Antioxidant effect of manganese on the testis structure and sperm parameters of formalin‐treated mice

Manganese inhibits oxidative stress damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective role of manganese on testis structure and sperm parameters in adult mice exposed to formaldehyde (FA). Twenty adult male NMRI mice were selected and randomly divided into four groups: (i) control; (ii) sham; (iii) ‘FA’‐exposed group; and (iv) ‘FA and manganese chloride’‐exposed group. The FA‐exposed groups received 10 mg kg^?1 FA daily for 14 days, and manganese chloride was just injected intraperitoneally 5 mg kg^?1 on 2nd weeks. Mice were sacrificed, and spermatozoa were collected from the cauda of the right epididymis and analysed for count, motility, morphology and viability. The other testicular tissues were weighed and prepared for histological examination upon removal. Seminiferous tubules, lumen diameters and epithelium thickness were also measured. The findings revealed that FA significantly reduced the testicular weight, sperm count, motility, viability and normal morphology compared with control group (P ≤ 0.05). In addition, seminiferous tubules atrophied and seminiferous epithelial cells disintegrated in the FA group in comparison with the control group (P ≤ 0.05). However, manganese improved the testicular structure and sperm parameters in FA‐treated mice testes (P ≤ 0.05). According to the results, manganese may improve and protect mice epididymal sperm parameters and testis structure treated with FA respectively.     

A cross‐sectional,multi‐center study on treatment of facial acne scars with low‐energy double‐pass 1450‐nm diode laser

Acne scars are the ultimate outcome of acne vulgaris, a prevalent skin disorder affecting the pilo‐sebaceous unit. Laser resurfacing has been demonstrated to be an efficient therapy option for acne scars. Hence, we adopted this concept and conducted a study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of low‐energy double‐pass 1450‐nm diode laser on acne scars. This study was conducted on 48 patients with acne scars, treated at 4‐week interval with low‐energy double‐pass 1450‐nm diode laser. Patients were evaluated clinically and with photographs, at day 0, first month and third month post the final treatment and during follow‐up visit. Five treatment sessions were completed by all patients. Approximately, 79.2% of patients showed around 30% improvement. At the end of third month follow‐up, 92.9% of the patients demonstrated >30% improvement. Vesicle formation was observed in two cases, with no post‐inflammatory hyperpigmentation and transient hyperpigmentation was observed in one case, which vanished within 2 months. Our study showed that 1450‐nm diode laser treatment was efficient and well endured in facial acne scars when used with double‐pass at low‐energy.     

Maturation-related neuromuscular changes in force production of gymnasts and untrained girls

Sport Sciences for Health - The main purpose of the present study was to investigate maturation-related changes in force-related factors in gymnasts and untrained girls. A total of 60 female...     

Active Achilles tendon kinesitherapy accelerates Achilles tendon repair by promoting neurite regeneration

Active Achilles tendon kinesitherapy facilitates the functional recovery of a ruptured Achilles tendon. However, protein expression during the healing process remains a controversial issue. New Zealand rabbits, aged 14 weeks, underwent tenotomy followed immediately by Achilles tendon microsurgery to repair the Achilles tendon rupture. The tendon was then immobilized or subjected to postoperative early motion treatment (kinesitherapy). Mass spectrography results showed that after 14 days of motion treatment, 18 protein spots were differentially expressed, among which, 12 were up-regulated, consisting of gelsolin isoform b and neurite growth-related protein collapsing response mediator protein 2. Western blot analysis showed that gelsolin isoform b was up-regulated at days 7-21 of motion treatment. These findings suggest that active Achilles tendon kinesitherapy promotes the neurite regeneration of a ruptured Achilles tendon and gelsolin isoform b can be used as a biomarker for Achilles tendon healing after kinesitherapy.     

