Salivary cortisol levels and temporomandibular disorders – A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 case-control studies

Purpose: To compare salivary cortisol levels between patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and healthy controls.Methods: Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases were employed to screen for the included studies. RevMan 5.3 software and RStudio software were used for meta-analysis, while a random-effect model was selected to synthesize the effect with the mean difference (MD).Results: Thirteen studies were eligible and a total of 504 TMD patients and 410 controls were included. The pooled MD of salivary cortisol levels in TMD patients compared to controls was 0.05 (95 %CI = 0.01 - 0.09, p = 0.02), indicating a significantly higher level of salivary cortisol in TMD patients than in the controls. Subgroup analysis suggested studies published later than 2014 showed significant increase of salivary cortisol level in TMD patients when compared to controls (MD = 0.07, 95 % CI = 0.01-0.13, p = 0.03). Besides, high-quality studies presented significant differences with regard to the cortisol level in saliva among individuals with or without TMD (MD = 0.04, 95 %CI = 0.03-0.05, p < 0.01). However, the instability of the results showed by the sensitivity analysis was a hindrance to reaching a definitive conclusion.Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that salivary cortisol level in TMD patients is significantly higher than in controls. Consequently, supportive psychological treatment is recommended to prevent TMD patients from mood disorders. More high-quality studies are, however, needed to confirm the relationship, considering the high degree of heterogeneity among the studies

Effects of ambient temperatures between 5 and 35 °C on energy balance, body mass and body composition in mice

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was partly supported by grants (31670417 and 31870388 to Z.J.Z., and 92057206 to J.R.S) from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key R&D Program of China (2019YFA0801900 to J.R.S).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Clock-offset computation method of space network aided by satellite clock prediction

A novel network clock-offset resolution method for space network is proposed in the paper. In the process of clock-offset resolution based on the network inter-node measurement data, the prediction of satellite clock result is used as the priori information. A double weighted control is made with the consideration of the point clock performance and the measurement performance, and better measurement error suppression effect is achieved. The results of simulation experiment indicated that network clock-offset resolution result with better stability and accuracy is achieved compared with the traditional Least Squares method in different scenarios

Clock-offset computation method of space network aided by satellite clock prediction

A novel network clock-offset resolution method for space network is proposed in the paper. In the process of clock-offset resolution based on the network inter-node measurement data, the prediction of satellite clock result is used as the priori information. A double weighted control is made with the consideration of the point clock performance and the measurement performance, and better measurement error suppression effect is achieved. The results of simulation experiment indicated that network clock-offset resolution result with better stability and accuracy is achieved compared with the traditional Least Squares method in different scenarios

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field