Analysis of recently duplicated TYRP1 genes and their effect on the formation of black patches in Oujiang-color common carp (Cyprinus carpio var. color).

Tyrp1 gene, as a member of the tyrosinase family, has undergone a recent duplication event during fourth-round whole genome duplication in common carp. In this research, three Tyrp1 genes were identified in Oujiang-color common carp (Cyprinus carpio var. color). The similar expression patterns and close phylogenetic relationship indicated that Tyrp1c is homologous to Tyrp1b and possibly originated from the ancient Tyrp1b. The rates of synonymous and non-synonymous substitution (Ka /Ks ) in Tyrp1 across teleost phylogeny indicated that Tyrp1a is more likely to be in the process of purifying selection. The CRISPR/Cas9 system was used to disrupt the Tyrp1 genes in zebrafish and the WB (black patches on white skin) strain of Oujiang-color common carp. The Tyrp1 loss of function variants in zebrafish and WB carp showed severe melanin deficiency in the skin. Meanwhile, inactivation of a single Tyrp1 gene did not obstruct melanin synthesis, which proved that the functional redundancy of Tyrp1 genes existed in both zebrafish and Oujiang-color common carp. Among the mosaic individuals with Tyrp1 genes in disrupted-color common carp, various mutations in Tyrp1b gene induced gray or brown phenotypes, suggesting that it may be bifunctional in Oujiang-color common carp. In addition, the phenotype of WB variants was different from that of WW (whole white skin), suggesting that Tyrp1 genes were not the key factor that caused the difference between WB and WW.

Afatinib versus methotrexate as second-line treatment in Asian patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck progressing on or after platinum-based therapy (LUX-Head & Neck 3): an open-label, randomised phase III trial.

BACKGROUND: Treatment options are limited for patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) following progression after first-line platinum-based therapy, particularly in Asian countries. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this randomised, open-label, phase III trial, we enrolled Asian patients aged ≥18 years, with histologically or cytologically confirmed recurrent/metastatic HNSCC following first-line platinum-based therapy who were not amenable for salvage surgery or radiotherapy, and had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0/1. Patients were randomised (2 : 1) to receive oral afatinib (40 mg/day) or intravenous methotrexate (40 mg/m2/week), stratified by ECOG performance status and prior EGFR-targeted antibody therapy. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) assessed by an independent central review committee blinded to treatment allocation. RESULTS: A total of 340 patients were randomised (228 afatinib; 112 methotrexate). After a median follow-up of 6.4 months, afatinib significantly decreased the risk of progression/death by 37% versus methotrexate (hazard ratio 0.63; 95% confidence interval 0.48-0.82; P = 0.0005; median 2.9 versus 2.6 months; landmark analysis at 12 and 24 weeks, 58% versus 41%, 21% versus 9%). Improved PFS was complemented by quality of life benefits. Objective response rate was 28% with afatinib and 13% with methotrexate. There was no significant difference in overall survival. The most common grade ≥3 drug-related adverse events were rash/acne (4% with afatinib versus 0% with methotrexate), diarrhoea (4% versus 0%), fatigue (1% versus 5%), anaemia (<1% versus 5%) and leukopenia (0% versus 5%). CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the phase III LUX-Head & Neck 1 trial, afatinib significantly improved PFS versus methotrexate, with a manageable safety profile. These results demonstrate the efficacy and feasibility of afatinib as a second-line treatment option for certain patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01856478.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation by diesel exhaust particles mediates epithelium-derived cytokines expression in severe allergic asthma.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to environmental pollutants promotes Th2 cell responses. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation aggravates allergic responses. Epithelium-derived thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-25, and IL-33 are implicated in the dysregulation of Th2 immune responses in severe allergic asthma. METHODS: Bronchial biopsies of 28 allergic severe asthma and 6 mild asthma subjects from highly polluted areas were analyzed for AhR nuclear translocation (NT), cytokine expression, and gene activation. Cultured primary epithelial cells were stimulated with diesel exhausted particles (DEP) to determine AhR-mediated IL-33, Il-25, and TSLP synthesis and release. RESULTS: Primary bronchial epithelial cells exposed to DEP showed upregulation of IL-33, IL-25, and TSLP. These effects were abolished by knockdown of AhR by siRNA. Increased AhR/ARNT binding to promoters of IL-33, IL-25, and TSLP was found using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. Allergic severe asthma with high AhR NT had higher bronchial gene and protein expression of IL-33, IL-25, and TSLP. These patients derived clinical benefit from anti-IgE treatment. CONCLUSION: Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation by DEP mediates upregulation of IL-33, IL-25, and TSLP with Th2 activation, potentially linking environmental pollution and allergic severe asthma.