The effect of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) on glycemia,lipid profile,and antioxidant status in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus: A randomized placebo-controlled trial

In the current study, we aimed to investigate the effect of saffron supplementation on glycemic status, lipid profile, atherogenic indices, and oxidative status in patients with type-2 diabetes (T2DM). In a randomized, double-blind controlled trial, 70 patients were randomly allocated into two groups (n = 35, each) and received 100 mg/day of saffron or placebo for eight weeks. Dietary intake, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumferences (WC and HC), waist to hip ratio (WHR), fasting blood sugar (FBS), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), insulin, and Homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), lipid profile, atherogenic indices, oxidative status, and liver enzymes were determined before and after the intervention. At the end of the eighth week, saffron intervention could significantly reduce FBS (7.57%), lipid profile (except high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C]), atherogenic indices, and liver enzymes (p < .05). Moreover, saffron could improve oxidative status (nitric oxide [NO] and malondialdehyde [MDA] reduced by 26.29% and 16.35%, respectively). Catalase (CAT) concentration remained unchanged. Saffron supplementation may alleviate T2DM by improving glycemic status, lipid profile, liver enzymes, and oxidative status. Further investigation is necessary to assess possible side effects and confirm the positive effect of saffron as a complementary therapy in clinical recommendations for T2DM.     

Tsga10 expression correlates with sperm profiles in the adult formalin‐exposed mice

Testis‐specific gene antigen10 (Tsga10), as a cytoskeletal protein in the sperm tail, impacts the sperm motility. This study investigates the correlation between sperm profile alterations and Tsga10 gene expression in adult mice exposed to formaldehyde (FA) and then treated with antioxidant effect of manganese (Mn²⁺). In this regard, we examined 35 NMRI adult male mice (6–8 weeks age) in 4 groups of control, sham, FA‐exposed and FA+Mn²⁺. The mice in FA+Mn²⁺ group were exposed to FA (10 mg kg^?1 twice a day) for 2 weeks and treated with daily Mn²⁺ administration (5 mg kg^?1) in the second week prior to sacrificing the mice for testis dissection. The right testis was dissected in each group and subjected to RNA extraction and cDNA syntheses for gene expression analysis by real‐time PCR. The findings revealed that FA decreased sperm parameters and Tsga10 expression (52.6 ± 24.37%). However, the injected powerful manganese antioxidant improved sperm profile through overexpression of Tsga10 (121.6 ± 27.13%) under FA‐induced stressful condition which proves the correlation between sperm profile and Tsga10 expression (P ≤ 0.05). This study also shows that Tsga10 expression protects sperm dysfunction in FA+Mn²⁺ group and resulting in better preservation of spermatozoa and improvement of male fertility.     

Evaluation of Diabetic Foot Ulcer Healing With Hyperspectral Imaging of Oxyhemoglobin and Deoxyhemoglobin

OBJECTIVE

Foot ulceration remains a major health problem for diabetic patients and has a major impact on the cost of diabetes treatment. We tested a hyperspectral imaging technology that quantifies cutaneous tissue hemoglobin oxygenation and generated anatomically relevant tissue oxygenation maps to assess the healing potential of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A prospective single-arm blinded study was completed in which 66 patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes were enrolled and followed over a 24-week period. Clinical, medical, and diabetes histories were collected. Transcutaneous oxygen tension was measured at the ankles. Superficial tissue oxyhemoglobin (oxy) and deoxyhemoglobin (deoxy) were measured with hyperspectral imaging from intact tissue bordering the ulcer. A healing index derived from oxy and deoxy values was used to assess the potential for healing.

