT images of patients suspected of having nutcracker syndrome. A hemodynamic simulation was then conducted using computational fluid dynamics to identify the correlation between alterations in hemodynamic parameters and varying degrees of compression. RESULTS: The study indicated the presence of an evident gradient in velocity distribution over the left renal vein with relatively high degrees of stenosis (α ≤ 50°), with maximum velocity in the central region of the stenosis. Additionally, when the compression degree of the left renal vein increases, the pressure distribution of the left renal vein presents an increasing number of gradient layers. Furthermore, the wall shear stress shows a correlation with the variation of blood flow velocity, i.e., the increase of wall shear stress correlates with the acceleration of the blood flow velocity. CONCLUSIONS: Using computational fluid dynamics as a non-invasive instrument to obtain the hemodynamic characteristics of nutcracker syndrome is feasible and could provide insights into the pathological mechanisms of the nutcracker syndrome supporting clinicians in diagnosis.

Delivery of a Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine Encoding NS3 Linked to the MHC Class II Chaperone Protein Invariant Chain Using Bacterial Ghosts.

Efficient delivery of a DNA plasmid into antigen-presenting cells (APCs) is a potential strategy to enhance the immune responses of DNA vaccines. The bacterial ghost (BG) is a potent DNA vaccine delivery system that targets APCs. In the present work, we describe a new strategy of using E. coli BGs as carriers for an Ii-linked Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) NS3 DNA vaccine that improved both the transgene expression level and the antigen-presentation level in APCs. BGs were prepared from DH5α cells, characterized via electron microscopy and loaded with the DNA vaccine. The high transfection efficiency mediated using BGs was first evaluated in vitro, and then, the immune protective effect of the BG-Ii-NS3 vaccine was determined in vivo. It was found that the antibody titer in the sera of BG-Ii-NS3-challenged mice was higher than that of Ii-NS3-treated mice, indicating that the BGs enhanced the humoral immune activity of Ii-NS3. The cellular immune protective effect of the BG-Ii-NS3 vaccine was determined using long-term HCV NS3 expression in a mouse model in which luciferase was used as a reporter for HCV NS3 expression. Our results showed that the luciferase activity in BG-Ii-NS3-treated mice was significantly reduced compared with that in Ii-NS3-treated mice. The CTL assay results demonstrated that BG-Ii-NS3 induced a greater NS3-specific T-cell response than did Ii-NS3. In summary, our study demonstrated that BGs enhanced both the humoral and cellular immune response to the Ii-NS3 DNA vaccine and improved its immune protection against HCV infection.

Transcriptomic Signature of 3D Hierarchical Porous Chip Enriched Exosomes for Early Detection and Progression Monitoring of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly lethal malignant tumor, and the current non-invasive diagnosis method based on serum markers, such as α-fetoprotein (AFP), and des-γ-carboxy-prothrombin (DCP), has limited efficacy in detecting it. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop novel biomarkers for HCC. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of exosomes as biomarkers. To enhance exosome enrichment, a silicon dioxide (SiO2) microsphere-coated three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous chip, named a SiO2-chip is designed. The features of the chip, including its continuous porous 3D scaffold, large surface area, and nanopores between the SiO2 microspheres, synergistically improved the exosome capture efficiency. Exosomes from both non-HCC and HCC subjects are enriched using an SiO2-chip and performed RNA sequencing to identify HCC-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the exosomes. This study analysis reveales that LUCAT-1 and EGFR-AS-1 are two HCC-related lncRNAs. To further detect dual lncRNAs in exosomes, quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is employed. The integration of dual lncRNAs with AFP and DCP significantly improves the diagnostic accuracy. Furthermore, the integration of dual lncRNAs with DCP effectively monitors the prognosis of patients with HCC and detects disease progression. In this study, a liquid biopsy-based approach for noninvasive and reliable HCC detection is developed.

Preconception folic acid supplementation for the prevention of birth defects: a prospective, population-based cohort study in mainland China.

