Associations between serum uric acid and breast cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Serum uric acid (SUA) may be involved in the development of cancer by inhibiting oxidative stress, but its relationship with breast cancer remains unclear.

Materials And Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched systematically for studies on SUA levels in women with breast cancer and the effect of SUA levels on the risk of breast cancer. The Newcastle‒Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of all relevant studies included.

Distinct compositions and functions of circulating microbial DNA in the peripheral blood compared to fecal microbial DNA in healthy individuals.

The crucial function of circulating microbial DNA (cmDNA) in peripheral blood is gaining recognition because of its importance in normal physiology and immunity in healthy individuals. Evidence suggests that cmDNA in peripheral blood is derived from highly abundant, translocating gut microbes. However, the associations with and differences between cmDNA in peripheral blood and the gut microbiome remain unclear.

Role of CITED2 in stem cells and cancer.

Cbp/P300 interacting transactivator with Glu/Asp-rich carboxy-terminal domain 2 (CITED2) is a transcription co-factor that interacts with several other transcription factors and co-factors, and serves critical roles in fundamental cell processes, including proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, migration and autophagy. The interacting transcription factors or co-factors of CITED2 include LIM homeobox 2, transcription factor AP-2, SMAD2/3, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, oestrogen receptor, MYC, Nucleolin and p300/CBP, which regulate downstream gene expression, and serve important roles in the aforementioned fundamental cell processes. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that CITED2 serves an essential role in embryonic and adult tissue stem cells, including hematopoietic stem cells and tendon-derived stem/progenitor cells.

Therapeutic applications of lytic phages in human medicine.

The emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria constitute a critical issue for modern medicine. Patients with antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections consume more healthcare resources and have worse clinical outcomes than patients with antibiotic-sensitive bacterial infections. Phages are natural predators of bacteria and may therefore be a source of useful antibacterial drugs.

Development and verification of a discriminate algorithm for diagnosing post-neurosurgical bacterial meningitis-A multicenter observational study.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-based routine clinical examinations for post-neurosurgical bacterial meningitis (PNBM) in multicenter post-neurosurgical patients.

Methods: The diagnostic accuracies of routine examinations to distinguish between PNBM and post-neurosurgical aseptic meningitis (PNAM) were evaluated by determining the values of the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve in a retrospective analysis of post-neurosurgical patients in four centers.

Results: An algorithm was constructed using the logistic analysis as a classical method to maximize the capacity for differentiating the two classes by integrating the measurements of five variables.

Monitoring the course of Brucella infection with qPCR-based detection.

Objectives: To determine blood Brucella DNA loads between brucellosis patients and those without brucellosis.

Methods: The patient group included 350 brucellosis patients. The control was composed of 200 subjects without brucellosis.

Atractylodin ameliorates lipopolysaccharide and d-galactosamine-induced acute liver failure via the suppression of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Atractylodin (ACD) possesses versatile biological and pharmacological activities, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective properties. However, the protective effects of ACD on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and d-galactosamine (GalN)-induced acute liver failure (ALF) as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, our findings showed that ACD treatment could reduce the high lethality rate; decrease the serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and ameliorate the pathological hepatic damage of ALF.

In vitro and in vivo antifungal activities and mechanism of heteropolytungstates against Candida species.

The antifungal activities of heteropolytungstates, α-1,2,3-KH[SiWVO] (SiW-3), K[Ce(SiWO)]·17HO (SiW-5), K[Eu(SiWO)]·25HO (SiW-10), KPVWO (PW-6), α-KPVWO (PW-8), were screened in 29 Candida albicans, 8 Candida glabrata, 3 Candida krusei, 2 Candida parapsilosis, 1 Candida tropicalis, and 1 Cryptococcus neoformans strains using the CLSI M27-A3 method. SiW-5 had the highest efficacy with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of <0.2-10.