Arthroscopic discopexy versus natural course of temporomandibular joint anterior disc displacement: a longitudinal study of clinical and radiological outcomes

The aim of this study was to assess the various outcomes of arthroscopic discopexy compared to the natural course of anterior disc displacement (ADD) longitudinally in the same patients. A retrospective review was performed of 108 patients (152 joints) who experienced the natural course of ADD for a period of time and then underwent arthroscopic discopexy. The outcome was evaluated clinically and by magnetic resonance imaging. The natural course of ADD showed significant deterioration in pain, diet, and quality of life, and also a significant reduction in inter-incisal opening (all P < 0.001), while significant improvements in all clinical parameters were observed at the final postoperative follow-up (all P < 0.001, compared to the last preoperative visit). During the natural course, there was a significant shortening of condylar height, mandibular height, and disc length, and an increase in disc displacement distance (all P < 0.001). Postoperative follow-up revealed the restoration of condylar height and mandibular height, and all discs were significantly repositioned with an increased disc length (unfolded) (all P < 0.001). Bearing in mind the assumption of a low evidence base due to bias resulting from the retrospective non-double-blinded study design and the variable duration of the natural disease course prior to surgery, this study found that the natural course of ADD led to degenerative changes in the joint structures and clinical symptoms, whereas arthroscopic discopexy led to a restoration of the bony structures and the alleviation of clinical symptoms.

Polydatin alleviates osteoporosis by enhancing the osteogenic differentiation of osteoblasts

OBJECTIVE: Osteoporosis is a severe degenerative chronic metabolic bone disease associated with high fracture risk. Polydatin (PD), a major bioactive component of Polygonum cuspidatum, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This study investigated the anti-osteoporotic activity of PD in ovariectomized (OVX) mice and elucidated its underlying molecular mechanisms. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: An osteoporosis mouse model was established using OVX mice. OVX mice were then administered 10 or 40 mg/kg of PD for 60 days. Micro-CT and three-point bending tests were used to determine the therapeutic activities of PD in OVX mice. H&E staining was used to determine whether PD induced hepatorenal toxicity. In addition, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the functionality of PD were elucidated. RESULTS: Micro-CT results showed that compared to control mice, the bone mass of OVX mice was significantly reduced due to estrogen deficiency; however, PD administration significantly elevated bone mass. Furthermore, PD substantially improved the trabecular microstructure parameters of the femur and enhanced bone strength compared with OVX mice. Hepatorenal toxicity was not observed in liver and kidney samples stained with H&E. PD significantly increased the proliferation of pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells and upregulated the expression of osteogenic differentiation markers compared to those in controls, as determined by qRT-PCR and western blotting. CONCLUSIONS: PD exerted a significant anti-osteoporotic effect in OVX mice by promoting osteogenesis. PD has great potential as a therapeutic option for osteoporosis.

Measurements of Proton High-Order Cumulants in sqrt[s_{NN}]=3 GeV Au+Au Collisions and Implications for the QCD Critical Point

We report cumulants of the proton multiplicity distribution from dedicated fixed-target Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3.0  GeV, measured by the STAR experiment in the kinematic acceptance of rapidity (y) and transverse momentum (p_{T}) within -0.5<y<0 and 0.4<p_{T}<2.0  GeV/c. In the most central 0%-5% collisions, a proton cumulant ratio is measured to be C_{4}/C_{2}=-0.85±0.09 (stat)±0.82 (syst), which is 2σ below the Poisson baseline with respect to both the statistical and systematic uncertainties. The hadronic transport UrQMD model reproduces our C_{4}/C_{2} in the measured acceptance. Compared to higher energy results and the transport model calculations, the suppression in C_{4}/C_{2} is consistent with fluctuations driven by baryon number conservation and indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions. These data imply that the QCD critical region, if created in heavy-ion collisions, could only exist at energies higher than 3 GeV.

