GSK-3β inhibition protects human nucleus pulposus cell against oxidative stress-inducing apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway.

Background: Oxidative stress in the intervertebral disc leads to nucleus pulposus (NP) degeneration by inducing cell apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. Increasing evidence indicates that GSK-3β is related to cell apoptosis induced by oxidative stress.

The dynamic rotation axis of ulnohumeral joint during active flexion-extension: an in vivo 4-dimensional computed tomography analysis.

Background: As the collateral ligament reconstruction becomes more common to perform, the knowledge between the collateral ligament reconstruction and the elbow rotation axis is still ambiguous. The purpose of this study was to investigate the location of the intersections between the elbow rotation axis and medial and lateral aspect of the humerus.

Methods: Four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) scan was designed to obtain the images from 8 participants.

Arthroscopic Management of Anterior Ankle Synovial Osteochondromatosis.

Surgical treatment has been recommended as the first choice of therapy in second and third stages of the disease. Complete synovectomy and removal of all loose bodies is advisable for prevention of recurrence of the disease. Recently, arthroscopic treatment of synovial chondromatosis is gaining popularity because of its favorable outcomes and very low complication and recurrence rates.

Endoscopy-Assisted Resection of Neurilemmoma of the Tibial Nerve at the Distal Leg.

Neurilemmoma of the tibial nerve at the distal leg is a deep-seated tumor, and diagnosis can be delayed for several years. The purpose of this Technical Note is to describe the technique of endoscopy-assisted resection of neurilemmoma of the tibial nerve at the distal leg. This minimally invasive approach can minimize soft-tissue dissection and may reduce the risk of postoperative perineural fibrosis.

Planch Root extract suppresses the growth and metastasis of hypopharyngeal carcinoma by inhibiting E2F Transcription Factor 1-mediated MNX1 antisense RNA 1.

Increasing evidence has shown that traditional Chinese medicines and their bioactive components exert an anti-tumor effect, representing a novel treatment strategy. Planch Root extracts (acRoots) have been reported to repress cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. The effect of acRoots on hypopharyngeal carcinoma progression was explored in this study.

A How-To Compendium for GammaPod Treatments, Clinical Workflow, and Clinical Program at an Early Adopting Institution.

In 2019, our institution became the second in the world to go live with GammaPod (Xcision Medical Systems, LLC, Columbia, MD), a device dedicated for stereotactic radiation therapy of breast cancer, with breast immobilization, real-time imaging, and highly-conformal dosimetry. At our institution, GammaPod is used for 5-fraction adjuvant partial breast irradiation, single-fraction tumor cavity boost before whole-breast irradiation, single-fraction preoperative radiation, and (in poor surgical candidates), single-fraction definitive radiation. Here, we describe our workflow, observed procedure step times, and homegrown techniques for improved efficiency in our institutional experience of 93 patients treated between 2019 and 2021.

Ionic interaction-driven switchable bactericidal surfaces.

Bacteria in the external environment inevitably invade the wound and subsequently colonize the wound surface during surgery and biomedical operations, which slows down the process of wound healing and tissue repair; this poses a significant threat to human health. Therefore, the development of an intelligent antibacterial surface has become the focus of research in the field of antimicrobial strategies, which has important social and economic significance. Here, we present a simple approach of producing an ionic interaction-driven anionic activation substratum which is then functionalized with cationic molecules through coulombic interactional immobilization.

A novel NAD(H)-dependent 3alpha-HSDH with enhanced activity by magnesium or manganese ions.

3α-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3α-HSDH) plays a crucial role in the metabolism of sex hormones and bile acids. In this study, we heterologously expressed and characterized a novel 3α-HSDH (named Sa 3α-HSDH). Substrate specificity tests showed that Sa 3α-HSDH could catalyze Glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA) and Glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA) with catalytic efficiency (k/K) 40.

GnRH antagonist weakens endometrial stromal cells growth ability by decreasing c-kit receptor expression.

Background: Several surveys have reported that patients treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist (GnRH-ant) protocol showed a significantly lower rate of implantation and clinical pregnancy compared to GnRH agonist (GnRH-a) protocol during in vitro fertilization-fresh embryo transfer. Subsequent studies imputed this poor outcome to the negative effects of GnRH-ant on endometrial receptive. However, the mechanisms were not fully understood.

Should paediatric chest compression depth targets consider body habitus? - A chest computed tomography imaging study.

Aim: This study explored how body habitus in the paediatric population might potentially affect the use of one-third external anterior-posterior (APD) diameter when compared to age-appropriate absolute chest compression depth targets. It also explored how body habitus could potentially affect the relationship between one-third external and internal APD (compressible space) and if body habitus indices were independent predictors of internal APD at the lower half of the sternum.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a retrospective study of chest computed tomography (CT) scans of infants and children (>24-hours-of-life to less-than-18-years-old) from 2005 to 2017.

Graphene moiré superlattices with giant quantum nonlinearity of chiral Bloch electrons.

Graphene-based samples have shown a plethora of exotic characteristics and these properties may help the realization of a new generation of fast electronic devices. However, graphene's centrosymmetry prohibits second-order electronic transport. Here, we show giant second-order nonlinear transports in graphene moiré superlattices at zero magnetic field, both longitudinal and transverse to the applied current direction.