Modulation of periodontitis progression using pH-responsive nanosphere encapsulating metronidazole or N-phenacylthialzolium bromide.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop pH-responsive polylactide-glycolic acid co-polymer and chitosan (PLGA/chitosan) nanosphere as an inflammation-responsive vehicle and evaluate the potential of the nanosphere encapsulating metronidazole, an antibiotic, and N-phenacylthiazolium bromide (PTB), a host modulator, for treating periodontitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: PLGA/chitosan nanospheres were fabricated using oil-in-water emulsion method. Experimental periodontitis was induced on the rat maxillae, and the sites were randomly allocated to four treatment categories, including periodontitis alone (PR), periodontitis with nanospheres alone, nanospheres encapsulating metronidazole (MT) and nanospheres encapsulating PTB (PB). The ligature was retained until the animals were killed, and the treatment outcome was evaluated by the progression of periodontal bone loss (PPBL), inflammatory cell infiltration and collagen deposition. RESULTS: The encapsulated drug was released rapidly from the nanospheres without significant initial burst release at pH 5.5. Compared with group PR, PPBL was significantly reduced in groups MT and PB on day 4 (P<.05). On day 21, PPBL was significantly lower in group PB (P<.05). In groups MT and PB, inflammation was significantly reduced in groups MT and PB relative to groups PR and periodontitis with nanospheres alone (P<.05), and collagen deposition was significantly greater relative to group PR (P<.05). CONCLUSION: PLGA/chitosan nanospheres encapsulating metronidazole or PTB showed potential for modulating periodontitis progression.

Layering Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)-based electrospun membranes and co-culture cell sheets for engineering temporomandibular joint disc.

The temporomandibular joint disk (TMJD) lacks blood vessels and is characterized by slow self-repair. Qualitative lesions in TMJD are difficult to repair. In this study, electrospun poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds were used to reconstruct temporomandibular joint discs by tissue engineering. Rabbit temporomandibular joint disc cells (TMJDCs) and rabbit synovium-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) were co-cultured in 1:1 ratios. Cell sheets were induced by ascorbic acid incubated with electrospun PLGA scaffolds for 14 days in the presence (10 ng/ml in culture medium) or absence of TGF-ß3. Dimethylmethylene Blue Assay (DMMB) was used to determine the content of glycosaminoglycans in the extracellular matrix. The expression of Col1a1, Col2a1, Sox-9 and Runx-2 was quantified by RT-PCR, and the expression of type II collagen was observed by immunofluorescent staining. After 14 days of cultivation, the electrospun PLGA scaffold-loaded cell sheets could form an articular disc tissue with certain morphological characteristics. The expression of chondrogenic-related genes (Col2a1, Sox-9) and the secretion of extracellular matrix (GAG, type II collagen) in the co-culture group were close to those in the TMJDC group alone. The results suggest that PLGA electrospun scaffold-loaded co-cultured cell membrane could be used in the tissue engineering reconstruction of the temporomandibular joint disc.

Hyaluronic acid/ Hyaluronidase as biomarkers for bladder cancer: a diagnostic meta-analysis.

This study aimed to determine the value of HA/HAase for detecting bladder cancer on the basis of preceding statistical performance. PubMed, Springer Link, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were systematically searched to identify potentially relevant published articles by using the key words: "bladder cancer or bladder tumor or bladder carcinoma", "hyaluronic acid or hyaluronan", "hyaluronidase or HAase". The methodological quality of each study was assessed by QUADAS-2. According to the inclusive and exclusive criteria, 8 articles were identified and methodologically analyzed by STATA 12.0 software package.The results showed that the pooled sensitivity of HA and HAase was 0.832 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.798, 0.861) and 0.834 (95% CI: 0.756, 0.891) respectively, the pooled specificity was 0.886 (95% CI: 0.852, 0.913) and 0.860 (95% CI: 0.801, 0.904), and the area under the summary ROC cure (AUC) was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.87, 0.92) and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.88, 0.93), respectively. Simultaneously the diagnostic accuracy of the combination of HA and HAase showed that the pooled sensitivity was 0.908 (95% CI: 0.879, 0.931), the pooled specificity was 0.825 (95% CI: 0.789, 0.856) and AUC was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.91, 0.95), indicating a relatively higher accuracy than HA and HAase alone. This meta-analysis strongly suggests that HA/HAase could be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis of bladder cancer.