Measurements of _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H Lifetimes and Yields in Au+Au Collisions in the High Baryon Density Region

We report precision measurements of hypernuclei _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H lifetimes obtained from Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3.0  GeV and 7.2 GeV collected by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and the first measurement of _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H midrapidity yields in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3.0  GeV. _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H, being the two simplest bound states composed of hyperons and nucleons, are cornerstones in the field of hypernuclear physics. Their lifetimes are measured to be 221±15(stat)±19(syst)  ps for _{Λ}^{3}H and 218±6(stat)±13(syst)  ps for _{Λ}^{4}H. The p_{T}-integrated yields of _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H are presented in different centrality and rapidity intervals. It is observed that the shape of the rapidity distribution of _{Λ}^{4}H is different for 0%-10% and 10%-50% centrality collisions. Thermal model calculations, using the canonical ensemble for strangeness, describes the _{Λ}^{3}H yield well, while underestimating the _{Λ}^{4}H yield. Transport models, combining baryonic mean-field and coalescence (jam) or utilizing dynamical cluster formation via baryonic interactions (phqmd) for light nuclei and hypernuclei production, approximately describe the measured _{Λ}^{3}H and _{Λ}^{4}H yields. Our measurements provide means to precisely assess our understanding of the fundamental baryonic interactions with strange quarks, which can impact our understanding of more complicated systems involving hyperons, such as the interior of neutron stars or exotic hypernuclei.

Effective adsorption of antimony (V) from contaminated water by a novel composite manganese oxide/oxyhydroxide as an adsorbent

To obtain an efficient and low-cost adsorbent for the Sb(V) removal in Sb(V)-contaminated water, a novel composite manganese oxide/oxyhydroxide (CMO) was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal synthesis method. The synthesized adsorbent was characterized via scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The results revealed that the as-prepared CMO adsorbent possessed a porous structure consisting of Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles and MnOOH nanorods. Batch experiments showed that the adsorption behaviours were well fitted by the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, reaching the maximum adsorption capacity of 119.63 mg/g at 25 °C. The application of CMO adsorbent showed that the Sb(V) removal efficiency in 6.24 L Sb(V)-containing water with a concentration of 3.6 mg/L was more than 90%. The reusability of CMO adsorbent demonstrated that the Sb(V) removal efficiency was still more than 80% even after five times of regeneration. The adsorption mechanism for Sb(V) can be described as ligand exchange between hydroxyl groups on the adsorbent surface and hydroxyl groups in Sb(OH)₆^- molecules by forming inner-sphere complexes. Those results suggested that the CMO adsorbent can be considered as a potential adsorbent to remove Sb(V) from contaminated water.

Aberrant methylation-mediated downregulation of the LINC01554 gene accelerates the malignant progression and regulates the chemosensitivity of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is diagnosed as a malignant tumor with a poor prognosis, the associated mechanisms still need to be further investigated. The LINC01554 gene is confirmed to participate in the tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma, but its role in LSCC has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the function and the potential mechanism of LINC01554 in LSCC, LINC01554 further was used as a molecular target for the diagnosis and molecular targeted therapy of LSCC. The microarray-based gene expression profiling of LSCC and its adjacent non-tumor tissue were used to identify the differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was applied to verify the expression levels of LINC01554 in tissue and LSCC cell lines. The DNA methylation level of the LINC01554 promoter was detected by the application of bisulfite genomic sequencing (BGS), and the bisulfite conversion-specific/methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (BS-MSP) method. The effect of LINC01554 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of squamous cell carcinoma was assessed by MTS, wound healing, transwell, RT-qPCR, Western blot in vitro-cultured TU177 cells, and AMC-HN-8 cells. The microarray-based gene expression profiling identified the differentially expressed lncRNAs, including LINC01554, with downregulation in the LSCC tissue vs. normal tissue. The RT-qPCR verified the downregulation of LINC01554 in the LSCC tissue (P=0.0049) and LSCC cell (P=0.0020). The BGS and BS-MSP exhibited the hypermethylation level of the LINC01554 promoter, which mediated the downregulation of LINC01554. A gain-of-function experiment showed that LINC01554 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of TU177 and AMC-HN-8. Subsequently, LINC01554 overexpression was shown to decrease cell viability in TU177 and AMC-HN-8 cells treated with cisplatin. Our findings indicated that the aberrant methylation-mediated downregulation of LINC01554 promoted malignant progression and cisplatin resistance in LSCC, and LINC01554 may serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker and a novel therapeutic target for LSCC.

Probing the Gluonic Structure of the Deuteron with J/ψ Photoproduction in d+Au Ultraperipheral Collisions

Understanding gluon density distributions and how they are modified in nuclei are among the most important goals in nuclear physics. In recent years, diffractive vector meson production measured in ultraperipheral collisions (UPCs) at heavy-ion colliders has provided a new tool for probing the gluon density. In this Letter, we report the first measurement of J/ψ photoproduction off the deuteron in UPCs at the center-of-mass energy sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV in d+Au collisions. The differential cross section as a function of momentum transfer -t is measured. In addition, data with a neutron tagged in the deuteron-going zero-degree calorimeter is investigated for the first time, which is found to be consistent with the expectation of incoherent diffractive scattering at low momentum transfer. Theoretical predictions based on the color glass condensate saturation model and the leading twist approximation nuclear shadowing model are compared with the data quantitatively. A better agreement with the saturation model has been observed. With the current measurement, the results are found to be directly sensitive to the gluon density distribution of the deuteron and the deuteron breakup process, which provides insights into the nuclear gluonic structure.

Search for the Chiral Magnetic Effect via Charge-Dependent Azimuthal Correlations Relative to Spectator and Participant Planes in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

The chiral magnetic effect (CME) refers to charge separation along a strong magnetic field due to imbalanced chirality of quarks in local parity and charge-parity violating domains in quantum chromodynamics. The experimental measurement of the charge separation is made difficult by the presence of a major background from elliptic azimuthal anisotropy. This background and the CME signal have different sensitivities to the spectator and participant planes, and could thus be determined by measurements with respect to these planes. We report such measurements in Au+Au collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. It is found that the charge separation, with the flow background removed, is consistent with zero in peripheral (large impact parameter) collisions. Some indication of finite CME signals is seen in midcentral (intermediate impact parameter) collisions. Significant residual background effects may, however, still be present.

[Detection of SMO gene mutations in odontogenic keratocyst]

Objective: To detect the SMO mutations in odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) and to explore the mechanism behind. Methods: Patients with OKC who received treatment in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology,Peking University, from September 2012 to June 2017 were enrolled. OKC samples from 10 patients diagnosed as naevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS)-related OKC (4 females and 6 males) and 20 patients diagnosed as sporadic OKC (7 females and 13 males) were collected. Genomic DNAs were extracted from fibrous capsules and epithelial lining respectively. SMO mutations were detected and analyzed by Sanger sequencing. Results: Three SMO mutations were found in one NBCCS-associated OKC who carrying c.2081C>G (p.P694R) mutation) and two sporadic OKC who carrying c.907C>T (p.L303F) mutation and c.1247_1248delinsAA (p.G416E), respectively), among which the first two mutations were novel mutations that had not been reported before. Besides, two mutations in sporadic OKC were not paired with PTCH1 mutations. Conclusions: In addition to PTCH1 gene mutations, SMO gene mutations also exist in OKC which might be related to the development of OKC.

PERK signaling activation restores nucleus pulposus degeneration by activating autophagy under hypoxia environment

OBJECTIVES

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is an important disease with no efficient biological therapy identified. Autophagy, a wildly known therapeutic target for human disease, has been demonstrated to be activated under hypoxia, with underlying mechanism remains elusive. Thus, this study aims to specify the role of autophagy in IVD degeneration, the regulating mechanism of hypoxia-inducing autophagy, and the therapeutic value of autophagy for IVD degeneration.

METHODS

RNA-seq was used to screen the primary pathway affected in NP cells under hypoxia, the specific link between hypoxia and autophagy were investigated using ChIP-seq and dual luciferase reporter assay. Conditional ATG7 knockout mice (ATG7^-/-) were constructed for assessing the effect of autophagy on IVD degeneration, and puncture induced mice model of IVD degeneration were used for intradiscal injection to evaluate the therapeutic value of autophagy.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that hypoxia induces autophagy by transcriptional activation of autophagic gene LC3B and ATG7, which is controlled by PERK signaling. Then, we observed that inhibiting autophagy or PERK signaling leads to impaired NP cell viability and function, furthermore, using ATG7 knockout (ATG7^-/-) mice, we identified the protective role of autophagy in IVD. Furthermore, we found that intradiscal injection of PERK signaling agonist, CCT020312, significantly restores the degeneration level of needle punctured mice IVD.

CONCLUSION

We showed that the activation of PERK signaling upon hypoxia serves as a vital mechanism to induce autophagy and identified the therapeutic value of PERK signaling agonist for IVD degeneration treatment.

The potential roles of RNA N6-methyladenosine in atherosclerosis

OBJECTIVE

Atherosclerosis, characterized by endothelial injury, multicellular involvement, chronic inflammation, and lipid deposition, can lead to acute cardiovascular events. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant, prevalent RNA modification in mammalian cells. m6A, a reversible modification, can be catalyzed by m6A methyltransferase complexes (writers), reverted by demethylases (erasers), and recognized by m6A-binding proteins (readers). Emerging evidence suggests that m6A modification plays a significant role in regulating many biological and cellular processes in atherosclerosis. In this review, we highlight the biological function of m6A modification and give a brief perspective on its future applications in atherosclerosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a narrative review. The literature search strategy for indexed Scopus articles was performed randomly using PubMed and MEDLINE as the primary sources. No specific term was used.

RESULTS

As the mechanism of the relationship between inflammatory response and atherosclerosis, m6A has become a new focus in the study of clinical treatment strategies for atherosclerosis. METTL14-dependent m6A modification may be a target for atherosclerosis therapy. A variety of m6A regulatory factors promote the progression of atherosclerosis by regulating polarization and inflammation of macrophages. WTAP and METTL14 can affect the phenotypic modulation of VSMCs through m6A modification.

CONCLUSIONS

The existence of m6A in cardiovascular transcripts is necessary to maintain cardiac function, and the level of m6A modification is increased in a variety of atherosclerotic vascular cells, indicating that m6A modification is involved in the pathophysiological process of atherosclerosis. m6A modification plays an important character in atherosclerosis.

Complete Genomic Data of Pantoea ananatis Strain TZ39 Associated with New Bacterial Blight of Rice in China

Pantoea ananatis is a phytopathogen infecting many economically important crops, including rice worldwide. Here, we report the complete genome of P. ananatis strain TZ39 identified as causative agent of a new bacterial blight of rice that emerged in China in 2020. The assembled genome consists of one circular chromosome of 4,483,976 bp and two plasmids of 135,135 and 276,579 bp. This complete genome of the first Chinese pathogenic P. ananatis strain will provide new insights into the traits of pathogenicity on genomic level from China and worldwide.

Rice OsClo5, a caleosin protein, negatively regulates cold tolerance through the jasmonate signalling pathway

Caleosin is a lipid droplet-binding protein involved in maintenance of the lipid droplet structure and in signal transduction. However, the role of caleosin proteins in stress resistance is limited. Here, we report data for a rice caleosin protein gene, OsClo5, involved in cold stress tolerance via influence and regulation of the JA signalling pathway. Overexpression lines and RNAi lines of OsClo5 were subjected to cold stress and recovery to measure electrolyte leakage and survival rate. Changes were also detected in the genome-wide transcriptome of OsClo5 overexpressed plants. OsClo5 is located mainly in lipid droplets and expressed in all tissues tested. Its expression was upregulated by various stress conditions when subjected to cold treatment. Overexpression of OsClo5 decreased cold tolerance, and RNAi lines of OsClo5 had higher survival than WT seedlings. OsClo5 inhibited one jasmonate biosynthetic gene and several jasmonate ZIM domain (JAZ) genes, which were upregulated in response to cold stress. OsClo5 is a constitutively expressed caleosin protein that regulates plant cold resistance through inhibition of jasmonate signalling and JA synthesis.