BACKGROUND: Folic acid supplementation is recommended for reducing the risk of birth defects. We aimed to assess the protective association of periconception folic acid supplements with birth defects in real-world setting. METHODS: This prospective, population-based cohort study utilized national preconception registered data of married Chinese couples planning a pregnancy within 6 months between 2010 and 2012 in Mainland China. Participated women are freely provided folic acid starting 3 months before conception till 3 months after conception. Birth defects were self-reported at 42 days postpartumn followup. R software (v4.0.2) was applied for statistical analyses. RESULTS: Complete data of 567,547 couples with pregnancy outcomes and folic acid supplementation were extracted for final analysis. A total of 74.7% women were with folic acid supplementation, and 599 birth defects were self-reported. The odd of birth defects was lower among women taking folic acid compared to their counterparts not taking (0.102% vs 0.116%, P < 0.001). In the multiple logistic regression analyses, the odd of birth defects was lower among couples with maternal folic acid supplementation (OR = 0.78, 95%CI: 0.66-0.95, P = 0.011), especially decreased odd of neural tube defects (NTDs) (OR = 0.56, 95%CI: 0.39-0.82, P = 0.003). This association was confirmed by 1:4 and 1:10 case control analysis. Odds of birth defects were significantly lower among women with folic acid supplementation more than 3 months before pregnancy (P < 0.001), and moreover, the odds of cleft (P = 0.007) and NTDs (P = 0.007) were of notable decrease. CONCLUSION: This retrospective case cohort study provides programmatic evidence for public health strategy-making to for reducing the risk of NTDs and clefts.

Influence of Engineering Parameters on Fracture Vertical Propagation in Deep Shale Reservoir: A Numerical Study Based on FEM.

The geometry of hydraulic fractures in deep shale facies is significantly affected by the longitudinal inhomogeneity of rock physical properties and stresses. Numerous studies have been conducted on the influence of the longitudinal inhomogeneity of rocks on fracture morphology. However, there is still a lack of research that simultaneously considers the reservoir dip, bedding plane interface, and longitudinal inhomogeneity of the reservoir. To fill this gap, a three-dimensional (3D) numerical model of multireservoir hydraulic fracturing, which takes into account the bedding plane interface, was developed using the finite element method (FEM). The Drucker-Prager elastic-plasticity criterion was incorporated to accurately represent the plasticity of deep shale. The research revealed the influence of the formation dip angle on fracture morphology. Additionally, the perforation layer position and pump rate were optimized based on the actual geological parameters in North Jiangsu shale reservoir. The study findings indicate that reservoir fractures with a formation dip are easily detected by the interface. However, it is not necessarily true that the larger the formation dip, the easier it is for fluids to enter the interface. Fracturing from high-strength and stress reservoirs to lower reservoirs promotes the propagation of fracture height and the connectivity of multiple reservoirs. On the other hand, fractures initiated from low-strength and stress reservoirs tend to be confined to adjacent reservoirs more easily. The pump rate significantly affects the vertical propagation of fractures. At high interface strength, fractures with pump rate below 2.4 m3/min can only propagate at the perforation layer. The limited fracture height in shale reservoirs is likely due to substantial energy consumption by the fracturing fluid at the bedding plane interface. These studies offer theoretical guidance for understanding the vertical propagation of fractures in a deep multilayer reservoir.

Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase L5 Plays an Essential Role in the Fly Innate Immune Defense against Bacterial Infection.

BACKGROUND: Drosophila ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L5 (Uch-L5) functions as a critical component of the 26S proteasome to mediate degradation of polyubiquitinated proteins. It was recently shown to modulate tissue/organ development by targeting the Smoothened protein in the hedgehog pathway. However, whether it plays a role in controlling organismal immune response remains largely unknown. METHODS: Reverse transcription plus quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), dual-luciferase, and Western blot assays were used to explore the potential function of Uch-L5 in the innate immune regulation in cultured Drosophila S2 cells. Further genetic manipulations and bacterial infections were conducted to confirm the findings in vivo. RESULTS: Silencing of Uch-L5 antagonizes the immune deficiency (IMD) but not the Toll innate immune signaling both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, Uch-L5 positively contributes to the Drosophila innate immune response via its N-terminal Uch domain, which is the catalytical triad executing its deubiquitinase activity. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies shed light on a novel function of the deubiquitinase Uch-L5 in governing the anti-microbial defense in Drosophila.

