Is the disappearance of the cervical flexion-relaxation phenomenon associated with cervical degeneration in healthy people?

PURPOSE: This study aims to explore the differences in cervical degeneration between healthy people with and without cervical flexion-relaxation phenomenon (FRP) and to identify whether the disappearance of cervical FRP is related to cervical degeneration. METHODS: According to the flexion relaxation ratio (FRR), healthy subjects were divided into the normal FRP group and the abnormal FRP group. Besides, MRI was used to evaluate the degeneration of the passive subsystem (vertebral body, intervertebral disc, cervical sagittal balance, etc.) and the active subsystem (deep flexors [DEs], deep extensors [DFs], and superficial extensors [SEs]). In addition, the correlation of the FRR with the cervical degeneration score, C2-7Cobb, Borden method, relative total cross-sectional area (rTCSA), relative functional cross-sectional area (rFCSA), and fatty infiltration ratio (FIR) was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 128 healthy subjects were divided into the normal FRP group (n=52, 40.63%) and the abnormal FRP group (n=76, 59.38%). There were significant differences between the normal FRP group and the abnormal FRP group in the cervical degeneration score (z=-6.819, P<0.001), C2-7Cobb (t=2.994, P=0.004), Borden method (t=2.811, P=0.006), and FIR of DEs (t=-4.322, P<0.001). The FRR was significantly correlated with the cervical degeneration score (r=-0.457, P<0.001), C2-7Cobb (r=0.228, P=0.010), Borden method (r=0.197, P=0.026), and FIR of DEs (r=-0.253, P=0.004). CONCLUSION: The disappearance of cervical FRP is related to cervical degeneration. A new hypothesis mechanism for FRP is proposed. The cervical FRP test is an effective and noninvasive examination for the differential diagnosis of healthy people, people with potential NSNP, and patients with NSNP.

RIOK3 potentially regulates osteogenesis-related pathways in ankylosing spondylitis and the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), which are key effectors of gene expression, play critical roles in inflammation and immune regulation. However, the potential biological function of RBPs in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) remains unclear. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of five patients with AS and three healthy persons by RNA-seq, obtained differentially expressed RBPs by overlapping DEGs and RBPs summary table. RIOK3 was selected as a target RBP and knocked down in mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (mBMSCs), and transcriptomic studies of siRIOK3 mBMSCs were performed again using RNA-seq. Results showed that RIOK3 knockdown inhibited the expression of genes related to osteogenic differentiation, ribosome function, and ß-interferon pathways in mBMSCs. In vitro experiments have shown that RIOK3 knockdown reduced the osteogenic differentiation ability of mBMSCs. Collectively, RIOK3 may affect the differentiation of mBMSCs and participate in the pathogenesis of AS, especially pathological bone formation.

Application of Multiple-Optimization Filtering Algorithm in Remote Sensing Image Denoising.

