Association between vitamin D and cardiovascular health in Chinese children and adolescents: Basing on Life's Essential 8.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The relationship between vitamin D and cardiovascular health (CVH) in children remains unclear. We aimed to explore the association between vitamin D and CVH metrics using the latest Life's Essential 8 (LE8) among Chinese children and adolescents. METHODS AND RESULTS: A cross-sectional study containing 2680 participants aged 7-18 years (1340 boys and 1340 girls) was performed in South China in 2013. Vitamin D levels were categorized as follows: ≥20 ng/mL (sufficiency), 12 - < 20 ng/mL (inadequacy), and <12 ng/mL (deficiency). The CVH metrics of LE8 was assessed by overall CVH score, health behavior score, health factor score and high CVH, among which the health behaviors included diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, and sleep health, as well as the health factors contained body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Different regression models were used to assess the associations between vitamin D levels and CVH metrics of LE8. Results showed that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and inadequacy was 7.5% and 44.4%, respectively. Boys had lower levels in overall CVH score, health behavior score, and health factor score than girls. After adjusting for potential confounds, upward trends in diet score, health behavior score, and high CVH were observed with increasing vitamin D levels. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D levels were positively associated with high CVH based on LE8, and more attention should be paid on boys due to whose lower levels in CVH metrics.

Genetic transformation system for Bacillus velezensis NSZ-YBGJ001 and curing of the endogenous plasmid pBV01.

OBJECTIVES: To construct a genetic transformation system for Bacillus velezensis NSZ-YBGJ001 and identify the origin element in an endogenous plasmidpBV01 for curing pBV01 by plasmid incompatibility. RESULTS: A plasmid pUBC01 was constructed, and then an electrotransformation system for B. velezensis NSZ-YBGJ001 was developed, which reached ~ 1000 transformants per microgram of pUBC01 DNA. Additionally, a 7276-bp circular plasmid pBV01 with a G + C content of 37.5% was isolated from B. velezensis NSZ-YBGJ001 and analyzed via sequence analysis. To cure pBV01, an incompatible plasmid pBV02 harboring the replication element of pBV01 was developed and functionally replicated in both Bacillus subtilis WB600 and B. velezensis NSZ-YBGJ001. pBV01 was cured through introduction of pBV02 into B. velezensis NSZ-YBGJ001 after serial subculturing for approximately 40 generations. Finally, another plasmid, pBV03, was constructed based on pBV-ori, and exogenous genes in pBV03 could be efficiently expressed in B. subtilis. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study, including the genetic transformation system, plasmid-curing strategy, and exogenous gene expression, will support genetic manipulation of B. velezensis to promote its application in biocontrol and industry.

Upregulated TLR3 Promotes Neuropathic Pain by Regulating Autophagy in Rat With L5 Spinal Nerve Ligation Model.

Microglia, rapidly activated following peripheral nerve injury (PNI), accumulate within the spinal cord and adopt inflammation that contributes to development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. Microglia express functional Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which play pivotal roles in regulating inflammatory processes. However, little is known about the role of TLR3 in regulating neuropathic pain after PNI. Here TLR3 expression and autophagy activation was assayed in dorsal root ganglions and in microglia following PNI by using realtime PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. The role of TLR3/autophagy signaling in regulating tactile allodynia was evaluated by assaying paw mechanical withdrawal threshold and cold allodynia after intrathecal administration of Poly (I:C) and 3-methyladenine (3-MA). We found that L5 spinal nerve ligation (SNL) induces the expression of TLR3 in dorsal root ganglions and in primary rat microglia at the mRNA and protein level. Meanwhile, L5 SNL results in an increased activation of autophagy, which contributes to microglial activation and subsequent inflammatory response. Intrathecal administration of Poly (I:C), a TLR3 agonist, significantly increases the activation of microglial autophagy, whereas TLR3 knockdown markedly inhibits L5 SNL-induced microglial autophagy. Poly (I:C) treatment promotes the expression of proinflammatory mediators, whereas 3-MA (a specific inhibitor of autophagy) suppresses Poly (I:C)-induced secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Autophagy inhibition further inhibits TLR3-mediated mechanical and cold hypersensitivity following SNL. These results suggest that inhibition of TLR3/autophagy signaling contributes to alleviate neurophathic pain triggered by SNL.