The Impact of Hot Spring Hydrotherapy on Pain Perception and Dysfunction Severity in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) is a prevalent global health issue, leading to prolonged discomfort and functional limitations. Hot spring hydrotherapy, which utilizes mineral-rich, warm spring water, offers a unique physical therapy that holds promise in alleviating CLBP symptoms. Objective: This meta-analysis aims to assess the effectiveness of hot spring hydrotherapy in improving CLBP symptoms, encompassing pain intensity, functional disability, quality of life, and medication usage. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted by searching relevant literature in multiple databases. Included studies compared hot spring hydrotherapy with control interventions or other treatments. Standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for pain intensity, functional disability, medication usage, and quality of life. Results: A total of 16 studies met the inclusion criteria, involving 1656 participants with chronic low back pain across various countries. The meta-analysis demonstrated that hot spring hydrotherapy was effective in reducing pain intensity (SMD = -0.901, 95% CI [-1.777, -0.025], P < 0.05) and improving functional disability (SMD = -3.236, 95% CI [-4.898, -1.575], P < 0.0001) in CLBP patients. Hot spring hydrotherapy also resulted in a significant reduction in medication usage (P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that the effects of hot spring hydrotherapy were more pronounced in patients aged 60 and above, while no significant differences were observed in patients below 60 years of age, single hot Spring Hydrotherapy help improve patients' quality of life. Conclusion: Hot spring hydrotherapy is an effective intervention for improving CLBP symptoms, including pain intensity, functional disability, and medication usage. It is particularly beneficial for CLBP patients aged 60 and above. These findings support the integration of hot spring hydrotherapy into the treatment approach for CLBP, although further research is needed to determine its efficacy in younger patients and to explore the underlying mechanisms of its therapeutic effects. Prospero Id: CRD42023430860.

Effects of exercise therapy on disability, mobility, and quality of life in the elderly with chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Exercise is an effective treatment in chronic low back pain (CLBP), but there are few studies on CLBP in the elderly, and the intervention effect is controversial. We aimed to compare the efficacy of different exercises therapy on CLBP, dysfunction, quality of life, and mobility in the elderly. METHODS: We searched Web of Science, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, EMBASE, and PubMed from the database inception till December 31, 2022. The publication languages were Chinese and English. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise intervention in the elderly (≥ 60 years) with CLBP were included. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and evaluated them using the Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Trials 2 (RoB2). The pooled effect sizes on different aspects of outcome measures were calculated. RESULTS: Sixteen articles (18 RCTs) were included, comprising a total of 989 participants. The quality of included studies was relatively high. Meta-analysis results indicated that exercise therapy could improve visual analog scale (VAS) (WMD = - 1.75, 95% CI - 2.59, - 0.92, p < 0.05), Oswestry disability index (ODI) (WMD = - 9.42, 95% CI - 15.04, - 3.79, p < 0,005), short-form 36-item health survey physical composite summary (SF-36PCS) (WMD = 7.07, 95% CI 1.01, 13.14, p < 0.05), short-form 36-item health survey mental composite summary (SF-36MCS) (WMD = 7.88, 95% CI 0.09, 15.67, p < 0.05), and timed up and go test (TUG) (WMD = - 0.92, 95% CI - 2.22, 0.38, p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Exercise therapy effectively improved VAS, ODI, and SF-36 indexes in the elderly. Based on the subgroup, when designing the exercise therapy regimen, aerobics, strength, and mind-body exercise (≥ 12 weeks, ≥ 3 times/week, ≥ 60 min) should be considered carefully, to ensure the safety and effectiveness for the rehabilitation of CLBP patients. More high-quality trials are needed in future to confirm the effect of exercise on SF-36 and TUG indexes.

Effects of Different Exercise Modes on Gait Performance of Parkinson's Disease Patients: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Gait disturbances are among the main symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) and can increase fall risk. In this study we aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of different exercise modes on gait indexes of PD patients. We conducted a review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in studies listed in Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrailS.gov, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases from their inception to October 23, 2021. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of exercise on gait index by using the Timed Up and Go test, (TUG), stride length, stride cadence, or 6 Minutes Walking Test (6MWT). We used Review Manager 5.3 to evaluate the quality of the included literature, and we used Stata 15.1 and R-Studio for the network meta-analysis. We assessed the relative ranking of therapies by the surface under the cumulative ranking possibilities. In 159 studies, there were 24 exercise interventions. Compared with the control group, 13 exercises showed significant improvements on the TUG; six exercises were significantly better for improving stride length; only one exercise was better for improving stride cadence; and four exercises were better for improving the 6MWT. The surface under the cumulative ranking curves suggested that Pilates, body weight support treadmill training, resistance training, and a multidisciplinary exercise program were preferable for gains on TUG, stride length, stride cadence, and 6MWT. This meta-analytic review found that exercise therapies bring obvious benefits to gait indexes of patients with PD, and the efficacy of exercise therapies varied with different types of exercise and outcome indexes.

