Knockdown of lncRNA HCP5 protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by regulating miR-652-3p.

Previous studies have shown that lncRNAs play crucial roles in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. In this study, the function and possible mechanism of lncRNA HCP5 in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was investigated. An oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) model in N2a cells was used to simulate cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in vitro. The functional mechanism of lncRNA HCP5 was detected using Trypan blue staining, JC-1, MTT and dual luciferase reporter assays. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins (Bcl-2 and Bax) was measured by Western blot analysis. We found that lncRNA HCP5 was upregulated in N2a cells treated with OGD/R, and knockdown of lncRNA HCP5 enhanced cell viability and reduced cell death. In addition, miR-652-3p was found to act as a sponge for lncRNA HCP5. The overexpression of miR- 652-3p can prevent cerebral ischemic reperfusion injury, however, lncRNA HCP5 attenuated the protective effect of miR-652-3p in cerebral ischemic reperfusion injury. In conclusion, upregulation of lncRNA HCP5 may exacerbate cerebral ischemic reperfusion injury by sponging miR-652-3p.

MiRNA-221-5p promotes breast cancer progression by regulating E-cadherin expression.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the role of miRNA-221-5p in the development of breast cancer (BCa) and its underlying mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression level of miRNA-221-5p in 52 pairs of BCa tissues and adjacent normal tissues was detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The correlation between miRNA-221-5p expression and pathological indicators of BCa was analyzed. MiRNA-221-5p expression in BCa cells was also determined by qRT-PCR. After transfection of miRNA-221-5p inhibitor in MCF-7 and SKBR3 cells, we detected the regulatory effects of miRNA-221-5p on cellular behaviors through cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), wound healing, and transwell assay. Finally, the relationship between miRNA-221-5p and E-cadherin in BCa was elucidated. RESULTS: QRT-PCR results showed that the expression level of miRNA-221-5p in BCa tissues was markedly higher than that in normal tissues. Compared with BCa patients with low expression of miRNA-221-5p, those with high expression had a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis. However, miRNA-221-5p expression did not correlate with age and sex of BCa patients. MiRNA-221-5p was also highly expressed in BCa cells. Transfection of miRNA-221-5p inhibitor suppressed proliferative, invasive, and migratory potentials of BCa cells. Subsequently, we verified that E-cadherin was lowly expressed in BCa cells, and negatively correlated with miRNA-221-5p. In addition, rescue experiments confirmed that transfection of si-E-cadherin reversed the inhibitory role of miRNA-221-5p knockdown in migratory and invasive potentials of BCa cells. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of miRNA-221-5p remained high in BCa, which was correlated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and poor prognosis of BCa. MiRNA-221-5p may promote the invasive and migratory potentials of BCa by regulating E-cadherin expression.

Metaraminol use during spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

INTRODUCTION: During caesarean section, the use of a vasopressor is often required to achieve haemodynamic stability of the parturient. Metaraminol is a vasopressor used in this context in some countries. However, the differences between metaraminol and other vasopressors remain unclear. METHODS: A search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases was performed to identify randomised controlled trials comparing the use of metaraminol with other vasopressors during spinal anaesthesia at caesarean section. The selected studies were subjected to meta-analysis and risk-of-bias assessment. RESULTS: Four randomised, controlled trials met the selection criteria and 409 parturients who underwent an elective caesarean section were included in this meta-analysis. The quality of these trials was good. Metaraminol was associated with higher umbilical arterial pH (standardised mean difference [SMD] 0.82, 95% CI 0.01 to 1.62, P=0.05); a lower incidence of fetal acidosis (RR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.63, P=0.02); and a lower incidence of nausea or vomiting (RR 0.16, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.57, P=0.0005) than was ephedrine. Metaraminol resulted in higher umbilical arterial pH (SMD 0.42, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.68, P=0.002) but a higher incidence of reactive hypertension (RR 1.80, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.46, P=0.0002) than did phenylephrine. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that for spinal anaesthesia at elective caesarean section, metaraminol may be a more suitable vasopressor than ephedrine and its effects are at least not inferior to those of phenylephrine.

