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The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthroscopic and open disc repositioning procedures in the management of anterior disc displacement (ADD). All consecutive patients treated with arthroscopic (group I) or open (group II) disc repositioning between April 2014 and August 2018 were included prospectively. The patients were assessed clinically (1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months postoperative) and with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v.22.0; P < 0.05 was considered significant. A total of 177 patients (227 joints) were included: 104 patients (130 joints) in group I and 73 patients (97 joints) in group II. There were statistically significant improvements in pain score, clicking, quality of life, diet, and maximum inter-incisal opening when comparing pre- and postoperative clinical parameters within the two groups (P < 0.05 at all time-points for all clinical parameters); however, improvements occurred earlier in group I (at 1 month) than in group II (6 months). Postoperative MRI revealed an overall success rate of 98.1% in group I and 97.3% in group II. New bone formation was found in 70.2% in group I and 30.1% in group II. Arthroscopy may be a better choice for ADD patients, with the advantages of faster clinical improvement and recovery, minimal invasiveness, and better condylar remodelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: There are few studies on the association between HDL-C levels and arterial stiffness (AS). HDL-C levels vary in males and females, and it is not clear whether the relationship between HDL-C levels and AS is influenced by gender. The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in the association between HDL-C levels and AS in adults.Methods and Results: After excluding subjects using lipid-lowering agent, 7254 subjects were enrolled. The AS was assessed by measuring the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) value. The quartiles of HDL-C were <38, 38-45, 45-53 and >53 mg/dL in men and <48, 48-57, 57-69 and >68 mg/dL in women, respectively. In subjects aged <50 years, none of the HDL-C quartiles were associated with baPWV values. In subjects aged ≥50 years, the highest quartile of HDL-C (beta: -37.57, 95% CI: -61.61 to -13.54) was negatively related to baPWV values. When considering gender difference in subjects aged ≥50 years, the highest quartile of HDL-C (Q4 beta: -57.22, 95% CI: -95.63 to -18.81) was inversely associated with baPWV values in women, but none of the HDL-C quartiles were related to baPWV values in men.Conclusions: A high HDL-C level was associated with a lower risk of AS in subjects aged ≥50 years in women but not in men, although this relationship was not apparent in subjects aged <50 years. The association between HDL-C level and AS is thus influenced by gender in people aged ≥50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academics and practitioners have demonstrated that open innovation is critical to superior performance; firms thereby connect their in-house R&D functions with external partners to enhance their innovation activities. This study extends the open innovation theory and the knowledge-based view to explain how a firm's external knowledge resource acquisition influences its innovation deployment as well as its performance. Specifically, we argue that technology scouting plays an important role as an antecedent to collaboration with horizontal and vertical technology acquisitions. Furthermore, the horizontal technology collaboration and vertical technology collaboration play mediators in determining firm performance returns from executing such acquisitions. Based on a large-scale survey of high-tech firms, the study finds that the ability to build well-developed external connection channels increases the efficacy of inbound open innovation in achieving superior performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Objective To identify disease relevant genes and pathways associated with knee Osteoarthritis (OA) progression in human subjects using medial and lateral compartment dominant OA knee tissue. Design Gene expression of knee cartilage was comprehensively assessed for three regions of interest from human medial dominant OA ( n = 10) and non-OA ( n = 6) specimens. Histology and gene expression were compared for the regions with minimal degeneration, moderate degeneration and significant degeneration. Agilent whole-genome microarray was performed and data were analyzed using Agilent GeneSpring GX11.5. Significant differentially regulated genes were further investigated by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) to identify functional categories. To confirm their association with disease severity as opposed to site within the knee, 30 differentially expressed genes, identified by microarray, were analyzed by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction on additional medial ( n = 16) and lateral ( n = 10) compartment dominant knee OA samples. Results A total of 767 genes were differentially expressed ≥two-fold ( P ≤ 0.05) in lesion compared to relatively intact regions. Analysis of these data by IPA predicted biological functions related to an imbalance of anabolism and catabolism of cartilage matrix components. Up-regulated expression of IL11, POSTN, TNFAIP6, and down-regulated expression of CHRDL2, MATN4, SPOCK3, VIT, PDE3B were significantly associated with OA progression and validated in both medial and lateral compartment dominant OA samples. Conclusions Our study provides a strategy for identifying targets whose modification may have the potential to ameliorate pathological alternations and progression of disease in cartilage and to serve as biomarkers for identifying individuals susceptible to progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Neuronal morphogenesis plays an important role in neuronal development. TC10β/CDC42 GTPase-activating protein (TCGAP) is known to be a brain-enriched multiple domain protein, but its role in neuronal development process remains poorly understood. In the present study, we showed that TCGAP positively regulated dendritic outgrowth and spine formation in developing cortical neurons. Knocking down TCGAP by RNA interference led to a decrease in the overall length of dendrite arbors and the number of dendrite branches both in vitro and in vivo. Overexpressing TCGAP in cultured cortical neurons increased dendritic outgrowth and branching. Moreover, overexpressing TCGAP lead to an increase of spine density while knocking-down TCGAP decreased spine density in vivo. The defect by downregulating TCGAP could be rescued by expressing a knock-down resistant form of TCGAP both in vivo and in vitro. In contrast, neither downregulating nor overexpressing TCGAP had any effect on axonal morphogenesis in primary cortical neuron cultures. Together, our findings suggest that TCGAP regulates neuronal morphogenesis in developing cortical neurons at both early and late stage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: Immune cells are involved in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). We examined the effects of T helper (Th) cells, which induce the expression of macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP-1γ), on the progression of OA.Design: Using anterior cruciate ligament-transection (ACLT), we induced OA in one hind-leg knee joint of B6 mice. The CD4(+) T cells from splenocytes and synovium were flow-cytometrically and immunochemically evaluated, respectively. The knee joints were histologically assessed for manifestations of OA. MIP-1γ levels and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in the knee joints were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent and immunoblotting assays, respectively; osteoclastogenesis was detected by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. The inflammatory responses and MIP-1γ expression were examined using immunohistochemistry.Results: The number of CD4(+) T cells and the expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) increased during OA onset (30 days after ACLT) and then decreased at a later stage of OA (90 days after ACLT). Tissue damage induced by CD4(+) T cells was evident at the later stage. The activation of CD4(+) T cells induced the expression of MIP-1γ and NF-κB. The expression of MIP-1γ can be detected in synovium which CD4(+) T cells were infiltrated. The increased MIP-1γ expression caused an increase in the number of osteoclasts in joints. The regulation of CD4(+) T cells was accompanied by increased macrophage infiltration and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression. Histopathological examinations revealed that CD4(+) T cell knockout (CD4(-/-)) mice had less expression of MIP-1γ and slower cartilage degeneration than control mice had.Conclusions: CD4(+) T cells were activated during the onset of OA, but cartilage damage was more prominent at a later stage. CD4(+) T cells were involved in the pathogenesis of OA: they induced MIP-1γ expression and subsequent osteoclast formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cohort studies evaluating increased uric acid level as a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor have shown variable results; studies are particularly lacking in lower risk populations. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting & Participants: 484,568 adults participating in a medical screening program in Taiwan since 1994 were followed up for a median of 8.5 years. Two subgroups were constructed: the first (n = 246,697; 51%) excluded participants with either overt CVD or overt CVD risk factors (including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and hypertriglyceridemia) and the second (n = 157,238; 32%) further excluded individuals with early-stage CVD risk factors (including prehypertension, prediabetes, over- weight, and borderline hypertriglyceridemia). Predictor: Serum uric acid. Outcomes & Measurements: All-cause and CVD mortality risk assessed using Cox proportional hazards models for categorical and continuous serum uric acid levels. As applicable, models adjusted for 14 variables. Population-attributable fraction was applied to compare contributions to mortality between high uric acid level and other CVD risk factors. Results: In the total cohort, mean age was 41.4 ± 14.0 years and 26.2% had serum uric acid levels >7 mg/dL. Through 2007, there were 16,246 deaths (3.4% of all participants), with 35.2% of deaths occurring in individuals with hyperuricemia. Adjusted HAs associated with serum uric acid levels ≥7 mg/dL for all-cause and CVD mortality were 1.10 (95% Cl, 1.04-1.17) and 1.38 (95% Cl, 1.20-1.58), respectively. In individuals with hyperuricemia, 64.3% had overt CVD risk factors and 82.5% had either overt or early-stage CVD risk factors, Individuals with serum uric acid levels ≥8 mg/dL without overt CVD risk factors constituted 13.5% of the total study population with hyperuricemia; in analyses excluding those with overt CVD risk factors, serum uric acid level ≥8 mg/dL was significantly associated with all-cause and CVD mortality, with HRs of 1.37(95% CI, 1.18-1.60) and 2.30 (95% Cl, 1.51-3.49), respectively. In the subgroup of those with serum uric acid levels ≥8 mg/dL but who lacked both overt and early-stage CVD risk factors, the HRs for all-cause and CVD mortality were also significant and were 1.39 (95% Cl, 1.08-1.78) and 2.38 (95% Cl, 1.24-4.54), respectively. HR5 for individuals with the same risk profiles but with serum uric acid of 7.0-7.9 mg/dL were not significant. In all groups, inclusion of proteinuria and glomerular filtration rate in models substantially attenuated the association between uric acid level and outcomes. High uric acid levels contributed a relatively insignificant portion to mortality (1.2%) and CVD deaths (4.5%) in this population. Limitations: A single measurement of uric acid was used. Conclusion: Increased serum uric acid level is a minor, but significant, risk factor for all-cause and CVD mortality. However, except for a small proportion (13.5%), increased serum uric acid level is more a risk marker than a target for treatment and is not an independent risk. Determining appropriate groups to target in clinical trials for uric acid-lowering therapy is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Healing after tooth extraction was studied in rats treated with cyclosporine-A (CSA) for four weeks. Sixty male Sprague–Dawley rats were assigned to one of three groups of 20 rats each. The maxillary right molars were extracted from two groups; the third group served as a non-extraction control. The non-extraction group and one extraction group (vehicle control) received the solvent mineral oil daily, and the other extraction group received 15mg/kg CSA in mineral oil. Five rats from each group were killed 5, 10, 14 and 28 days after extraction and samples analyzed histologically. On days 5 and 10, bone volume was significantly lower and marrow volume significantly higher in both extraction groups than in the non-extraction group. The fractional-formation surfaces were significantly lower in the extraction groups than in the non-extraction group on day 5 only. Osteoid volume was significantly higher in the extraction vehicle control group than in the other two groups on days 10 and 14; however, the osteoid volume was higher in the CSA group than in the other two groups on day 28. On days 14 and 28, bone volume was lower and marrow volume higher in the CSA group than in the extraction vehicle control and non-extraction groups. On day 28, bony surface areas were significantly greater in the CSA group than in the extraction vehicle control and non-extraction groups. Soft-tissue evaluation showed significantly greater epithelial areas, connective tissue areas and total tissue areas in the CSA group than in the extraction vehicle control group on day 28, but not on day 14. These data suggest that CSA may influence healing of both the gingival tissue and the alveolar bony sockets in the tooth-extraction wound. Further detailed study is needed to identify the mechanisms responsible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gold-catalyzed transformations allow efficient access to a wide scope of heterocyclic structures that serve as building blocks and pharmacophores in medicinal chemistry. Compared with other transition metal and Lewis acid catalysis, gold catalysis presents mechanistic divergence, excellent functional group tolerance and/or operational advantages. Emergent applications of gold catalysis have played a key role in the synthesis of biologically active molecules including a drug candidate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An abstract of the article "The Androgen Receptor: Unlocking the Secrets of Its Unique Transactivation Domain," by Howard C. Shen and Gerhard A. Coetzee is presented.