BACKGROUND:The diagnosis of osteoporosis depends upon the bone mineral density T-score of ≤ -2.5 standard deviation or brittle fractures. Bone mineral density measurement combined with vertebral fracture assessment might prevent the missed diagnosis of osteoporosis due to bone mineral density evaluation alone, and improve the diagnosis rate of osteoporosis.
OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effect of bone mineral density measurements combined with vertebral fracture assessment for the diagnosis of osteoporosis.
METHODS:Bone mineral density measurements of proximal femur and vertebral fracture assessment for lateral thoraco-lumbar images were consecutively done for 217 postmenopausal women who aged ≥ 50 years. The rate of osteoporosis diagnosed with bone mineral density T score was compared with that diagnosed with bone mineral density combined with vertebral fracture assessment. The effects of bone mineral density on the vertebral fracture were analyzed.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:92 (42.4%) patients had bone mineral density T score ≤ -2.5, which met the threshold for diagnosis of osteoporosis. 102 (47.0%) patients had osteopanic (-1>T>-2.5) and 23 (10.6%) had normal range of bone mineral density. 158 patients had no vertebral fractures and 59 (27.2%) patients had 101 vertebral fractures. The vertebral fracture rate was 21.6%in the patients with bone mineral density T> -2.5 and 34.8%in the patients with bone mineral density T ≤ -2.5, with significant differences (P<0.05). Bone mineral density in combination with vertebral fracture assessment for the diagnosis rate of osteoporosis was up to 54.8%, which was significantly higher than the rate diagnosed with only bone mineral density (12.4%;P=0.01). Bone mineral density measurement combined with vertebral fracture assessment improves the diagnosis of osteoporosis for postmenopausal women.

AIMTo establish a method for cynomolgus monkey sperm cryopreservation in a chemically defined extender.

METHODSSemen samples were collected by electro-ejaculation from four sexually mature male cynomolgus monkeys. The spermatozoa were frozen in straws by liquid nitrogen vapor using egg-yolk-free Tes-Tris mTTE synthetic extender and glycerol as cryoprotectant. The effects of glycerol concentration (1 %, 3 %, 5 %, 10 % and 15 % [v/v]) and its equilibration time (10 min, 30 min, 60 min and 90 min) on post-thaw spermatozoa were examined by sperm motility and sperm head membrane integrity.

RESULTSThe post-thaw motility and head membrane integrity of spermatozoa were significantly higher (P0.05) for 5 % glycerol (42.95 +/- 2.55 and 50.39+/- 2.42, respectively) than those of the other groups (1%: 19.19 +/- 3.22 and 24.84 +/- 3.64; 3%: 34.23 +/- 3.43 and 41.37 +/- 3.42; 10%:15.68 +/- 2.36 and 21.39 +/- 3.14; 15%: 7.47 +/- 1.44 and 12.90 +/- 2.18). The parameters for 30 min equilibration(42.95 +/- 2.55 and 50.39 +/- 2.42) were better (P0.05) than those of the other groups (10 min: 31.33 +/- 3.06 and 38.98 +/- 3.31; 60 min: 32.49 +/- 3.86 and 40.01 +/- 4.18; 90 min: 31.16 +/- 3.66 and 38.30 +/- 3.78). Five percent glycerol and 30 min equilibration yielded the highest post-thaw sperm motility and head membrane integrity.

CONCLUSIONCynomolgus monkey spermatozoa can be successfully cryopreserved in a chemically defined extender, which is related to the concentration and the equilibration time of glycerol.

Animals ; Cryopreservation ; Cryoprotective Agents ; Glycerol ; chemistry ; Macaca fascicularis ; Male ; Semen Preservation ; Spermatozoa ; cytology

Dynamic changes of the post-translational O-GlcNAc modification (O-GlcNAcylation) are controlled by O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) and the glycoside hydrolase O-GlcNAcase (OGA) in cells. O-GlcNAcylation often occurs on serine (Ser) and threonine (Thr) residues of the specific substrate proteins via the addition of O-GlcNAc group by OGT. It has been known that O-GlcNAcylation is not only involved in many fundamental cellular processes, but also plays an important role in cancer development through various mechanisms. Recently, accumulating data reveal that O-GlcNAcylation at histones or non-histone proteins can lead to the start of the subsequent biological processes, suggesting that O-GlcNAcylation as 'protein code' or 'histone code' may provide recognition platforms or executive instructions for subsequent recruitment of proteins to carry out the specific functions. In this review, we summarize the interaction of O-GlcNAcylation and epigenetic changes, introduce recent research findings that link crosstalk between O-GlcNAcylation and epigenetic changes, and speculate on the potential coordination role of O-GlcNAcylation with epigenetic changes in intracellular biological processes.
Acetylglucosamine ; metabolism ; Animals ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Glycoside Hydrolases ; metabolism ; Humans ; N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases ; metabolism ; Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein Processing, Post-Translational

To explore the effect of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) on the classification of breast imaging-reporting and data system (BI-RADS) and its significance.
 Methods: A total of 832 patients with breast diseases, who came from Second Clinical College of Fujian Medical University from May 2013 to November 2013, were collected. The patients were examined by double position radiography (including craniocaudol and mediolateral oblique) and COMBO mode [including DBT and full-field digital mammography (FFDM)]. Meanwhile, the results of FFDM and DBT were classified. The number of glands, the characteristics of mass and other indirect signs were compared by COMBO and FFDM modes. Paired Wilcoxon rank sum text was adopted to investigate the differences between COMBO mode and FFDM mode in the 832 patients, and receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) was applied to analyze the 79 patients with the pathological results.
 Results: The patients with large amount of glands (including Class c and Class d) accounted for 87.6% in the 832 patients, while the patients with small amounts of glands (including Class a and Class b) accounted for 11.7%. In estimating the content of glands, more details about the distribution of glands were found in the COMBO mode compared with those in the FFDM mode. According to the results of paired Wilcoxon rank sum test, there was significant statistical difference in BI-RADS classcification in breast masses between the COMBO mode and the FFDM mode (P<0.05), though the overall classification of the COMBO mode is higher than that of the FFDM mode. The pathology was served as a standard to estimate the diagnostic efficiency. The area under ROC curve was 0.805 in the FFDM mode, while that in the COMBO mode was 0.941. The optimal sensibility in the COMBO mode was 82.9%, which was higher than that in the FFDM mode. However, the specificity was 93.2% in both COMBO mode and the FFDM mode.
 Conclusion: DBT has a high clinical significance in BI-RADS classification for breast X-ray examination.
Breast Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Comparative Effectiveness Research ; Female ; Humans ; Mammography ; methods ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity