Association between caveolin-1 and stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Caveolin-1 plays critical roles in regulating signal transduction and cholesterol trafficking in cells. However, the relationship between caveolin-1 and stroke remains less reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we reviewed information from seventeen studies to get the qualitative evidence of the influence of the caveolin-1 on stroke and collected data from three of the seventeen studies to conduct meta-analysis. The original studies classified participants into two groups with stroke group and control group, respectively. The random-effect model was used in the meta-analysis with the standardized mean difference (SMD) as the measure indicator. RESULTS: Our data showed that the SMD (95% confidence intervals, CIs) between the control group and the stroke group was -0.5449 [-2.3344, 1.0000]. For the subgroup analysis, The SMD (95% confidence intervals, CIs) between the control group and the ischemic stroke group was -1.4589 [-5.0129, 2.0951], and between the control group and the hemorrhagic stroke group was 0.3438 [-0.4140, 1.1017]. CONCLUSIONS: Although the differences are not statistically significant between the two groups, the high level of caveolin-1 are associated with the stroke, which may remedy the stroke. Besides, an opposite result was observed for the association of the caveolin-1 on the ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. To confirm this association, further studies are necessary.

New Opportunities and Challenges for Forensic Medicine in the Era of Artificial Intelligence Technology.

ABSTRACT: Traditional forensic identification relies on forensic experts to manually extract information and provide identification opinions based on medicine, biology and other fields of knowledge combined with personal work experience, which is not only time-consuming and require great effort, but also affected by subjective factors that are difficult to overcome. In the era of big data, the booming development of artificial intelligence brings new ideas to forensic medicine. In recent years, forensic researchers at home and abroad have conducted many studies based on artificial intelligence technology, such as face recognition, age and gender identification, DNA analysis, postmortem interval estimation, injury and cause of death identification, showing the feasibility and advantages of using artificial intelligence technology to solve forensic identification problems. As a new means of technology that has adapted to the development of the times, artificial intelligence has brought new vitality to forensic medicine, but at the same time also some new challenges. How to deal with these challenges scientifically and form a new mode of 'artificial intelligence plus forensic medicine' with artificial intelligence and forensic medicine developing collaboratively is a new direction for the development of forensic medicine in the era of big data.

Detection of Ancestry Information of Urumqi Mongolians Based on the AIM-InDels Loci Multiplex System.

ABSTRACT: Objective To explore the genetic background and structure of Urumqi Mongolians, the previously developed 39-AIM-InDels panel for ancestry inference was utilized in the present study. Methods The blood samples of 145 unrelated healthy Urumqi Mongolian individuals were collected and genotyped. The compositions of ancestry information of Urumqi Mongolians were studied with 17 different populations from three continents （East Asia, Europe and Africa） as reference populations. Then, multiple population genetics and bioinformatics analysis methods were applied, the Fst and DA values between matched populations were compared and analyzed, PCA analysis was performed and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. The proportions of ancestry information components of Urumqi Mongolians were analyzed with Structure software, etc. Results The ancestry information components of Urumqi Mongolian group in different intercontinental populations accounted for 89%, 7%, and 3% of East Asian, European, and African populations, respectively. Compared with other intercontinental populations, Urumqi Mongolian group and East Asian populations have lower Fst and DA values, and they were in the same cluster in PCA analysis as well. In a phylogenetic tree, the Urumqi Mongolian group was in the same branch as East Asian populations. Conclusion Urumqi Mongolian group had relatively close genetic relationships with East Asian populations, and the proportion of its East Asian ancestry was about 89%.

Prescription of atropine eye drops among children diagnosed with myopia in Taiwan from 2000 to 2007: a nationwide study.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the atropine eye drop prescription trend for children diagnosed with myopia, and to determine the factors associated with the prescription of atropine eye drops. DESIGN: This was a population-based cross-sectional study. METHODS: This study was conducted using a national representative sample from the National Health Insurance (NHI) claims data. All school children between 4 and 18 years of age who had visited an ophthalmologist and were diagnosed with myopia between 2000 and 2007 were included herein. The main outcome measure was the proportion of subjects who were prescribed atropine eye drops in each year. Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with atropine eye drops being prescribed. RESULTS: The prescription of atropine eye drops for children diagnosed with myopia increased significantly from the school years 2000 (36.9%) to 2007 (49.5%). There was also a shift from prescribing high concentrations (0.5 and 1%) of atropine eye drops to lower concentration ones (0.3, 0.25, and 0.1%) within this period. Atropine eye drops were more frequently prescribed to 9-12-year-old children (OR=1.26-1.42, compared with those 7-8 years old), and to children from families with a high socioeconomic status (OR=1.19-1.25); however, they were less prescribed to those living in mid to low urbanized areas (OR=0.65-0.84). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed an increasing trend of atropine eye drop prescription for children with myopia in Taiwan. Our study provides eye-care professionals worldwide a reference for the potential integration of atropine eye drops into their clinical practice toward children with myopia.