Denoising remote sensing images is crucial in the application and research of remote sensing imagery. Noise in remote sensing images originates from sensor characteristics, signal transmission, and environmental conditions, among which Gaussian noise is the most common type. In this paper, we proposed a multiple-optimization bilateral filtering (MOBF) algorithm based on edge detection and differential evolution (DE) methods. The proposed algorithm optimizes the spatial domain filtering kernel and the spatial domain Gaussian kernel by using the standard deviation and width of the edge response. By employing the DE algorithm, the individuals in the population based on the standard deviation of the gray value domain are subjected to iterative mutation, crossover, and selection operations to refine the latent solution vectors and determine the optimal color space for optimizing the standard deviation of the pixel range domain kernel. As a result, the MOBF algorithm, which does not require any parameter input, is realized. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, denoising experiments were conducted on remote sensing images by using evaluation metrics such as the mean squared error, peak signal-to-noise ratio, and structural similarity index. The experimental results revealed that the MOBF algorithm outperforms traditional algorithms for all three evaluation metrics.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation regulates neuroinflammation, relieves hyperalgesia and reverses despair-like behaviour in chronic constriction injury rats.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could effectively relieve the pain and depression in neuropathic pain (NP) patients. However, the specific treatment parameters and exact mechanism are still unclear. Our purpose is to observe the effects of rTMS on pain and despair-like behaviour in chronic constriction injury (CCI) rats and explore its possible mechanism. Thirty-two 8-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham operation group (S, n = 8), CCI group (n = 8), 1 Hz-rTMS group (n = 8) and 10 Hz-rTMS group (n = 8). The rTMS was applied to the left dorsal anterior agranular insular (AId) 1 week after the operation, once a day, 5 days/week for 4 consecutive weeks. Mechanical hyperalgesia, despair-like behaviours and sciatic nerve function were used to evaluate the effects of rTMS. Besides, glucose metabolism, the metabotropic glutamate receptors 5 (mGluR5), N-Methyl-D-Aspartic acid receptor type 2B (NMDAR2B), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (Ll-6) and interleukin-1ß (Ll-1ß) in AId were tested to explore the possible mechanism. Compared with 1 Hz-rTMS, the rats of 10 Hz-rTMS had higher the mechanical hyperalgesia, higher sugar preference and shorter swimming immobility time. Besides, the expressions of mGluR5, NMDAR2B, TNF-α, Ll-1ß and Ll-6 both in 1 Hz-rTMS and 10 Hz-rTMS groups were reduced compared with the CCI group; the 10 Hz-rTMS group had a more decrease than that of 1 Hz-rTMS. Furthermore, the [18]F-FDG uptake was lower than that in the 1 Hz-rTMS group. Compared with 1 Hz-rTMS, 10 Hz-rTMS could more effectively relieve mechanical hyperalgesia and reverse despair-like behaviour in rats. The mechanism could be related to regulating mGluR5/NMDAR2B-related inflammatory signalling pathways in the AId.

Synthesis of Nanostructured Bismuth Sulfide with Controllable Morphology for Advanced Lithium/Sodium-Ion Storage.

Rational design of electrode materials with an excellent structure and morphology is crucial for improving electrochemical properties. Herein, various unique nanostructured Bi2S3 materials with controllable morphology were obtained through a simple and efficient oil bath reaction strategy. Bi2S3 with different morphologies can be obtained by regulating the polarity of solvent, and the lattice spacing can also be adjusted. The Bi2S3 nanomaterials obtained with ethanol as solvent (BS-3) show a three-dimensional nanoflower-like structure assembled with porous layers. The unique structure facilitates the transport of ions and accommodates the volume variation of Bi2S3 during energy storage. Consequently, BS-3 nanoflowers exhibited superior cycling stability and excellent high-rate capability for lithium storage (maintained a high capacity of 923.8 mA h g-1 after 950 cycles at 1.0 A g-1) and excellent sodium storage. We provide guidance for precise synthesis and energy storage application of Bi2S3 nanomaterials.

Biological Application of Novel Biodegradable Cellulose Composite as a Hemostatic Material.

Degradable hemostatic materials have unique advantages in reducing the amount of bleeding, shortening the surgical operation time, and improving patient prognosis. However, none of the current hemostatic materials are ideal and have disadvantages. Therefore, a novel biodegradable cellulose-based composite hemostatic material was prepared by crosslinking sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CCNa) and hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), following an improved vacuum freeze-drying method. The resulting cellulose composite material was neutral in pH and spongy with a density of 0.042 g/cm3, a porosity of 77.68%, and an average pore size of 13.45 µm. The composite's compressive and tensile strengths were 0.1 MPa and 15.2 MPa, respectively. Under in vitro conditions, the composites were degraded gradually through petite molecule stripping and dissolution, reaching 96.8% after 14 days and 100% degradation rate at 21 days. When implanted into rats, the degradation rate of the composite was slightly faster, reaching 99.7% in 14 days and 100% in 21 days. Histology showed a stable inflammatory response and no evidence of cell degeneration, necrosis, or abnormal hyperplasia in the tissues around the embedded material, indicating good biocompatibility. In the hemorrhagic liver model, the time to hemostasis and the total blood loss in the cellulose composite group was significantly lower than in the medical gauze group and the blank control group (P < 0.05). These data indicate that the novel cellulose composite is a promising implantable hemostatic material in clinical settings.