Assessing coughing-induced influenza droplet transmission and implications for infection risk control.

Indoor transmission of respiratory droplets bearing influenza within humans poses high risks to respiratory function deterioration and death. Therefore, we aimed to develop a framework for quantifying the influenza infection risk based on the relationships between inhaled/exhaled respiratory droplets and airborne transmission dynamics in a ventilated airspace. An experiment was conducted to measure the size distribution of influenza-containing droplets produced by coughing for a better understanding of potential influenza spread. Here we integrated influenza population transmission dynamics, a human respiratory tract model, and a control measure approach to examine the indoor environment-virus-host interactions. A probabilistic risk model was implemented to assess size-specific infection risk for potentially transmissible influenza droplets indoors. Our results found that there was a 50% probability of the basic reproduction number (R0) exceeding 1 for small-size influenza droplets of 0·3-0·4 µm, implicating a potentially high indoor infection risk to humans. However, a combination of public health interventions with enhanced ventilation could substantially contain indoor influenza infection. Moreover, the present dynamic simulation and control measure assessment provide insights into why indoor transmissible influenza droplet-induced infection is occurring not only in upper lung regions but also in the lower respiratory tract, not normally considered at infection risk.

Empyema caused by Anaeroglobus geminates, a case report with literature review.

Little is known about the virulence and clinical impact on humans from infection with Anaeroglobus geminates, an anaerobic gram-negative coccus belonging to the family Veillonellaceae. We report the first case of an Anaeroglobus geminates invasive infection in humans characterized by pneumonia complicated with empyema. The pathogen was initially identified as Veillonella spp. by an automatic identification system (Becton-Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) and definitively identified following 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence analysis. The patient was cured by surgical decortication and antimicrobial therapy. In this case, the combination of effective antibiotics, surgical intervention, and adequate drainage successfully cured the patient.

The correlation between lipoprotein ratios and hearing outcome in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients.

OBJECTIVE: Recent reports have identified hypercholesterolaemia as a significant risk factor for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). Therefore, we investigated whether lipid profiles and lipoprotein ratios are correlated with the prognosis of hearing recovery in ISSNHL patients. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients with ISSNHL were classified into four groups (complete, partial, slight and no recovery) according to their degree of hearing recovery using Siegel's criteria and the Sudden Deafness Research Group (SDRG) criteria developed by the Japanese Ministry of Welfare. All patients' lipid profiles were analysed, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides. We calculated the ratios of TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C and used statistical methods to evaluate correlations between lipid profiles and lipoprotein ratios and ISSNHL prognosis. RESULTS: Hearing recovery was observed in 103 (62.0%) of 166 cases using Siegel's criteria and in 114 (68.7%) of 166 cases using SDRG's criteria. Among the three recovery groups (i.e. excluding the no recovery group), the ratio of LDL-C/HDL-C was found to be associated with recovery outcome by showing the ratio on an upward trend from complete recovery to slight recovery group, and the difference is statistically significant (P = 0.016 by Siegel's criteria, P = 0.041 by SDRG's criteria). Multiple linear regression analysis further revealed a significantly higher LDL-C/HDL-C ratio in slight hearing recovery group compared with complete recovery group (P = 0.007 by Siegel's criteria, P = 0.031 by SDRG's criteria). CONCLUSION: We suggested that lipoprotein ratio of LDL-C/HDL-C may be a prognostic factor for hearing recovery in ISSNHL patients. Further studies should be conducted to determine whether hearing outcomes in ISSNHL can be improved by changing patients' lipid profiles via antilipidemic treatment.

