Association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and body composition based on MRI fat fraction mapping.

Purpose: To explore the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and body composition based on magnetic resonance fat fraction (FF) mapping.

Methods: A total of 341 subjects, who underwent abdominal MRI examination with FF mapping were enrolled in this study, including 68 T2DM patients and 273 non-T2DM patients. The FFs and areas of visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and abdominal muscle (AM) were measured at the level of the L1-L2 vertebral.

A Comprehensive Quality Evaluation of Cimicifugae Rhizoma Using UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS Coupled with Multivariate Chemometric Methods.

Background: Cimicifugae Rhizoma, known in Chinese as Shengma, is a common medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), mainly used for treating wind-heat headaches, sore throat, uterine prolapse, and other diseases.

Objectives: An approach using a combination of ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), MS, and multivariate chemometric methods was designed to assess the quality of Cimicifugae Rhizoma.

Methods: All materials were crushed into powder and the powdered sample was dissolved in 70% aqueous methanol for sonication.

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Spinal Tuberculosis in Central China.

Purpose: The appropriate management of spinal tuberculosis (TB) is challenging for clinicians and the key to treat spinal TB. Surgery and long course anti-TB chemotherapy may not be necessary to all situations. This study aimed to characterize the clinical features and factors affecting treatment outcomes.

An innovative extraction strategy for herbal medicine by adopting p-sulphonatocalix[6]/[8]arenes.

Introduction: Alkaloids exist in various herbal medicine widely and exhibit diverse biological and pharmacological activities. p-Sulphonatocalix[6]arenes (SC6A) and p-sulphonatocalix[8]arenes (SC8A) are water-soluble supramolecular macrocycles and are applied to the extraction of alkaloids from herbal products.

Objective: In this study, an innovative method of SC6A/SC8A assisted extraction of the alkaloids from herbs was established.

Enhancing the differentiation of walking and standing via the ratio of plantar pressures.

Differentiation of standing and walking based on plantar pressures is helpful in developing strategies to reduce health risks in the workplace. In order to improve the differentiation ability, the paper proposes a new metric for posture differentiation, that is, the pressure ratio on the two anatomical plantar regions. The plantar pressures were collected from 30 persons during walking and standing.

Giant osteochondroma of ilium: a case report and literature review.

Osteochondroma is one of the most common benign bone tumors. It usually grows on the metaphysis of long bones and rarely develops in bones of scapula, feet, hands, and pelvis. The management of this disease is en-bloc excision of the tumor.

Loss of retinoid X receptor gamma subunit impairs group 1 mGluR mediated electrophysiological responses and group 1 mGluR dependent behaviors.

Retinoid X receptors are members of the nuclear receptor family that regulate gene expression in response to retinoic acid and related ligands. Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors are G-protein coupled transmembrane receptors that activate intracellular signaling cascades in response to the neurotransmitter, glutamate. These two classes of molecules have been studied independently and found to play important roles in regulating neuronal physiology with potential clinical implications for disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

Therapeutic effects of herbal formula Huangqisan on metabolic disorders via SREBF1, SCD1 and AMPK signaling pathway.

Objective: Metabolic syndrome is a complex medical condition that has become an alarming epidemic, but an effective therapy for this disease is still lacking. The use of the herbal formula Huangqisan (HQS) to treat diabetes is documented in the Chinese medical literature as early as 1117 A.D.

[Study progress of supramolecular drug delivery system loading traditional Chinese medicine/natural anti-tumor products].

Ingredients with the anti-tumor property from traditional Chinese medicine/natural products have effects in treating tumor by regulating immune function, inhibiting tumor cell growth, inducing apoptosis, and reversing multidrug resistance. However, the potential of clinical application was restricted by the low hydrophilicity, stability and bioavailability and the lack of targeting. The above problems can be solved through research and development of supramolecular chemistry based on the non-covalent interactions between molecules.

Articular Cartilage Stem Cells Influence the Postoperative Repair of Hip Replacement by Regulating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Chondrocytes via PERK Pathway.

Objective: Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is present in chondrocytes of osteoarthritis, and the intensity of ERS is related to the degree of cartilage degeneration. In vitro intervention strategies can change the status of ERS and induce the inhibition of ERS-related pathway. Therefore, this study is designed to explore the role and molecular mechanism of cartilage stem cells (ACSCs) of ERS in chondrocytes after hip replacement.

miRTarBase 2020: updates to the experimentally validated microRNA-target interaction database.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (typically consisting of 18-25 nucleotides) that negatively control expression of target genes at the post-transcriptional level. Owing to the biological significance of miRNAs, miRTarBase was developed to provide comprehensive information on experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions (MTIs). To date, the database has accumulated >13,404 validated MTIs from 11,021 articles from manual curations.

Profiling lncRNA alterations during TNF‑α induced osteogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells.

The multipotent and easily accessible characteristics of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) make them a promising target for bone tissue engineering. Long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have an important role in the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. Nevertheless, whether lncRNAs are involved in the osteogenic differentiation of DPSCs remains unclear.

Isoflurane Inhibits Dopaminergic Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis Coupled to Ca2.1 and Ca2.2 in Rat Midbrain Neurons.