Using the Delphi method to establish pediatric emergency triage criteria in a grade A tertiary women's and children's hospital in China.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to establish simplified and quantifiable triage criteria in pediatric emergency care, improving the efficiency of pediatric emergency triage and ensuring patient safety. METHODS: We preliminarily determined the pediatric emergency triage criteria with references to pediatric emergency department characteristics and internationally recognized triage tools after literature review and discussion. The final determination of the triage criteria was reached after two rounds of Delphi surveys completed by18 experts from 3 hospitals in China. RESULTS: Both round 1 and round 2 surveys had a 100% response rate. The overall expert authority coefficient in the two rounds of surveys was 0.872. The experts had 100% enthusiasm for participating in the surveys. Kendall's coefficients of concordance for conditions/symptoms in patients triaged to level 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 0.149, 0.193, 0.102, and 0.266, respectively. All p-values were less than 0.05. The coefficients of variation in conditions/symptoms, vital signs, and the Pediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS) ranged between 0.00 and 0.205, meeting the inclusion criteria. The pediatric emergency triage criteria containing conditions/symptoms, vital signs, PEWS scores, and other 4 level 1 indicators, 51 level 2 indicators and 23 level 3 indicators were built. The maximum waiting time to treatment for the patients triaged to level 1, 2, 3, and 4 was immediate, within 10 min, within 30 min, and within 240 min, respectively. CONCLUSION: The pediatric emergency triage criteria established in this study was scientific and reliable. It can be used to quickly identify the patients requiring urgent and immediate care, thereby ensuring the priorities for the care of critically ill patients.

Over-expression of SRD5A3 and its prognostic significance in breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to compare the Steroid 5 alpha-reductase 3 (SRD5A3) expression levels in breast cancer (BC) and normal tissues, to investigate the prognostic value of SRD5A3 mRNA expression in BC patients and to identify the SRD5A3-related signaling pathways using bioinformatics approaches. METHODS: We evaluated the expression levels of SRD5A3 and survival data in BC patients using different bioinformatic databases. Further, Cox regression analysis was conducted to predict the independent prognostic factors for BC. Moreover, the association of SRD5A3 with clinicopathological factors was measured through LinkedOmics database. And the potential role of SRD5A3 was determined by Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Finally, protein network of SRD5A3 was constructed and genetic alterations were analyzed. RESULTS: Bioinformatic data indicated that both mRNA and protein expression levels of SRD5A3 were higher in BC group than those in the normal group (P < 0.05). Besides, BC patients with higher SRD5A3 mRNA expression levels had a lower overall survival (all P < 0.05). Cox regression analysis further demonstrated the independent prognostic value of SRD5A3 in BC (P = 0.015). SRD5A3 mRNA expression was significantly associated with N stage (P < 0.001), age (P < 0.05), and histologic subtype (P < 0.001) but had no significant relationship with other clinical characteristics (all P > 0.05). Moreover, the functional enrichment analysis revealed that the SRD5A3 was involved in metabolism-related pathways (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SRD5A3 was highly expressed in BC tissues and high SRD5A3 expression was related to poorer prognosis. SRD5A3 serves as an oncogene and might function as a potential biomarker for prognosis and a therapeutic target for BC.

