Identification of MicroRNAs as potential biomarkers for detecting ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: Increasing epidemic of ischemic stroke (IS) makes it urgent to understand the pathogenesis and regulatory mechanism, previous studies have described microRNAs (miRNAs) is part of the brain's response to ischemia. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to screen potential biomarkers for the prediction and novel treatment of IS. METHODS: Differentially expressed miRNAs were screened from three newly diagnosed IS patients and three controls by RNA sequencing technology. Furthermore, target prediction databases were then used to analysis the target genes of different expressed miRNAs, and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway database were used to identify the functions and the main biochemical and signal pathways of differentially expressed target genes. RESULTS: Our results revealed that 27 miRNAs were differentially expressed in IS, among which, hsa-miR-659-5p was the most highly increased and was first found to be associated with IS. In addition, KEGG pathway analyses showed that differentially expressed miRNAs were mainly significantly enriched in lysosome pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway, spliceosome pathway, base excision repair pathway. CONCLUSIONS: miRNAs were involved in IS pathogenesis, and hsa-miR-659-5p, hsa-miR-151a-3p and hsa-miR-29c-5p as the three highest |log2FoldChange| regulation in this study, which may be the biomarkers of IS and need further study.

Epidemiological study on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus transmission network in northeast China.

ABSTRACT: In this study, corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission networks were built to analyze the epidemic situation of COVID-19 in Liaoning and Jilin provinces in early 2020. We explore the characteristics of the spread of COVID-19, and put forward effective recommendations for epidemic prevention and control. We collected demographic characteristics, exposure history, and course of action of COVID-19 cases. We described the demographic and case characteristics of these cases to show the basic characteristics of COVID-19 cases in both provinces. Combined with the spatial analysis of confirmed cases, the distribution law of the number of confirmed cases in different regions was analyzed. We exhibit the relationship among COVID-19 cases with a transmission network. The transmission characteristics of COVID-19 were analyzed through the transmission network. Mainly cases in Liaoning and Jilin provinces were imported cases from other provinces and the vast majority of these cases were related to Hubei province. The number of confirmed cases in different regions was positively correlated with their GDP and population. The main clinical symptoms of the cases were fever. Judge from the transmission network relationship between the 2 provinces, the transmission chain in Liaoning province contains fewer cases than that in Jilin province. The main transmission routes of the local cases in the 2 provinces were the family members, and the infection of the imported cases were mainly occurred in public places. It was estimated that the unidentified asymptomatic infected cases in the 2 provinces account for approximately 7.3% of the total number of infected cases. The length of the transmission chain suggests that the spread of COVID-19 can be effectively controlled with effective prevention measures.

Associations of C-reactive Protein with 25-hydroxyvitamin D in 24 Specific Diseases: A Cross-sectional Study from NHANES.

Most diseases might be associated with acute or chronic inflammation, and the role of vitamin D in diseases has been extensively explored in recent years. Thus, we examined the associations of one of the best markers for inflammation - C-reactive protein (CRP) with 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in 24 specific diseases. We performed cross-sectional analyses among 9,809 subjects aged ≥18 years who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2007~2010. The generalized additive model (GAM) was used to explore the associations of CRP with 25(OH)D in different diseases, adjusted for the age, gender, examination period and race. Distributions of CRP were significantly different (P < 0.05) in gender, examination period and race, and distributions of 25(OH)D were different (P < 0.05) in the examination period and race. Generally, CRP was negatively associated with 25(OH)D for majority diseases. 25(OH)D was negatively associated with CRP generally, and the associations were disease-specific and disease category-specific. In respiratory, gastrointestinal and mental diseases, the associations tended to be approximately linear. While in metabolic diseases, the associations were nonlinear, and the slope of the nonlinear curve decreased with 25(OH)D, especially when 25(OH)D < 30 µg/L.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of -New-Generation Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors versus Imatinib for Newly Diagnosed Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

BACKGROUNDS: We performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the efficacy of new-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (NG-TKIs; including dasatinib, nilotinib, bosutinib, radotinib, and ponatinib) versus imatinib for patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). SUMMARY: We identified randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy of NG-TKIs versus imatinib as the first-line treatment for CML patients by searching the PubMed, Cochrane library, and EMBASE databases. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate risk ratios and 95% CIs using a fixed-effects model.Our study included 10 trials. Overall, treatment with NG-TKIs significantly improved the major molecular response and MR4.5 at all time points, and early molecular response at 3 months. Importantly, overall survival (OS) was significantly higher with the NG-TKIs at 12 months. Besides, NG-TKI-treated patients showed a significantly lower CML-related death and progression to the accelerated phase/blast crisis. Key Messages: In first-line treatment, NG-TKIs are superior to imatinib regarding OS at 12 months, and because molecular response rates were higher with the NG-TKIs at all time points, the NG-TKIs favor treatment-free remission.

The association between blood pressure decreasing rates and survival time in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage.