Kefir improves fatty liver syndrome by inhibiting the lipogenesis pathway in leptin-deficient ob/ob knockout mice.

OBJECTIVE: Fatty liver disease is commonly associated with obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes. Severe fatty liver is sometimes accompanied by steatohepatitis and may lead to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. At present, there is no effective treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); thus, recent investigations have focused on developing effective therapeutics to treat this condition. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of kefir on the hepatic lipid metabolism of ob/ob mice, which are commonly used to model fatty liver disease. RESULTS: In this study, we used leptin receptor-deficient ob/ob mice as an animal disease model of NAFLD. Six-week-old ob/ob mice were orally administered the dairy product kefir (140 mg kg(-1) of body weight (BW) per day) for 4 weeks. The data demonstrated that kefir improved fatty liver syndrome on BW, energy expenditure and basal metabolic rate by inhibiting serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) activities (P<0.05) and by decreasing the triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) contents of the liver (P<0.05). Oral kefir administration also significantly reduced the macrovesicular fat quantity in liver tissue. In addition, kefir markedly decreased the expression of the genes sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) (P<0.05) but not the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) or hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1α (CPT1α) in the livers of ob/ob mice. CONCLUSION: On the basis of these results, we conclude that kefir improves NAFLD on BW, energy expenditure and basal metabolic rate by inhibiting the lipogenesis pathway and that kefir may have the potential for clinical application to the prevention or treatment of NAFLD.

Oxidation of rubrene thin films: an electronic structure study.

The performances of organic semiconductor devices are crucially linked with their stability at the ambient atmosphere. The evolution of electronic structures of 20 nm thick rubrene films exposed to ambient environment with time has been studied by UV and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (UPS and XPS), near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT). XPS, NEXAFS data, and DFT calculated values suggest the formation of rubrene-epoxide and rubrene-endoperoxide through reaction of tetracene backbone with oxygen of ambient environment. Angle dependent XPS measurement indicates that the entire probed depth of the films reacts with oxygen by spending only about 120 min in ambient environment. The HOMO peak of pristine rubrene films almost disappears by exposure of 120 min to ambient environment. The evolution of the valence band (occupied states) and NEXAFS (unoccupied states) spectra indicates that the films become more insulating with exposure as the HOMO-LUMO gap increases on oxidation. Oxygen induced chemical reaction completely destroys the delocalized nature of the electron distribution in the tetracene backbone of rubrene. The results are relevant to the performance and reliability of rubrene based devices in the environment.

Genetic diversity and classification of Oryza sativa with emphasis on Chinese rice germplasm.

Despite extensive studies on cultivated rice, the genetic structure and subdivision of this crop remain unclear at both global and local scales. Using 84 nuclear simple sequence repeat markers, we genotyped a panel of 153 global rice cultivars covering all previously recognized groups and 826 cultivars representing the diversity of Chinese rice germplasm. On the basis of model-based grouping, neighbour-joining tree and principal coordinate analysis, we confirmed the widely accepted five major groups of rice cultivars (indica, aus, aromatic, temperate japonica and tropical japonica), and demonstrated that rayada rice was unique in genealogy and should be treated as a new (the sixth) major group of rice germplasm. With reference to the global classification of rice cultivars, we identified three major groups (indica, temperate japonica and tropical japonica) in Chinese rice germplasm and showed that Chinese temperate japonica contained higher diversity than that of global samples, whereas Chinese indica and tropical japonica maintained slightly lower diversity than that present in the global samples. Particularly, we observed that all seasonal, drought-tolerant and endosperm types occurred within each of three major groups of Chinese cultivars, which does not support previous claims that seasonal differentiation exists in Indica and drought-tolerant differentiation is present in Japonica. It is most likely that differentiation of cultivar types arose multiple times stemming from artificial selection for adaptation to local environments.

H3K27me3 may be associated with Oct4 and Sox2 in mouse preimplantation embryos.