The effect of physiotherapy in rotator cuff injury patients with platelet-rich plasma: study protocol of a non-randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The study aims to identify whether Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with early physiotherapy has an advantage over PRP alone for rotator cuff injury patients, regarding pain release, function score, tear size, and quality of life improvement. METHODS: This is a single-center prospective non-randomized study implemented in July 2019 at the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University in Sichuan. Three hundred-forteen patients with rotator cuff injury aged over 18 years were recruited. Participants were assigned to the experiment group (PRP plus physiotherapy) or control group (PRP) by their desire. We used the Constant-Murley score to assess the shoulder function, the Visual Analogue Scale to evaluate shoulder pain, and the MOS Item Short-form Health Survey (SF-12) to measure the quality of life. MRI was applied to measure tear size, and the follow-up duration is 12 months. DISCUSSION: Our findings will give information on the effects of PRP and physiotherapy on rotator cuff injuries. Physiotherapy might be added to improve the effects of PRP in patients with rotator cuff injuries. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered in the Chinese clinical trial registry on September 1st, 2019 ( ChiCTR1900025563 ).

A Bibliometric Analysis Using CiteSpace of Publications from 1999 to 2018 on Patient Rehabilitation After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND Following total knee arthroplasty (TKA), postoperative patient rehabilitation is important to achieve the optimal level of knee function and mobility. Clinical research in this field is growing, and bibliometric analysis of publication may provide direction for research clinicians and raise awareness of research trends, journal selection, and key topics. Therefore, this bibliometric study aimed to analyze the current status and trends during the past two decades, between 1999 and 2018, of publications on rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and used CiteSpace. MATERIAL AND METHODS The global literature was searched between 2018 to 2019 for publications related to rehabilitation after TKA. Publication data were identified using relevant search terms and the Web of Science Core Collection database. CiteSpace (5.3.R11) software was used to analyze the journals, authors, institutions, countries, cited references, and keywords using standard bibliometric indicators. RESULTS A total of 1,292 publications were retrieved between 1999 to 2018, and the most active journals, countries, authors, and institutions in the field of TKA rehabilitation were identified. Key areas of research included postoperative analgesia, muscle inhibition, range of motion, inhibitors, knee flexion, pain control, self-reporting, spectral analysis, in vivo forces, and rotator cuff repair. The emerging research topics included epidural analgesia, physiotherapy, postoperative analgesia, recovery, and the use of ropivacaine local analgesia. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this bibliometric study provided insight into trends in clinical research publications in the field of rehabilitation following TKA for the past 20 years, including global trends in emerging areas of research.

Hip abductor strength-based exercise therapy in treating women with moderate-to-severe knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether hip abductor strength-based exercise therapy could result in further function improvement and more pain relief in women with knee osteoarthritis. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTINGS: Rehabilitation department of Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from years 2016 to 2018. SUBJECTS: In total, 82 women aged 50-70 years, with knee osteoarthritis grade II-IV on the Kellgren-Lawrence scale. INTERVENTION: The experimental group engaged in hip abductor strength-based exercises under the supervision of physical therapists (once a day for six weeks), while the control group engaged in quadriceps femoris strength-based exercises. MAIN MEASURES: Osteoarthritis severity measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, pain on a visual analogue scale and three objective functional tests were assessed at the sixth and 12th week. Repeated measures analysis of variance and multivariable analysis were applied. RESULTS: Finally, 72 participants completed the study: 35 in the experimental group and 37 in the control group. The self-reported functional difficulties score in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group both at the sixth week and at the 12th week (P < 0.001). There were significant differences between groups in the stair ascent/descent task and Figure of 8 Walk test, but not in the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test. The pain in the experimental group decreased compared with that in the control group at the sixth week (P < 0.05), but not at the 12th week (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Hip abductor strength-based exercises could result in better performance and higher self-reported function in women with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.