RESULTS

Fifty-four patients with 73 ulcers completed the study; at 24 weeks, 54 ulcers healed while 19 ulcers did not heal. When using the healing index to predict healing, the sensitivity was 80% (43 of 54), the specificity was 74% (14 of 19), and the positive predictive value was 90% (43 of 48). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive values increased to 86, 88, and 96%, respectively, when removing three false-positive osteomyelitis cases and four false-negative cases due to measurements on a callus. The results indicate that cutaneous tissue oxygenation correlates with wound healing in diabetic patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Hyperspectral imaging of tissue oxy and deoxy may predict the healing of DFUs with high sensitivity and specificity based on information obtained from a single visit.Diabetes is a major global disease that affects 194 million people worldwide and is expected to increase in prevalence to 344 million by the year 2030 (1). One major complication of diabetes is foot ulceration, which occurs in as many as 15–25% of type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients over their lifetimes (2–4). Studies show that between 2 and 6% of diabetic patients will develop a foot ulcer every year (5,6). The feet of patients with diabetes are at risk for ulceration due to a wide range of pathological conditions, the major three being peripheral neuropathy, foot deformity, and trauma, which may be exacerbated by comorbid peripheral vascular disease (4,7). If left untreated, foot ulcers lead to infection and deep-tissue necrosis (8).Foot pathology is a major source of morbidity in patients with diabetes and is a leading cause of hospitalization. Infected and/or ischemic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) account for about 25% of all hospital visits among patients with diabetes. Previous studies have shown that a DFU preceeds roughly 85% of all lower-extremity amputations in patients with diabetes (9,10), and more than 88,000 amputations are performed annually on diabetic patients (11). The cost to manage foot disorders is estimated at several billion dollars annually (5,12). Successful clinical management of DFUs not only has the potential to reduce the cost of caring for these patients but also to improve quality of life by reducing comorbidities.Current treatment options for DFUs include offloading to reduce pressure on the wound, wound care to prevent infections, and wound debridement to remove necrotic debris and restimulate the wound healing process (11,13,14). Even with these measures, some wounds fail to heal. Having a means to assess healing potential may help triage wounds earlier to more aggressive therapies, thereby avoiding infections and amputations.Clinical measurements of microvascular function may be an important part of DFU assessment (15–17). Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) was developed as a novel noninvasive diagnostic tool to quantify tissue oxygenation and generate anatomically relevant maps of microcirculatory changes seen in diabetic patients (18). HSI generates a map of regions of interest based on local molecular composition. With proper wavelength selection, spatial maps of molecules such as oxyhemoglobin (oxy) and deoxyhemoglobin (deoxy) can be acquired.A pilot study of 10 type 1 diabetic patients with 21 DFU sites showed that HSI identified changes in tissue oxygenation in the diabetic foot that were predictive of ulcer healing (18). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the healing index were 93, 86, and 93%, respectively. The goal of the current study was to test the accuracy of HSI in evaluating the healing potential of DFUs in a large number of type 1 and 2 diabetic patients.     

类风湿关节炎单独甲氨蝶呤与三联疗法治疗的系统评价

背景：目前类风湿关节炎在治疗上选择甲氨蝶呤单独疗法还是三联疗法存在争议。目的：系统评价甲氨蝶呤单独疗法与甲氨喋呤+羟氯喹+柳氮磺吡啶三联疗法比较治疗类风湿关节炎的有效性和安全性。方法：计算机检索 Cochrane 图书馆、PubMed、EMBASE NRR (http://www.updatesoftware.com/National)、CCT(http://www.controlled-trails.com)和中国生物医学文献数据库(CBM)。手工检索(中文主要骨科杂志)。收集甲氨蝶呤单独疗法与甲氨喋呤+羟氯喹+柳氮磺吡啶三联疗法比较治疗类风湿关节炎的随机对照试验, 并评价纳入研究的方法学质量。统计采用Cochrane协作网提供的Revman 5.0软件进行分析。结果与结论：共纳入随机对照试验4篇,共297例患者,方法学质量均为B 级。Meta分析结果表明, 甲氨蝶呤单独疗法与三联疗法比较,甲氨蝶呤单独疗法在血沉方面的改善要大于三联疗法[MD=7.01 95%CI(2.82,11.19),P=0.001],三联疗法在关节改善情况方面优于单独疗法[OR=0.62 95%(0.41,0.95),P=0.03],在不良反应上,两者差异无显著性意义。而ACR因文献未提供详细数据未能做Meta分析。与三联疗法治疗相比,甲氨蝶呤单独疗法更明显降低成人类风湿关节炎的血沉,但在关节功能改善方面三联疗法要优于甲氨蝶呤单独疗法。而在不良反应上,两组差异无显著性意义。因这次系统评价纳入的病例数较少,尚需更多设计严格的大样本随机对照研究来增加证据的强度。中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：人工关节;骨植入物;脊柱;骨折;内固定;数字化骨科;组织工程全文链接：     

Automated three-dimensional assessment of coronary artery anatomy with intravascular ultrasound scanning

Background

Angiography allows the definition of advanced, severe stages of coronary artery disease, but early atherosclerotic lesions, which do not lead to luminal stenosis, are not identified reliably. In contrast, intravascular ultrasound scanning allows the precise characterization and quantification of a wide range of atherosclerotic lesions, independent of the severity of luminal stenosis.

Methods

Three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction of entire coronary segments is possible with the integration of sequential 2-dimensional tomographic images and allows volumetric analysis of coronary arteries.

Results

Automated systems able to recognize lumen and vessel borders and to display 3-D images are becoming available.

Conclusion

These systems have the potential for on-line 3-D image reconstruction for clinical decision-making and fast routine volumetric analysis in research studies. This review describes 3-D intravascular ultrasound scanning acquisition, analysis, and processing, and the associated technical challenges.