Volatile anesthetics affect neuronal signaling by poorly understood mechanisms. Activation of central dopaminergic pathways has been implicated in emergence from general anesthesia. The volatile anesthetic isoflurane differentially inhibits glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic vesicle (SV) exocytosis by reducing presynaptic Ca influx without affecting the Ca-exocytosis relationship, but its effects on dopaminergic exocytosis are unclear.

[PFNA combined reconstruction and locking titanium plate for the treatment of comminuted femoral intertrochanteric fractures involving lateral wall].

Objective: To investigate the operative effect of PFNA combined with reconstructive locking plate on the treatment of comminuted femoral intertrochanteric fracture which involving the lateral wall.

Methods: A total of 35 patients with comminuted femoral intertrochanteric fractures involving the lateral wall were surgically treated from November 2014 to January 2016. According to whether there was reconstruction of the lateral wall or not and the internal fixation method, the patients were divided into PFNA group (no reconstruction of the lateral wall), PFNA recontruction group (reconstructive locking plate was used to reconstruct the lateral wall, PFNA internal fixation).

Safety and efficacy of dehydrated ethanol soaking of the operative field in the treatment of spontaneous hepatocellular carcinoma rupture.

Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical safety and value of ethanol surgical field infiltration (ESFI), combined with distilled water peritoneal lavage (DWPL), after hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) rupture.

Methods: Rat liver tissue samples were soaked in dehydrated ethanol for different soaking times, and 18 rats were assigned to three groups that underwent different soaking methods of the hepatectomy cut surface. We retrospectively reviewed 45 patients who underwent hepatectomy for treatment of ruptured HCC.

A Retrospective Analysis to Evaluate Seasonal Pressure Injury Incidence Differences Among Hip Fracture Patients in a Tertiary Hospital in East China.

Patients with a hip fracture are at high risk for pressure injury. A retrospective review of the electronic medical records of consecutive patients with a hip fracture treated in 2016 in a single tertiary hospital in east China were examined to investigate whether time of year affected the incidence of hospital-acquired pressure injury. Data collected included demographic characteristics (patient name, hospital number, age, gender, and body mass index); possible risk factors for pressure injury, such as presence of diabetes mellitus, admission hemoglobin, admission albumin, length of surgery, and the lowest and/or last Braden Scale score before pressure injury developed; and pressure injury information, which included time of occurrence (days after surgery), location (sacrum and coccyx, ischial tuberosity, or heel), stage, and treatment outcome.

A prospective comparative study of hip resurfacing arthroplasty and large-diameter head metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty in younger patients-a minimum of five year follow-up.

Introduction: Both hip resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA) and large-diameter head metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (LDH MoM THA) are generally used for young and active patients. A number of comparative studies of HRA and total hip arthroplasty have been published in the literature. However, studies that have compared HRA with LDH MoM THA are rare.

LTB4 and montelukast in transplantation-related bronchiolitis obliterans in rats.

Background: Lung transplantation is the only effective treatment for end-stage lung diseases. Bronchiolitis obliterans, which is known as non-infectious chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) in the new classification, is the greatest threat to long-term survival after lung transplantation. This study investigated the role of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and montelukast in transplantation-related bronchiolitis obliterans and discussed the pathophysiological significance of LTB4 in chronic rejection.

Knockdown of PEBP4 suppresses proliferation, migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells.

Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 4 (PEBP4), a member of the PEBP family, plays a pivotal role in tumor progression. However, the roles of PEBP4 in breast cancer remain unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the effects of PEBP4 on breast cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and the underlying mechanism was also explored.

Long-term prognosis in patients continuing taking antithrombotics after peptic ulcer bleeding.

Aim: To investigate the long-term prognosis in peptic ulcer patients continuing taking antithrombotics after ulcer bleeding, and to determine the risk factors that influence the prognosis.

Methods: All clinical data of peptic ulcer patients treated from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2014 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Patients were divided into either a continuing group to continue taking antithrombotic drugs after ulcer bleeding or a discontinuing group to discontinue antithrombotic drugs.

α2-Adrenergic Receptor and Isoflurane Modulation of Presynaptic Ca2+ Influx and Exocytosis in Hippocampal Neurons.

Background: Evidence indicates that the anesthetic-sparing effects of α2-adrenergic receptor (AR) agonists involve α2A-AR heteroreceptors on nonadrenergic neurons. Since volatile anesthetics inhibit neurotransmitter release by reducing synaptic vesicle (SV) exocytosis, the authors hypothesized that α2-AR agonists inhibit nonadrenergic SV exocytosis and thereby potentiate presynaptic inhibition of exocytosis by isoflurane.

Methods: Quantitative imaging of fluorescent biosensors of action potential-evoked SV exocytosis (synaptophysin-pHluorin) and Ca influx (GCaMP6) were used to characterize presynaptic actions of the clinically used α2-AR agonists dexmedetomidine and clonidine, and their interaction with isoflurane, in cultured rat hippocampal neurons.

Transcriptome changes during TNF-α promoted osteogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs).

Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), due to the ease of isolation and their capacities of multi-lineage differentiation, are considered as attractive resources for regenerative medicine. In a previous study, we showed that TNF-α promoted the osteogenic differentiation of DPSCs via the NF-κB signaling pathway. However, the mechanisms of such differentiation were largely unknown.