With the rapid development of sequencing technologies, the detection of alternative polyadenylation (APA) in mammals has become more precise. APA precisely regulates gene expression by altering the length and position of the poly(A) tail, and is involved in various biological processes such as disease occurrence and embryonic development. The research on APA in mammals mainly focuses on the following aspects:(1) identifying APA based on transcriptome data and elucidating their characteristics; (2) investigating the relationship between APA and gene expression regulation to reveal its important role in life regulation;(3) exploring the intrinsic connections between APA and disease occurrence, embryonic development, differentiation, and other life processes to provide new perspectives and methods for disease diagnosis and treatment, as well as uncovering embryonic development regulatory mechanisms. In this review, the classification, mechanisms and functions of APA were elaborated in detail and the methods for APA identifying and APA data resources based on various transcriptome data were systematically summarized. Moreover, we epitomized and provided an outlook on research on APA, emphasizing the role of sequencing technologies in driving studies on APA in mammals. In the future, with the further development of sequencing technology, the regulatory mechanisms of APA in mammals will become clearer.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) diseases are common clinical conditions. The number of patients with TMJ diseases is large, and the etiology, epidemiology, disease spectrum, and treatment of the disease remain controversial and unknown. To understand and master the current situation of the occurrence, development and prevention of TMJ diseases, as well as to identify the patterns in etiology, incidence, drug sensitivity, and prognosis is crucial for alleviating patients′suffering.This will facilitate in-depth medical research, effective disease prevention measures, and the formulation of corresponding health policies. Cohort construction and research has an irreplaceable role in precise disease prevention and significant improvement in diagnosis and treatment levels. Large-scale cohort studies are needed to explore the relationship between potential risk factors and outcomes of TMJ diseases, and to observe disease prognoses through long-term follw-ups. The consensus aims to establish a standard conceptual frame work for a cohort study on patients with TMJ disease while providing ideas for cohort data standards to this condition. TMJ disease cohort data consists of both common data standards applicable to all specific disease cohorts as well as disease-specific data standards. Common data were available for each specific disease cohort. By integrating different cohort research resources, standard problems or study variables can be unified. Long-term follow-up can be performed using consistent definitions and criteria across different projects for better core data collection. It is hoped that this consensus will be facilitate the development cohort studies of TMJ diseases.

Six new (1-6) and seven known depsidones (7-13) were isolated from the culture of an ant (Monomorium chinensis)-derived fungus Spiromastix sp. MY-1. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis including high resolution MS, 1D and 2D NMR data. The new bromide depsidones were obtained through supplementing potassium bromide in the fermentation medium of Spiromastix sp. MY-1. All isolated compounds showed various bioactivities against the tested phytopathogenic bacteria. Particularly, new bromide compound 4, named spiromastixone S, exhibited the strongest activity against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae with a MIC value of 5.2 μmol·^-1.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ants ; Bromides ; Depsides ; Fungi ; Lactones ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Molecular Structure

BACKGROUND: Computed tomography images are easy to misjudge because of their complexity, especially images of solitary pulmonary nodules, of which diagnosis as benign or malignant is extremely important in lung cancer treatment. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a more effective strategy in lung cancer diagnosis. In our study, we aimed to externally validate and revise the Mayo model, and a new model was established. METHODS: A total of 1450 patients from three centers with solitary pulmonary nodules who underwent surgery were included in the study and were divided into training, internal validation, and external validation sets (n = 849, 365, and 236, respectively). External verification and recalibration of the Mayo model and establishment of new logistic regression model were performed on the training set. Overall performance of each model was evaluated using area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Finally, the model validation was completed on the validation data set. RESULTS: The AUC of the Mayo model on the training set was 0.653 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.613-0.694). After re-estimation of the coefficients of all covariates included in the original Mayo model, the revised Mayo model achieved an AUC of 0.671 (95% CI: 0.635-0.706). We then developed a new model that achieved a higher AUC of 0.891 (95% CI: 0.865-0.917). It had an AUC of 0.888 (95% CI: 0.842-0.934) on the internal validation set, which was significantly higher than that of the revised Mayo model (AUC: 0.577, 95% CI: 0.509-0.646) and the Mayo model (AUC: 0.609, 95% CI, 0.544-0.675) (P < 0.001). The AUC of the new model was 0.876 (95% CI: 0.831-0.920) on the external verification set, which was higher than the corresponding value of the Mayo model (AUC: 0.705, 95% CI: 0.639-0.772) and revised Mayo model (AUC: 0.706, 95% CI: 0.640-0.772) (P < 0.001). Then the prediction model was presented as a nomogram, which is easier to generalize. CONCLUSIONS After external verification and recalibration of the Mayo model, the results show that they are not suitable for the prediction of malignant pulmonary nodules in the Chinese population. Therefore, a new model was established by a backward stepwise process. The new model was constructed to rapidly discriminate benign from malignant pulmonary nodules, which could achieve accurate diagnosis of potential patients with lung cancer.
Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Multiple Pulmonary Nodules ; Risk Assessment ; Solitary Pulmonary Nodule/diagnostic imaging* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Humans ; Mediastinal Emphysema ; Subcutaneous Emphysema ; Thyroidectomy/adverse effects*