Giant cell arteritis with stroke and systemic diffuse vasculitis

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic vasculitis, which mainly affects the aorta and its branches, while the abdominal aorta, the iliac artery and the limbs involvement are rare. The common clinical manifestations include headache, fever, jaw claudication, and visual impairment. Cerebrovascular accidents are relatively rare. Here, we present a GCA patient with stroke and systemic diffuse vasculitis involving the abdominal aorta, iliac artery, and femoral artery simultaneously.

The Association between Dietary Magnesium Intake and Telomere Length in Adults with Hypertension

BACKGROUND

Dietary micronutrients are significantly associated with telomere length, as shown in multiple studies. However, no study has investigated the association between magnesium intake and telomere length in adults with hypertension.

METHODS

Participants were included from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 1999-2000 and 2001-2002. Dietary magnesium intake was assessed using the 24 - hour recall method and the telomere length of leukocytes was measured using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A multivariate regression model was then used to assess the association between dietary magnesium intake and telomere length in adults with hypertension.

RESULTS

Our final analysis included 2199 hypertensive adults (46.79% males) with a mean dietary magnesium intake of 254.82±133.47 mg/day. Linear regression, adjusted for race, sex, age, smoking, uric acid, and other variables, showed that every 1 mg increase in dietary magnesium intake was associated with a 0.20 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.39, p = 0.043) longer telomere length in all participants. In the ≥45 years age group, there was a statistically significant association between the telomere length and dietary magnesium (95% CI: 0.16, 0.63, p <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that increased magnesium intake is associated with a longer telomere length in hypertensive adults, especially in those ≥45 years of age. However, further research is needed to determine a causal relationship.

Measurement of the Sixth-Order Cumulant of Net-Proton Multiplicity Distributions in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=27, 54.4, and 200 GeV at RHIC

According to first-principle lattice QCD calculations, the transition from quark-gluon plasma to hadronic matter is a smooth crossover in the region μ_{B}≤T_{c}. In this range the ratio, C_{6}/C_{2}, of net-baryon distributions are predicted to be negative. In this Letter, we report the first measurement of the midrapidity net-proton C_{6}/C_{2} from 27, 54.4, and 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The dependence on collision centrality and kinematic acceptance in (p_{T}, y) are analyzed. While for 27 and 54.4 GeV collisions the C_{6}/C_{2} values are close to zero within uncertainties, it is observed that for 200 GeV collisions, the C_{6}/C_{2} ratio becomes progressively negative from peripheral to central collisions. Transport model calculations without critical dynamics predict mostly positive values except for the most central collisions within uncertainties. These observations seem to favor a smooth crossover in the high-energy nuclear collisions at top RHIC energy.

[Molecular characteristics of Legionella pneumophila in shower water of public places in Ma'anshan city from 2019 to 2020]

Objective: To understand the epidemiological and pathogenic characteristics of Legionella pneumophila in shower water of public places in Ma'anshan City from 2019 to 2020, and to provide scientific basis for further prevention and control of legionellosis. Methods: From 2019 to 2020, according to population density distribution and business scale of bathing places in the main urban area of Ma'anshan City (Huashan District and Yushan District), 8 public bathing places (including 3 large, 3 medium and 2 small) were selected to collect 308 shower water and water storage pool water samples (294 shower water samples and 14 water storage pool water samples). After the collected water samples were treated, cultured, isolated and identified, the type characteristics of Legionella pneumophila were analyzed. Results: Legionella pneumophila were detected in 120 water samples among 308 shower water and water storage pool water samples, with an overall positive rate of 39.0% (120/308). A total of 154 Legionella pneumophila strains were detected, including 10 different serotypes, predominated by serotype 1 (LP1) and serotype 3 (LP3), accounting for 40.9% (63/154) and 22.7% (35/154). Among 154 strains of Legionella pneumophila, 23 strains of Legionella pneumophila were positive for all 14 virulence genes, accounting for 14.9% (23/154), including 19 serotype 1 (LP1) and 4 serotype 8 (LP8). Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) cluster analysis of 154 Legionella pneumophila strains showed 60 different patterns. Conclusion: Legionella pneumophila was seriously polluted in the shower water environment of public places in Ma^, anshan City. The serotypes are widely distributed and the virulence of the strains is strong. The results of molecular typing show that these strains have genetic diversity.