The causal relationship between metabolic factors, drinking, smoking and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is the second most common primary liver cancer. While multiple risk factors for iCCA have been established, metabolic diseases (obesity, diabetes, NAFLD, dyslipidemia, and hypertension) and other risk factors, including smoking and drinking, are still controversial due to their potential confounders. Here, Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed to identify the causal relationship between them.

Exploration of the efficacy of radiomics applied to left ventricular tomograms obtained from D-SPECT MPI for the auxiliary diagnosis of myocardial ischemia in CAD.

To explore the feasibility and efficacy of radiomics with left ventricular tomograms obtained from D-SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) for auxiliary diagnosis of myocardial ischemia in coronary artery disease (CAD). The images of 103 patients with CAD myocardial ischemia between September 2020 and April 2021 were retrospectively selected. After information desensitization processing, format conversion, annotation using the Labelme tool on an open-source platform, lesion classification, and establishment of a database, the images were cropped for analysis.

Systematic analysis using a bioinformatics strategy identifies SFTA1P and LINC00519 as potential prognostic biomarkers for lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Lung cancer has high incidence and mortality rates, in which lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is a primary type of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The aim of our study was to discover long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with diagnose and prognosis for LUSC. RNA sequencing data obtained from LUSC samples were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA).

The role of iron in Parkinson's disease monkeys assessed by susceptibility weighted imaging and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Mounting evidences indicated that elevated iron levels in the substantia nigra (SN) have been concerned as the underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD). The present study used the 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6 -tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated cynomolgus monkeys for PD to evaluate the usability of SWI for assessing iron deposition in the cerebral nuclei of PD. The results showed that susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) phase values of the ipsilateral (MPTP-lesion side) SN of MPTP-treated monkeys were lower than those in the contralateral SN of MPTP-treated monkeys and the same side of Control monkeys, suggesting that iron deposition were elevated in the affected side SN of MPTP-treated monkeys.

The expression and clinical significance of secretory leukocyte proteinase inhibitor (SLPI) in mammary carcinoma using bioinformatics analysis.

Background: Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SPLI) was a secreted protein which belongs to a member of whey acidic protein four-disulfide core family. In breast cancer (BC) it may inhibit cell proliferation and promote cancer metastasis. In this study, a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the expression and prognostic value of SLPI in breast cancer.

MicroRNA expression profile and functional analysis reveal their roles in contact inhibition and its disruption switch of rat vascular smooth muscle cells.

Contact inhibition and its disruption of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are important cellular events in vascular diseases. But the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. In this study we investigated the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the contact inhibition and its disruption of VSMCs and the molecular mechanisms involved.

Stable isotope labeling - dispersive solid phase extraction - liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry for quantitative analysis of transsulfuration pathway thiols in human serum.

Low-molecular-weight thiols play important roles in a variety of pathological processes and are closely associated with a wide range of diseases. In this study, a selective and sensitive method was developed for the simultaneous determination of all the 7 thiols occurring in the transsulfuration pathway (Cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcys), glutathione (GSH), N-acetylcysteine (Nac), cysteinylglycine (CysGly), glutamylcysteine (GluCys) and cysteamine (CA)) in human serum by in-vitro stable isotope labeling - dispersive solid phase extraction - liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry analysis (IL-DSPE-LC-MS/MS). In the proposed method, a pair of stable isotope-labeling reagents, BQB (ω-bromoacetonylquinolinium bromide) and BQB-D, were utilized to label thiols in human serum samples and thiol standards, respectively.

High expression of miR-493-5p positively correlates with clinical prognosis of non small cell lung cancer by targeting oncogene ITGB1.

Increasing evidence supports that microRNA (miRNA)-mediated gene regulation plays a significant functional role in cancer progression. To investigate the expression and clinical significance of ITGB1 in non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the expression levels of ITGB1 in NSCLC tissues and human normal lung tissues were analyzed in silico using genes microarray, KEGG pathway and hierarchical clustering analysis followed by validation with quantitative RT-PCR. Our results showed that ITGB1 was upregulated in NSCLC tissues when compared with normal lung tissues.

Association of microRNA-33a Molecular Signature with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis after Chemotherapy.

Objective: This study aims to explore the expression pattern and prognostic significance of miR-33a in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: MiR-33aexpression in NSCLC was analyzed in silico using the GEO database and was subsequently confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR in 147 NSCLC biopsies. Among these, 32 of these biopsies were paired with adjacent non-neoplastic tissues.

Increased N6-methyladenosine in Human Sperm RNA as a Risk Factor for Asthenozoospermia.

Male infertility is a worldwide medical problem. Asthenozoospermia is a common cause of infertility. Epigenetic modifications of DNA and histones have been shown to influence human infertility, but no research has explored whether N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) level in RNA is associated with asthenozoospermia.

Interaction of human synovial phospholipase A2 with mixed lipid bilayers: a coarse-grain and all-atom molecular dynamics simulation study.

Human secreted phospholipase A2s have been shown to promote inflammation in mammals by catalyzing the first step of the arachidonic acid pathway by breaking down phospholipids, producing fatty acids, including arachidonic acid. They bind to the membrane water interface to access their phospholipid substrates from the membrane. Their binding modes on membrane surfaces are regulated by diverse factors, including membrane charge, fluidity, and heterogeneity.

A randomized controlled study of single-agent cisplatin and radiotherapy versus docetaxel/cisplatin and radiotherapy in high-risk early-stage cervical cancer after radical surgery.

Background: This study explored whether docetaxel/cisplatin and radiotherapy (TP-R) increases overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) compared to single-agent cisplatin and radiotherapy (C-R) in patients with high-risk early-stage cervical cancer post surgery.

Methods: Patients with clinical stage IB and IIA carcinoma of the cervix, initially treated with radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy, and who had positive pelvic lymph nodes and/or positive margins and/or the diameter of the primary tumor ≥4 cm and/or depth of interstitial infiltration ≥1/2 and/or lymphovascular space invasion were eligible for this study. Patients were randomized to receive C-R or TP-R.

In situ unfolded lysozyme induces the lipid lateral redistribution of a mixed lipid model membrane.

Redistribution of charged lipids induced by polyelectrolytes is an intriguing phenomenon. Proteins, due to their nature as polyelectrolytes, should also have this capacity. But their highly ordered structures may bring about more complex mechanisms.

Structural and kinetic properties of alpha-tocopherol in phospholipid bilayers, a molecular dynamics simulation study.

Structural and kinetic properties of vitamin E in biomembranes provide the key to understanding the biological functions of this lipophilic vitamin. We report a series of molecular dynamics simulations of two alpha-tocopherol/phosphatidylcholine systems and two alpha-tocopherol/phosphatidylethanolamine systems in water at 280, 310, and 350 K. The preferential position, hydrogen bonding, orientation, and dynamic properties of the alpha-tocopherol molecule in the bilayers have been examined.

Structural characterization on the gel to liquid-crystal phase transition of fully hydrated DSPC and DSPE bilayers.

The structural properties of fully hydrated distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) and distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DSPE) bilayers near the main phase transition were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations on the basis of a united-atom model. Although largely similar in their molecular structures, the two lipids were found with different molecular packing modes at temperatures below the phase transition. For DSPC, three packing modes, namely, cross-tilt, partially interdigitated, and "mixed" gel phases, were observed, while, for DSPE, the lipid tails were almost perpendicular to the lipid surface.