[The timing of renal replacement therapy on mortality in patients with acute renal injury: a reanalysis of two recently published randomized control trials].

To investigate the sources of inconsistent findings between two randomized control trials["initiation strategies for renal-replacement therapy in the intensive care unit"(AKIKI trial) vs"effect of early vs delayed initiation of renal replacement therapy on mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury"(ELAIN trial) ], regarding"timing of renal replacement therapy (RRT) on mortality in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). By reanalysis of the published data, it was found that demographics, severity of primary disease and stage of AKI before initiation of RRT were quite different between AKIKI and ELAIN trials. Interestingly, similar mortalities were demonstrated in late group of ELAIN trial, both of early and late groups of AKIKI trial [all patients were classified at Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) classification stage 3 of AKI, P>0.05] although a significant reduction of mortality was determined in early group of ELAIN trial (KDIGO stage 2 of AKI).Therefore, it was concluded that inconsistent results were largely attributable to the heterogeneity of enrolled patients between ELAIN vs AKIKI trials, including demographics and severity of AKI(AKI stage) before initiation of RRT.

The protective effect of lidocaine on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in rats through NF-κB and p38 MAPK signaling pathway and excessive inflammatory responses.

OBJECTIVE: Acute lung injury is a severe disease with a high rate of mortality, leading to more important illness. We aimed at exploring the protective role and potential mechanisms of lidocaine on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned to control group receiving 0.9% saline solution, LPS group treated with 4 mg/kg LPS i.p., LPS + lidocaine(treated with 4 mg/kg LPS i.p. followed by giving 1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg of lidocaine i.v.). Lung specimens and the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected for histopathological examination and biochemical analyze 12 h after LPS induction. The cytokines expression of TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 was measured by ELISA. In addition, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, the activities of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in lung tissues were also detected using ELISA. The protein expressions of p38, p-p38, p65, p-p65 and IκB were analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: The results indicated that after lidocaine treatment was able to decrease significantly wet-to-dry (W/D) ratio and ameliorate the histopathologic damage. Additionally, total protein content and the number of leukocytes in BALF significantly decreased. ELISA result indicated that the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 in BALF were markedly suppressed. Meanwhile, the activities of T-AOC and SOD in lung tissues significantly increased, while the content of MDA significantly decreased after treatment with lidocaine. Moreover, Western blot suggested that lidocaine inhibited phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 and p38 MAPK. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, lidocaine could ameliorate the LPS-induced lung injury via NF-κB/p38 MAPK signaling and excessive inflammatory responses, providing a potential for becoming the anti-inflammatory agent against lung injury.

Contatos sociais: relações de amizade em três momentos da vida adulta

As amizades são relacionamentos voluntários, opcionais e seletivos, uma expressão da autonomia do indivíduo. Suas regras são negociadas pelas partes, são importantes fontes de suporte social ao longo da vida e estão relacionadas ao bem-estar subjetivo, especialmente na velhice, merecendo atenção de pesquisadores. Podem teoricamente mudar de características, importância ou funções, dependendo da fase de desenvolvimento ou das tarefas etárias a ela associadas. Foi objetivo desta pesquisa verificar possíveis mudanças na amizade e a presença de amigos nas redes sociais de 36 sujeitos divididos em três grupos: adultos jovens (25 a 35 anos), na meia-idade (45 a 55) e idosos (65 a 75). Foram utilizados um roteiro semi-estruturado de entrevista e um Diagrama para mensuração de redes sociais e proximidade psicológica. Os dados receberam tratamento quantitativo e qualitativo. Os principais resultados mostram diferenças, por gênero e faixa etária, em: definições, características e funções da amizade, nos tamanhos das redes de suporte, na presença de amigos nas redes, na sua importância enquanto fontes de alguns suportes sociais previamente escolhidos, e nas percepções de agência no inicio e término das amizades. Conclui-se que as relações de amizade variam ao longo da vida adulta, sendo influenciadas pela variável gênero. Há necessidade de aprofundar aspectos específicos dessas relações (AU)

[The effect of early chest physiotherapy on blood gas and circulatory function in old patients after thoracotomy].

