Risk Factors for Radiographic Tibiofemoral Knee Osteoarthritis: The Wuchuan Osteoarthritis Study

Objective. To investigate the risk factors of radiographic tibiafemoral knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods. A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Wuchuan County. A questionnaire and bilateral weight-bearing posterior-anterior semi-flexed knee radiographs were completed and read for Kellgren and Lawrence (K/L) grade and joint space narrowing (JSN; 0–3 scale) in each compartment. An logistic regression analysis was performed for radiographic tibiafemoral, lateral compartment, and medial compartment knee OA, respectively. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results. Age, sex, and knee injury were strongly associated with tibiafemoral, lateral and medial compartment knee OA. BMI also had a dose-response relationship with them. Physical activity level, and physical activity exposure at work, not significantly though, were associated with an elevated risk for this three kinds of knee OA. Conclusions. Physical activity exposure increased the risk of knee OA. It was likely to be the heavier physical activity in Wuchuan osteoarthritis study that counteracted the BMI gap compared with the Beijing and the Framingham OA study. We verified that Chinese had a more valgus alignment of the knee compared with Caucasian population, and this provide a possible explanation why Chinese have a higher prevalence of lateral compartment OA

Altered Regulation of Striatal Neuronal N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Trafficking by Palmitoylation in Huntington Disease Mouse Model

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) play a critical role in synaptic signaling, and alterations in the synaptic/extrasynaptic NMDAR balance affect neuronal survival. Studies have shown enhanced extrasynaptic GluN2B-type NMDAR (2B-NMDAR) activity in striatal neurons in the YAC128 mouse model of Huntington disease (HD), resulting in increased cell death pathway activation contributing to striatal vulnerability to degeneration. However, the mechanism(s) of altered GluN2B trafficking remains unclear. Previous work shows that GluN2B palmitoylation on two C-terminal cysteine clusters regulates 2B-NMDAR trafficking to the surface membrane and synapses in cortical neurons. Notably, two palmitoyl acyltransferases (PATs), zDHHC17 and zDHHC13, also called huntingtin-interacting protein 14 (HIP14) and HIP14-like (HIP14L), directly interact with the huntingtin protein (Htt), and mutant Htt disrupts this interaction. Here, we investigated whether GluN2B palmitoylation is involved in enhanced extrasynaptic surface expression of 2B-NMDARs in YAC128 striatal neurons and whether this process is regulated by HIP14 or HIP14L. We found reduced GluN2B palmitoylation in YAC128 striatum, specifically on cysteine cluster II. Consistent with that finding, the palmitoylation-deficient GluN2B Cysteine cluster II mutant exhibited enhanced, extrasynaptic surface expression in striatal neurons from wild-type mice, mimicking increased extrasynaptic 2B-NMDAR observed in YAC128 cultures. We also found that HIP14L palmitoylated GluN2B cysteine cluster II. Moreover, GluN2B palmitoylation levels were reduced in striatal tissue from HIP14L-deficient mice, and siRNA-mediated HIP14L knockdown in cultured neurons enhanced striatal neuronal GluN2B surface expression and susceptibility to NMDA toxicity. Thus, altered regulation of GluN2B palmitoylation levels by the huntingtin-associated PAT HIP14L may contribute to the cell death-signaling pathways underlying HD

Extraordinarily High Conductivity of Stretchable Fibers of Polyurethane and Silver Nanoflowers

Stretchable conductive composites have received considerable attention recently, and they should have high conductivity and mechanical strength. Here we report highly conductive stretchable fibers synthesized by the scalable wet spinning process using flower-shaped silver nanoparticles with nanodisc-shaped petals (Ag nanoflowers) and polyurethane. An extraordinarily high conductivity (41245 S cm-1) was obtained by Ag nanoflowers, which is 2 orders of magnitude greater than that of fibers synthesized using spherical Ag nanoparticles. This was due to the enhanced surface area and vigorous coalescence of nanodisc-shaped petals during the curing process. There was a trade-off relationship between conductivity and stretchability, and the maximum rupture strain was 776%. An analytical model revealed that the enhanced adhesion between Ag nanoflowers and polyurethane provided a high Young's modulus (731.5 MPa) and ultimate strength (39.6 MPa) of the fibers. The fibers exhibited an elastic property after prestretching, and the resistance change of weft-knitted fabric was negligible up to 200% strain. The fibers with extraordinarily high conductivity, stretchability, and mechanical strength may be useful for wearable electronics applications. © 2015 American Chemical Society253

Extraordinarily High Conductivity of Stretchable Fibers of Polyurethane and Silver Nanoflowers

Stretchable conductive composites have received considerable attention recently, and they should have high conductivity and mechanical strength. Here we report highly conductive stretchable fibers synthesized by the scalable wet spinning process using flower-shaped silver nanoparticles with nanodisc-shaped petals (Ag nanoflowers) and polyurethane. An extraordinarily high conductivity (41 245 S cm^–1) was obtained by Ag nanoflowers, which is 2 orders of magnitude greater than that of fibers synthesized using spherical Ag nanoparticles. This was due to the enhanced surface area and vigorous coalescence of nanodisc-shaped petals during the curing process. There was a trade-off relationship between conductivity and stretchability, and the maximum rupture strain was 776%. An analytical model revealed that the enhanced adhesion between Ag nanoflowers and polyurethane provided a high Young’s modulus (731.5 MPa) and ultimate strength (39.6 MPa) of the fibers. The fibers exhibited an elastic property after prestretching, and the resistance change of weft-knitted fabric was negligible up to 200% strain. The fibers with extraordinarily high conductivity, stretchability, and mechanical strength may be useful for wearable electronics applications

The association between the environmental endocrine disruptor bisphenol A and polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<p><b>Objective:</b> To investigate the association between bisphenol A (BPA) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> A systematic review and meta-analysis using STATA software for observational studies.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Nine studies involving 493 PCOS patients and 440 controls were included in this review. The meta-analysis demonstrated that PCOS patients had significantly higher BPA levels compared with control groups (standardized mean difference (SMD): 2.437, 95% confidence interval (CI): (1.265, 3.609), <i>p</i> < .001). For studies of serum samples detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), subgroup analyses according to ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), sample size, detection method (high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ELISA), PCOS-to-control ratio and study quality displayed that high BPA levels were significantly associated with Caucasian PCOS patients (SMD: 0.615, 95% CI: (0.308, 0.922), <i>p</i> < .001), high BMI (SMD: 0.512, 95% CI: (0.180, 0.843), <i>p</i> = .002), high quality (SMD: 0.624, 95% CI: (0.391, 0.856), <i>p</i> < .001), and high HOMA-IR (SMD: 0.467, 95% CI: (0.121, 0.813), <i>p</i> = .008).</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Serum BPA may be positively associated with women with PCOS and BPA might be involved in the insulin-resistance and hyperandrogenism of PCOS. More evidence from high quality studies, advanced detection methods, and larger cohorts for observational trials are needed to further confirm the association between BPA and PCOS.</p