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Aims: This study aimed to investigate the causal interaction between significant sensorimotor network (SMN) regions and other brain regions in Parkinson's disease patients with drooling (droolers). Methods: Twenty‐one droolers, 22 PD patients without drooling (non‐droolers), and 22 matched healthy controls underwent 3T‐MRI resting‐state scans. We performed independent component analysis and Granger causality analysis to determine whether significant SMN regions help predict other brain areas. Pearson's correlation was computed between imaging characteristics and clinical characteristics. ROC curves were plotted to assess the diagnostic performance of effective connectivity (EC). Results: Compared with non‐droolers and healthy controls, droolers showed abnormal EC of the right caudate nucleus (CAU.R) and right postcentral gyrus to extensive brain regions. In droolers, increased EC from the CAU.R to the right middle temporal gyrus was positively correlated with MDS‐UPDRS, MDS‐UPDRS II, NMSS, and HAMD scores; increased EC from the right inferior parietal lobe to CAU.R was positively correlated with MDS‐UPDRS score. ROC curve analysis showed that these abnormal ECs are of great significance in diagnosing drooling in PD. Conclusion: This study identified that PD patients with drooling have abnormal EC in the cortico‐limbic‐striatal‐cerebellar and cortio‐cortical networks, which could be potential biomarkers for drooling in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At optical frequencies, we design an anisotropic metasurface to realize high-Q perfect absorption in numerical calculation. By establishing the Norton equivalent network model, we first reveal that the root cause of this phenomenon is the coupling excitation of the localized surface plasmon (LSP) mode and the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode. This absorber can realize bifunctional switching and is expected to realize the energy conversion of photons–SPP–photons. Meanwhile, we analyze the control of the structural design on high-Q perfect absorption. This research will provide theoretical guidance for the further development of applications related to high-Q perfect absorption such as absorption filters with specific wavelengths and narrow band photon emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the role of social participation in the relationship between internet use and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults and investigate how the internet use interact with social participation to reduce the risk of depressive symptoms.Methods: Based on the survey from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2018, we identified 4645 subjects and used the Ordinary Least Square method (OLS) and Propensity Score Matching method (PSM) to identify the association between Internet use and depression of older people, and further test how social participation played a role in the relationship.Results: The level of depression of older people was significantly reduced in those who using internet in China, and the effect was still robust under different identification methods. The mental health was improved when using internet because of the increase of social participation and social capital. Further, The positive effect was stronger especially in those who were female, living in rural areas, has low education attainments and were 70-79 years old.Conclusions: The popularity of internet use has a positive effect on the depressive symptoms of Chinese older adults. Effective measures were encouraged to improve the friendliness of internet for older people and promote the popularization of the Internet and older group, achieving the spiritual well-being of them in the Internet society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aim to explore the capacity of perioperative pupillary variables to predict acute pain in the post‐anesthesia care unit (PACU). Methods: Patients scheduled to undergo thoracic or abdominal surgery under general anesthesia between April 2021 and June 2021 were enrolled. We measured the pupil diameter, pupillary light reflex (PLR), and pupillary reflex dilatation 5 min before anesthesia induction (T1), 5 min after intubation (T2), at the end of anesthesia (T3), immediately before extubation (T4), and 5 min after extubation (T5). We assessed the early postoperative pain intensity in the PACU using Numeric Rating Scales (NRS) at recovery, 5 min after recovery, and 10 min after recovery. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between perioperative pupillary variables and postoperative pain intensity. Results: Fifty‐one patients were enrolled, 50 of whom were included in the final analysis. A total of 13 patients (26%) needed remedial analgesia in the PACU. Pupil parameters at T1, T2, T3, and T5 were not associated with NRS in the PACU. Multiple logistic regression models and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves indicated that only latency of PLR at T4 can predict postoperative acute pain. The ROC analysis showed that the cutoff value for latency of PLR at T4 was 0.29 s to discriminate between no pain and pain, and the area under the curve was 0.778 (95% CI 0.634–0.922, p = 0.002) with sensitivity 50.0% and specificity 91.7%. Conclusion: The latency of PLR immediately before extubation may be a useful predictor for postoperative acute pain in the PACU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little empirical research on the effect of working after retirement on the mental health of the older adults in China. To fill this gap in the literature, this study examines the effects of working after retirement on the mental health of the older adults using data from the China Family Panel Studies. We employed the methods of ordinary least squares, ordered logit, and propensity score matching–difference in differences (PSM–DID). Results show that working after retirement is negatively related to mental health of the older adults in