Clinical and Molecular Characterization and Discovery of Novel Genetic Mutations of Chinese Patients with -related Dysplasia.

-related disorders represent a heterogeneous group of skeletal dysplasias with a wide phenotypic spectrum. Our aim is to characterize the clinical and molecular phenotypes of Chinese patients with -related dysplasia and to explore their phenotype-genotype relations. Clinical data were collected, physical examinations were conducted, and X-ray radiography and genetic analyses were performed in ten families involving 29 patients with -related dysplasia.

Exploring profile and potential influencers of vaginal microbiome among asymptomatic pregnant Chinese women.

Background: This study was designed to explore the profile and potential influencers of the vaginal microbiome (VMB) among asymptomatic pregnant Chinese women and its possible association with pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted among pregnant Chinese women receiving regular prenatal care at a hospital in Shanghai, China from March 2017 to March 2018. Vaginal swabs were obtained from 113 asymptomatic pregnant women in mid-pregnancy and sequenced by the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA on an Ion S5™ XL platform.

The Inhibition of MicroRNA-139-5p Promoted Osteoporosis of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Targeting Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signaling Pathway by NOTCH1.

We investigated the therapeutic effects of microRNA-139-5p in relation to osteoporosis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSCs) and its underlying mechanisms. In this study we used a dexamethasone-induced in vivo model of osteoporosis and BMSCs were used for the in vitro model. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and gene chip were used to analyze the expression of microRNA-139-5p.

TRIM11 promotes tumor angiogenesis via activation of STAT3/VEGFA signaling in lung adenocarcinoma.

Tripartite motif containing 11 (TRIM11) plays important roles in the regulation of lung cancer behaviors. However, the mechanisms of action of TRIM11 in tumor angiogenesis remain unclear. In this study, we found that TRIM11 expression is higher in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) than in normal lung tissues.

Effect of acupuncture at ST36 on motor cortical excitation and inhibition.

Background: Acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) is often used to facilitate motor recovery after stroke. However, the effect of acupuncture at ST36 on motor cortical excitation and inhibition remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the effect of acupuncture at ST36 on motor cortical excitation and inhibition.

Influences of personality characteristics and coping modes on anxiety in primary glaucoma patients.

Aim: To examine the influences of personality characteristics and coping modes on the anxiety of primary glaucoma patients.

Methods: A total of 200 individuals, including 50 with primary angle-closure glaucoma, 60 with primary open angle glaucoma and 90 control participants, filled out the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire. Sociodemographic information was also collected.

Long non-coding RNA MEG3 promotes fibrosis and inflammatory response in diabetic nephropathy via miR-181a/Egr-1/TLR4 axis.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in diabetic nephropathy (DN). This research aimed to study the potential role and underlying molecular mechanisms of long non-coding RNA MEG3 in DN. We found that MEG3 was upregulated in DN in vivo and in vitro and could enhance cell fibrosis and inflammatory response in DN.

Neural efficiency in basketball players is associated with bidirectional reductions in cortical activation and deactivation during multiple-object tracking task performance.

Although sports expertise has been shown to have transferable cognitive benefits, it is unclear how motor expertise influences brain activity during perceptual-cognitive tasks. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether improved perceptual-cognitive behavioral task performance in individuals with well-developed motor skills is associated with characteristic cortical activation and deactivation. Blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) was conducted in 23 athletes and 24 age- and education-matched non-athletes performing a multiple object tracking (MOT) task with graded levels of attentional load (two, three, or four targets).

Motor learning enhanced by combined motor imagery and noninvasive brain stimulation is associated with reduced short-interval intracortical inhibition.

Background: Motor imagery (MI) improves motor skill learning, which is further enhanced when MI is paired with primary motor cortex transcranial brain stimulation or with electrical stimulation of the peripheral median nerve. Applying both stimulation types (here with 25 ms intervals) is called paired associative stimulation (PAS25). The final primary motor cortex output is determined by combined excitatory and intracortical inhibitory circuits, and reducing the latter is associated with enhanced synaptic transmission and efficacy.

Simultaneous Quantification of Methotrexate and Its Metabolite 7-Hydroxy-Methotrexate in Human Plasma for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring.

Objective: To establish and validate a simple, sensitive, and rapid liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of methotrexate (MTX) and its major metabolite 7-hydroxy-methotrexate (7-OH-MTX) in human plasma.

Method: The chromatographic separation was achieved on a Zorbax C column (3.5 m, 2.

Notch pathway deactivation mediated by F-box/WD repeat domain-containing 7 ameliorates hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in rat periodontal ligament stem cells.

Objective: To investigate the protective role of F-box/WD repeat domain-containing 7 in rat periodontal ligament stem cells under oxidative stress.