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells-Derived Exosome and the Roles in the Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) could result in life-long disabilities and death. Though the mechanical insult causes primary injury, the secondary injury due to dysregulated responses following neuronal apoptosis and inflammation is often the cause for more detrimental consequences. Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) has been extensively investigated as the emerging therapeutic for TBI, and the functional properties are chiefly attributed to their secretome, especially the exosomes.

Multi-Omics Analysis Based on Genomic Instability for Prognostic Prediction in Lower-Grade Glioma.

Lower-grade gliomas (LGGs) are a heterogeneous set of gliomas. One of the primary sources of glioma heterogeneity is genomic instability, a novel characteristic of cancer. It has been reported that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an essential role in regulating genomic stability.

Recapitulating human cardio-pulmonary co-development using simultaneous multilineage differentiation of pluripotent stem cells.

The extensive crosstalk between the developing heart and lung is critical to their proper morphogenesis and maturation. However, there remains a lack of models that investigate the critical cardio-pulmonary mutual interaction during human embryogenesis. Here, we reported a novel stepwise strategy for directing the simultaneous induction of both mesoderm-derived cardiac and endoderm-derived lung epithelial lineages within a single differentiation of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) via temporal specific tuning of WNT and nodal signaling in the absence of exogenous growth factors.

An Exploratory Digital Board Game Approach to the Review and Reinforcement of Complex Medical Subjects Like Anatomical Education: Cross-sectional and Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Serious games have the potential to resolve educational problems faced by medical students, such as insufficient rehearsal due to boredom and lack of motivation. However, serious games' relatively novel concepts in science and many genres of games that are common in recreation remain underresearched in the literature. Board games are one such genre that, despite their potential, affordability, and flexibility, are rarely designed for medical students, and little is known about student perceptions of them and their compatibility with rehearsal.

Outcomes of operatively treated calcaneal tuberosity avulsion fractures.

Background: Calcaneal tuberosity avulsion fractures are uncommon but when present should be treated emergently due to the high risk of skin compromise. Multiple fixation techniques have been reported in the literature but there are little data regarding the ideal fixation construct and outcomes. We aimed to characterize the clinical presentation, focussing on soft tissue compromise and outcomes of operatively treated calcaneal tuberosity avulsion fractures with its associated complications.

Experimental comparative study of the effect of fractional CO laser combined with pulsed dye laser versus each laser alone on the treatment of hypertrophic scar of rabbit ears.

Background And Objective: The use of fractional CO  laser and pulsed dye laser (PDL) therapy to treat and/or prevent scarring following burn injury is becoming more widespread with a number of studies reporting reduction in scar erythema and pruritus following treatment with lasers. The objective of this study was to directly compare the efficacy of PDL, fractional CO , and PDL and fractional CO  laser therapy in immature red hypertrophic scars in a standardized animal model.

Methods: Ten New Zealand big-eared rabbits were used to make rabbit ear hypertrophic scar models.

Strong Moiré Excitons in High-Angle Twisted Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Homobilayers with Robust Commensuration.

The burgeoning field of twistronics, which concerns how changing the relative twist angles between two materials creates new optoelectronic properties, offers a novel platform for studying twist-angle dependent excitonic physics. Herein, by surveying a range of hexagonal phase transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) twisted homobilayers, we find that 21.8 ± 1.

A Novel SPAST Mutation Results in Spastin Accumulation and Defects in Microtubule Dynamics.

Background: Haploinsufficiency is widely accepted as the pathogenic mechanism of spastic paraplegia type 4 (SPG4). However, there are some cases that cannot be explained by reduced function of the spastin protein encoded by SPAST.

Objectives: To identify the causative gene of autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia in three large Chinese families and explore the pathological mechanism of a spastin variant.

Descended Social Anxiety Disorder and Craving in Women Heroin Dependence Through Exercise Alerts Plasma Oxytocin Levels.

This study explored the association between peripheral blood oxytocin (OT) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) and cue-induced cravings in female heroin addicts. The effect of exercise on alleviation of SAD and OT levels was also explored. A total of 72 females with heroin dependence were assigned to three groups based on SAD severity.

Sequential organ failure assessment score is superior to other prognostic indices in acute pancreatitis.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common surgical condition, with severe AP (SAP) potentially lethal. Many prognostic indices, including; acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score (APACHE II), bedside index of severity in acute pancreatitis (BISAP), Glasgow score, harmless acute pancreatitis score (HAPS), Ranson's score, and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) evaluate AP severity and predict mortality.

Aim: To evaluate these indices' utility in predicting severity, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality.

Aberrant activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in granulosa cells from patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

The molecular mechanism that triggers polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is mysterious. Abnormal development of ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) is one of the causes of PCOS. Herein, our study was carried out using RNA-seq to detect the different gene expression levels in ovarian GCs between three patients with PCOS and four normal controls.

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Candidate Genes Responding Maize Gray Leaf Spot Caused by .

Gray leaf spot (GLS), caused by the fungal pathogen (), is one of the most destructive soil-borne diseases in maize ( L.), and severely reduces maize production in Southwest China. However, the mechanism of resistance to GLS is not clear and few resistant alleles have been identified.

ABHD5 inhibits YAP-induced c-Met overexpression and colon cancer cell stemness via suppressing YAP methylation.

Cancer stemness represents a major source of development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). c-Met critically contributes to CRC stemness, but how c-Met is activated in CRC remains elusive. We previously identified the lipolytic factor ABHD5 as an important tumour suppressor gene in CRC.