Aerobic exercise training at maximal fat oxidation intensity improves body composition, glycemic control, and physical capacity in older people with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Aerobic training has been used as one of the common treatments for type 2 diabetes; however, further research on the individualized exercise program with the optimal intensity is still necessary. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of supervised exercise training at the maximal fat oxidation (FATmax) intensity on body composition, glycemic control, lipid profile, and physical capacity in older people with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Twenty-four women and 25 men with type 2 diabetes, aged 60-69 years. The exercise groups trained at the individualized FATmax intensity for 1 h/day for 3 days/week over 16 weeks. No dietary intervention was introduced during the experimental period. Whole body fat, abdominal fat, oral glucose tolerance test, lipid profile, and physical capacity were measured before and after the interventions. RESULTS: FATmax intensity was at 41.3 ±â€¯3.2% VO2max for women and 46.1 ±â€¯10.3% VO2max for men. Exercise groups obtained significant improvements in body composition, with a special decrease in abdominal obesity; decreased resting blood glucose concentration and HbA1c; and increased VO2max, walking ability, and lower body strength, compared to the non-exercising controls. Daily energy intake and medication remained unchanged for all participants during the experimental period. CONCLUSION: Beside the improvements in the laboratory variables, the individualized FATmax training can also benefit daily physical capacity of older people with type 2 diabetes.

Exercise Training at Maximal Fat Oxidation Intensity for Overweight or Obese Older Women: A Randomized Study.

The purpose was to study the therapeutic effects of 12 weeks of supervised exercise training at maximal fat oxidation intensity (FATmax) on body composition, lipid profile, cardiovascular function, and physical fitness in overweight or obese older women. Thirty women (64.2 ± 5.1 years old; BMI 27.1 ± 2.3 kg/m2; body fat 41.3 ± 4.6%) were randomly allocated into the Exercise or Control groups. Participants in the Exercise group were trained at their individualized FATmax intensity (aerobic training), three days/week for one hour/day for 12 weeks. The Exercise group had significantly decreased body mass, BMI, fat mass, visceral trunk fat, and diastolic blood pressure. Furthermore, there were significant increases in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, predicted VO2max, left ventricular ejection fraction, and sit-and-reach performance. There were no changes in the measured variables of the Control group. These outcomes indicate that FATmax is an effective exercise intensity to improve body composition and functional capacity for older women with overweight or obesity.

Identification of gene expression profiles and key genes in subchondral bone of osteoarthritis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) significantly influences the quality life of people around the world. It is urgent to find an effective way to understand the genetic etiology of OA. We used weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) to explore the key genes involved in the subchondral bone pathological process of OA. Fifty gene expression profiles of GSE51588 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The OA-associated genes and gene ontologies were acquired from JuniorDoc. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis was used to find disease-related networks based on 21756 gene expression correlation coefficients, hub-genes with the highest connectivity in each module were selected, and the correlation between module eigengene and clinical traits was calculated. The genes in the traits-related gene coexpression modules were subject to functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis using ClusterProfiler. A total of 73 gene modules were identified, of which, 12 modules were found with high connectivity with clinical traits. Five modules were found with enriched OA-associated genes. Moreover, 310 OA-associated genes were found, and 34 of them were among hub-genes in each module. Consequently, enrichment results indicated some key metabolic pathways, such as extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction (hsa04512), focal adhesion (hsa04510), the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)-Akt signaling pathway (PI3K-AKT) (hsa04151), transforming growth factor beta pathway, and Wnt pathway. We intended to identify some core genes, collagen (COL)6A3, COL6A1, ITGA11, BAMBI, and HCK, which could influence downstream signaling pathways once they were activated. In this study, we identified important genes within key coexpression modules, which associate with a pathological process of subchondral bone in OA. Functional analysis results could provide important information to understand the mechanism of OA.

Diversity of Polyketide Chains Achieved by Deleting the Tailoring Genes in the Biosynthesis of Ansatrienins.

