Regional differences and the driving mechanism of relationships between rural household livelihood and ecosystem services:A case study in upstream watershed of Miyun Reservoir, China.

It is of great significance to link ecosystem and rural household welfare, with the aim to develop different strategies of rural household livelihood management and regional sustainable deve-lopment. Based on 1754 questionnaires of rural households in Beijing and Hebei within the upstream watershed of Miyun Reservoir, we analyzed the relationships between rural household welfare (defined by total income per rural household) and ecosystem reliance (expressed by an index of dependence on ecosystem services) by statistical and econometric methods. The relationships between rural household welfare and ecosystem reliance could be classified into four types, but with significant differences between Beijing and Hebei within the watershed.

Aneurysms in Takayasu's arteritis: a retrospective study of Chinese patients.

Objectives: Aneurysm formation can cause life-threatening complications in Takayasu's arteritis (TAK). The objective of this study was to evaluate the demographic, clinical and angiographic features, and outcomes of aneurysm secondary to TAK in Chinese patients.

Methods: The medical charts of patients diagnosed with TAK in Changhai Hospital between 2001 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed.

HIST1H3D: A promising therapeutic target for lung cancer.

HIST1H3D gene encodes histone H3.1 and is involved in gene-silencing and heterochromatin formation. HIST1H3D expression is upregulated in primary gastric cancer tissue.

Testin is a tumor suppressor in non-small cell lung cancer.

The Testin gene was previously identified in the fragile chromosomal region FRA7G at 7q31.2. It has been implicated in several types of cancers including prostate, ovarian, breast and gastric cancer.

Asbestos exposure and laryngeal cancer mortality.

Objectives/hypothesis: Occupational exposure to asbestos occurs in many workplaces and is well known to cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. However, the link between asbestos exposure and other malignancies was not confirmed. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to provide a summary measure of risk for laryngeal cancer associated with occupational asbestos exposure.

Meta-analysis for the Association of Apolipoprotein E ε2/ε3/ε4 Polymorphism with Coronary Heart Disease.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a multifactorial disease and is thought to have a polygenic basis. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is one such candidate with its common ε2/ε3/ε4 polymorphism in CHD. In recent years, numerous case-control studies have investigated the relationship of APOE polymorphism with CHD risk.

Stomach cancer mortality among workers exposed to asbestos: a meta-analysis.

Background: The relationship between asbestos and stomach cancer is not well understood because of small number of cases. This study aimed to determine the incidence and mortality of stomach cancer among workers exposed to asbestos based on a systematic review and meta-analysis approach.

Methods: Relevant English electronic databases were systematically searched for published studies characterizing the risk of developing stomach cancer as a result of asbestos exposure.

Micronutrients, their potential effect on patients with systemic sclerosis.

Over the past years, several evidences have supported an important role of specific micronutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E in immune dysfunction, vascular involvement and fibrotic changes involved in systemic sclerosis (SSc) development. In PubMed, eight clinical trials about the therapy of micronutrients on SSc patients were searched out using medical subject headings terms (SSc: "scleroderma, localized", "scleroderma, systemic", "scleroderma, diffuse" and "scleroderma, limited"; vitamins "vitamin A", "thiamin", "riboflavin", "niacin", "pantothenic acid", "vitamin B 6", "biotin", "folic acid", "vitamin B 12", "inositol", "choline", "ascorbic acid", "vitamin D", "vitamin E", "tocopherols", "vitamin K" and "vitamin P"; and minerals: "calcium", "magnesium", "potassium", "sodium", "phosphorus", "sulfur", "chlorine", "iron", "copper", "iodine", "zinc", "selenium", "manganese", "molybdenum", "cobalt", "chromium", "tin", "vanadium", "silicon", "nickel" and "fluorine"). This brief review will summarize current understanding on that for the further prospect of future studies.

Therapeutic potential of interleukin-17 in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.

Introduction: Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a proinflammatory cytokine that mainly produced by T helper 17 (Th17) cells. In this article, we discussed the role of IL-17 in inflammation and autoimmune diseases, and the therapeutic strategies targeting IL-17.

Areas Covered: In this article, we discussed the proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 and IL-17 receptors signals, and their regulation.

DNA repair gene XRCC1 polymorphisms and head and neck cancer risk: an updated meta-analysis including 16344 subjects.