Effects of aquatic exercises on physical fitness and quality of life in postmenopausal women: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate and update the effects of aquatic exercise on physical fitness and quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal women. Methods: The databases Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, and MEDLINE were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the topic from inception to July 2022. The GetData software was used to extract data from the published images. RevMan5.4 software was used for statistical analysis. Data are expressed as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). I2 index was employed for heterogeneity. Egger's test was used to assess publication bias. We evaluated the methodological quality of included studies using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. Results: We included 594 participants in 16 RCTs (19 comparison groups). The results indicated that aquatic exercise can significantly improve lower limb strength (LLS), upper limb strength (ULS), agility, flexibility, and overall QoL. No significant effects were found on aerobic capacity. Subgroup-analysis results indicated that aquatic exercise only significantly improved LLS, ULS, agility, and flexibility in postmenopausal women < 65 years of age. However, aquatic exercise improves the overall QoL both in postmenopausal women < 65 years and ≥ 65 years. Aquatic resistance exercise significantly improves LLS, ULS, agility and flexibility. In addition, aquatic aerobic exercise can effectively increase LLS, and combined aquatic aerobic and resistance exercise can enhance the overall QoL. Conclusions: Aquatic exercise can effectively improve physical fitness and overall QoL in postmenopausal women, but has limited effects on aerobic capacity; thus, it is highly recommended in postmenopausal women.

Toward Effective Domain Adaptive Retrieval.

This paper studies the problem of unsupervised domain adaptive hashing, which is less-explored but emerging for efficient image retrieval, particularly for cross-domain retrieval. This problem is typically tackled by learning hashing networks with pseudo-labeling and domain alignment techniques. Nevertheless, these approaches usually suffer from overconfident and biased pseudo-labels and inefficient domain alignment without sufficiently exploring semantics, thus failing to achieve satisfactory retrieval performance. To tackle this issue, we present PEACE, a principled framework which holistically explores semantic information in both source and target data and extensively incorporates it for effective domain alignment. For comprehensive semantic learning, PEACE leverages label embeddings to guide the optimization of hash codes for source data. More importantly, to mitigate the effects of noisy pseudo-labels, we propose a novel method to holistically measure the uncertainty of pseudo-labels for unlabeled target data and progressively minimize them through alternative optimization under the guidance of the domain discrepancy. Additionally, PEACE effectively removes domain discrepancy in the Hamming space from two views. In particular, it not only introduces composite adversarial learning to implicitly explore semantic information embedded in hash codes, but also aligns cluster semantic centroids across domains to explicitly exploit label information. Experimental results on several popular domain adaptive retrieval benchmarks demonstrate the superiority of our proposed PEACE compared with various state-of-the-art methods on both single-domain and cross-domain retrieval tasks. Our source codes are available at https://github.com/WillDreamer/PEACE.