Alpha-2 agonists for long-term sedation during mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Sedation reduces patient levels of anxiety and stress, facilitates the delivery of care and ensures safety. Alpha-2 agonists have a range of effects including sedation, analgesia and antianxiety. They sedate, but allow staff to interact with patients and do not suppress respiration. They are attractive alternatives for long-term sedation during mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients. OBJECTIVES: To assess the safety and efficacy of alpha-2 agonists for sedation of more than 24 hours, compared with traditional sedatives, in mechanically-ventilated critically ill patients. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, Issue 10, 2014), MEDLINE (1946 to 9 October 2014), EMBASE (1980 to 9 October 2014), CINAHL (1982 to 9 October 2014), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (1982 to 9 October 2014), ISI Web of Science (1987 to 9 October 2014), Chinese Biological Medical Database (1978 to 9 October 2014) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (1979 to 9 October 2014), the World Health Organization international clinical trials registry platform (to 9 October 2014), Current Controlled Trials metaRegister of controlled trials active registers (to 9 October 2014), the ClinicalTrials.gov database (to 9 October 2014), the conference proceedings citation index (to 9 October 2014) and the reference lists of included studies and previously published meta-analyses and systematic reviews for relevant studies. We imposed no language restriction. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included all randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials comparing alpha-2 agonists (clonidine or dexmedetomidine) versus alternative sedatives for long-term sedation (more than 24 hours) during mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently assessed study quality and extracted data. We contacted study authors for additional information. We performed meta-analyses when more than three studies were included, and selected a random-effects model due to expected clinical heterogeneity. We calculated the geometric mean difference for continuous outcomes and the risk ratio for dichotomous outcomes. We described the effects by values and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We considered two-sided P < 0.05 to be statistically significant. MAIN RESULTS: Seven studies, covering 1624 participants, met the inclusion criteria. All included studies investigated adults and compared dexmedetomidine with traditional sedatives, including propofol, midazolam and lorazepam. Compared with traditional sedatives, dexmedetomidine reduced the geometric mean duration of mechanical ventilation by 22% (95% CI 10% to 33%; four studies, 1120 participants, low quality evidence), and consequently the length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) by 14% (95% CI 1% to 24%; five studies, 1223 participants, very low quality evidence). There was no evidence that dexmedetomidine decreased the risk of delirium (RR 0.85; 95% CI 0.63 to 1.14; seven studies, 1624 participants, very low quality evidence) as results were consistent with both no effect and appreciable benefit. Only one study assessed the risk of coma, but lacked methodological reliability (RR 0.69; 95% CI 0.55 to 0.86, very low quality evidence). Of all the adverse events included, the most commonly reported one was bradycardia, and we observed a doubled (111%) increase in the incidence of bradycardia (RR 2.11; 95% CI 1.39 to 3.20; six studies, 1587 participants, very low quality evidence). Our meta-analysis provided no evidence that dexmedetomidine had any impact on mortality (RR 0.99; 95% CI 0.79 to 1.24; six studies, 1584 participants, very low quality evidence). We observed high levels of heterogeneity in risk of delirium (I² = 70%), but due to the limited number of studies we were unable to determine the source of heterogeneity through subgroup analyses or meta-regression. We judged six of the seven studies to be at high risk of bias. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: In this review, we found no eligible studies for children or for clonidine. Compared with traditional sedatives, long-term sedation using dexmedetomidine in critically ill adults reduced the duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU length of stay. There was no evidence for a beneficial effect on risk of delirium and the heterogeneity was high. The evidence for risk of coma was inadequate. The most common adverse event was bradycardia. No evidence indicated that dexmedetomidine changed mortality. The general quality of evidence ranged from very low to low, due to high risks of bias, serious inconsistency and imprecision, and strongly suspected publication bias. Future studies could pay more attention to children and to using clonidine

