The role of NPY2R/NFATc1/DYRK1A regulatory axis in sebaceous glands for sebum synthesis.

Background: Sebaceous glands (SGs) synthesize and secret sebum to protect and moisturize the dermal system via the complicated endocrine modulation. Dysfunction of SG are usually implicated in a number of dermal and inflammatory diseases. However, the molecular mechanism behind the differentiation, development and proliferation of SGs is far away to fully understand.

Risk prediction in pulmonary hypertension due to chronic heart failure: incremental prognostic value of pulmonary hemodynamics.

Background: There is no generally accepted comprehensive risk prediction model cooperating risk factors associated with heart failure and pulmonary hemodynamics for patients with pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease (PH-LHD). We aimed to explore outcome correlates and evaluate incremental prognostic value of pulmonary hemodynamics for risk prediction in PH-LHD.

Methods: Consecutive patients with chronic heart failure undergoing right heart catheterization were prospectively enrolled.

Reduced CCR6IL-17ATreg Cells in Blood and CCR6-Dependent Accumulation of IL-17ATreg Cells in Lungs of Patients With Allergic Asthma.

Human regulatory T (Treg) cells play a central role in controlling allergic inflammation in the airways. A reduced number of peripheral Treg cells and decreased suppressive function have been previously reported in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma. However, the characteristic role of specific Treg cell subsets and their mechanisms in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma remain unclear.

Machine learning-based genome-wide interrogation of somatic copy number aberrations in circulating tumor DNA for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: DNAs released from tumor cells into blood (circulating tumor DNAs, ctDNAs) carry tumor-specific genomic aberrations, providing a non-invasive means for cancer detection. In this study, we aimed to leverage somatic copy number aberration (SCNA) in ctDNA to develop assays to detect early-stage HCCs.

Methods: We conducted low-depth whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to profile SCNAs in 384 plasma samples of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC and cancer-free HBV patients, using one discovery and two validation cohorts.

Non-coenzyme role of vitamin B1 in RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and ovariectomy induced osteoporosis.

Vitamins B are co-enzymes participating in energy metabolic pathways. While some vitamins B are known affecting bone homeostasis, the effects of vitamin B1 (thiamine) on bone health remains unclear. In our study, we used cell counting kit-8, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase stain, actin cytoskeleton stain, and pit formation assay to evaluate the effect of thiamine on osteoclast differentiation, formation, and function, respectively.

Physalin D inhibits RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and bone loss via regulating calcium signaling.

We investigated the effects of physalin A, B, D, and F on osteoclastogenesis induced by receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL). The biological functions of different physalins were first predicted using an in silico bioinformatic tool (BATMAN-TCM). Afterwards, we tested cell viability and cell apoptosis rate to analyze the cytotoxicity of different physalins.

Downregulation of miR-542-3p promotes osteogenic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells in the aging rat by targeting BMP7.

Background: Aging is believed to have a close association with cardiovascular diseases, resulting in various pathological alterations in blood vessels, including vascular cell phenotypic shifts. In aging vessels, the microRNA(miRNA)-mediated mechanism regulating the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotype remains unclarified. MiRNA microarray was used to compare the expressions of miRNAs in VSMCs from old rats (oVSMCs) and young rats (yVSMCs).

Assessment of Deep Brain Stimulation Implantation Surgery: A Practical Scale.

Background: Patients requiring deep brain stimulation (DBS) will undergo extensive preoperative and postoperative evaluations. However, the field lacks a robust scoring system for quantifying the outcomes of DBS surgery. We sought to determine whether a practical scale could assess the outcomes of DBS surgery and the clinical significance.

Molecular basis of degenerative spinal disorders from a proteomic perspective (Review).

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy (LFH) are major causes of degenerative spinal disorders. Comparative and proteomic analysis was used to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in IDD and LFH discs compared with normal discs. Subsequent gene ontology term enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis of the DEPs in human IDD discs or LFH samples were performed to identify the biological processes and signaling pathways involved in IDD and LFH.

Comparison of Subthalamic Nucleus and Globus Pallidus Internus Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery on Parkinson Disease-Related Pain.

Objective: To analyze and compare the effects of subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) and globus pallidus internus (GPi)-DBS on Parkinson disease (PD)-related pain.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed of 64 patients (28 who underwent GPi-DBS and 36 who underwent STN-DBS) with PD-related pain in our hospital between January 2017 and July 2019. A numerical rating scale (NRS) was used to evaluate the degree of pain preoperatively and 4 months after operation, and the unified PD scale III (UPDRS-III) was completed simultaneously to assess motor symptoms.

Efficacy Analysis of Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery for Small-Volume Spontaneous Thalamic Hemorrhage.

Objective: To test whether robot-assisted surgery can improve prognosis of small-volume thalamic hemorrhage and to provide a surgical basis for treatment of small-volume thalamic hemorrhage.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with thalamic hemorrhage and hematoma volume of 5-15 mL treated from December 2015 to December 2018. Patients were divided into an operation group and a nonoperation group.

Artificial intelligence: a key to relieve China's insufficient and unequally-distributed medical resources.

In this manuscript, we firstly reviewed the challenges faced by China in its health care reform. Though Chinese governments have made tremendous efforts, problems like the difficulties and high expense in medical care and the nervous doctor-patient relationship have been reported a lot, whose key problem is the insufficiency of high-quality medical resource and the supply-demand imbalance. Presently, it's almost old news: artificial intelligence will overturn the existing medical model.

Mature osteoclast-derived apoptotic bodies promote osteogenic differentiation via RANKL-mediated reverse signaling.