The Effect of Different Physical Exercise Programs on Physical Fitness among Preschool Children: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Preschool children are in a period of rapid physical and psychological development, and improving their level of physical fitness is important for their health. To better develop the physical fitness of preschool children, it is very important to understand the behavioral attributes that promote the physical fitness of preschool children. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of and the differences between different physical exercise programs in improving preschool children's physical fitness. METHODS: A total of 309 preschool children aged 4-5 years were recruited from 5 kindergartens to participate in the experiment. They were cluster-randomly allocated into five groups: basic movements (BM) group, rhythm activities (RA) group, ball games (BG) group, multiple activities (MA) group, and control (CG) group. The intervention groups received designed physical exercise programs with a duration of 30 min 3 times per week for 16 weeks. The CG group received unorganized physical activity (PA) with no interventions. The physical fitness of preschool children was measured using the PREFIT battery before and after the interventions. One-way analysis of variance, a nonparametric test; generalized linear models (GLM); and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were used to examine differences during the pre-experimental stage among groups and to assess the differential effects of the intervention conditions on all outcome indicators. The intervention condition models were adjusted for potential confounders (baseline test results, age, gender, height, weight, and body mass index) explaining the main outcome variance. RESULTS: The final sample consisted of 253 participants (girls 46.3%) with an average age of 4.55 ± 0.28 years: the BG group (n = 55), the RA group (n = 52), the BM group (n = 45), the MA group (n = 44), and the CG group (n = 57). The results of the generalized linear mixed model and generalized linear model analyses indicated significant differences for all physical fitness tests between groups, except for the 20 m shuttle run test and the sit-and-reach test after the interventions. Grip strength was significantly higher in the BG and MA groups than in the BM group. The scores for standing long jump were significantly higher in the MA group than in the other groups. The scores for the 10 m shuttle run test were significantly lower in the BG and MA groups than in the CG, BM, and RA groups. The scores for skip jump were significantly lower in the BG and MA groups than in the RA group. The scores for balance beam were significantly lower in the BG and MA groups than in the RA group and significantly lower in the BG group than in the BM group. The scores for standing on one foot were significantly higher in the BG and MA groups than in the CG and RA groups and significantly higher in the BM group than in the CG group. CONCLUSIONS: Physical exercise programs designed for preschool physical education have positive effects on the physical fitness of preschool children. Compared with the exercise programs with a single project and action form, the comprehensive exercise programs with multiple action forms can better improve the physical fitness of preschool children.

Associations between socioeconomic status and risk of obesity and overweight among Chinese children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: In China, the threat of obesity and overweight in children and adolescents is developing quickly. It may be possible to lower the risk of obesity and overweight in children and adolescents by understanding the factors that drive these conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between SES and risk of obesity and overweight among children and adolesecnts in China's provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. METHODS: Chinese children and adolescents (n = 2,746; 46.3% boys) were recruited using multistage sampling. SES was measured using self-reported questionnaires, the specific indicators were parental education, perceived family wealth, and Family Affluence Scale II. Height and weight were measured and used to calculate body mass index (BMI, categorized into obesity or overweight). The definition of obesity or overweight was based on the Chinese standard "Screening for obesity and overweight among school-age children and adolescents". Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, and a Chi-square test were used to report the sample characteristics and analyse BMI differences across different sociodemographic groups. A binary logistic regression was then applied to analyse the association of SES indicators with BMI in children and adolescents. RESULTS: Overall, 22.5% of children and adolescents were obese or overweight. Participants with medium and high maternal education levels were 1.48 [95% CI 1.15-1.91] and 1.47 [95% CI 1.03-2.11] times more likely to be obese/overweight. Girls with medium maternal education levels were 1.70[95% CI 1.21-2.40] times more likely to be obese/overweight. For boys, no association was observed. Junior middle school students with medium maternal education levels were 1.51[95% CI 1.10-2.07] times more likely to be obese/overweight. Participants with medium or high FAS, perceived family wealth, or paternal education levels were not associated with obesity/overweight. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicated a positive association between SES and risk of overweight/obesity in girls, suggesting that maternal education level may have a substantial impact on future prevention efforts for these conditions in girls. To increase the effectiveness of interventions, longitudinal studies are necessary to better understand the causal association between SES and obesity/overweight.

TLR9 triggers MyD88-independent anti-inflammatory signaling in lupus.

Activation of Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) can induce lupus in mice, whereas activation of TLR9 can prevent it, even though both receptors interact with myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) for downstream signaling. How TLR9 triggers anti-inflammatory responses in autoimmunity is unclear. Leibler et al. recently reported that TLR9 initiates anti-inflammatory signaling and inhibits lupus pathogenesis in a MyD88-independent but ligand-dependent manner.

