Interpreting positive signs of the supraspinatus test in screening for torn rotator cuff.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the supraspinatus test as a screening test for detecting torn rotator cuff and to determine what its valuable positive signs were. Both the empty-can test and full-can test were performed on 200 shoulders diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-and in some cases, surgical findings-to have full-thickness or partial-thickness torn rotator cuff s, or no tear in the rotator cuff . During the maneuver, the presence of pain or weakness or both pain and weakness were recorded as positive signs, and the distribution of these signs were analyzed according to the degree of tear. The predictive values were calculated in 2 ways by considering (1) only full-thickness tears as tears and (2) both full- and partial-thickness tears as tears. The 2 tests and the 2 ways of considering partial-thickness tears were compared. Pain and weakness were severity-dependent, and the empty-can test had a higher incidence of pain. The sensitivities of the 2 supraspinatus tests in all positive signs were higher when including partial-thickness tears in the tear group ; however, their specificities were higher when excluding partial-thickness tears. Both pain and weakness were interpretive for the supraspinatus test, and both tests were sensitive to full- and partial- thickness tears and specific for full-thickness tears

Multiple Functions of Nm23-H1 Are Regulated by Oxido-Reduction System

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK, Nm23), a housekeeping enzyme, is known to be a multifunctional protein, acting as a metastasis suppressor, transactivation activity on c-myc, and regulating endocytosis. The cellular mechanisms regulating Nm23 functions are poorly understood. In this study, we identified the modifications and interacting proteins of Nm23-H1 in response to oxidative stress. We found that Cys109 in Nm23-H1 is oxidized to various oxidation states including intra- and inter-disulfide crosslinks, glutathionylation, and sulfonic acid formation in response to H2O2 treatment both in vivo and in vitro. The cross-linking sites and modifications of oxidized Nm23-H1 were identified by peptide sequencing using UPLC-ESI-q-TOF tandem MS. Glutathionylation and oxidation of Cys109 inhibited the NDPK enzymatic activity of Nm23-H1. We also found that thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1) is an interacting protein of Nm23-H1, and it binds specifically to oxidized Nm23-H1. Oxidized Nm23 is a substrate of NADPH-TrxR1-thioredoxin shuttle system, and the disulfide crosslinking is reversibly reduced and the enzymatic activity is recovered by this system. Oxidation of Cys109 in Nm23-H1 inhibited its metastatic suppressor activity as well as the enzymatic activities. The mutant, Nm23-H1 C109A, retained both the enzymatic and metastasis suppressor activities under oxidative stress. This suggests that key enzymatic and metastasis suppressor functions of Nm23-H1 are regulated by oxido-reduction of its Cys109

Alteration of Tremor Dominant and Postural Instability Gait Difficulty Subtypes During the Progression of Parkinson's Disease: Analysis of the PPMI Cohort

Background: Classifying PD into tremor dominant (TD) and postural instability gait difficulty (PIGD) subtypes may have several limitations, such as its diagnostic inconsistency and inability to reflect disease stage. In this study, we investigated the patterns of progression and dopaminergic denervation, by prospective evaluation at regular time intervals.Methods: 325 PD dopamine replacement drug-naïve patients (age 61.2 ± 9.7, M:F = 215:110) were enrolled. Patients were grouped into TD, indeterminant, and PIGD subtypes. Clinical parameters and I-123 FP-CIT SPECT images of each groups were analyzed and compared at baseline, 1, 2, and 4 years of follow up periods.Results: Baseline I-123 FP-CIT uptakes of the striatum were significantly higher in the TD group compared with the indeterminant group and PIGD group (p < 0.01). H & Y stage and MDS-UPDRS part III scores of the indeterminant group were significantly worse at baseline, compared with the TD and PIGD groups (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively), and MDS-UPDRS part II scores of the indeterminant group were significantly worse than the PIGD group (p < 0.001). There were no other significant differences of age, gender, weight, duration of PD, SCOPA-AUT, MOCA, usage of dopamine agonists, and levodopa equivalent daily doses at baseline. After 4 years of follow up, there were no differences of I-123 FP-CIT uptakes or clinical parameters, except for the MDS-UPDRS part II between the TD and indeterminant group (p < 0.05). The motor-subtypes were reevaluated at the 4 years period, and the proportion of patients grouped to the PIGD subtype increased. In the reevaluated PIGD group, MDS-UPDRS part II score (p < 0.001), SCOPA-AUT (p < 0.001), the proportion of patients who developed levodopa induced dyskinesia were higher than the reevaluated TD group, and the striatal I-123 FP-CIT uptakes were significantly lower (p < 0.01).Conclusion: There are no significant differences of symptoms and dopaminergic innervation between the TD and PIGD group after a certain period of follow up. Significant portion of patients switched from the TD subtype to the PIGD subtype during disease progression, and had a worse clinical prognosis

