Association of FIB-4 index and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury: a cohort study.

Background: The relationship between fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index and clinical outcomes in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) is unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between FIB-4 index and all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with AKI.

Methods: We used data from the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database (v1.

Two single nucleotide polymorphisms in TSLP gene are associated with asthma susceptibility in Chinese Han population.

Background: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway that is mediated by T-helper 2(TH2) cells. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) can aggravate asthmatic lung inflammation by activating dendritic cells (DCs) to promote TH2 differentiation. TSLP promoter polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to bronchial asthma in Japanese population.

Functional endothelial cells derived from embryonic stem cells labeled with HIV transactivator peptide-conjugated superparamagnetic nanoparticles.

Background: The development of regenerative therapies using derivatives of embryonic stem (ES) cells would be facilitated by a non-invasive method to monitor transplanted cells in vivo, for example, magnetic resonance imaging of cells labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles. Although ES cells have been labeled with SPIO particles, the potential adverse effects of the label have not been fully examined. The objective of this study was to determine whether SPIO labeling affects murine ES cell viability, proliferation, or ability to differentiate into functional endothelial cells (ECs).