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The problem of homoclinic solutions is considered for a singular Rayleigh equation x ′ ′ (t) + f (x ′ (t)) - g (x (t)) - α (t) x (t) 1 - x (t) = h (t) , where f , g , h , α : R → R are continuous and α (t) is T - periodic. By using a continuation theorem of coincidence degree principle, some new results on the existence and uniqueness of homoclinic solution to the equation are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unbalanced inflammatory reactions and oxidative stress are inseparably interconnected, and both may play crucial roles in the pathophysiological mechanisms of preeclampsia (PE). In the published previous studies, we have genotyped for SNPs that related to inflammation (rs2227485, rs153109, rs17855750, rs2027432, rs2275913, rs763780, rs4819554, and rs13015714) and oxidative stress (rs1695, rs4680, rs1800566, rs4807542, rs713041, rs7579, rs230813, rs1004467, rs3824755, and rs9932581) to investigate whether these polymorphisms were associated with susceptibility to PE in a Chinese Han population. In this present study, we collected these data of experimental and clinical from above studies for haplotype analysis of inflammation-related SNPs in 631 PE patients and 720 normal pregnancy and oxidative stress-related SNPs in 342 PE patients and 457 normal pregnancies for susceptibility to PE. The data of genotype distribution and allele frequency comparisons after correction for multiple comparisons (P/8 or P/10) showed 2 among the 8 candidate inflammation-related SNPs have significant differences (rs2027432 genotype χ2 = 407.377, p < 0.001, p < 0.00625). Moreover, the minor alleles of rs2027432 T (minor allele χ2 = 450.923, p < 0.001, p < 0.00625; OR = 21.439, 95%CI = 15.181-30.278) and rs4819554 G (minor allele χ2 = 163.465, p < 0.001, p < 0.00625; OR = 5.814, 95%CI = 4.380-7.719) were confirmed as risk allele of PE, respectively. Our analysis revealed rs2027432 (TT) of NLRP3 and rs4819554 (GG) of IL-17RA are risk factors for PE. However, no significant difference was found at the oxidative stress-related SNPs. In the candidate loci for oxidative stress, we also identified 3 SNP matches (rs4807542 and rs713041, rs230813 and rs75799, rs1004467 and rs3824755) that had high linkage disequilibrium (LD) with each other and were selected as a block (r2 = 0.98, r2 = 0.97, r2 = 0.97, r2 > 0.9), and the GT and GC haplotypes of rs4807542 and rs713041 in GPX4 showed significant differences between the PE and control groups (χ2 = 5.143, p = 0.0233, p < 0.05; χ2 = 6.373, p = 0.0116, p < 0.05). So, we inferred that polymorphisms of NLRP3 rs2027432 and IL-17RA rs4819554, which are related to inflammation, and the rs713041 variant of GPX4, which is related to oxidative stress, were associated with susceptibility to PE. The GT and GC haplotypes of rs4807542 and rs713041 in GPX4 may increase the risk of PE in the Chinese Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma is the most frequent malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. Norcantharidin (NCTD) is a purified component from blister beetles and has been identified to exert antitumor effects in a variety of cancer types. However, the antitumor effect of NCTD in osteosarcoma remains to be elucidated. In the current study, it was first demonstrated that NCTD inhibited proliferation and induced G2/M-phase arrest and cell apoptosis in human osteosarcoma cells. Furthermore, NCTD significantly decreased the phosphorylation of Akt and the mammalian target of rapamycin in human osteosarcoma cells. These results suggest that NCTD is a promising candidate for the treatment of osteosarcoma patients in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Several lines of evidence have been reported that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Preeclampsia (PE). Therefore, this research is aimed to investigate whether polymorphisms of CYBA are related to susceptibility to PE in Chinese Han women. Methods: We studied the genetic frequency of the rs9932581 and 1049255 polymorphisms in CYBA in 1029 PE patients and 1400 controls of later pregnant women by the TaqMan allelic discrimination real-time PCR and a case-control model. Results: Our research indicated that no significant differences were found for the genotypic or allelic frequencies at the two polymorphic sites in CYBA between PE patients and controls. To further study the relationship between the polymorphic sites and PE, we also found that there is no significant difference in the genetic distributions identified between the mild or severe PE and early or the late-onset PE and controls. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the genetic variants of rs9932581 and rs1049255 in CYBA might not be associated with PE. However, investigations of genetic variability that influence on the disease outcome are needed in other large prospective populations or regions, so the complicated interconnection of genetic and environmental elements can be emulated for better understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MPs) are pollutants that are widely distributed in the aquatic environment. Fish are directly exposed to water and are at risk of ingesting a large amount of MPs. In the present study, the grass carp were exposed to two concentrations of MPs (1000 and 100 μg/L) and fluorescence signals were detected in the liver digestion solution. Grass carp exposed to MPs for 21-days showed liver cytoplasmic