China. The deterioration effect of post-retirement work mainly impacts those aged over 60 years, women, and those with lower education background, urban household registration, higher pension, and higher social status. Working after retirement is negatively related to mental health through the mediating effects of deteriorating interpersonal relationships and lower positive attitude. It is necessary to consider mental health effects and their population differences to evaluate the impact and improve the quality of policies of active aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aimed to investigate the effect of echinacoside on autophagy-related indicators through the mTOR signaling pathway, especially the effect on the clearance of autophagy substrate P62 and α-synuclein, the core pathological products of Parkinson's disease (PD), to provide new strategies for the treatment of PD. Methods: A mouse model of subacute PD was established by the intraperitoneal injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). First, the neurobehavioral symptoms in mice of each group were evaluated, and the monoamine neurotransmitters in the striatum in each group were measured with a high-performance liquid phase. Immunofluorescence double staining was adopted to observe the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), α-synuclein, and LC3. The transmission electron microscope was used to observe the changes of ultrastructure in substantia nigra and the formation of autophagosomes. Then, the expressions of TH, α-synuclein, Beclin 1, LC3, P62, mTOR, and the up-stream protein AKT were detected by Western blot. Results: When compared with the model group, the neurobehavioral function significantly improved in the echinacoside group (P < 0.01), together with increased expression of TH, DA, and DOPAC in the brain (P < 0.01). In the echinacoside group, while the expressions of Beclin 1 and LC3-II increased (P < 0.01), the expression levels of P62 and α-synuclein decreased significantly (P < 0.01). Echinacoside could up-regulate the expression level of the survival signal p-AKT/AKT and decrease the expression of mTOR. Conclusion: Echinacoside could increase autophagy by inhibiting the expression of mTOR, thereby promoting the clearance of α-synuclein and the degradation of the autophagy substrate P62 and exerting the neuroprotective effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic, recurrent and destructive disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a therapeutic measure in which faecal microbiota from healthy people is transplanted into patients. Aim: To systematically evaluate the safety and effectiveness of treating UC with different modes of FMT. Methods: Seven databases were searched by two independent researchers and studies related to randomized controlled trials were included in the analysis. Results: Seven studies on UC involving 431 patients were included in the analysis. The results showed that FMT had better efficacy than placebo (OR = 2.29, 95% CI 1.48–3.53, P = 0.0002). Subgroup analyses of influencing factors showed that frozen faeces from multiple donors delivered via the lower gastrointestinal tract had a better curative effect than placebo (OR = 2.76, 95% CI 1.59–4.79, P = 0.0003; OR = 2.93, 95% CI 1.67–5.71, P = 0.0002; and OR = 2.70, 95% CI 1.67–4.37, P < 0.0001); the difference in efficacy between mixed faeces from a single donor transplanted through the upper gastrointestinal tract and placebo was not significant(P = 0.05, P = 0.09 and P = 0.98). The analysis of side effects showed no significant difference between FMT and placebo (P = 0.43). Conclusions: It may be safe and effective to transplant frozen faeces from multiple donors through the lower gastrointestinal tract to treat UC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant genetic disease characterized by hamartomas in multiple organ systems. This study was performed in one familial and two sporadic cases with TSC. Two novel mutations (c.1884_1887delAAAG and c.5266A>G) and two previously reported mutations (c.4258_4261delTCAG and c.1960G>C) were identified by direct DNA sequencing. Of the four mutations, c.1884_1887delAAAG and c.1960G>C were found in a family and identified in the same allele by TA cloning sequencing. However, c.1960G>C was reported to be non‐pathogenic. Furthermore, correlations between genotypes and phenotypes of Chinese Han patients since 2014 were performed by paired χ2‐tests in our published work review, which has not been reported. The results showed that patients with TSC2 mutations had a higher frequency of mental retardation and there were no significant differences of seizures and skin lesions with TSC1 mutations. Genetically, they had a higher frequency of familial inheritance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Androgen receptor (AR) is closely associated with the occurrence and progression of breast cancer; however, the clinical significance of it in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been controversial. There is a limited amount of research regarding the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on AR expression. By examining the expression of AR in patients with TNBC, the aim of the present study is to explore the clinical significance of AR and provide evidence for AR‑directed treatment in TNBC. A total of 188 patients with primary TNBC with complete medical records were included in this retrospective study. Tumor sections from 41 patients (21.8%) were positive for AR, which was more often detected in small tumors (P=0.042) and cases with no lymph node involvement (P=0.032). Among them, 102 were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). A total of 17 patients (16.7%) exhibited pathological complete response. However, the patient response was irrelevant to AR expression. Matched pathological tissues before and after NAC were collected for 49 cases, suggesting an enrichment of AR‑expressing tumors following chemotherapy (P=0.008). Further analysis