The document represented the consensus amongst the professionals from the Society of TMD & Occlusion, Chinese Stomatological Association and provided guidelines with the MRI examination specification and diagnostic criteria of temporomandibular joint disc displacement.

The document represented the consensus amongst the professionals from the Society of TMD & Occlusion, Chinese Stomatological Association and provided guidelines with the cone-beam CT examination specification and diagnostic criteria of temporomandibular disorders.

BACKGROUNDEndobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is an effective technique used to precisely detect enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. The efficacy of EBUS-TBNA versus standard modalities for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis remains to be elucidated. In this meta-analysis, we compared the efficacies of these methods.

METHODSWe searched PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Wanfang, Cpvip, CNKI, and the bibliographies of the relevant references. We analyzed the data obtained with Revman 5.2 (Nordic Cochrane Center, Copenhagen, Denmark) and Stata 12.0 software (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to calculate the pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTSSixteen studies with a total of 1823 participants met the inclusion criteria, and data were extracted regarding the diagnostic yield of each approach. The ORs for EBUS-TBNA versus transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis ranged from 0.26 to 126.58, and the pooled OR was 5.89 (95% CI, 2.20-15.79, P = 0.0004). These findings indicated that EBUS-TBNA provided a much higher diagnostic yield than TBLB. The pooled OR for EBUS-TBNA + TBLB + endobronchial biopsy (EBB) versus TBNA + TBLB + EBB was 1.54 (95% CI, 0.61-3.93, P = 0.36), implying that there was no significant difference between their diagnostic yields. However, clinical heterogeneity was reflected in the nature of the studies and in the operative variables.

CONCLUSIONSThe results of this meta-analysis suggest that EBUS-TBNA + TBLB + EBB could be used for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis, if available. At medical centers without EBUS-TBNA, TBNA + TBLB + EBB could be used instead.

Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; methods ; Bronchoscopy ; methods ; Endosonography ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Image-Guided Biopsy ; methods ; Male ; Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary ; diagnosis ; Ultrasonography ; methods

BACKGROUNDLower extremity bursae are very vulnerable to injury during strenuous physical exercises. Understanding the imaging characteristics of normal bursae is essential for early diagnosis of morphological abnormalities. Therefore, we evaluated the normal range of lower extremity bursae in healthy young men using high-resolution ultrasound (HR-US) imaging.

METHODSBursae in the lower extremities were examined by HR-US in 290 Chinese healthy young men with a median age of 18 years (range, 18-23 years). The bilateral suprapatellar bursa (SPB), deep infrapatellar bursa (DIPB), popliteal bursa (PB), and retrocalcaneal bursa (RCB) were imaged and measured for analysis.

RESULTSThe HR-US identification rates of the SPB, DIPB, PB, and RCB were 89.0% (517/580), 55.0% (319/580), 29.4% (171/580), and 49.5% (287/580), respectively. With the assumption that the bursae were normal in 95% of the study participants, the length and width values at the maximal cross-section of the SPB, DIPB, PB, and RCB were ≤18.00 and 6.09 mm, 8.10 and 2.11 mm, 7.67 and 3.93 mm, and 7.82 and 2.04 mm, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSUsing HR-US imaging, we were able to analyze lower extremity bursae with high detection rates in healthy young men. The normal ranges of lower extremity bursa dimensions in healthy young men measured by HR-US in this study could be used as reference values for evaluation of bursa abnormalities in the lower extremity.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Bursa, Synovial ; pathology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; pathology ; Male ; Young Adult