vacuolation and inhibited growth. At the end of the exposure period, the fish treated with MPs exhibited inhibition of the antioxidant system and enhancement oxidative stress in comparison with the control group. The transcriptome analysis of grass carp was then performed to reveal the molecular mechanism of the response to MPs. In total, 1554 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The results of GO and KEGG pathway analysis of the DEGs identified energy metabolism-related pathways and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway. Taken together, the present study not only highlighted oxidative stress and metabolism disorders related to MP ingestion, but also determined the risk of MP exposure to teleost. [Display omitted] • After exposure, fluorescence signals were detected in the liver digestion solution. • Grass carp ingestion of microplastics led to weight loss and histological changes. • In the liver, MP-1000 treatment caused higher oxidative stress. • Pathway enrichment showed links between metabolic disorders and oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The abnormal expression of certain transcription factors ( NKX2.1 , FOXE1 , NKX2.5 , and PAX8 ) and thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) genes has been associated with athyreosis, which is a form of thyroid dysgenesis (TD). We aimed to identify candidate gene mutations in CH patients with athyreosis and to establish the genotype-phenotype correlations in a Chinese population. Methods The exons and flanking sequences of NKX2.1 , FOXE1 , NKX2.5 , PAX8 , and TSHR were screened by next-generation sequencing and further confirmed by direct Sanger sequencing. The mutation frequencies were calculated and compared against databases. The relationship between genotype and phenotype was also determined. Results Seven variants were detected in TSHR —p.P52T, p.G132R, p.M164K, p.R450H, p.C700E, p.A522V, and p.R528S. The p. G132R, p. M164K and p. R528S variants were first identified in public databases. Five variants (p.G44D, p.G360V, p.R401Q, p.L418I, and p.E453Q) were found in NKX2.1 and one variant (p.P243T) was detected in FOXE1 . In addition, one variant (p.N291I) was found in NKX2.5 and two variants (p.A355V and c.-26G > A) were detected in PAX8 . Conclusions Our study indicated that TSHR mutations have phenotypic variability and has further expanded the mutation spectrum of TSHR . We also revealed that the rate of NKX2.1 , FOXE1 , NKX2.5 , and PAX8 mutations were low in patients with CH and athyreosis, in contrast to the higher rate of TSHR mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNA clusters are microRNAs (miRNAs) that are distributed in close proximity on chromosomes. In this study, we report a miRNA cluster identified from grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ), miR-462-731, which plays a positive role in host antibacterial immunity. The expression of miR-462-731 was disrupted after infection by Aeromonas hydrophila . Transcription factor ETS transcription factor ELK1 was identified to bind to the promoter of the miR-462-731 cluster and suppress its expression. In addition, miR-731 negatively regulates the expression of elk1 , forms an elk1/miR-462-731 double negative feedback loop. In addition, we found that miR-731 directly targets ezrin a ( ezra ), participates in inducing PI3K/AKT signaling in macrophage, to induce macrophage polarization to the M1 phenotype with stronger phagocytosis. Our results demonstrate a novel elk1/miR-462-731 feedback loop. The data deepen our understanding of the relationship between macrophage polarization and phagocytosis in teleost fish., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 He, Liu, Yang, Liu, Jia, Shen, Xu and Li.)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different outsole hardness of turf cleats shoes on the lower limb kinematics and kinetics of soccer players playing on artificial turf. The participants were required to complete tasks of straight running and 45° left sidestep cutting movements, respectively, at the speed of 4.5 ± 0.2 m/s on artificial turf. They were asked to randomly select turf cleats shoes with a soft outsole (SO), medium hardness outsole (MO) and hard outsole (HO). During the stance phase of straight running, peak pressure and force-time integral in medial forefoot (MFF) of players wearing cleats shoes with MO were significantly higher than those wearing cleats shoes with SO. During the stance phase of a 45° cutting maneuver, players wearing cleats shoes with SO showed significantly higher peak knee flexion and abduction angles than the HO group. Players wearing cleats shoes with SO also showed higher ankle dorsiflexion and inversion angles compared with those wearing cleats shoes with HO. The vertical average loading rate (VALR) as well as peak pressure and force-time integral in the heel (H) and lateral forefoot (LFF) regions of players wearing cleats shoes with HO were significantly higher than those wearing shoes with SO. On the contrary, peak pressure and force-time integral of players wearing shoes with SO were significantly higher than those wearing shoes with HO in MFF. A higher vertical loading rate and plantar pressure of some areas may increase the potential risk of metatarsal stress fractures and plantar fasciitis. Therefore, this finding about turf cleats shoes could give some theoretic support for the design of turf cleats shoes and material optimization in the future.