Epigenetic modifications of inflammation in spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a central nervous system injury that leads to neurological dysfunction or paralysis, which seriously affects patients' quality of life and causes a heavy social and economic burden. The pathological mechanism of SCI has not been fully revealed, resulting in unsatisfactory clinical treatment. Therefore, more research is urgently needed to reveal its precise pathological mechanism. Numerous studies have shown that inflammation is closely related to various pathological processes in SCI. Inflammatory response is an important pathological process leading to secondary injury, and sustained inflammatory response can exacerbate the injury and hinder the recovery of neurological function after injury. Epigenetic modification is considered to be an important regulatory mechanism in the pathological process of many diseases. Epigenetic modification mainly affects the function and characteristics of genes through the reversibility of mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and regulation of non-coding RNA, thus having a significant impact on the pathological process of diseases and the survival state of the body. Recently, the role of epigenetic modification in the inflammatory response of SCI has gradually entered the field of view of researchers, and epigenetic modification may be a potential means to treat SCI. In this paper, we review the effects and mechanisms of different types of epigenetic modifications (including histone modifications, DNA methylation, and non-coding RNAs) on post-SCI inflammation and their potential therapeutic effects on inflammation to improve our understanding of the secondary SCI stage. This review aims to help identify new markers, signaling pathways and targeted drugs, and provide theoretical basis and new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of SCI.

Low frequency­pulsed electromagnetic fields promote osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow­derived mesenchymal stem cells by regulating connexin 43 expression.

The present study investigated the effect of connexin 43 (Cx43) on the regulation of osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) using low-frequency-pulsed electromagnetic fields (LPEMF). The BMSCs were isolated and cultured in vitro using adherent whole-bone marrow cultures. CCK-8 assay was used to detect the effects of LPEMF on the proliferation ability of BMSCs and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the levels of osteogenic marker genes were detected to evaluate the osteogenic ability change following LPEMF treatment. Lentiviral vector-mediated RNA interference was transfected into BMSCs to inhibit the expression of Cx43 and western blotting was used to detect Cx43 expression. The BMSCs showed the highest proliferation following LPEMF treatment at 80 Hz for 1 h. The results of ALP activity, osteogenic marker genes and Alizarin Red S staining showed that the osteogenic ability was notably increased following LPEMF treatment at 80 Hz for 1 h. Cx43 expression increased during the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs following LPEMF treatment at 80 Hz. The enhanced osteogenic differentiation of the LPEMF-treated BMSCs were partially reversed when Cx43 expression was inhibited. LPEMF may promote the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs by regulating Cx43 expression and enhancing osteogenic ability.

The Role of Resveratrol on Spinal Cord Injury: from Bench to Bedside.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe and disabling injury of the central nervous system, with complex pathological mechanisms leading to sensory and motor dysfunction. Pathological processes, such as oxidative stress, inflammatory response, apoptosis, and glial scarring are important factors that aggravate SCI. Therefore, the inhibition of these pathological processes may contribute to the treatment of SCI. Currently, the pathogenesis of SCI remains under investigation as SCI treatment has not progressed considerably. Resveratrol, a natural polyphenol with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, is considered a potential therapeutic drug for various diseases and plays a beneficial role in nerve damage. Preclinical studies have confirmed that signaling pathways are closely related to the pathological processes in SCI, and resveratrol is believed to exert therapeutic effects in SCI by activating the related signaling pathways. Based on current research on the pathways of resveratrol and its role in SCI, resveratrol may be a potentially effective treatment for SCI. This review summarizes the role of resveratrol in promoting the recovery of nerve function by regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and glial scar formation in SCI through various mechanisms and pathways, as well as the deficiency of resveratrol in SCI research and the current and anticipated research trends of resveratrol. In addition, this review provides a background for further studies on the molecular mechanisms of SCI and the development of potential therapeutic agents. This information could also help clinicians understand the known mechanisms of action of resveratrol and provide better treatment options for patients with SCI.

Effects of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) technology on early recovery quality in patients after thyroid surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Patient-focused evaluation of postoperative recover has been recognized as one of the most important concerns in postoperative medicine. Previous studies have shown that the Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) Questionnaire can be used to accurately assess the quality of recovery from surgery. During thyroid surgery using intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) technology, the strategy of low dose of muscle relaxant, intubation of different endotracheal tubes and electrical stimulation on vocal cord are applied. Its still unknown if these performances would affect patients' postoperative recovery in thyroid surgery patients. METHODS: 82 patients were randomly assigned to the neuromonitoring group (NEURO Group) and the control group (CON Group). In the CON Group, rocuronium (0.6 mg / kg) was given for intubation and additional dose was injected if needed, while in the NEURO Group, only rocuronium (0.3 mg / kg) was given when induction. The primary outcome is the QoR-40 scores on postoperative day 1 (POD1) and postoperative day 3 (POD3). Other parameters, such as postoperative nausea or vomiting (PONV) and medical cost were also recorded. RESULTS: One subject in each group was excluded, leaving 80 for analysis. In the NEURO Group, the global QoR-40 score, emotional state, physical comfort, physical independence and pain were significantly lower both on POD1 and POD3 (P<0.05). Patients in the NEURO Group had a higher incidence of PONV (P<0.05) and medical expense (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: After thyroidectomy, the patients using IONM suffer worse quality of recovery, more risk of PONV and increased medical expense.

p53/MicroRNA-34 axis in cancer and beyond.