In bone remodeling, after a lifespan of ∼2 weeks, osteoclasts undergo apoptosis in each bone turnover cycle, resulting in generation of a large number of apoptotic bodies (ABs). However, the biological roles of osteoclast-derived ABs (OC-ABs) in bone remodeling have not been investigated and remain unknown. In this study, we stimulated bone marrow macrophages with receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) to obtain both preosteoclasts and mature osteoclasts (mOCs).

The Postoperative Prognosis of Thoracic Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum can be Described by a Novel Method: The Thoracic Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum Score.

Objective: To create an available thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (TOLF) score as a rudimentary predictor for the postoperative prognosis of TOLF.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted for all patients with TOLF who received surgical decompression from April 2012 to February 2019. The TOLF score consists of 5 components, namely, the age at surgery (1-3 points), diabetes mellitus (1 point), preoperative duration of symptoms (1-2 points), spinal canal axial remnant area ratio (0-2 points), and intramedullary signal change on magnetic resonance imaging (1 point).

Efficacy of Cut-and-Sew Surgical Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Giant Left Atria Undergoing Mitral Valve Surgery: A Propensity-Matched Analysis.

Surgical management for patients with long-standing persistent (LSP) AF and giant left atria (GLA) associated with mitral valve diseases remains a challenge. We aimed to assess the efficacy of the cut-and-sew maze procedure (CSM) in this subgroup of patients, in terms of maintenance of sinus rhythm (SR), atrial function, and to identify the operative risks of this procedure. A total of 229 patients with LSP-AF underwent CSM at our institution from December 2013 to October 2017.

IL-11 is essential in promoting osteolysis in breast cancer bone metastasis via RANKL-independent activation of osteoclastogenesis.

A variety of osteolytic factors have been identified from breast cancer cells leading to osteolysis, but less is known about which factor plays an essential role in the initiation process prior to the overt vicious osteolytic cycle. Here, we present in vitro and in vivo evidences to clarify the role of interleukin-11 (IL-11) as an essential contributor to breast cancer bone metastasis mediated osteolysis. Animal studies showed that bone specific metastatic BoM-1833 cells induce earlier onset of osteolysis and faster tumor growth compared with MCF7 and parental MDA-MB-231 cells in BALB/c-nu/nu nude mice.

Demethylation of the HACE1 gene promoter inhibits the proliferation of human liver cancer cells.

HECT domain and ankyrin repeat containing E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1 (HACE1) is frequently downregulated or lost in numerous types of cancer, including liver cancer. The aim of the present study was to examine whether demethylation of the HACE1 gene could inhibit tumour progression. The expression of HACE1 was detected in liver cancer cell lines.

An Equation Based on Fuzzy Mathematics to Assess the Timing of Haemodialysis Initiation.

In order to develop an equation that integrates multiple clinical factors including signs and symptoms associated with uraemia to assess the initiation of dialysis, we conducted a retrospective cohort study including 25 haemodialysis centres in Mainland China. Patients with ESRD (n = 1281) who commenced haemodialysis from 2008 to 2011 were enrolled in the development cohort, whereas 504 patients who began haemodialysis between 2012 and 2013 were enrolled in the validation cohort comprised. An artificial neural network model was used to select variables, and a fuzzy neural network model was then constructed using factors affecting haemodialysis initiation as input variables and 3-year survival as the output variable.

A head-to-head comparison of EQ-5D-5 L and SF-6D in Chinese patients with low back pain.

Background: The comparative performance of the 3-level EuroQol 5-dimension and Short Form 6-dimension (SF-6D) has been investigated in patients with low back pain (LBP). The aim of this study was to explore the performance including agreement, convergent validity as well as known-groups validity of the 5-level EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D-5 L) and SF-6D in Chinese patients with LBP.

Methods: Individuals with LBP were recruited from a large tertiary hospital in China.

Age, Gender, Level and Side Differences in the Anatomical Distinctions of Unilateral Percutaneous Kyphoplasty through the Transverse Process-Pedicle Approach.

Background: Unilateral and bilateral percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) have been widely adopted to treat osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs). Unilateral PKP has a shorter operation time and less radiation exposure time compared with bilateral PKP, but the anatomical distinctions of unilateral PKP are not identical in all cases.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the significance of age, gender, level, and side in relation to the anatomical distinctions of unilateral PKP for lumbar OVCFs through the transverse process-pedicle approach (TPPA).

Cytotoxic lycodine alkaloids from the aerial parts of .

A phytochemical investigation on the 75% EtOH extract of the aerial parts of resulted in the isolation of three new lycodine alkaloids, 16-hydroxy-9-oxo-lycocasuarinine D (), 6-hydroxy-16-dehydroxy-lycocasuarinine A (), and 6,16-dihydroxy-lycocasuarinine B (). Structural elucidation of all the compounds was performed by spectral methods such as 1D- and 2D-NMR, infrared, ultraviolet, and HR-ESI-MS. The isolated alkaloids were tested for cytotoxic potential against six lung cancer cell lines.

Naringenin Attenuates Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury via cGMP-PKGI Signaling and In Vivo and In Vitro Studies.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress contribute greatly to myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R) injury. Naringenin, a flavonoid derived from the citrus genus, exerts cardioprotective effects. However, the effects of naringenin on ER stress as well as oxidative stress under MI/R condition and the detailed mechanisms remain poorly defined.

Age, gender, and etiology differences of sports-related fractures in children and adolescents: A retrospective observational study.

To investigate the age, gender, and etiology differences of sports-related fractures in children and adolescents (6-18 years old).We retrospectively reviewed 410 child and adolescent patients (335 males and 75 females aged 13.5 ± 3.