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The aim of this study was to compare the depressive symptoms during pregnancy between pregnant women aged over 35 years and those aged less than 35 years and to evaluate the protective effect of social support in early pregnancy against prenatal depressive symptoms. One hundred and seventy one women aged over 35 years and 342 trimester-matched women aged less than 35 years were included from a level III hospital in Shenzhen, China. The self-report Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) were used to evaluate prenatal depression and social support in early pregnancy. The proportions of women aged over 35 years who screened positive for prenatal depression were 22.8%, 23.4%, and 24.0% in the first, second and third trimesters, respectively. Advanced maternal age (≥35 years) was a positive predictor of prenatal depressive symptoms (

Virtual reality (VR) is used to improve specific health needs by combining multiple technologies; it is increasingly being used in the medical field, showing satisfactory effects, especially in the management of chronic disease. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of VR cognitive training for individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Peer-reviewed articles were searched from the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Science Direct, and EBSCOhost databases, as well as CNKI, Sinomed, Vip. and Wan Fang, through 23 May 2021. We only included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enrolling participants with MCI.Seventeen RCTs were included, with a total of 744 participants. Evidence of moderate quality showed that VR cognitive training significantly enhanced MCI patients' global cognitive function, as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.04-0.79; p = 0.03) and executive function, as measured by trail making test A (SMD = -0.58; 95% CI, -0.80 to -0.35; p 0.001). The meta-analysis indicated that the effects of VR cognitive training on delayed memory, immediate memory, attention and instrumental activities of daily living were not statistically significant (p 0.05).The available data showed that VR cognitive training might be beneficial for improving global cognitive function and executive function in individuals with MCI, although the effects were short term.

Increasing evidence shows that polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients are particularly vulnerable to anxiety/depression-like behaviors. This study sought to determine the prevalence of anxiety/depression-like behaviors among women with PCOS and to identify factors associated with these behaviors. This study was a secondary analysis of three studies performed on Chinese women who were aged 18 to 40 and diagnosed with PCOS according to the modified Rotterdam criteria. We obtained 802 useable responses for the self-rating anxiety scale and 798 responses for the self-rating depression scale. The prevalence of anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors among women with PCOS was 26.1% (209/802) and 52.0% (415/798), respectively. Anxiety-like behaviors were associated with age, body image-related factors (including body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio), and hyperandrogenism-related factors (including free androgen index and hirsutism). Depression-like behaviors were associated with age, body image-related factors, hyperandrogenism-related factors, and metabolic factors (including fasting insulin, fasting plasma glucose, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance). Body image-related factors and hyperandrogenism-related factors were related to both anxiety-like behaviors and depression-like behaviors in both infertile and fertile PCOS patients.

To describe family care behaviors for children with upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and explore related factors.Parents of children with URTIs were included in this cross-sectional study. Family care behaviors, disease-related knowledge, and parental self-efficacy were evaluated with validated measures.Among the 419 participants, 73.80% recognized diseases based on their children's abnormal presentation. Self-medication was the main home care measure (36.28% used only self-medication; 27.92% used both self-medication and physical cooling methods), and 36.5% received suggestions from medical professionals. All the participants took their children to the hospital, and 28.20% did so two or three times. The proportions of visits to level II or III hospitals were 49.64% and 83.87% for first and third hospital visits, respectively. Parents who had less disease knowledge and assessed children' diseases as more serious took their children to the hospital more often (p0.05); those whose nearest medical institution was a community health center were more likely to visit such centers (p0.001).Most of the parents recognized symptoms of URTIs and provided home care but lacked enough knowledge and professional support to take reasonable measures. Hospital visits were their primary choice.Family care behaviors for children with URTIs could be improved through health education, and an internet nursing service or family doctor system is suggested. A hierarchical medical system is necessary to reduce hospital visits, as are more community health centers with pediatric services.

Background: To develop a novel prognostic model based on clinical characteristics and blood biomarkers to estimate overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in osteosarcoma (OSC) patients.Methods: A total of 71 patients with OSC from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were retrospectively included. The novel prognostic model for predicting OS and PFS was established by using Lasso regression analysis based on blood biomarkers. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the novel prognostic model was compared with TNM staging and clinical treatment using concordance index (C-index), time-dependent ROC (tdROC) curve, decision curve analysis (DCA), net reclassification improvement index (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement index (IDI).Results: Based on the Lasso regression analysis, we identified a 5 prognostic factors module (RBC, Ca2+, CRE, PNI, and LSR) as a novel predictive model for the OSC patients. The C-index of the novel prognostic model for predicting OS and PFS were 0.782 (95% CI = 0.658 - 0.905) and 0.741 (95% CI = 0.632 - 0.851), respectively, which were higher than that of TNM staging and clinical treatment. The tdROC curve and DCA also showed the novel model had good predictive accuracy and discriminatory power than TNM staging and treatment both in predicting OS and PFS. Moreover, the novel prognostic model performed well in all time frames (1, 3 and 5 years) in terms of the IDI and NRI when compared with the TNM staging, and clinical treatment.Conclusions: The novel prognostic model showed favorable performance than TNM staging and clinical treatment for predicting OS and PFS in OSC patients.

