High platelet-to-albumin ratio is associated with 30-day mortality in critically ill patients.

Background: The role of inflammation and hypoproteinemia in influencing outcomes of critically ill patients has been widely recognized. However, there is a paucity of research on the prognostic value of the platelet-to-albumin ratio (PAR) in critically ill patients. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the prognostic significance of PAR in this population.

Bone sialoprotein facilitates anoikis resistance in lung cancer by inhibiting miR-150-5p expression.

Metastatic lung cancer is a highly prevalent cancer with a very low chance of long-term survival. Metastasis at secondary sites requires that cancer cells develop anoikis resistance to survive during circulation. High levels of bone sialoprotein (BSP), a member of the small integrin-binding ligand N-linked glycoproteins (SIBLINGs), have been shown to promote the spread of lung cancer cells; however, the effects of BSP in anoikis resistance are largely unknown.

Multifunctional targeting of docetaxel plus bakuchiol micelles in the treatment of invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer.

The invasion and metastasis of tumors pose significant challenges in the treatment of ovarian cancer (OC), making it difficult to cure. One potential treatment approach that has gained attention is the use of matrix metalloproteinase reactive controlled release micelle preparations. In this study, we developed a novel PEG-PVGLIG-hyaluronic acid docetaxel/bakuchiol (PP-HA-DTX/BAK) micelles formulation with desirable characteristics such as particle size, narrow polydispersity index, and a ZETA potential of approximately -5 mV.

Cigarette smoke promotes IL-6-dependent lung cancer migration and osteolytic bone metastasis.

Lung cancer stands as a major contributor to cancer-related fatalities globally, with cigarette smoke playing a pivotal role in its development and metastasis. Cigarette smoke is also recognized as a risk factor for bone loss disorders like osteoporosis. However, the association between cigarette smoke and another bone loss disorder, lung cancer osteolytic bone metastasis, remains largely uncertain.

Ugonin L inhibits osteoclast formation and promotes osteoclast apoptosis by inhibiting the MAPK and NF-κB pathways.

Bone loss is a major issue for patients with osteoporosis, arthritis, periodontitis, and bone metastasis; however, anti-resorption drugs used to treat bone loss have been linked to a variety of adverse effects. Helminthostachys zeylanica (L.) Hook, belonging to the family Ophioglossaceae, is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat inflammation and liver problems.

Visfatin upregulates VEGF-C expression and lymphangiogenesis in esophageal cancer by activating MEK1/2-ERK and NF-κB signaling.

Lymph node metastasis is a recognized prognostic factor in esophageal cancer. Adipokines, including visfatin, and the molecule vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C, are implicated in lymphangiogenesis, but whether any association exists between esophageal cancer, adipokines and VEGF-C is unknown. We examined the relevance of adipokines and VEGF-C in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases.

Bone sialoprotein promotes lung cancer osteolytic bone metastasis via MMP14-dependent mechanisms.

Bone metastases during lung cancer are common. Bone sialoprotein (BSP), a non-collagenous bone matrix protein, plays important functions in bone mineralization processes and in integrin-mediated cell-matrix interactions. Importantly, BSP induces bone metastasis in lung cancer, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

ANGPTL2 promotes VEGF-A synthesis in human lung cancer and facilitates lymphangiogenesis.

Lung cancer is an extremely common cancer and metastatic lung cancer has a greatly low survival rate. Lymphangiogenesis is essential for the development and metastasis of lung cancer. The adipokine angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) regulates tumor progression and metastasis, although the functions of ANGPTL2 in lung cancer are unknown.

Apelin Promotes Prostate Cancer Metastasis by Downregulating TIMP2 via Increases in miR-106a-5p Expression.

Prostate cancer commonly affects the urinary tract of men and metastatic prostate cancer has a very low survival rate. Apelin belongs to the family of adipokines and is associated with cancer development and metastasis. However, the effects of apelin in prostate cancer metastasis is undetermined.

Is telephone follow-up reliable in maternal and neonatal outcomes surveys in in vitro fertilization?

Background:  Many studies that collect maternal and neonatal outcomes rely on patient self-report phone calls. It is unclear how reliable or accurate these phone call reports are.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of telephone calls in information collection in IVF.

Optimal Follow-Up Duration for Assessment of Birth Defects After Fertilization-Embryo Transfer: A Multicenter 5-Year Cohort Study in China.

Objective: To investigate the impact of a 5-year follow-up on the incidence of identified birth defects in children conceived using assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Methods: A 5-year cohort study was performed in three ART centers from January 2013 to October 2018. 1,543 women with 1,985 infants who delivered successfully or underwent termination of pregnancy due to malformations were recruited in this study.

Melatonin suppresses the metastatic potential of osteoblastic prostate cancers by inhibiting integrin α β expression.

Advanced prostate cancer often develops into bone metastasis, which is characterized by aberrant bone formation with chronic pain and lower chances of survival. No treatment exists as yet for osteoblastic bone metastasis in prostate cancer. The indolamine melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a major regulator of the circadian rhythm.