Rectal swab sampling followed by an enrichment culture-based real-time PCR assay to detect Salmonella enterocolitis in children.

Although routine bacterial culture is the traditional reference standard method for the detection of Salmonella infection in children with diarrhoea, it is a time-consuming procedure that usually only gives results after 3-4 days. Some molecular detection methods can improve the turn-around time to within 24 h, but these methods are not applied directly from stool or rectal swab specimens as routine diagnostic methods for the detection of gastrointestinal pathogens. In this study, we tested the feasibility of a bacterial enrichment culture-based real-time PCR assay method for detecting and screening for diarrhoea in children caused by Salmonella. Our results showed that the minimum real-time PCR assay time required to detect enriched bacterial culture from a swab was 3 h. In all children with suspected Salmonella diarrhoea, the enrichment culture-based real-time PCR achieved 85.4% sensitivity and 98.1% specificity, as compared with the 53.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity of detection with the routine bacterial culture method. We suggest that rectal swab sampling followed by enrichment culture-based real-time PCR is suitable as a rapid method for detecting and screening for Salmonella in paediatric patients.

Delta15N of soil N and plants in a N-saturated, subtropical forest of southern China.

We investigated the delta(15)N profile of N (extractable NH(4)(+), NO(3)(-), and organic N (EON)) in the soil of a N-saturated subtropical forest. The order of delta(15)N in the soil was EON > NH(4)(+) > NO(3)(-). Although the delta(15)N of EON had been expected to be similar to that of bulk soil N, it was higher than that of bulk soil N by 5 per thousand. The difference in delta(15)N between bulk soil N and EON (Delta(15)N(bulk-EON)) was correlated significantly with the soil C/N ratio. This correlation implies that carbon availability, which determines the balance between N assimilation and dissimilation of soil microbes, is responsible for the high delta(15)N of EON, as in the case of soil microbial biomass delta(15)N. A thorough delta(15)N survey of available N (NH(4)(+), NO(3)(-), and EON) in the soil profiles from the organic layer to 100 cm depth revealed that the delta(15)N of the available N forms did not fully overlap with the delta(15)N of plants. This mismatch in delta(15)N between that of available N and that of plants reflects apparent isotopic fractionation during N uptake by plants, emphasizing the high N availability in this N-saturated forest.

Isolation of therapeutically functional mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells within 3 h by an effective single-step plastic-adherent method.

OBJECTIVES: Isolation of mouse mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs), by the approach of plastic adherence, has been difficult due to persistent contamination by haematopoietic cells (HCs); we have observed that this contamination was due to engagement between HCs and mMSCs. The HCs can be lifted together with the mMSCs despite their insensitivity to trypsin digestion. Herein, we provide a single-step procedure to rapidly segregate mMSCs from HC contaminants using transient lower-density plastic adherence (tLDA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The tLDA was performed by replating bone marrow adherent cells at lower density (1.25 x 10(4) cells/cm(2)) than usual, allowing for transient adherence of no more than 3 h, followed by trypsin digestion. tLDA-isolated cells were evaluated by immunophenotyping, multi-differentiation potentials, immunosuppressive properties, and therapeutic potential as demonstrated by symptoms of osteoporosis. RESULTS: The single-step tLDA method can effectively eliminate the persistent HC contaminants; tLDA-isolated cells were phenotypically equivalent to those reported as mMSCs. The isolated cells possessed classic tri-lineage differentiation potential into osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lineages and had immunosuppressive properties. After intravenous transplantation, they migrated into the allogeneic bone marrow and rescued hosts from osteoporosis symptoms, demonstrating their therapeutic potential. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed a simple and economical method that effectively isolates HC-free, therapeutically functional mMSCs from bone marrow cell adherent cultures. These cells are suitable for various mechanistic and therapeutic studies in the mouse model.