indicated that AR expression had no correlation with the disease‑free and overall survival of patients with general TNBC; rather, it predicted a poor survival of the patients with stage III TNBC in comparison with those at earlier stages (P=0.035). AR expression occurs more often in small TNBC tumors or in cases with no lymph node metastasis. It is associated with a poor prognosis of the patients with advanced stages of tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Eu doped ACaPO (A = Li, Na, K) phosphors were synthesized by a solid state reaction. The phase, microstructure and luminescent properties of the obtained phosphors were investigated. The XRD results indicate that the Eu doping has no influence on the phases of ACaPO (A = Li, Na, K) hosts. Under the excitation of 365 nm, Eu doped ACaPO (A = Li, Na, K) phosphors exhibit emission bands corresponding to 5d-4f transitions of Eu ion and the emission intensity shows concentration-dependence. The peak wavelengths of emission bands for Eu in LiCaPO, NaCaPO and KCaPO locate at 478, 508 and 487 nm, respectively. With the temperature increasing up to 500 K, the emission intensities of ACaPO:5 mol%Eu (A = Li, Na, K) phosphors are decreased to be 75.1, 84.8 and 77.9% of the initial value (300 K) and the emission wavelengths shift to 470, 491 and 476 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the relationship between chemotherapy dose intensity and therapy efficacy of different molecular subtypes. Clinical and pathological features of the patients with breast cancer were retreived from the hospital records. 315 patients were analyzed (251 showed clinical response, 38 acquired pCR). Patients with positive ER status, negative PR status, higher Ki67 level and higher RTDI had better therapy response. 13.5 and 84.5 % were identified the benchmark of Ki67 and RTDI, respectively. As the result of interior-subgroup comparison, luminal subgroups acquired better response rate when RTDI ≥ 84.5 %. In patients of luminal breast cancer, tumor size change arose from increasing of dose intensity and finally showed reached a plateau after RTDI ≥ 95 % ( r = 0.303, p < 0.001). As the result of intersubgroup comparison, TNBC patients were more likely to acquired better clinical and pathology response when RDTI < 84.5 %. Ki67 change arose sharply from increasing of dose intensity when RDTI < 84.5 % ( r = 0.656, p < 0.001), whereas the regression curve showed a terminal plateau in patients of RDTI ≥ 84.5 % ( r = 0.427, p < 0.001). Given lower RTDI, luminal patients are less likely to achieve response, and TNBC patients are associated with higher response rate. Dissimilar of therapy efficacy between luminal subtype and TNBC becomes inconspicuous as RTDI rises. Chemosensitivity may associate with dose intensity, especially in luminal subtypes, and tailored therapeutic strategies should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

miRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of multiple target genes at the post-transcriptional level. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA sequences may alter miRNA expression and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple forms of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis. The present study explored the association between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), miR-146a rs2910164G>C and miR-499 rs3746444T>C, in a Han Chinese population. A case–control study consisting of 102 subjects with AS and 105 healthy controls was designed. The two miRNA SNPs were identified by direct sequencing. Subsequently, their gene and genotype frequencies were compared with healthy controls. A significant difference was observed in the miR-146a rs2910164G>C SNP. The frequency of the G allele was markedly higher in the AS patients than in the healthy controls (P = 0.005, Pc = 0.01, OR = 1.787), and the frequency of the GG genotype was higher in AS patients than in controls (P = 0.014, Pc = 0.042, OR = 2.516). However, no significant association was found between the miR-499 rs3746444T>C variant and susceptibility to AS. This is the first study to address the association between the miR-146a rs2910164G>C and miR-499 rs3746444T>C polymorphisms and AS, and it suggests a potential pathogenic factor for AS. Further studies are needed to validate our findings in a larger series, as well as in other ethnic backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RT-qPCR is the accepted technique for the quantification of microRNA (miR) expression: however, stem-loop RT-PCR, the most frequently used method for quantification of miRs, is time- and reagent-consuming as well as inconvenient for scanning. We established a new method called ‘universal stem-loop primer’ (USLP) with 8 random nucleotides instead of a specific sequence at the 3′ end of the traditional stem-loop primer (TSLP), for screening miR profile and to semi-quantify expression of miRs. Peripheral blood samples were cultured with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), and then 87 candidate miRs were scanned in cultured T cells. By USLP, our study revealed that the expression of miR-150-5p (miR-150) decreased nearly 10-fold, and miR-155-5p (miR-155) increased more than 7-fold after treated with PHA. The results of the dissociation curve and gel electrophoresis showed that the PCR production of the USLP and TSLP were specificity. The USLP method has high precision because of its low ICV (ICV<2.5%). The sensitivity of the USLP is up to 103 copies/µl miR. As compared with the TSLP, USLP saved 75% the cost of primers and 60% of the test time. The USLP method is a simple, rapid, precise, sensitive, and cost-effective approach that is suitable for screening miR profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study aimed to explore the relationship between cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and personality in patients with breast cancer after chemotherapy. