The causal relationship between sarcopenia-related traits and ECG indices - A mendelian randomization study.

Background: Sarcopenia is a common geriatric condition closely associated with cardiovascular diseases and other health issues. This study aims to investigate the causal relationship between sarcopenia-related traits and electrocardiogram(ECG) indices.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive analysis utilizing summary data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) associated with sarcopenia-related traits, including hand grip strength, lean body mass, and walking pace.

Result of a Pilot External Quality Assessment Scheme for Clinical Diagnosis of Inherited Metabolic Disorders in China.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic capabilities of Chinese laboratories for inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) on urine samples. Meanwhile, based on the result of the pilot external quality assessment (EQA) scheme, we hope to establish a standardized and reliable procedure for future EQA practice.

Methods: We recruited laboratories that participated in the EQA of quantitative analysis of urinary organic acids with GC-MS before joining the surveys.

Sulfur vacancy-enhanced InS hollow microtubes for photocatalytic Cr (VI) and tetracycline removal.

Morphological regulation and defect engineering are efficient methods for photocatalytic technology by improving photon absorption and electron dissociation. Herein, InS hollow microtubes with S-vacancies (MIS) were fabricated via a simple solvothermal reaction using In-based metal-organic frameworks (In-MOFs) as a precursor. Experimental results demonstrate that the hollow structure and optimal S-vacancies can jointly accelerate the photocatalytic reaction, attributed to a larger specific surface area, more active sites, and faster electron transfer efficiency.

Accelerated deterioration corrosion of X70 steel by oxidation acid-producing process catalyzed by Acinetobacter soli in oil-water environment.

Deterioration corrosion occurs between the external surface of oil pipelines and aerobic oil-degrading microorganisms in oil fields. Microorganisms with aerobic oil pollution remediation capabilities may catalyze more serious anaerobic microbial corrosion due to the carbon source supply. In this study, Acinetobacter soli strains were isolated from oil-contaminated environments, and their role in the deterioration corrosion behavior of X70 steel in an oil-water environment was investigated using the EDS multipoint scanning method.

Application of Nanomaterials in Stem Cell-Based Therapeutics for Cardiac Repair and Regeneration.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. Although the survival rate of patients with heart diseases can be improved with contemporary pharmacological treatments and surgical procedures, none of these therapies provide a significant improvement in cardiac repair and regeneration. Stem cell-based therapies are a promising approach for functional recovery of damaged myocardium.

PRELP promotes myocardial fibrosis and ventricular remodelling after acute myocardial infarction by the wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway.

Objectives: Proline/arginine-rich end leucine-rich repeat protein (PRELP) has been reported to contribute to the remodelling of cardiovascular tissues in the ischaemia-reperfusion injury model. However, research is lacking on the role of PRELP in myocardial fibrosis and ventricular remodelling, and the mechanism through which PRELP brings about these changes is not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the role of PRELP in ventricular remodelling and myocardial fibrosis following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to explore the underlying mechanism.

Combined transcriptomic and lipidomic analysis of D-4F ameliorating bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease that leads to respiratory failure, and for which there is no effective treatment. Apolipoprotein A-1 (ApoA-1) has been reported to ameliorate the bleomycin (BLM)-induced IPF model.

Methods: To examine the function of D-4F, an ApoA-1 mimetic polypeptide, in IPF, we used an BLM-induced model.

Determination of nitric oxide using light-emitting diode-based colorimeter with tubular porous polypropylene membrane cuvette.

On the basis of the Griess-Saltzman (GS) reaction, an optical device for nitric oxide (NO) detection in exhaled breath and atmosphere was developed by employing the light-emitting diode (LED, 560 nm) as the light source, light-to-voltage converter (LVC) as the detector, and porous polypropylene membrane tube (PPMT) as the cuvette. The PPMT was filled with GS reagents and covered with a coaxial jacket tube for gas collection and color reaction; two ends of the PPMT were connected with the LED and LVC to detect the change of light transmissivity in the wavelength range of 530 to 590 nm mainly. A gas absorber filled with GS reagents was installed prior to another absorber filled with KMnO solution to eliminate the interference of coexisting NO.

Effects of different dietary polyphenols on conformational changes and functional properties of protein-polyphenol covalent complexes.

In this study, conjugates of whey protein isolate (WPI) and four polyphenols (epigallocatechin gallate [EGCG], quercetin [QC], apigenin [AG], and naringenin [NG]) were prepared through free-radical grafting. The results for polyphenol binding equivalents and content of free amino and sulfhydryl groups as well as those from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis confirmed the covalent interaction between WPI and the polyphenols. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and fluorescence spectrum analysis identified the potential binding sites of the complexes and determined changes in the protein structure.

EnRank: An Ensemble Method to Detect Pulmonary Hypertension Biomarkers Based on Feature Selection and Machine Learning Models.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common disease that affects the normal functioning of the human pulmonary arteries. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs) served as an ideal source for a minimally invasive disease diagnosis. This study hypothesized that the transcriptional fluctuations in the PMBCs exposed to the PH arteries may stably reflect the disease.

Wiedemann-steiner syndrome with a de novo mutation in KMT2A: A case report.

Rationale: Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome (WDSTS, online mendelian inheritance in man 605130) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by hypertrichosis cubiti. Here, we report a Chinese boy who do not show the characteristic of hypertrichosis cubiti, and was misdiagnosed as blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome at first. We found a de novo frameshift mutation (p.