A Spherical Hybrid Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Enhanced Water Wave Energy Harvesting

Water waves are a continuously generated renewable source of energy. However, their random motion and low frequency pose significant challenges for harvesting their energy. Herein, we propose a spherical hybrid triboelectric nanogenerator (SH-TENG) that efficiently harvests the energy of low frequency, random water waves. The SH-TENG converts the kinetic energy of the water wave into solid-solid and solid-liquid triboelectric energy simultaneously using a single electrode. The electrical output of the SH-TENG for six degrees of freedom of motion in water was investigated. Further, in order to demonstrate hybrid energy harvesting from multiple energy sources using a single electrode on the SH-TENG, the charging performance of a capacitor was evaluated. The experimental results indicate that SH-TENGs have great potential for use in self-powered environmental monitoring systems that monitor factors such as water temperature, water wave height, and pollution levels in oceans.11Ysciescopu

Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Activates MEK/ERK Cell Signaling Pathway and Stimulates the Proliferation of Chicken Primordial Germ Cells

BACKGROUND: Long-term maintenance of avian primordial germ cells (PGCs) in vitro has tremendous potential because it can be used to deepen our understanding of the biology of PGCs. A transgenic bioreactor based on the unique migration of PGCs toward the recipients' sex cord via the bloodstream and thereby creating a germline chimeric bird has many potential applications. However, the growth factors and the signaling pathway essential for inducing proliferation of chicken PGCs are unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the effects of various combinations of growth factors on the survival and proliferation of PGCs under feeder-free conditions. We observed proliferation of PGCs in media containing bFGF. Subsequent characterization confirmed that the cultured PGCs maintained expression of PGC-specific markers, telomerase activity, normal migrational activity, and germline transmission. We also found that bFGF activates the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular-signal regulated kinase (MEK/ERK) signaling. Also, the expression of 133 transcripts was reversibly altered by bFGF withdrawal. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrate that chicken PGCs can be maintained in vitro without any differentiation or dedifferentiation in feeder free culture conditions, and subsequent analysis revealed that bFGF is one of the key factors that enable proliferation of chicken PGCs via MEK/ERK signaling regulating downstream genes that may be important for PGC proliferation and survival

Juvenile Angiodysplasia of Gut

Angiodysplasia or arteriovenous malformation of the gastrointestinal tract in younger patients is different from "classic" angiodysplasia in older patients, by age of onset, clinical presentation, location of the lesion and diverse histologic features, We report two cases of juvenile angiodysplasia of the gut. The diagnosis was suspected by radionuclide blood pool scan and was confirmed by resection and pathological examination, Both cases were girls of 5 years and 12 years of age, and the lesions were in the jejunum and ileum, Grossly, one case showed multiple petechiae and another case showed a hemorrhagic polypoid mass, Microscopically, the lesions were composed of irregularly dilated vascular channels in mucosa and submucosa with abnormal proliferation of arteries and veins in submucosa, Both cases are free of recurrence after local resection

Evaluation of the pathogenicity of GJB3 and GJB6 variants associated with nonsyndromic hearing loss

AbstractA number of genes responsible for hearing loss are related to ion recycling and homeostasis in the inner ear. Connexins (Cx26 encoded by GJB2, Cx31 encoded by GJB3 and Cx30 encoded by GJB6) are core components of gap junctions in the inner ear. Gap junctions are intercellular communication channels and important factors that are associated with hearing loss. To date, a molecular genetics study of GJB3 and GJB6 as a causative gene for hearing loss has not been performed in Korea. This study was therefore performed to elucidate the genetic characteristics of Korean patients with nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss and to determine the pathological mechanism of hearing loss by analyzing the intercellular communication function of Cx30 and Cx31 variants. Sequencing analysis of the GJB3 and GJB6 genes in our population revealed a total of nine variants, including four novel variants in the two genes. Three of the novel variants (Cx31-p.V27M, Cx31-p.V43M and Cx-30-p.I248V) and two previously reported variants (Cx31-p.V84I and Cx30-p.A40V) were selected for functional studies using a pathogenicity prediction program and assessed for whether the mutations were located in a conserved region of the protein. The results of biochemical and ionic coupling tests showed that both the Cx31-p.V27M and Cx31-p.V84I variants did not function normally when each was expressed as a heterozygote with the wild-type Cx31. This study demonstrated that two variants of Cx31 were pathogenic mutations with deleterious effect. This information will be valuable in understanding the pathogenic role of GJB3 and GJB6 mutations associated with hearing loss