AIMS: There was no established consensus on the optimal blood pressure management protocol in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). This study was to explore the association between blood pressure decreasing rates and survival time in patients with acute ICH. METHODS: 786 acute ICH patients were enrolled in the study andhospitalized from2004 to 2006. K-means clustering was used to classify the subjects according to the decreasing rates of blood pressure within 14 days of acute ICH patients. Cox regression was used to screen the independent influencing factors of 14-day survival in the univariate anaylsis among acute ICH patients. RESULTS: There was significant difference in the decreasing rates of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in 1-2 d and 2-3 d after admission in patients with acute ICH (P < .05) between blood pressure decreasing stability and instability groups. The independent factors of 14-day survival in patients with acute ICH included: age, 24 h the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, bleeding volume, blood glucose, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum albumin, fasting, bleeding position and lowering rates of SBP (P < .05). And the risk of death within 14 days in the SBP decreasing instability group was 1.71 (1.02 to 2.86) times than those in stability group. CONCLUSION: Compared with DBP decreasing rates, SBP decreasing rates had a greater impact on the survival time in patients with acute ICH. In addition, patients with instable SBP decreasing rates had inferior survival than those with stable SBP decreasing rates.

Association between normal triglyceride and insulin resistance in US adults without other risk factors: a cross-sectional study from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2014.

OBJECTIVE: Traditionally, the absence of insulin resistance risk factors (IRRFs) was considered a low risk for insulin resistance (IR). However, IR also existed in certain individuals without IRRFs; thus this study aims to explore predictors of IR targeted at the population without IRRFs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. PARTICIPANTS: Participants without regular IRRFs (IRRF-Free, n=2478) and a subgroup without optimal IRRFs (IRRF-Optimal, n=1414) were involved in this study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURE: IRRFs and the optimal cut-off value of triglyceride (TG) to predict IR. RESULTS: Overall, the prevalence of IR was 6.9% and 5.7% in the IRRF-Free group and the IRRF-Optimal group, respectively. TG and waist circumference were independently associated with the prevalence of IR in both the groups (OR=1.010 to 10.20; p<0.05 for all), where TG was positively associated with IR. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of TG was 0.7016 (95% CI: 0.7013 to 0.7018) and 0.7219 (95% CI: 0.7215 to 0.7222), and the optimal cut-off value of TG to predict IR was 79.5 mg/dL and 81.5 mg/dL in the IRRF-Free group and the IRRF-Optimal group, respectively. CONCLUSION: There is an association between TG and IR even in the normal range of TG concentration. Therefore, normal TG could be used as an important indicator to predict the prevalence of IR in the absence of IRRFs.

Epidemiological analysis of respiratory and intestinal infectious diseases in three counties of Sichuan: the baseline survey of Disaster Mitigation Demonstration Area in western China.

BACKGROUND: Natural disasters can indirectly induce epidemics of infectious diseases through air and water pollution, accelerated pathogen reproduction, and population migration. This study aimed to explore the epidemiological characteristics of the main infectious diseases in Sichuan, a province with a high frequency of natural disasters. METHODS: Data were collected from the local Centers for Disease Control infectious disease reports from Lu, Shifang and Yuexi counties from 2011 to 2015 and from the baseline survey of the Disaster Mitigation Demonstration Area in Western China in 2016. Principal component regression was used to explore the main influencing factors of respiratory infectious diseases (RIDs). RESULTS: The incidence rates of RIDs and intestinal infectious diseases (IIDs) in 2015 were 78.99/100,000, 125.53/100,000, 190.32/100,000 and 51.70/100,000, 206.00/100,000, 69.16/100,000 in Lu, Shifang and Yuexi respectively. The incidence rates of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) was the highest among RIDs in the three counties. The main IIDs in Lu and Shifang were hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) and other infectious diarrhea; however, the main IIDs in Yuexi was bacillary dysentery. The proportions of illiterate and ethnic minorities and per capita disposable income were the top three influencing factors of RIDs. CONCLUSIONS: TB was the key point of RIDs prevention among the three counties. The key preventable IIDs in Lu and Shifang were HFMD and other infectious diarrhea, and bacillary dysentery was the major IIDs in Yuexi. The incidence rates of RIDs was associated with the population composition, the economy and personal hygiene habits.

Association between hyperpolarization-activated channel in interstitial cells of Cajal and gastrointestinal dysmotility induced by malignant ascites.

Advanced malignant ascites is accompanied by gastrointestinal dysmotility, and patients often feel abdominal pain, abdominal distention, nausea and constipation. Gastrointestinal dysmotility is not only painful for the patients, but it reduces the absorption of nutrients and affects the physical recovery of patients with malignant ascites. It is reported that changes in interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) are responsible for the gastrointestinal dysmotility induced by malignant ascites, but the mechanism is not completely understood. The present study observed a significantly decreased expression of ion channels, including hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated potassium channel 2 (HCN2) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate, in the condition of malignant ascites. Using electrophysiology, it was identified that malignant ascites led to lower amplitude and slower frequency signals in cells of the small intestine. In addition, when ICCs were cultured with malignant ascites in vitro, the expression of HCN2 of ICCs was significantly reduced, and the data of flow cytometry revealed that the Ca2+ concentration of ICCs was also decreased. The results of electron microscopy analysis demonstrated the nuclei of ICCs were pyknotic, and the processes of ICCs were reduced in malignant ascites. The present study suggests the small intestinal dysmotility caused by malignant ascites may be associated with changes in HCN2 of ICCs, which offers a potential therapeutic target for gastrointestinal dysmotility in advanced malignant ascites.