In this study, 15 old patients undergoing thoracotomy were selected for observing the influence of effective chest physiotherapy started early in postoperation on blood gas and circulatory function. Following ultrasonic aerosol inholation for 20 minutes, turning the body, and chest percussion in head-up were started at 6th hour after operation. The result showed that PaO2, SaO2 were significantly increased and PaCO2 were decreased at 30 minutes after treatment comparied with it before treatment. In other side, although the hemodynamics could maintain stabilization, cardiac arrhythmias were occured during treatment in three cases, whose ECG were abnormal in preopration. It concluded that effectively chest physiotherapy, started early in postoperation, could prevent postoperative hypoxemia in old thoracotomy patients, But, ECG monitoring is necessary during treatment in patients whose ECG was abnormal before operation.

Byssinosis and other respiratory problems in the cotton industry of Hong Kong.

Between February 1982 and October 1984, a total of 2,317 workers from all levels of cotton processing--carding, blowing, spinning and weaving--were studied in a citywide cross-sectional survey. The workers were administered the British MRC Questionnaire in local dialect and their pre- and postshift lung functions were assessed by portable spirometers. The prevalence of byssinosis for the whole industry was 2.3%, being much greater in the more dusty processes (blowing and carding, 5.6%; weaving 1.6%). Even more important was the prevalence of chronic obstructive airways disease (COAD) (13.8%) and a combination of nonspecific respiratory symptoms (10.0%), characterized by chest tightness and dyspnea, but not related to any specific day of the week such as those seen in typical byssinosis. The importance of these two large groups of respiratory problems in relation to byssinosis and the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases in people exposed to cotton dust is discussed.

Byssinosis in Hong Kong.

After a report in 1980 of the first three diagnosed locally cases and a preliminary epidemiological investigation that found little evidence of the disease, a survey was aimed at determining the prevalence of byssinosis in Hong Kong. Some 1776 workers in six cotton mills were studied using the standard MRC questionnaire and portable spirometers. Only 48 (2.7%) of the mill workers had symptoms acceptable for a diagnosis of byssinosis. The pattern of relation to dust exposure levels was similar to findings in other countries: blowing and carding process operatives had twice the prevalence rate of the spinners. Another 178 workers (10%) had symptoms of chest tightness or breathlessness or both that were not related to the first exposure after a break and therefore did not fit the standard diagnosis. Some 257 workers (14.5%) had chronic obstructive airflow disease but only 12 (4.7%) had chronic bronchitis. Job mobility had self selection of sensitive cases out of cotton dust exposure seem the most likely explanations for the low prevalence. The significance of non-specific lung ailments needs further assessment to elucidate the possible connection with cotton dust exposure.

First report of asbestos-related diseases in Hong Kong.

There has been no report of malignant mesothelioma or asbestosis in Hong Kong despite the rapid growth of industry in the past few decades. Three patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and one patient with asbestosis and small cell carcinoma of the lung are reported. All four patients were Chinese in Hong Kong and had a history of occupational exposure to asbestos. Although there is no mining of asbestos in Hong Kong, her rapid industrialization in the past few decades has led to a large population of asbestos-exposed workers in industry. The average annual consumption of crude asbestos (import minus re-export) has grown ten-fold in the past decade to 1.090 tonnes in 1978-79, and the number of workers handling asbestos products was estimated to be 20.000 in 1979. The problem of asbestos related diseases has however been little considered and further epidemiologic studies are warranted.