As a core member of polycomb repressive complex 2, the transcription and enzyme activity of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (Ezh2) is directly involved in the trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3. In this study, the fluorescence intensity of H3K27me3 in mouse in vivo morulae and blastocysts was compared by indirect immunofluorescence staining. We found that demethylation of H3K27me3 occurred during the blastocyst stage. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to investigate Ezh2 expression in oocytes and in preimplantation embryos. Ezh2 expression peaked during the zygote stage and gradually decreased from the 2-cell stage, exhibiting an inverse pattern when compared with Oct4 and Sox2 mRNA in mouse preimplantation embryos. To understand the role of development-related genes on the transcription of mouse Ezh2, a promoter assay was performed in NIH/3T3 cells. Ezh2 expression was markedly suppressed by Oct4 and Sox2 alone in a dose-dependent manner, while Ezh2 promoter activity in co-transfection with Nanog, Klf-4, and c-Myc groups showed no significant change as compared with the control. Our data suggest that the demethylation of H3K27me3 is caused by the degressive expression and activity of Ezh2 in blastocysts, leading to increased expression of developmentally important transcription factors. We also observed negative effects of Oct4 and Sox2 on the transcription of Ezh2 and identified Oct4 and Sox2 as novel negative regulators of Ezh2 at the post-translation level in a mouse preimplantation embryo.

The association of frontal recess anatomy and mucosal disease on the presence of chronic frontal sinusitis: a computed tomographic analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The frontal sinus has the most complex and variable drainage routes of all paranasal sinus regions. The goal of this study was to identify these anatomical factors and inflammation areas relating to chronic frontal sinusitis by comparing radiological presentations in patients with and without frontal sinusitis. METHODS: All adult patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who had received computed tomography (CT) scans of the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses between October 2010 and September 2011. Logistic regression analysis was used to compare the distribution of various frontal recess cells and surrounding inflammatory conditions in patients with and without frontal sinusitis. RESULTS: Analysis of 240 sides of CT scans was performed with 66 sides excluded. The opacification of the frontal recess and sinus lateralis demonstrated a strong association with an increased presence of frontal sinusitis by multiple logistic regression models. CONCLUSION: Opacification of the frontal recess and sinus lateralis was found to be associated with a significantly increased risk of frontal sinusitis and developing severe blockage of drainage pathways. It provides evidence that mucosal inflammation disease in these two areas is a very important factor leading to chronic frontal sinusitis.

The effectiveness and impact of 10 gram glucose and 10 units insulin in treating hyperkalemia during living donor liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this retrospective observational study is to evaluate the effectiveness and impact on glycemia of the administration of 10 gram glucose and 10 units insulin in treating hyperkalemia during living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). METHODS: In LDLT, patients whose serum potassium exceeded 5.4 mEq/L and were treated with 10 gram glucose and 10 U regular insulin were included in this study. The descriptive statistics summarize the demographic data, baseline laboratory values, and intra-operative parameters of the treated patients. The changes of the serum potassium and serum glucose levels after treatment were analyzed by the paired Student's t-test. All the data were given as means ± SD. A P value < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. RESULTS: After administration of 10 gram glucose and 10 units regular insulin bolus intravenously, a drastic and significant decreased of serum potassium from 5.73 ± 0.44 to 4.48 ± 0.06 mEq/L was noted. The serum glucose level was slightly higher after the treatment (166.6 ± 32.1 and 196.8 ± 44.3 mg/dl respectively, p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An intravenous bolus of 10 units regular insulin with 10 gram glucose was able to decrease the serum -potassium level effectively and additionally increase serum glucose in LDLT patients.

Effect of Esketamine on perioperative anxiety and depression in women with systemic tumors based on big data medical background.