The ast gene cluster (GenBank accession numbers KF813023.1 and KP284551) was characterized to be responsible for the biosynthesis of ansatrienins in Streptomyces sp. XZQH13, which contains astC, astF1, and astF2 genes involved in the assembly of the N-cyclohexanoyl d-alanyl side chain and the hydroxylation of C-19, respectively. Further to investigating the biosynthetic mechanism of ansatrienins, herein we constructed the mutant strains XZQH13OEΔastF2 and XZQH13OEΔastCΔastF2. Three new ansatrienin analogues, namely, ansatrienols I-K (1-3), along with trienomycinol (4) and 3-O-demethyltrienomycinol (5), were isolated from the XZQH13OEΔastCΔastF2 strain, and trienomycin A (6) and trienomycin G (7) were isolated from the XZQH13OEΔastF2 strain. Their structures were determined by a combination of high-resolution MS (ESI) and 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Accordingly, a pathway for the biosynthesis of these new ansatrienins was proposed.

Impact of Minocycline on Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer, a Factor Implicated in Multiple Sclerosis Immunopathogenesis.

Extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN, CD147) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is upregulated on leukocytes in active lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Administration of anti-EMMPRIN Abs reduces the severity of EAE. Minocycline is a tetracycline antibiotic with immune-modulatory properties that decreases the severity of EAE; it was recently found to attenuate the conversion from a first demyelinating event to clinically definite MS in a phase III trial. We investigated whether and how minocycline affects the expression of EMMPRIN on T cells in culture and in mice afflicted with EAE. EMMPRIN expression in cultures of mouse splenocytes or human PBMCs was elevated upon polyclonal T cell activation, and this was reduced by minocycline correspondent with decreased P-Akt levels. An established MS medication, IFN-ß, also diminished EMMPRIN levels on human cells whereas this was not readily observed for fingolimod or monomethylfumarate. In EAE-afflicted mice, minocycline treatment significantly reduced EMMPRIN levels on splenic lymphocytes at the presymptomatic (day 7) phase, and prevented the development of disease. Day 7 spleen transcripts from minocycline-treated EAE mice had a significantly lower MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio, and significantly lower MCT-1 and CD98 levels, factors associated with EMMPRIN function. Day 16 (peak clinical severity) CNS samples from EAE mice had prominent representation of inflammatory perivascular cuffs, inflammatory molecules and EMMPRIN, and these were abrogated by minocycline. Overall, minocycline attenuated the activation-induced elevation of EMMPRIN on T cells in culture and in EAE mice, correspondent with reduced immune function and EAE CNS pathology.

Quadriceps combined with hip abductor strengthening versus quadriceps strengthening in treating knee osteoarthritis: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Lower limb strengthening, especially the quadriceps training, is of much necessity for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Previous studies suggest that strengthening of the hip muscles, especially the hip abductor, can potentially relieve the KOA-associated symptoms. Nevertheless, the effects of quadriceps combined with hip abductor strengthening remain unclear. Therefore, the current randomized controlled trial is designed aiming to observe whether quadriceps in combination with hip abductor strengthening can better improve the function and reduce pain in KOA patients than quadriceps training alone. METHODS: A total of 80 subjects with symptomatic KOA will be recruited from the communities and hospital outpatient, and will be randomly assigned to the experiment group (Quadriceps-plus-hip-abductor-strengthening) or the control group (Quadriceps-strengthening). Specifically, participants in the experiment group will complete 4 exercises to train the quadriceps and hip abductor twice a day for 6 weeks at home, while those in the control group will only perform 2 exercises to strengthen the quadriceps. Besides, all patients will also receive usual care management, including health education and physical agent therapy when necessary. Knee pain will be measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at baseline, in every week during the course of treatment, as well as 8 and 12 weeks after randomization. Furthermore, knee function will be measured using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scale, and the quality of life will be measured using the MOS Item Short-form Health Survey (SF-36). In this study, several simple tests will be applied to assess the objective function. All the assessments except for VAS will be carried out at baseline, and in the 6th, 8th and 12th weeks respectively. DISCUSSION: Our findings will provide more evidence for the effects of hip abductor strengthening on relieving pain and improving function in KOA patients. Hip abductor strengthening can be added into the muscle training program for KOA patients as a supplementary content if it is proved to be effective. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The current study has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (the registration number is ChiCTR-IOC-15007590 , 3rd December, 2015).