Materials And Methods: The apoptosis of rat periodontal ligament stem cells was induced by exposure to various concentrations of hydrogen peroxide for 24 h, after which cell viability and the cleaved caspase-3 and -9 levels were determined. The levels of proteins in the Notch signaling pathway were determined by western blotting.

Clear cell adenocarcinoma of the lung: a population-based study.

Background: Clear cell adenocarcinoma of the lung (CCAL) is a rare diagnosis with poorly understood clinicopathological characteristics and disease progression.

Methods: A population cohort study was conducted using prospectively extracted data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database for patients with histological diagnoses of CCAL. Propensity-matched analysis was performed for survival analysis.

Visual and Action-control Expressway Associated with Efficient Information Transmission in Elite Athletes.

Effective information transmission for open skill performance requires fine-scale coordination of distributed networks of brain regions linked by white matter tracts. However, how patterns of connectivity in these anatomical pathways may improve global efficiency remains unclear. In this study, we hypothesized that the feeder edges in visual and motor systems have the potential to become "expressways" that increase the efficiency of information communication across brain networks of open skill experts.

Motor skill learning induces brain network plasticity: A diffusion-tensor imaging study.

Motor skills and the acquisition of brain plasticity are important topics in current research. The development of non-invasive white matter imaging technology, such as diffusion-tensor imaging and the introduction of graph theory make it possible to study the effects of learning skills on the connection patterns of brain networks. However, few studies have characterized the brain network topological features of motor skill learning, especially open skill.

Influence of sports expertise level on attention in multiple object tracking.

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether performance in a multiple object tracking (MOT) task could be improved incrementally with sports expertise, and whether differences between experienced and less experienced athletes, or non-athletes, were modulated by load.

Methods: We asked 22 elite and 20 intermediate basketball players, and 23 non-athletes, to perform an MOT task under three attentional load conditions (two, three, and four targets). Accuracies were analyzed to examine whether different levels of sports expertise influence MOT task performance.

Motor experience with a sport-specific implement affects motor imagery.

The present study tested whether sport-specific implements facilitate motor imagery, whereas nonspecific implements disrupt motor imagery. We asked a group of basketball players (experts) and a group of healthy controls (novices) to physically perform (motor execution) and mentally simulate (motor imagery) basketball throws. Subjects produced motor imagery when they were holding a basketball, a volleyball, or nothing.

Expertise-Level-Dependent Functionally Plastic Changes During Motor Imagery in Basketball Players.

Motor imagery is the mental process of rehearsing or simulating a given action without overt movements. The aim of the present study is to examine plastic changes in relevant brain areas during motor imagery with increasing expertise level. Subjects (novices, intermediate and elite players) performed motor imagery of basketball throws under two experimental conditions (with-ball and without-ball).

[Efficacy and safety of simulated artificial pancreas in modulating stress hyperglycemia in critically ill patients: a prospective randomized controlled study].

Objective: To explore efficacy and safety of simulated artificial pancreas in modulating stress hyperglycemia in critically ill patients.

Methods: A prospective randomized controlled study was performed. Seventy-two critically ill patients with stress hyperglycemia, aged 18-85 years, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score over 15, two consecutive random blood glucose 11.

17β-estradiol attenuates ovariectomy‑induced bone deterioration through the suppression of the ephA2/ephrinA2 signaling pathway.

The present study aimed to investigate whether 17β‑estradiol (E2) exerts protective effects on bone deterioration induced by ovariectomy (OVX) through the ephA2/ephrinA2 signaling pathway in rats. Female rats were subjected to OVX, sham surgeryor OVX+E2 treatment. Levels of biomarkers were measured in serum and urine.

Activating transcription factor 3 protects mice against pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced acute lung injury by interacting with lipopolysaccharide binding protein.

Excessive inflammatory response is critical event in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI). Previous study has shown that activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) plays a role in downregulate inflammatory responses including ventilation-induced ALI. We hypothesized that ATF3 have a protective effect in ALI induced by pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Associations of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain with birth outcomes in Shanghai, China.

Recent data suggests that abnormal maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) or gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with unfavorable delivery outcomes. However, limited clinical evidence is available to support this correlation in China. Participating 510 mother-infant pairs were recruited from the Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, China, between January 1 and 30 2016.

Morphological and Functional Differences between Athletes and Novices in Cortical Neuronal Networks.

The cortical structural and functional differences in athletes and novices were investigated with a cross-sectional paradigm. We measured the gray matter volumes and resting-state functional connectivity in 21 basketball players and 21 novices with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. It was found that gray matter volume in the left anterior insula (AI), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), precuneus is greater in basketball players than that in novices.