Cancer is serious endangers human life. After a long period of research and accumulation, people's understanding of cancer and the corresponding treatment methods are constantly developing. p53 is an important tumor suppressor gene. With the more in-depth understanding of the structure and function of p53, the more importance of this tumor suppressor gene is realized in the process of inhibiting tumor formation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulatory molecules with a length of about 22nucleotides (nt), which belong to non-coding RNA and play an important role in the occurrence and development of tumors. miR-34 is currently considered to be a master regulator of tumor suppression. The positive feedback regulatory network formed by p53 and miR-34 can inhibit the growth and metastasis of tumor cells and inhibit tumor stem cells. This review focuses on the latest progress of p53/miR-34 regulatory network, and discusses its application in tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Reflection power suppression for solid state amplifiers with combiner optimization.

The application of high-power solid state amplifiers (SSAs) in accelerator facilities is increasing, and equipment failure caused by reflected power is the main risk to their long-term operation. High-power SSAs often comprise multiple power amplifier modules. Full power reflection is more likely to damage the modules in SSAs if the amplitudes of the modules are unequal. Optimization of the power combiners is an effective means for improving the stability of SSAs under high power reflection. This study analyzes the mechanisms and conditions of reflected power generation using the scattering parameters of the combiner and proposes an optimization scheme for the combiner. The simulation and experimental results show that some modules may receive reflected power as high as nearly four times the rated power of one module when the SSA meets certain conditions, which could damage the modules. The maximum reflected power can be effectively reduced and the anti-reflection ability of SSAs can be improved by optimizing the combiner parameters to suppress the maximum reflected power.

Design and verification of a high-gradient and high-power 2nd harmonic cavity for the China Spallation Neutron Source upgrade project.

Here, we report our recent progress in the design, fluid thermodynamics simulation, and high-power test of the2nd harmonic cavity for the China Spallation Neutron Source Phase II. A high-performance and large-size magnetic alloy (MA) core was developed as the load material for the radiofrequency cavity to achieve a high gradient of 40 kV/m. The water-cooling structure and cooling efficiency were studied and improved through numerical analysis and thermal experiments. The long-term stability of the cavity, especially the waterproofness of the MA cores with high heat load, was verified by high power tests.

A low-frequency normal conducting cavity with higher-order mode damping for fourth-generation synchrotron radiation sources.

The utilization of a low-frequency (<200 MHz) RF system in storage facilitates the attainment of ultra-low emittances in synchrotron light sources through on-axis injection. This paper focuses on the development of a low-frequency normal conducting (NC) cavity with higher-order mode (HOM) damping for fourth-generation synchrotron light sources. We propose a novel approach to achieve efficient HOM damping in a NC cavity by optimizing the lowest frequency HOM and implementing a beam-line absorber. Notably, unlike conventional NC cavities, the presence of a large beam tube for the beam-line absorber does not compromise the accelerating performance in a coaxial resonant cavity, enabling effective HOM damping while maintaining a high shunt impedance. Through simulations, the prototype design of a 166.6 MHz HOM-damped cavity demonstrates a fundamental mode impedance of ∼8 MΩ, with longitudinal and transverse HOM impedances below 2.0 and 50 kΩ/m, respectively.

Salinity effects on the strength and morphological indices of soft marine clay.