OBJECTIVE: Perioperative anxiety and depression syndrome (PADS) is a common clinical concern among women with systemic tumors. Esketamine has been considered for its potential to alleviate anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, its specific application and effectiveness in PADS among women with systemic tumors remain unclear. This study aimed to analyze the utility of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms based on electroencephalogram (EEG) signals in evaluating perioperative anxiety and depression in women with systemic tumors treated with Esketamine, utilizing a large-scale medical data background. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled (SC-RPC) trial design was adopted. A total of 112 female patients with systemic tumors and PADS who received Esketamine treatment were included as study participants. A moderate dose (0.7 mg/kg) of Esketamine was administered through intravenous infusion over a duration of 60 minutes. EEG signals were collected from all patients, and the EEG signal features of individuals with depression were compared to those without depression. In this study, a Support Vector Machine (SVM)-K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) hybrid classifier was constructed based on SVM and KNN algorithms. Using the EEG signals, the classifier was utilized to assess the anxiety and depression status of the patients. The predictive performance of the classifier was evaluated using accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity measures. RESULTS: The C2 correntropy feature of the delta rhythm in the left-brain EEG signal was significantly higher in individuals with depression compared to those without depression (p<0.05). Moreover, the C2 correntropy feature of the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma rhythms in the left-brain EEG signal was significantly lower in individuals with depression compared to those without depression (p<0.05). In the right brain EEG signal, the C2 correntropy feature of the delta rhythm was significantly higher in individuals with depression (p<0.05), while the C2 correntropy feature of the alpha and gamma rhythms was significantly lower in individuals with depression compared to those without depression (p<0.05). Additionally, the C1 correntropy feature of the Gamma rhythm in the right brain EEG signal was significantly higher in individuals with depression compared to those without depression (p<0.05). The SVM classifier achieved accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 98.23%, 98.10%, and 98.56%, respectively, in recognizing the left-brain EEG signals, with a correlation coefficient of 0.95. In recognizing the right brain EEG signals, the SVM classifier achieved accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 98.74%, 98.43%, and 99.03%, respectively, with a correlation coefficient of 0.96. The improved SVM-KNN approach yielded an accuracy, recall, precision, F-score, area over the curve (AOC), and Receiver Operation Characteristics (ROC) of 0.829, 0.811, 0.791, 0.853, 0.787, and 0.877, respectively, in predicting anxiety. For predicting depression, the accuracy, recall, precision, F-score, AOC, and ROC were 0.869, 0.842, 0.831, 0.893, 0.827, and 0.917, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences were observed in the brain EEG signals between individuals with depression and those without depression. The improved SVM-KNN algorithm developed in this study demonstrates good predictive capability for anxiety and depression.

The effectiveness of kinesio taping for athletes with medial elbow epicondylar tendinopathy.

Kinesio taping has also been used for athletes with Medial Elbow Epicondylar Tendinopathy (MET) as an additional treatment method. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical effectiveness of Kinesio tape on maximal grip strength and absolute and related force sense in athletes with MET when applied to the medial forearm. 27 male athletes who voluntarily participated in this study were divided into a healthy group (n=17) and a MET group (n=10). All subjects were assessed for the maximal grip strength and grip force sense (absolute and related force sense) under 3 taping conditions: 1) without taping; 2) with placebo Kinesio taping; and 3) with Kinesio taping. No significant interaction was found between groups and taping condition in maximal grip force and related force sense error, except for absolute force sense error (p=0.04). Both groups with absolute force sense measurements had significantly decreased errors in the placebo Kinesio taping and Kinesio taping conditions. Both taping may enhance discrimination of magnitude of grip force control (absolute force sense) in both groups when applied to the forearm. However, Kinesio taping did not change maximal grip strength in either group. The effects of Kinesio taping on other muscle functions remain to be studied.

Investigating the prognostic value of m6A methylation-related genes in renal cell carcinoma patients.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to explore the importance of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation-associated genes concerning the clinical outcome of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by employing the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database along with various bioinformatics methodologies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The transcriptome and clinical data of RCC patients were obtained from the TCGA database. We identified the differential expression of 13 genes and selected potential predictive genes for further analysis of their prognostic values. RESULTS: Ten genes (YTHDC2, FTO, YTHDF2, METTL3, KIAA1429, ZC3H13, METTL14, ALKBH5, WTAP, and RBM15) exhibited altered expression levels in RCC. Subgroup analysis based on m6A methylation-related gene expression levels revealed no significant differences in survival rates, but significant differences were observed in grade, T stage, and gender. Five potential predictors (FTO, RBM15, YTHDC2, ZC3H13b, and ALKBH5) demonstrated independent predictive value. Multivariate analysis selected two regulators (METTL14 and METTL3), and based on these, prognostic signals for RCC were constructed, independent of potential confounding factors. The model clearly distinguished between samples with good and poor prognoses. CONCLUSIONS: The expression levels of m6A methylation-related genes in RCC patients were found to differ and were associated with survival rates and prognosis. These findings suggest that m6A methylation-related genes could serve as prognostic indicators and promising therapeutic targets for RCC patients.