Postural balance in individuals with knee osteoarthritis during stand-to-sit task

Objective: Stand-to-sit task is an important daily function, but there is a lack of research evidence on whether knee osteoarthritis (knee OA) affects the postural balance during the task. This study aimed to compare individuals with knee OA and asymptomatic controls in postural balance and identify kinematic and lower extremity muscle activity characteristics in individuals with knee OA during the stand-to-sit task. Methods: In total, 30 individuals with knee OA and 30 age-matched asymptomatic controls performed the 30-s Chair Stand Test (30sCST) at self-selected speeds. Motion analysis data and surface electromyography (sEMG) were collected while participants performed the 30sCST. To quantify postural balance, the displacement of the center of mass (CoM) and the peak instantaneous velocity of the CoM were calculated. The kinematic data included forward lean angles of the trunk and pelvic, range of motion (RoM) of the hip, knee, and ankle joints in the sagittal plane. The averaged activation levels of gluteus maximus, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris (BF), tibialis anterior (TA), and medial head of gastrocnemius muscles were indicated by the normalized root mean square amplitudes. Results: Compared with the asymptomatic control group, the knee OA group prolonged the duration of the stand-to-sit task, demonstrated significantly larger CoM displacement and peak instantaneous CoM velocity in the anterior-posterior direction, reduced ankle dorsiflexion RoM, greater anterior pelvic tilt RoM, and lower quadriceps femoris and muscles activation level coupled with higher BF muscle activation level during the stand-to-sit task. Conclusion: This study indicates that individuals with knee OA adopt greater pelvic forward lean RoM and higher BF muscle activation level during the stand-to-sit task. However, these individuals exist greater CoM excursion in the anterior-posterior direction and take more time to complete the task. This daily functional activity should be added to the rehabilitation goals for individuals with knee OA. The knee OA group performs reduced ankle dorsiflexion RoM, quadriceps femoris, and TA activation deficit. In the future, the rehabilitation programs targeting these impairments could be beneficial for restoring the functional transfer in individuals with knee OA

Formation of disinfection by-products after pre-oxidation with chlorine dioxide or ferrate

The effect of pre-oxidation with chlorine dioxide (ClO2) or ferrate (Fe(VI)) on the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) during chlorination or chloramination was tested with natural waters from 12 sources (9 surface waters, 1 groundwater, and 2 wastewater effluents). DBPs investigated included trihalomethanes (THM), chloral hydrate (CH), haloketones (HK), haloacetonitriles (HAN) and trichloronitromethane (TCNM), chlorite and chlorate. Chlorite and chlorate were found in the ClO2-treated waters. Application of 1 mg/L ClO2 ahead of chlorination reduced the formation potential for THM by up to 45% and the formation of HK, HAN and TCNM in most of the samples. The CH formation results were mixed. The formation of CH and HK was enhanced with low doses of Fe(VI) (1 mg/L as Fe), but was greatly reduced at higher doses (20 mg/L Fe). Fe(VI) reduced the formation of THM, HAN and TCNM in most of the samples. Reduced potential for the formation of NDMA was observed in most of the samples after both ClO2 and Fe(VI) pre-oxidation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Occurrence and fate of PPCPs and correlations with water quality parameters in urban riverine waters of the Pearl River Delta, South China

The occurrence and fate of eight PPCPs was studied in river waters from upstream to downstream of the three rivers in the Pearl River Delta, China. The correlations of PPCP levels and water quality parameters were also investigated. The analytes of the highest concentrations were caffeine, acetaminophen, and ciprofloxacin. Carbamazepine and erythromycin-H2O were detected at the lowest concentrations. The highest concentrations of PPCPs were found in the Shijing River, with 865 ng/L caffeine, 339 ng/L acetaminophen, and 304 ng/L ciprofloxacin. In general, the levels of PPCPs in the Zhujiang River were higher at sites where the metropolitan city Guangzhou is located and decreased from the epicenter along the river. Low levels of PPCPs were generally found in the Beijiang River. Positive correlations were found between PPCP levels, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and cumulative fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) volume. Among the four PPCPs evaluated (caffeine, acetaminophen, ciprofloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole), caffeine had the best correlations with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.62 to 0.98. The prediction of PPCP concentrations at specified locations can be substantially simplified

Additional file 2: Figure S2. of Clonorchis sinensis granulin: identification, immunolocalization, and function in promoting the metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma

Densitometric analysis of genes from Fig. 8a, b, d . Densitometric results were analysed with Image J software. Statistical comparisons between more than two experimental groups were made with one-way ANOVA tests followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. Results are reported as the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM), and P was set to 0.05. For all analyses, Prism 5.0 software (Graph Pad Software, San Diego, USA) was used. a *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, compared with the control group. b *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001, indicate difference from experimental treatment. ## P < 0.01 and ### P < 0.001, compared with the matched pair. (TIF 910 kb

Additional file 1: Figure S1. of Clonorchis sinensis granulin: identification, immunolocalization, and function in promoting the metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma

Successful construction of the eukaryotic expression plasmid pEGFP-C1-CsGRN. a Restriction enzyme identification of the recombinant plasmid pEGFP-C1-CsGRN. DNA ladder 5000 (Lane M), double enzyme digestion of pEGFP-C1-CsGRN (Lane 1), recombinant plasmid pEGFP-C1-CsGRN (Lane 2), empty vector pEGFP-C1 (Lane 3). b Sequencing data from recombinant plasmid pEGFP-C1-CsGRN and CsGRN gene were completely matched. (TIF 206 kb

Sequence Analysis and Molecular Characterization of <i>Clonorchis sinensis</i> Hexokinase, an Unusual Trimeric 50-kDa Glucose-6-Phosphate-Sensitive Allosteric Enzyme

<div><p>Clonorchiasis, which is induced by the infection of <i>Clonorchis sinensis</i> (<i>C. sinensis</i>), is highly associated with cholangiocarcinoma. Because the available examination, treatment and interrupting transmission provide limited opportunities to prevent infection, it is urgent to develop integrated strategies to prevent and control clonorchiasis. Glycolytic enzymes are crucial molecules for trematode survival and have been targeted for drug development. Hexokinase of <i>C. sinensis</i> (<i>Cs</i>HK), the first key regulatory enzyme of the glycolytic pathway, was characterized in this study. The calculated molecular mass (Mr) of <i>Cs</i>HK was 50.0 kDa. The obtained recombinant <i>Cs</i>HK (r<i>Cs</i>HK) was a homotrimer with an Mr of approximately 164 kDa, as determined using native PAGE and gel filtration. The highest activity was obtained with 50 mM glycine-NaOH at pH 10 and 100 mM Tris-HCl at pH 8.5 and 10. The kinetics of r<i>Cs</i>HK has a moderate thermal stability. Compared to that of the corresponding negative control, the enzymatic activity was significantly inhibited by praziquantel (PZQ) and anti-r<i>Cs</i>HK serum. r<i>Cs</i>HK was homotropically and allosterically activated by its substrates, including glucose, mannose, fructose, and ATP. ADP exhibited mixed allosteric effect on r<i>Cs</i>HK with respect to ATP, while inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) displayed net allosteric activation with various allosteric systems. Fructose behaved as a dose-dependent V activator with the substrate glucose. Glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) displayed net allosteric inhibition on r<i>Cs</i>HK with respect to ATP or glucose with various allosteric systems in a dose-independent manner. There were differences in both mRNA and protein levels of <i>Cs</i>HK among the life stages of adult worm, metacercaria, excysted metacercaria and egg of <i>C. sinensis</i>, suggesting different energy requirements during different development stages. Our study furthers the understanding of the biological functions of <i>Cs</i>HK and supports the need to screen for small molecule inhibitors of <i>Cs</i>HK to interfere with glycolysis in <i>C. sinensis</i>.</p></div

mRNA and protein levels of <i>Cs</i>HK at life stages of <i>C. sinensis</i>.

<p>(A) Real-time PCR analysis. The mRNA of β-actin of <i>C. sinensis</i> was used as an internal control. Semiquantitative analysis as performed by the comparative 2^−ΔΔCt method. There was no significant difference between the adult worm and metacercaria (<i>p</i>>0.05). There were statistical differences in the mRNA levels of <i>Cs</i>HK not only between adult worm and encysted metacercaria (<i>p</i><0.05) but also between metacercaria and encysted metacercaria (<i>p</i><0.05). The mRNA level of <i>Cs</i>HK in the egg was higher than that in the adult worm (13.80-fold, <i>p</i><0.01), metacercaria (13.29-fold, <i>p</i><0.01) and excysted metacercaria (8.72-fold, <i>p</i><0.01). (B) Western blotting analysis. 50 µg of total proteins of each stage were blotted with mouse anti-r<i>Cs</i>HK serum (1∶200 dilution). Specific protein bands around 50 kDa were probed. There was no corresponding band in negative lanes (not shown). (C) The relative quantitation of protein levels were analyzed by Tanon Gis software. The protein level of <i>Cs</i>HK in the egg was the highest, followed by those of excysted metacercaria, metacercaria, and adult worm. The protein levels were consistent with the mRNA levels. The experiments were repeated three times. (#, <i>p</i>>0.05; *, <i>p</i><0.05; **, <i>p</i><0.01).</p

Enzymatic activity of r<i>Cs</i>HK with respect to different substrates or effectors.

<p>(A) The effect of 0∼3.0 mM ADP and fixed 3.0 mM glucose with respect to ATP in reaction system A. (B) The effect of 0∼3.0 mM PPi and fixed 3.0 mM glucose with respect to ATP in reaction system A. (C) The effect of 0∼1.0 mM fructose and fixed 3.0 mM ATP with respect to glucose in reaction system A. (D) The effect of 0∼3.0 mM hexoses (glucose, fructose and mannose) and fixed 3.0 mM ATP in reaction system B. (E) The effect of 0∼4.0 mM G6P and fixed 3.0 mM ATP with respect to glucose in reaction system B. (F) The effect of 0∼4.0 mM G6P and fixed 3.0 mM glucose with respect to ATP in reaction system B.</p