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to study the relationship between CRF and personality in breast cancer patients after chemotherapy. CRF and personality were measured by the cancer fatigue score and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, respectively. Results A total of 300 breast cancer patients who had received chemotherapy were recruited to this study. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire scores of psychoticism, introversion, and extroversion in the patients were lower than the norm level ( p < 0.01), but those of neuroticism and lie were higher than the norm level ( p < 0.01). Multivariate analyses showed positive correlation between psychoticism and affective fatigue, neuroticism and total fatigue, and physical fatigue and cognitive fatigue. Multivariate analyses also showed negative correlation between introversion or extroversion and total fatigue, physical fatigue or affective fatigue, and lie and total fatigue or cognitive fatigue. Conclusions There was CRF in patients with breast cancer after chemotherapy. Psychoticism, extroversion/introversion, neuroticism, and lie are correlated with CRF in breast cancer patients after chemotherapy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proper interaction between BRIP1/BACH1 and BRCA1 protein has been found to be crucial for BRCA1-mediated DNA double-strand break repair and BRIP1/BACH1 mutations were estimated to confer a relative risk for breast cancer of 2.0 in western populations. In Chinese population, BRCA1 mutations could explain a relatively large proportion of inherited breast cancer cases in comparison with BRCA2 mutations, which probably deduced a hypothesis that those genes involved in BRCA1-mediated DNA repair pathway might play a more significant role in the etiology of Chinese breast cancer. To investigate the contribution of BRIP1/BACH1 mutations to the predisposition of Chinese non-BRCA1/BRCA2 hereditary breast cancer, we screened all the coding exons and adjacent intronic splice junction regions of BRIP1/BACH1 in 357 Chinese women with early-onset breast cancer or affected relatives from five different breast disease clinical centers in China, using PCR-DHPLC and DNA sequencing analysis. Some genetic variants identified in the cases were then studied in 864 normal controls with no personal or family history of breast cancer. We found no protein-truncated mutations in our population, while a novel recurrent non-synonymous variant, Q944E, was detected in two independent families in contrast with none in the controls, interestingly, this alteration occurs in the BRCA1 binding domain of the BACH1 protein. Then a further study performed on the two mutation positive families revealed the partial co-segregation of this mutation allele with cancer. The novel alteration Q944E identified in our study possibly represents a rare disease-related allele, nevertheless functional analysis is still warranted to resolve the ability of this altered BACH1 protein to bind BRCA1. Altogether, the results of our study indicated that germline mutations in BRIP1/BACH were extremely rare in Chinese population and there was no evidence for the recommendation of BRIP1/BACH1 for genetic testing in Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PALB2 has been recently identified as breast cancer susceptibility gene in western populations. To investigate the contribution of PALB2 mutations to Chinese non-BRCA1/BRCA2 hereditary breast cancer, we screened all coding exons and intron-exon boundaries of PALB2 in 360 Chinese women with early-onset breast cancer or affected relatives from five breast disease clinical centers in China by utilizing PCR-DHPLC and DNA sequencing analysis. Some genetic variants identified in the cases were then studied in 864 normal controls with no personal or family history of breast cancer. Two protein-truncating PALB2 mutations, 751C>T and 1050_1051delAAinsTCT, were identified in three separate families, and 751C>T was a recurrent mutation. Neither of them, however, were present in the controls ( P = 0.025). All the truncating mutations occured in exon 4 of PALB2, and there were still three unclassified variants were detected in the same fragment. We found that exon 4 accounted for 44.1% (15/34) of the person-times carrying with any variant in our study. PALB2 mutations were responsible for approximately 1% of Chinese women with early-onset breast cancer and affected relatives. Our results suggested that a detection of exon 4 before the assay of the whole PALB2 gene might be a cost-effective approach to the screening of Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accumulating evidence reveals that intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) can cause varying degrees of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) later in life. Moreover, epigenetics plays an important role in the fetal origin of adult disease. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of epigenetics in the development of PAH following IUGR.Methods: The IUGR rats were established by maternal undernutrition during pregnancy. Pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (PVEC) were isolated from the rat lungs by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS). We investigated epigenetic regulation of the endothelin-1 (ET-1) gene in PVEC of 1-day and 6-week IUGR rats, and response of IUGR rats to hypoxia.Results: The maternal nutrient restriction increased the histone acetylation and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) binding levels in the ET-1 gene promoter of PVEC in IUGR newborn rats, and continued up to 6 weeks after birth. These epigenetic changes could result in an IUGR rat being highly sensitive to hypoxia later in life, causing more significant PAH or pulmonary vascular remodeling.Conclusions: These findings suggest that epigenetics is closely associated with the development of hypoxic PAH following IUGR, further providing a new insight for improved prevention and treatment of IUGR-related PAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]