This study evaluates the strength behaviors and morphological characteristics of Lianyungang marine clay under the effect of porewater salinity. Soil at higher salinity was found to have increased internal friction angle and undrained shear strength. The difference in undrained shear strength enlarges as the confining pressure increases. Different stress paths were exhibited with soil at different salinities. Soil morphology analysis including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Image-Pro Plus (IPP) were employed to investigate the underlying mechanism of the enhanced strength behaviors of soft marine clay with increased salinity. Aggregated soil fabric was observed at higher salinity and contributed to enhanced strength. The results demonstrate that the aggregated soil structure is the primary mechanism responding to the enhanced strength behavior of marine clay under relatively high salinity (6%). Quantitative relationships were developed between the strength parameters and morphological characteristics of soil, i.e., area of particles, roundness of particles, area of pores, pore orientation, and fractal dimension of pore distribution, in the forms of empirical equations, and are expected to serve as the references for prediction in undrained behaviors of soft marine clays with known soil index.

Seed Transmission of Tomato Spotted Wilt Orthotospovirus in Peppers.

Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) severely damaged agricultural production in many places around the world. It is generally believed that TSWV transmits among plants via their insect vector. In this study, we provide evidence on the seed-borne transmission of TSWV in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants. RT-PCR, RT-qPCR, and transmission electron microscopy data demonstrate the seed transmission ability of TSWV in peppers. Endosperm, but not the embryo, is the abundant virus-containing seed organ. TSWV can also be detected in the second generation of newly germinated seedlings from virus-containing seed germination experiments. Our data are useful for researchers, certification agencies, the seed industry, and policy makers when considering the importance of TSWV in vegetable production all over the world.

[Synthesis and photoluminescence of novel terbium(III) ternary complexes with carboxylic acid].

In the present paper, imidazo[5,6-f] phenanthroline(IP), 2-aniline carbonyl benzoic acid (HAB) and 2-diphenylamine carbonyl benzoic acid (HDPAB) were synthesized at room temperature. Under the same condition, with HAB and HDPAB as the first ligand and IP as the secondary ligand, two novel ternary organic terbium complexes were prepared in ethanol solution. Elemental analysis demonstrated that the chemical formula of the two ternary complexes were Tb(HAB)3IP and Tb(HDPAB)3IP. The spectroscopic properties of the ligands and complexes were also discussed. IR spectra indicated that rare earth Tb3+ ion was coordinated with oxygen atoms of the first ligand HAB and HDPAB and two nitrogen atoms of the secondary ligand IP. The UV spectra showed that the main absorption was from the first ligand in the ternary complexes, the secondary ligand was bonded to rare earth Tb3+ ion and the energy transfer efficiency of HAB was higher than that of HDPAB. The excitation and emission spectra of the two terbium complexes were measured and investigated, especially by comparing their fluorescence intensities. Fluorescence spectra demonstrated that the two kinds of ternary organic terbium complexes could emit characteristic fluorescence of rare earth Tb3+ ion. But the fluorescence intensity of Tb(HAB) IP was obviously higher than that of Tb(HDPAB)3 IP. Compared with two first ligands HDPAB and HAB, the fluorescence intensities of the two ternary organic terbium complexes were found to be influenced by the molecule structure, and the benzene ring which was coordinated with nitrogen atom increased in HDPAB. In the system of ternary complexes, due to the different coordinated number of benzene ring, the mobility of electron and the distribution of electron cloud were changed. The variation affected the transition of the pi electrons, which can take in the energy in ternary complexes. So, the energy transfer efficiency from the first ligand to rare earth Tb3+ ion decreased and Antenna effect achieved inefficiency in Tb(HDPAB)3IP.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Multimodal Risk Assessment Model for Surgical Site Infection (AMRAMS): Development and Validation Study.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common types of health care-associated infections. It increases mortality, prolongs hospital length of stay, and raises health care costs. Many institutions developed risk assessment models for SSI to help surgeons preoperatively identify high-risk patients and guide clinical intervention. However, most of these models had low accuracies. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to provide a solution in the form of an Artificial intelligence-based Multimodal Risk Assessment Model for Surgical site infection (AMRAMS) for inpatients undergoing operations, using routinely collected clinical data. We internally and externally validated the discriminations of the models, which combined various machine learning and natural language processing techniques, and compared them with the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) risk index. METHODS: We retrieved inpatient records between January 1, 2014, and June 30, 2019, from the electronic medical record (EMR) system of Rui Jin Hospital, Luwan Branch, Shanghai, China. We used data from before July 1, 2018, as the development set for internal validation and the remaining data as the test set for external validation. We included patient demographics, preoperative lab results, and free-text preoperative notes as our features. We used word-embedding techniques to encode text information, and we trained the LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) model, random forest model, gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) model, convolutional neural network (CNN) model, and self-attention network model using the combined data. Surgeons manually scored the NNIS risk index values. RESULTS: For internal bootstrapping validation, CNN yielded the highest mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.889 (95% CI 0.886-0.892), and the paired-sample t test revealed statistically significant advantages as compared with other models (P<.001). The self-attention network yielded the second-highest mean AUROC of 0.882 (95% CI 0.878-0.886), but the AUROC was only numerically higher than the AUROC of the third-best model, GBDT with text embeddings (mean AUROC 0.881, 95% CI 0.878-0.884, P=.47). The AUROCs of LASSO, random forest, and GBDT models using text embeddings were statistically higher than the AUROCs of models not using text embeddings (P<.001). For external validation, the self-attention network yielded the highest AUROC of 0.879. CNN was the second-best model (AUROC 0.878), and GBDT with text embeddings was the third-best model (AUROC 0.872). The NNIS risk index scored by surgeons had an AUROC of 0.651. CONCLUSIONS: Our AMRAMS based on EMR data and deep learning methods-CNN and self-attention network-had significant advantages in terms of accuracy compared with other conventional machine learning methods and the NNIS risk index. Moreover, the semantic embeddings of preoperative notes improved the model performance further. Our models could replace the NNIS risk index to provide personalized guidance for the preoperative intervention of SSIs. Through this case, we offered an easy-to-implement solution for building multimodal RAMs for other similar scenarios.

