Conclusions Our findings reveal that divergent thinking, as measured by the ATTA and AUT, might be spared following moderate-to-severe TBI. These findings further our understanding of the higher-level cognitive sequelae of TBI and suggest that divergent thinking might be leveraged during treatment planning.Purpose There is limited understanding of the characteristics and evaluation of more affected hand dexterity loss in Parkinson's disease. We described 9-Hole Peg Test performance for the more affected hand and examined the construct validity of these pegboard scores in mild to severe Parkinson's disease. Methods This observational study analysed baseline data from a cluster-randomised controlled trial.Participants (n = 582) completed the pegboard with their more affected hand, the Patient-Specific Index-Parkinson's Disease and Self-assessment Parkinson's Disease Disability Scale. Mean pegboard performance was summarised at each disease stage. To investigate known groups validity, we explored differences in pegboard scores between participants identifying upper limb problems in their 'top three' functional limitations, and those prioritising other limitations. Convergent validity investigated correlations between pegboard performance and self-reported hand function.Results Pegboard performance was reduced compared with normative values, and problems with hand activities were reported at each disease stage. Significant differences in pegboard performance between the two functional limitation priority groups (p  less then  0.05), and moderate correlations between pegboard dexterity and hand function (Self-assessment Parkinson's Disease Disability Scale) provided evidence for construct validity.Conclusions People with mild to severely disabling Parkinson's disease have reduced dexterity and problems with hand function. Evidence supported the construct validity of 9-Hole Peg Test more affected hand performance.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONPeople with mild to severely disabling PD experience dexterity loss and problems with hand function.It is important for clinicians to assess dexterity and hand function in people with this movement disorder.Evidence supports the construct validity of 9-Hole Peg Test for measuring more affected hand performance in Parkinson's disease.To resolve both the systems level and molecular mechanisms responsible for exercise induced improvements in glucose tolerance, we sought to test the effect of voluntary wheel running exercise on postprandial glucose dynamics. We utilized a stable isotope labeled oral glucose tolerance test (SI-OGTT) incorporating complimentary deuterium glucose tracers at 11 ratio (2-2H-glucose and 6-6 2H-glucose; 2g/kg lean body mass) to distinguish between endogenous glucose production (EGP) and whole-body glucose disposal. SI-OGTT was performed in C57BL/6J mice after 8 weeks on a high fat diet (45% fat). Mice were then randomized to either a wheel running cage (n=13, HFD Ex) or normal cage (n=13, HFD Sed) while maintaining the HFD for 4 weeks prior to performing a SI-OGTT. HFD Ex mice demonstrated improvements in whole blood glucose total AUC that was attributed primarily to a reduction in EGP AUC. Serum insulin levels measured at 0 and 15-minutes post glucose gavage were significantly elevated in the HFD Sed mice, whereas HFD Ex mice demonstrated the expected reduction in insulin at both time points. Overall, exercise improved hepatic insulin sensitivity by reducing postprandial EGP, but also increased whole-body glucose disposal. Finally, these results demonstrate the benefits of exercise on hepatic insulin sensitivity by combining a more physiological route of glucose administration (oral glucose) with the resolution of stable isotope tracers. These novel observations clearly demonstrate that SI-OGTT is a sensitive and cost-effective method to measure exercise adaptations in obese mice with as little as 2 µl of tail blood.Mitochondrial injury in granulosa cells is associated with the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, the protective effects of melatonin against mitochondrial injury in the granulosa cells of PCOS remain unclear. In this study, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and mtDNA content, increased number of autophagosomes were found in the granulosa cells of PCOS patients and the DHT-treated KGN cells, with decreased protein level of the autophagy substrate P62 and increased levels of the cellular autophagy markers Beclin-1 and LC3B-II, while the protein levels of PINK1 and Parkin were increased and the level of SIRT1 was decreased. DHT-induced PCOS-like mice also showed enhanced mitophagy and decreased SIRT1 mRNA expression. Melatonin treatment significantly increased the protein level of SIRT1 and decreased the levels of PINK1/Parkin, while ameliorated the mitochondrial dysfunction and PCOS phenotype in vitro and in vivo.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/dup-697.html  However, when the KGN cells were treated with SIRT1 siRNA to knock down SIRT1 expression, melatonin treatment failed to repress the excessive mitophagy. In conclusion, melatonin protects against mitochondrial injury in granulosa cells of PCOS by enhancing SIRT1 expression to inhibit excessive PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy.Preterm birth is one of the most common complications during human pregnancy, and associated with a dramatic switch within the uterus from quiescence to contractility. However, the mechanisms underlying uterine remodeling are largely unknown. Protein kinases and phosphatases play critical roles in regulating the phosphorylation of proteins involved in the smooth muscle cell functions. In the present study, we found that src-homology phosphatase type-1 (SHP-1, PTPN6) was significantly decreased in human myometrium in labor compared with that not in labor. Timed-pregnant mice injected intraperitoneally with the specific SHP-1 inhibitor, PTPI-1, manifested significantly preterm labor, with enriched plasmalemmal dense plaques between myometrial cells and increased phosphorylation at Tyr397 and Tyr576/577 sites of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in myometrial cells, which remained to the time of labor, whereas the phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2 and PI3K showed a rapid increase upon PTPI-1 injection, but fell back to normal at the time of labor.