Visualizing the sustainable development goals and natural resource utilization for green economic recovery after COVID-19 pandemic.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, this study examines the influence of modifications in China's Sustainable Growth Goals (SDGs) and economic development goals on Chinese enterprises' energy conservation and emissions reduction behavior. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 epidemic has erupted, displacing the flimsy traditional techniques. As a result, the post-COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the need for a long-term sustainable development method compatible with the local and regional environmental systems. The main objective of this study is used as a roadmap to steer the post-COVID-19 pandemic on a sustainable green path by emphasizing sustainable energy strategies to connect in SDG-related efforts. The investigation in this paper begins with examining significant impacts in the energy industry and their impact on progress toward sustainability. The empirical findings that the CO2 emissions reduction objectives in long-term development plans had a considerable impact on energy saving and emissions reduction, lowering energy consumption intensity by 3.33% and carbon emission intensity by 4.23% between 2010 and 2019. Besides, the results and long and short run techniques are built to describe the Sustainable Development Goals interface, with the result revealing that Sustainable Development Goals enhance the green economic recovery performance. Furthermore, this study recommends that the key natural resources and green economic recovery policies to overcome the climate change impacts by COVID-19 pandemic.

Comparing the effects of different exercises on blood pressure and arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of different exercises on systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) in postmenopausal women. We searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane library databases, up to July 2022. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected following the inclusion criteria. We assessed study quality with the PEDro scale. The Stata software was used for statistical analysis. Twenty-three papers (26 RCTs) and 729 participants were included. Meta-analysis demonstrated that exercise decreased SBP (WMD = -6.74 mmHg, 95%CI: -9.08, -4.41, p = 0.000), DBP (WMD = -4.13 mmHg, 95%CI: -5.78, -2.48, p = 0.000) and aortic PWV (WMD = -0.79 m/s, 95%CI: -1.02, -0.56, p = 0.000). Aerobic exercise can significantly decrease SBP (WMD = -7.97 mmHg, 95%CI: -12.99, -2.60, p = 0.003) and DBP (WMD = -5.97 mmHg, 95%CI: -8.55, -3.39, p = 0.000). Resistance exercise can significantly decrease SBP (WMD = -5.62 mmHg, 95%CI: -9.00, -2.23, p = 0.001), DBP (WMD = -1.87 mmHg, 95%CI: -2.75, -0.99, p = 0.000) and aortic PWV (WMD = -0.67 m/s，95%CI: -0.98, -0.36, p = 0.000). Combined aerobic and resistance exercise can significantly decrease SBP (WMD = -5.42 mmHg, 95%CI: -10.17, -0.68, p = 0.025). The efficacy of mind-body exercise (Tai Chi/Yoga) on SBP, DBP, and aortic PWV were not obvious (p > 0.05). Exercise significantly improved SBP, DBP, and aortic PWV in postmenopausal women. Aerobic exercise decreased SBP and DBP. Resistance exercise decreased SBP, DBP, and aortic PWV. Additionally, further research is required to confirm the efficacy of mind-body exercise (Tai Chi/Yoga) on blood pressure and arterial stiffness.

[Application of metronidazole combined with minocycline in reducing infection after dental implant in patients with localized periodontitis].

PURPOSE: To explore the value of metronidazole combined with minocycline in reducing infection after dental implant in patients with localized periodontitis. METHODS: A total of 120 patients with localized periodontitis who underwent dental implantation in the Department of Stomatological, Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Hospital from August 2021 to September 2022 were selected. According to the way of postoperative infection prevention, the patients were divided into control group and experimental group, with 60 patients in each group. The control group was orally given roxithromycin capsules, and the experimental group was locally coated with minocycline hydrochloride ointment and metronidazole gel. The incidence of postoperative infection and complications was compared between the two groups. The modified gingival creval bleeding index (mSBI), periodontal probing depth (PD) and modified plaque index (mPLI) of the patients were examined by periodontal probe. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level was determined by immunoturbidimetry and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-6(IL-6) level was determined by ELISA. SPSS 25.0 software package was used for statistical analysis of the data. RESULTS: Good healing rate of the experimental group was 91.67% higher than that of the control group 73.33%, postoperative infection rate was 8.33% and complication rate was 6.67% in the experimental group, significantly lower than that of the control group (26.67% and 20.00%), respectively (P＜0.05). After treatment, the level of CRP, TNF-α and IL-6 in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P＜0.05). At 3 and 6 months after treatment, mSBI, mPLI and PD in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The administration of minocycline hydrochloride and metronidazole in patients with localized periodontitis undergoing implantation can reduce oral inflammatory response, reduce postoperative infection and other complications, and improve periodontal health.