BackgroundLong bones of limbs are formed through endochondral bone formation, which depends on the coordinated development of growth plates. Our previous studies have demonstrated that dysfunction of mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MAPK7) can cause skeletal dysplasia. However, little is known about the role of MAPK7 in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of chondrocytes during growth plate development.ResultsAblation of MAPK7 expression in chondrocytes led to growth restriction, short limbs and bone mass loss in postnatal mice. Histological studies revealed that MAPK7 deficiency increased the apoptosis and decreased the proliferation of chondrocytes in the center of the proliferative layer, where the most highly hypoxic chondrocytes are located. Accordingly, hypertrophic differentiation markers were downregulated in the central hypertrophic layer, beneath the site where abnormal apoptosis was observed. Simultaneously, we demonstrated that hypoxic adaptation and hypoxia-induced activation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit α (HIF1α) were impaired when MAPK7 could not be activated normally in primary chondrocytes. Concomitantly, vascular invasion into epiphyseal cartilage was inhibited whenMapk7was deleted.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that MAPK7 is necessary for maintaining proliferation, survival, and differentiation of chondrocytes during postnatal growth plate development, possibly through modulating HIF1α signaling for adaptation to hypoxia. These results indicate that MAPK7 signaling might be a target for treatment of chondrodysplasia.

Purpose Preaxial polydactyly (PPD) is a common congenital hand malformation classified into four subtypes (PPD I-IV). Variants in the zone of polarizing activity regulatory sequence (ZRS) within intron 5 of the LMBR1 gene are linked to most PPD types. However, the genes responsible for PPD I and the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Methods A rare large four-generation family with isolated PPD I was subjected to genome-wide genotyping and sequence analysis. In vitro and in vivo functional studies were performed in Caco-2 cells, 293T cells, and a knockin transgenic mouse model. Results A novel g.101779T>A (reference sequence: NG_009240.2; position 446 of the ZRS) variant segregates with all PPD I-affected individuals. The knockin mouse with this ZRS variant exhibited PPD I phenotype accompanying ectopic and excess expression of Shh. We confirmed that HnRNP K can bind the ZRS and SHH promoters. The ZRS mutant enhanced the binding affinity for HnRNP K and upregulated SHH expression. Conclusion Our results identify the first PPD I disease-causing variant. The variant leading to PPD I may be associated with enhancing SHH expression mediated by HnRNP K. This study adds to the ZRS-associated syndromes classification system for PPD and clarifies the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Additional file 1: Fig. S1. Generation of mice with MAPK7 deficiency in chondrocytes. (a) Schematic diagram of ablation of MAPK7 expression by Col2a1-Cre-mediated recombination. The mutant carries the targeted allele with a couple of loxP sites flanking Mapk7, and after combining with a mutant carrying the Col2a1-Cre recombinase gene, exons 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the Mapk7 gene were deleted in the chondrocytes. (b) Genotyping of the offspring after breeding transgenic Col2a1-Cre and Mapk7flox/flox mice. PCR products were detected in homozygous Mapk7flox/flox (mutant: 402 bp), wild-type Mapk7+/+ (wild-type: 285 bp), and Col2a1-Cre transgene (mutant: 630 bp) mice. Both 402 bp and 285 bp PCR products were detected in heterozygous mice (Mapk7flox/+). (c) Western blot analysis of MAPK7 levels in growth plate cartilage isolated from P1 mice. Fig. S2. Phenotypes of Col2a1; Mapk7flox/flox mice at P0. (a, b) Representative lateral view and body length statistics of CON and Mapk7 CKO mice at P0 (n = 3). Scale bar, 1 cm. *P

The receptor tyrosine kinase MET plays a vital role in skeletal muscle development and in postnatal muscle regeneration. However, the effect of MET on myogenesis of myoblasts has not yet been fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of MET on myogenesis in vivo and in vitro. Decreased myonuclei and down-regulated expression of myogenesis-related markers were observed in Met p.Y1232C mutant heterozygous mice. To explore the effects of MET on myoblast proliferation and differentiation, Met was overexpressed or interfered in C2C12 myoblast cells through the lentiviral transfection. The Met overexpression cells exhibited promotion in myoblast proliferation, while the Met deficiency cells showed impediment in proliferation. Moreover, myoblast differentiation was enhanced by the stable Met overexpression, but was impaired by Met deficiency. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that SU11274, an inhibitor of MET kinase activity, suppressed myoblast differentiation, suggesting that MET regulated the expression of myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) and of desmin through the classical tyrosine kinase pathway. On the basis of the above findings, our work confirmed that MET promoted the proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts, deepening our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle development.

A silicon heat sink with grooved mirror was fabricated by micro-processing technology, then a 5W blue 2×2 LED array with Silicon-based heat sink was accomplished by way of studying its heat conduction. Firstly, the optical ray trace simulation of the array was carried out to study the relationship between light profile and lens shaped, groove height. Then according to the optical simulation results, a proper package structure was designed, and the 3D model of a 2 × 2 LED array with Silicon-based heat sink was established by Solidworks. Thermal simulation was carried out to obtain the temperature distribution of the LED array. At last, based on the optical and thermal analysis, the LED device was fabricated and its output power, optical efficiency, junction temperature and thermal resistance were measured. The junction temperature was nearly the same as the simulation value.