Molecular and immunocytochemical identification of coxsackievirus A-24 variant from the acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis outbreak in Taiwan in 2007.

AIMS: Acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) is a highly contagious conjunctivitis associated with enteroviruses. Coxsackie A-24 variant (CA-24v) and enterovirus-70 (EV-70) are the two major causative agents. During October 2007, an epidemic of AHC occurred in Taiwan, affecting more than 11 000 people. The aim of this study was to determine the aetiological agent associated with the outbreak in patients diagnosed with AHC and treated at the Cathay General Hospital, Taipei (CGHT) and Cathay General Hospital Sijhih (CGHS), Taiwan during October 2007. METHODS: Virus isolates were obtained from six patients (four from CGHS and two from CGH), and a total of seven specimens (one throat and one rectal, and five eye swabs) were collected. The specimens were inoculated onto the MRC-5 cell lines. The viral isolation was confirmed by performing real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). RESULTS: The conjunctival, throat, and rectal swabs collected in this study were all tested positive for a variant of CA-24. All seven viral isolates were characterized as a variant of CA-24 and confirmed by IFA and real-time RT-PCR. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the outbreak of AHC that occurred during October 2007 in the northern area of Taiwan was caused by a variant of coxsackie A-24. Further phylogenic analysis is underway to further classify this CA-24v strain.

Association of hospital and surgeon operation volume with the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis: Taiwan experience.

PURPOSE: To determine the association between hospital and surgeon volume with the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted to analyse the national health insurance claims data of those patients receiving cataract surgery in 2000 in Taiwan. A total of 108,705 patients who received cataract surgery by 1004 surgeons at 494 hospitals were followed to the end of 2002. Stepwise Cox regression was used to analyse the effects of hospital and surgeon volume of cataract surgery on postoperative endophthalmitis after adjustment for patient's age, gender, education, ophthalmic comorbidities, general comorbidities, and surgical factors including operative methods, different types of intraocular lenses, and surgeon's age. RESULTS: The 2-year incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis at high-volume hospitals (0.90%) was lower than low-volume hospitals (1.16%). The incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis by high-volume surgeons (0.59%) was lower than those by middle-high-volume (0.73%), middle-low-volume (0.80%), or low-volume surgeons (1.16%). After controlling for case mix, the risk of postoperative endophthalmitis of the low-volume hospitals (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.39) was higher than that of the high-volume hospitals. The risk of postoperative endophthalmitis of low-volume surgeons (HR = 1.67) was higher than that of the high-volume surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: The provider volume (hospital and surgeon volume) is associated with the risk of postoperative endophthalmitis. The patients who receive cataract surgery at low-volume hospitals or by low-volume surgeons have significantly higher risk of postoperative endophthalmitis than at high-volume hospitals or by high-volume surgeons. Provider volume can be considered in further postoperative endophthalmitis study as a risk factor.

Antibody to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus spike protein domain 2 cross-reacts with lung epithelial cells and causes cytotoxicity.

Both viral effect and immune-mediated mechanism are involved in the pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection. In this study, we showed that in SARS patient sera there were autoantibodies (autoAbs) that reacted with A549 cells, the type-2 pneumocytes, and that these autoAbs were mainly IgG. The autoAbs were detectable 20 days after fever onset. Tests of non-SARS-pneumonia patients did not show the same autoAb production as in SARS patients. After sera IgG bound to A549 cells, cytotoxicity was induced. Cell cytotoxicity and the anti-epithelial cell IgG level were positively correlated. Preabsorption and binding assays indicated the existence of cross-reactive epitopes on SARS-CoV spike protein domain 2 (S2). Furthermore, treatment of A549 cells with anti-S2 Abs and IFN-gamma resulted in an increase in the adherence of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to these epithelial cells. Taken together, we have demonstrated that the anti-S2 Abs in SARS patient sera cause cytotoxic injury as well as enhance immune cell adhesion to epithelial cells. The onset of autoimmune responses in SARS-CoV infection may be implicated in SARS pathogenesis.