A Toll-dependent Bre1/Rad6-cact feedback loop in controlling host innate immune response.

The Toll signaling pathway was initially identified for its involvement in the control of early embryogenesis. It was later shown to be also part of a major innate immune pathway controlling the expression of anti-microbial peptides in many eukaryotes including humans; cactus, the essential negative regulator of this pathway in flies, was found to be induced in parallel to the Toll-dependent activation process during immune defenses. We were interested in the mechanisms of this dual effect and provide here evidence that upon pathogenic stimuli, dorsal, one of the transcription factors of the fly Toll pathway, can induce the expression of the E3 ligase Bre1. We further show that Bre1 complexes with the E2 Rad6 to mono-ubiquitinate histone H2B and to promote the transcription of cactus to achieve homeostasis of the Toll immune response. Our studies characterize a Toll signal-dependent regulatory machinery in governing the Toll pathway in Drosophila.

Prevalence of induced abortion among Chinese women aged 18-49 years: Findings from three cross-sectional studies.

There are few latest researches about induced abortion in China. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of induced abortion and the related factors, thereby helping make targeted policies and measures to promote women's health. Three comparable cross-sectional surveys among Chinese women aged 18-49 years were performed in 2016, 2017, and 2021. A total of 14,573 eligible respondents were included in the study. 16.70% (95%CI 16.10%-17.31%) of respondents self-reported having experienced induced abortion, while 6.88% (95%CI 6.46%-7.29%) self-reported repeat induced abortion. Age range of 25-49 years (aOR 2.27-6.31, all P<0.05), living in western (aOR 1.72, 95%CI 1.50-1.98) and central (aOR 1.36, 95%CI 1.21-1.52) regions, having children (aOR 2.85, 95%CI 2.35-3.46) were associated with higher prevalence of induced abortion. Moreover, age range of 25-49 years, living in western and central regions, having children were also related to higher prevalence of repeat induced abortion (aOR 1.67-11.52, all P<0.05). Conversely, educational level of college or higher, household annual income over 80,000 Chinese yuan were associated with lower prevalence of induced abortion and repeat induced abortion (aOR 0.52-0.80, all P<0.05). Induced abortion remains noticeable in China. Sustained efforts are required to reduce unintentional pregnancy, improve reproductive health and post-abortion care services, and promote women's health.

Efficacy and evaluation of therapeutic exercises on adults with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Exercises are an effective treatment in Parkinson's disease (PD), but there is still controversy over which types should be used. We aimed to compare and rank the types of exercise that improve PD symptoms by quantifying information from randomised controlled trials. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis and searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from their inception date to June 30, 2022. We included randomized controlled trials of 24 types of exercise for the interventional treatment of adults (≥ 50 years old) with PD. Effect size measures were standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% credible intervals (CrIs). The confidence of evidence was examined using Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis (CINeMA). RESULTS: We identified 10 474 citations and included 250 studies involving 13 011 participants. Results of NMA showed that power training (PT) had the best benefits for motor symptoms compared with the control group (CON), with SMDs (95% CrI) (-1.46, [-2.18 to -0.74]). Body weight support treadmill training (BWS_TT) showed the best improvement in balance (1.55, [0.72 to 2.37]), gait velocity (1.15 [0.57 to 1.31]) and walking distance (1.96, [1.18 to 2.73]), and robotic assisted gait training (RA_GT) had the most benefits for freezing of gait (-1.09, [-1.80 to -0.38]). For non-motor symptoms, Dance showed the best benefits for depression (-1.71, [-2.79 to -0.73]). Only Yoga significantly reduced anxiety symptom compared with CON (-0.53, [0.96 to -0.11]). Only resistance training (RT) significantly enhanced sleep quality and cognition (-1.42, [-2.60 to -0.23]; 0.51, [0.09 to 0.94]). For muscle strength, PT showed the best advance (1.04, [0.64 to 1.44]). For concern of falling, five types of exercise were more effective than CON. CONCLUSIONS: There is low quality evidence that PT, Yoga, BWS_TT, Dance, and RT are the most effective treatments, pending outcome of interest, for adults with PD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42021220052).