Background: DNA repair gene X-ray repair cross complementing group 1 (XRCC1) plays an important role in the maintenance of the genomic integrity and protection of cells from DNA damage. Sequence variation in XRCC1 gene may alter head and neck cancer (HNC) susceptibility. However, these results are inconclusive.

The effectiveness of propranolol in treating infantile haemangiomas: a meta-analysis including 35 studies.

Aims: Propranolol may have shown excellent results as a first line therapy in infantile haemangiomas (IHs) at all sites in the body, but this conclusion remains controversial. In an attempt to resolve this issue, we performed a meta-analysis.

Methods: A search of the literature using PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library databases and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) was performed to identify studies which estimated the efficacy of propranolol therapy in infants with haemangiomas all sites of the body.

The effect of TGF-β1 polymorphism on systemic sclerosis: a systematic review and pooled analysis of available literature.

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). To investigate whether TGF-β1 gene promoter polymorphisms were associated with the susceptibility of SSc, we performed a meta-analysis based on all available studies through PubMed, Elsevier Science Direct, Embase, and Chinese Biomedical, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Google Scholar with the last report up to March 15, 2013. Crude odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to estimate the strength of the association.

The risk of cancer development in systemic sclerosis: a meta-analysis.

Objectives: Systemic sclerosis is a multi-system disorder of connective tissue characterized by Raynaud's phenomenon and fibrosis of various organs. The risk of development of cancer in systemic sclerosis (SSc) has been extensively investigated with inconclusive results. To shed some light on the controversy, we conducted a meta-analysis of all published articles linking SSc to the risk of cancer development.

Association of TGF-β1 +869C/T promoter polymorphism with susceptibility to autoimmune diseases: a meta-analysis.

Many case-control studies have investigated the role of TGF-β1 gene +869C/T promoter polymorphism in autoimmune diseases, but the results are inconsistent. To clarify this point, we performed a meta-analysis based on all available studies in Pubmed, Elsevier Science Direct, Google Searching, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to estimate the strength of the association.

Association of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated antigen 4 gene polymorphism with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis.

To evaluate the association between costimulatory molecule cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) gene polymorphism and type 1 diabetes mellitus(T1DM), sixty-three published studies before December, 2011 were included. Meta-analysis was performed for each genotype in a random/fixed effect model. The combined odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was calculated to estimate the strength of the association.

Polymorphism M55V in gene encoding small ubiquitin-like modifier 4 (SUMO4) protein associates with susceptibility to type 1 (and type 2) diabetes.

Background: The association between small ubiquitin-like modifier 4 (SUMO4) gene polymorphism and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been investigated in several studies. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the association of SUMO4 gene polymorphism with T1DM and T2DM susceptibility.

Methods: A meta-analysis was performed on the published studies before August 2011.

MicroRNA-29: a potential therapeutic target for systemic sclerosis.

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic autoimmune disease of unknown cause characterized by microvasculopathy, fibroblast activation, and excessive production of collagen, causing tissue and organ damage. Effective medical treatment for SSc is lacking because the etiology and pathogenesis of SSc are not fully understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, regulatory, single-stranded, noncoding RNAs that negatively modulate gene expression by either promoting the degradation of mRNA or down-regulating the protein production by translational repression.

Matrix metalloproteinases: a review of their structure and role in systemic sclerosis.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the main enzymes involved in arterial wall extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and remodeling, whose activity has been involved in various normal and pathologic processes, such as inflammation, fibrosis. As a result, the MMPs have come to consider as both therapeutic targets and diagnostic tools for the treatment and diagnosis of autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune disease of unknown etiology characterized by an excessive over-production of collagen and other ECM, resulting in skin thickening and fibrosis of internal organs.

Association of Pro12Ala polymorphism in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma with polycystic ovary syndrome: a meta-analysis.

The association between Pro12Ala polymorphism in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been investigated in several studies, whereas results were often incompatible. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the association of Pro12Ala polymorphism in PPAR with PCOS susceptibility. A meta-analysis was performed on the published studies before November, 2011.

PADI4 polymorphisms and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis.

The objective of the study was to investigate the association between peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PADI4) polymorphism and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). An electronic searching strategy was employed to collect relevant studies on the association between PADI4 polymorphism and susceptibility to RA. The odds ratio (OR) with the 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) was used to evaluate the RA risk presented by PADI4 polymorphism.

Prognostic value of matrix metalloproteinase 9 expression in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The role of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. We performed a systematic review of the literature with meta-analysis.

Methods: Electronic databases were used to identify published studies before December 1, 2011.