TRIM21 Polymorphisms are associated with Susceptibility and Clinical Status of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma patients.

Squamous cell cancer of head and neck (HNSCC) is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. One of the most common HNSCC types is oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in Taiwan. Tripartite motif 21 (TRIM21) has been reported to play an important role in different cancer types.

[Clinical value of PCR-flow Fluorescence Hybridization in Prenatal Genetic Diagnosis of Thalassemia].

Objective: To explore the value of PCR-flow fluorenscence immunmicrobeads assay in prenatal gene diagnosis of thalassemia.

Methods: A total of 1001 pregnant women and their couples checked in the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from January 2016 to August 2019 were selected. Both pregnant women and their spouses were the carriers of thalassemia gene.

Copy number variant hotspots in Han Taiwanese population induced pluripotent stem cell lines - lessons from establishing the Taiwan human disease iPSC Consortium Bank.

Background: The Taiwan Human Disease iPSC Service Consortium was established to accelerate Taiwan's growing stem cell research initiatives and provide a platform for researchers interested in utilizing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. The consortium has generated and characterized 83 iPSC lines: 11 normal and 72 disease iPSC lines covering 21 different diseases, several of which are of high incidence in Taiwan. Whether there are any reprogramming-induced recurrent copy number variant (CNV) hotspots in iPSCs is still largely unknown.

Generation of a gene corrected human isogenic IBMS-iPSC-014-C from polycystic-kidney-disease induced pluripotent stem cell line using CRISPR/Cas9.

We report the engendering an isogenic iPSC line from the IBMS-iPSC-014-05 with homozygous correction of the R803X, Chr4: 88989098C > T in PKD2, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The results from the isogenic control, IBMS-iPSC-014-05C, showed that mutation had been corrected, while maintaining normal morphology, pluripotency, and differentiation capacity into three germ layers.

Human iPSC banking: barriers and opportunities.

The introduction of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has opened up the potential for personalized cell therapies and ushered in new opportunities for regenerative medicine, disease modeling, iPSC-based drug discovery and toxicity assessment. Over the past 10 years, several initiatives have been established that aim to collect and generate a large amount of human iPSCs for scientific research purposes. In this review, we compare the construction and operation strategy of some iPSC banks as well as their ongoing development.

Association of hyperglycemia episodes on long-term mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus with vascular dementia: A population-based cohort study.

Aim: This study investigated the effect of severe hyperglycemia episodes on survival and associated factors related to risk of mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with dementia.

Methods: We enrolled all type 2 DM patients newly diagnosed as having dementia in Taiwan from 1998 to 2005. These patients were categorized into those who had hyperglycemia episodes and those who did not based on whether or not they had been hospitalized for hyperglycemia after dementia diagnosis.

Factors associated with type 2 diabetes in patients with vascular dementia: a population-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Incidence of dementia is growing rapidly and affects many people worldwide. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) might link cognitive decline and dementia, but the reasons for this association remain unclear. Our study explored the factors associated with type 2 DM in patients with dementia.

The Direct Involvement of Dark-Induced Tic55 Protein in Chlorophyll Catabolism and Its Indirect Role in the MYB108-NAC Signaling Pathway during Leaf Senescence in .

The chloroplast relies on proteins encoded in the nucleus, synthesized in the cytosol and subsequently transported into chloroplast through the protein complexes Toc and Tic (Translocon at the outer/inner membrane of chloroplasts). A Tic complex member, Tic55, contains a redox-related motif essential for protein import into chloroplasts in peas. However, Tic55 is not crucial for protein import in .

Surgical results of cranioplasty using three-dimensional printing technology.

Object: The aim of this research was to evaluate the surgical outcome of a new three-dimensional printing (3DP) technique using prefabrication molds and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

Patients And Methods: The study included 10 patients with large skull defects (>100 cm) who underwent cranioplasty. The causes of the skull defects were trauma (6), bone resorption (2), tumor (1), and infection (1).

Enhanced photoreduction degradation of polybromodiphenyl ethers with FeO-g-CN under visible light irradiation.

As typical persistent organic pollutants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have aroused high environmental concern due to their toxicity and recalcitrant degradation. Herein, we report the enhanced photoreduction degradation of polybromodiphenyl ethers with FeO-g-CN under visible light irradiation (>420 nm). A series of high activity photocatalysts FeO-g-CN (named FeOCN-) have been synthesized by an growth method.

Factors associated with the disposition of frozen embryos after a live birth through IVF treatment in China.

Objective: To investigate infertility patients' attitudes towards frozen embryos and the factors that influence patients' decisions.

Study Design: This is a cross-sectional quantitative observational study conducted between 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2015. Patients underwent IVF with embryo cryopreservation and successfully delivered at least one baby were called to complete a questionnaire regarding decisions about embryo disposition and reasons for their preferred option.