Resveratrol attenuates inflammation environment-induced nucleus pulposus cell senescence in vitro.

Intervertebral disc degeneration is a disease identified as an inflammation response-participated pathological process. As a classical cellular feature, disc cell senescence is reported to be closely related with disc cell senescence. Resveratrol has a protective role against inflammation in some cells. However, its biological effects on disc cells remain largely unclear. The present study was aimed to study the effects of resveratrol on disc nucleus pulposus (NP) cell senescence in an inflammation environment. Isolated NP cells were cultured in cultured medium with (control group) or without (inflammation group) inflammatory cytokine TNF-α and IL-1ß for 14 days. Resveratrol was added along with the NP cells treated with inflammatory cytokines to investigate its effects. NP cell senescence was analyzed by senescence-associated ß-Galactosidase (SA-ß-Gal) staining, cell proliferation, G0/1 cell cycle arrest, telomerase activity, gene/protein expression of senescence markers (p16 and p53) and NP matrix biosynthesis. In addition, the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was also analyzed. Compared with the control group, inflammation group significantly increased SA-ß-Gal activity and ROS content, decreased cell proliferation and telomerase activity, promoted G0/1 cell cycle arrest, up-regulated gene/protein expression of senescence markers (p16 and p53) and matrix catabolism enzymes (MMP-3, MMP-13 and ADAMTS-4), and down-regulated gene/protein expression of NP matrix macromolecules (aggrecan and collagen II). However, resveratrol partly reversed the effects of inflammatory cytokine on these cell senescence-associated parameters. Together, resveratrol was effective to suppress cell senescence in an inflammatory environment. The present study shows new knowledge on how to retard inflammation response-initiated disc degeneration.

Kinesio taping improves pain and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a meta-analysis from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the efficacy of Kinesio Taping in reducing pain and increasing knee function in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: The electronic databases include PubMed, Embase, web of science and the Cochrane Library up to August 2018. Studies searched were considered eligible if they met the criteria as follows: Population: patients with knee OA; Intervention: intervention groups received Kinesio Taping for the treatment of knee OA; Comparisons: Control group received sham taping; 3) Outcomes: visual analog scale (VAS), McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scale, range of motion and muscle strength; Study design: RCTs. The Cochrane Collaboration's tool was used to assess risk of bias. We assessed statistical heterogeneity for each RCT with the use of a standard Chi2 test and the I2 statistic. STATA statistical software 15.0 was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: Five RCTs involving 308 patients were included. The present meta-analysis demonstrated that there were significant differences between Kinesio Taping groups and control groups in terms of visual analog scale (VAS), WOMAC scale and flexion range of motion. No significant difference was found regarding quadriceps femoris muscle between groups. CONCLUSION: Kinesio Taping is effective in improving for pain and joint function in patients with knee OA. Due to the limited quality of the evidence currently available, the results of our meta-analysis should be treated with caution.