Causal relationship between plasma metabolites and carpal tunnel syndrome risk: evidence from a mendelian randomization study.

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common symptom of nerve compression and a leading cause of pain and hand dysfunction. However, the underlying biological mechanisms are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to reveal the causal effect of circulating metabolites on susceptibility to CTS.

Synthetic enhancers including TFREs improve transgene expression in CHO cells.

The human cytomegalovirus major immediate early gene (CMV) promoter is currently the most preferred promoter for recombinant therapeutic proteins (RTPs) production in CHO cells. To enhance the production of RTPs, five synthetic enhancers including multiple transcription factor regulatory elements (TFREs) were evaluated to enhance recombinant protein level in transient and stably transfected CHO cells. Compared with the control, four elements can enhance the report genes expression under both two transfected states.

MMP9 SNP and MMP SNP-SNP interactions increase the risk for ischemic stroke in the Han Hakka population.

Objectives: To investigate the association of eight variants of four matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) genes with ischemic stroke (IS) and whether interactions among these single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) increases the risk of IS.

Methods: Among 547 patients with ischemic stroke and 350 controls, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry was used to examine eight variants arising from four different genes, including MMP-1 (rs1799750), MMP-2 (rs243865, rs2285053, rs2241145), MMP-9 (rs17576), and MMP-12 (rs660599, rs2276109, and rs652438). Gene-gene interactions were employed using generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) methods.

[Clinical effect of Liyan Tongqiao acupuncture in treatment of post-stroke dysphagia: an analysis based on diffusion tensor imaging].

Objective: To investigate the clinical change of post-stroke dysphagia after the intervention of Liyan Tongqiao （relieving sore-throat and dredging orifices）acupuncture using cranial diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

Methods: A total of 60 patients with post-stroke dysphagia were enrolled and randomly divided into Liyan Tongqiao acupuncture group and neurology treatment group, with 30 patients in each group. The patients in the neurology treatment group were given routine neurology treatment and swallowing rehabilitation training, and those in the Liyan Tongqiao acupuncture group received acupuncture at Sishencong (EX-HN1), Baihui (GV20), bilateral Tai-yang (EX-HN5), and bilateral Fengchi (GB20) and tongue triple acupuncture, with an electroacupuncture apparatus for EX-HN1, bilateral GB20, and tongue triple acupuncture, for a needle retaining time of 30 minutes each time, once a day and 5 times a week, in addition to the treatment in the neurology treatment group.

Modeling and classification of gait patterns between anterior cruciate ligament deficient and intact knees based on phase space reconstruction, Euclidean distance and neural networks.

Background: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) plays an important role in stabilizing translation and rotation of the tibia relative to the femur. ACL injury alters knee kinematics and usually links to the alternation of gait patterns. The aim of this study is to develop a new method to distinguish between gait patterns of patients with anterior cruciate ligament deficient (ACL-D) knees and healthy controls with ACL-intact (ACL-I) knees based on nonlinear features and neural networks.