Exercise Training at Maximal Fat Oxidation Intensity for Older Women with Type 2 Diabetes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pleiotropic effects of 12 weeks of supervised exercise training at maximal fat oxidation (FATmax) intensity on body composition, lipid profile, glycemic control, insulin sensitivity and serum adipokine levels in older women with type 2 diabetes. Thirty-one women with type 2 diabetes, aged 60 to 69 years, were randomly allocated into exercise and control groups. Body composition, lipid profile, blood glucose, insulin resistance and serum leptin and adiponectin concentrations were measured before and after the intervention. Exercise group (n=16) walked at individualized FATmax intensities for 1 h/day for 3 days/week over 12 weeks. No dietary intervention was introduced during the experimental period. Maximal fat oxidation rate was 0.37±0.10 g/min, and occurred at 37.3±7.3% of the estimated VO2max. Within the exercise group, significant improvements were observed for most of the measured variables compared to non-exercising controls; in particular, the FATmax program reduced body fat% (p<0.001), visceral fat% (p<0.001), and insulin resistance (p<0.001). There was no significant change in daily energy intake for all participants during the intervention period. These results suggest that individualized FATmax training is an effective exercise training intensity for managing type 2 diabetes in older women.

Exercise Training Improved Body Composition,Cardiovascular Function, and Physical Fitness of 5-Year-Old Children With Obesity or Normal Body Mass.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of exercise training on body composition, cardiovascular function, and physical fitness in 5-year-old obese and lean children. METHODS: 42 obese and 62 lean children were randomly allocated into exercise and control groups separately. Body composition, cardiovascular function, and physical fitness were measured at baseline and the end of the intervention. The exercise groups participated in 10 weeks of supervised moderate intensity exercise training (at 50% of heart rate reserve), 50 training sessions in total. RESULTS: The physical activity program was successfully completed and no sport injury occurred. Exercise training decreased BMI, waist circumference, body fat%, and fat mass; and slowed down the growth speed of body mass of both trained obese and lean children. Exercise training significantly decreased systolic blood pressure of obese children and decreased their heart rate responses during exercise. Trained obese children improved the performances of long jump, 10-m × 4 shuttle run, and 3-m balance beam walk; while trained lean children improved more items of physical fitness. CONCLUSIONS: 10 weeks of moderate intensity exercise training is an effective and safe treatment for children aged 5 years, either obese or with normal body mass.

Accelerated chemical shift imaging of hyperpolarized (13) C metabolites.

PURPOSE: Chemical shift imaging (CSI) has long been considered the gold standard method for in vivo hyperpolarized (13) C metabolite imaging because of its high sensitivity. However, CSI requires a large number of excitations so it is desirable to reduce the number of RF excitations and the total acquisition time. METHODS: Centric phase encoding and three-dimensional compressed sensing methods were adopted into a CSI acquisition to improve efficiency and reduce the number of excitations required for imaging hyperpolarized metabolites. The new method was implemented on a GE MR750W scanner for routine real time metabolic imaging experiments. RESULTS: Imaging results from phantoms and in vivo animals using hyperpolarized (13) C tracers demonstrate that when the entire CSI dataset is treated as a single object, compressed sensing can be satisfactorily applied to spectroscopic CSI. Centric k-space trajectory data collection also greatly improves the acquisition efficiency. This combination of compressed sensing CSI and acquisition time reduction was used to perform a hyperpolarized (13) C dynamic study. CONCLUSION: Compressed sensing can be satisfactorily applied to conventional CSI in hyperpolarized (13) C metabolite MR imaging to reduce the number of RF excitations and accelerate the imaging speed to take advantage of conventional CSI in providing high sensitivity and a large spectral bandwidth. Magn Reson Med 76:1033-1038, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.