Chinese newborn screening for the incidence of G6PD deficiency and variant of G6PD gene from 2013 to 2017.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is one of the most common X-linked enzymopathies caused by G6PD gene variant. We aimed to provide the characteristics of G6PD deficiency and G6PD gene variant distribution in a large Chinese newborn screening population. We investigated the prevalence of G6PD in China from 2013 to 2017.

Identification of Two Missense Mutations in (p.R1307Q) and (p.R56W) That Can Cause Congenital Hypothyroidism Through Impairing HO Generation.

The DUOX/DUOXA systems play a key role in HO generation in thyroid cells, which is required for iodine organification and thyroid hormone synthesis. DUOX2/DUOXA2 defects can cause congenital hypothyroidism (CH), but it is unknown whether mutations can also cause CH. We aimed to identify mutations and explore their role in the development of CH by investigating their functional impacts on HO generation.

BiSe Sensitized TiO Nanotube Films for Photogenerated Cathodic Protection of 304 Stainless Steel Under Visible Light.

Titanium dioxide (TiO) nanotube arrays coupled with a narrow gap semiconductor-bismuth selenide (BiSe)-exhibited remarkable enhancement in the photocathodic protection property for 304 stainless steel under visible light. BiSe/TiO nanocomposites were successfully synthesized using a simple two-step method, including an electrochemical anodization method for preparing pure TiO and a chemical bath deposition method for synthesizing BiSe nanoflowers. The morphology and structure of the composite films were studied by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.

Next-generation sequencing of NKX2.1, FOXE1, PAX8, NKX2.5, and TSHR in 100 Chinese patients with congenital hypothyroidism and athyreosis.

Background: The abnormal expression of certain transcription factors (NKX2.1, FOXE1, NKX2.5, and PAX8) and thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) genes has been associated with athyreosis, which is a form of thyroid dysgenesis (TD).

Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis Significance of ERG Methylation as a Biomarker in Down's Syndrome.

BACKGROUND Down's syndrome (DS) is a genetic disease with chromosome abnormality due to the increasing chromosome 21. This study focused on the clinical application value of ERG methylation level in blood of pregnant women as a biomarker in Down's syndrome. MATERIAL AND METHODS The sham group consisted of 210 nonpregnant women, the positive control group consisted of 33 women with a delivery history of DS fetus, and the negative control group consisted of 60 women with eutocia history.

Association of acylation-stimulating protein and receptor gene polymorphisms with coronary heart disease in Han and Hui populations.

Objective: This study was to analyze the acylation-stimulating protein (ASP) (301T>C) and C5a-like receptor 2 (C5L2) (698C>T) gene polymorphisms in Han and Hui populations, and investigate their association with coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods: 245 Han CHD patients and 110 Hui CHD patients from Shandong, Jinan, China were included in this study. Biochemical analysis was performed to assess the blood sugar and lipid levels in these patients, and the TaqMan genotyping assay was used to determine the genotype distribution.

Somatic copy number losses on chromosome 9q21.33q22.33 encompassing the PTCH1 loci associated with cardiac fibroma.

Cardiac fibroma is an extremely rare benign tumor that remains poorly characterized genetically. Somatic copy number alterations are common in tumors and have been defined as a crucial factor leading to tumors. In this study, we present a child diagnosed with cardiac fibroma with somatic copy number losses of a total of three discontinuous segments from 9q21.

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen involved in the repair process of ouabain-induced brain damage independent of hypertension in rats.

Background: Ouabain is a mammalian adrenocortical hormone that is involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension by inhibiting Na-K ATPase activity. It also participates in a variety of kinase-mediated signaling pathways associated with Na-K ATPase. Previous studies have shown that ouabain can cause cardiac remodeling independent of elevated blood pressure and that proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) plays a coordinating role for numerous proteins involved in multiple processes associated with DNA synthesis.

Profilin-1 promotes the development of hypertension-induced artery remodeling.

Hypertension is associated with the structural remodeling and stiffening of arteries and is known to increase cardiovascular risk. In the present study, we investigated the effects of overexpression and knock down of profilin-1 on the vascular structural remodeling in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs) using an adenovirus injection to knock down or overexpress profilin-1 mRNA. As a control, blank adenovirus was injected into age-matched SHRs and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs).

Polymorphism of angiotensinogen gene M235T in myocardial infarction and brain infarction: a meta-analysis.

The angiotensinogen (AGT) gene M235T polymorphism has been reported to be associated with myocardial infarction (MI) and brain infarction (BI), but the results remain inconclusive. This meta-analysis was designed to clarify these controversies. Electronic databases were systematically searched before February 2013.

Profilin-1 promotes the development of hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Objective: Cardiac hypertrophy is a major cause of heart failure and sudden cardiac death among hypertensive individuals. The present study examined the effects of profilin-1 on hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Methods: We used adenovirus injection to knockdown or overexpress profilin-1 in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs).

Grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts enhance endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression through 5'-AMP activated protein kinase/Surtuin 1-Krüpple like factor 2 pathway and modulate blood pressure in ouabain induced hypertensive rats.

Grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts (GSPE) belonging to polyphenols, possess various biological effects including anti-inflammation, anti-oxidant, anti-aging, anti-atherosclerosis, etc. GSPE is potential in regulating endothelial function. However, the underlying mechanism is not clear yet.