Identification of three potential novel biomarkers for early diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke via plasma lipidomics.

Introduction: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) accounts for the majority of all stroke, globally the second leading cause of death. Due to its rapid development after onset, its early diagnosis is crucial.

Objectives: We aim to identify potential highly reliable blood-based biomarkers for early diagnosis of AIS using quantitative plasma lipid profiling via a machine learning approach.

Development and evaluation of machine learning models and nomogram for the prediction of severe acute pancreatitis.

Background And Aim: Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in patients progresses rapidly and can cause multiple organ failures associated with high mortality. We aimed to train a machine learning (ML) model and establish a nomogram that could identify SAP, early in the course of acute pancreatitis (AP).

Methods: In this retrospective study, 631 patients with AP were enrolled in the training cohort.

Hypoxia and TNF-α Synergistically Induce Expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in Human Fibroblast-like Synoviocytes via Enhancing TAK1/NF-κB/HIF-1α Signaling.

Hypoxia and increased levels of inflammatory cytokines in the joints are characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the effects of hypoxia and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 production on fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) remain to be clarified. This study aimed to explore how hypoxia and TNF-α affect the expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in human FLSs isolated from RA patients.

Residual Structure Accelerates Binding of Intrinsically Disordered ACTR by Promoting Efficient Folding upon Encounter.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) often fold into stable structures upon specific binding. The roles of residual structure of unbound IDPs in coupling binding and folding have been under much debate. While many studies emphasize the importance of conformational flexibility for IDP recognition, it was recently demonstrated that stabilization the N-terminal helix of intrinsically disordered ACTR accelerated its binding to another IDP, NCBD of the CREB-binding protein.

Atomistic Peptide Folding Simulations Reveal Interplay of Entropy and Long-Range Interactions in Folding Cooperativity.

Understanding how proteins fold has remained a problem of great interest in biophysical research. Atomistic computer simulations using physics-based force fields can provide important insights on the interplay of different interactions and energetics and their roles in governing the folding thermodynamics and mechanism. In particular, generalized Born (GB)-based implicit solvent force fields can be optimized to provide an appropriate balance between solvation and intramolecular interactions and successfully recapitulate experimental conformational equilibria for a set of helical and β-hairpin peptides.

Single-allergen sublingual immunotherapy versus multi-allergen subcutaneous immunotherapy for children with allergic rhinitis.

It has always been controversial whether a single allergen performs better than multiple allergens in polysensitized patients during the allergen-specific immunotherapy. This study aimed to examine the clinical efficacy of single-allergen sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) versus multi-allergen subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and to discover the change of the biomarker IL-4 after 1-year immunotherapy in polysensitized children aged 6-13 years with allergic rhinitis (AR) induced by house dust mites (HDMs). The AR polysensitized children (n=78) were randomly divided into two groups: SLIT group and SCIT group.

B-myb is a gene implicated in cell cycle and proliferation of breast cancer.

B-myb belongs to the myb family of transcription factors that include A-myb and c-myb. While A-myb and c-myb are tissue-specific, B-myb is broadly expressed in rapidly dividing cells of developing adult mammals. Results of our study showed that increased B-myb expression of was associated with the progression of breast cancer and that B-myb protein levels were significantly elevated in matched metastases.

Primary microcephaly gene MCPH1 shows a novel molecular biomarker of human renal carcinoma and is regulated by miR-27a.

Microcephalin 1 (MCPH1) gene, initially identified as an hTERT repressor, result in two autosomal recessive disorders: primary microcephaly and premature chromosome condensation syndrome. Recently, several studies have found that MCPH1 has also been shown to be downregulated in several different types of human cancers, suggesting that it could also function as a tumor suppressor gene and a novel molecular biomarker of human cancers. To investigate its potential role in the human renal carcinoma progression, we evaluated the expression of protein MCPH1 in 188 renal cancer and 20 normal renal tissues from 188 patients with renal cancer and 20 healthy persons by immunohistochemistry.

RNAi-mediated silencing of the Skp-2 gene causes inhibition of growth and induction of apoptosis in human renal carcinoma cells.

Renal cancer ranks one of the most frequent causes of cancer death in the world. S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (SKP 2) is overexpressed in human tumors and has prognostic value in many cancers including renal cancer, indicating its potential as a therapeutic target. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of Skp-2 in renal cancer using the technique of RNA silencing via short hairpin RNA (shRNA).

Investigation of toxin gene diversity and antimicrobial resistance of strains.

The incidence of infection (CDI) has been previously reported in a number of studies. However, data collected from the Chinese population is limited. In the present study, the diversity of the toxin genes, and of 57 () isolates from a Chinese population were investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (38 AB, 14 AB and 5 AB).

MEKK3 and survivin expression in cervical cancer: association with clinicopathological factors and prognosis.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase 3 (MEKK3) is an important protein kinase and a member of the MAPK family, which regulates cellular responses to environmental stress and serves as key integration points along the signal transduction cascade that not only link diverse extracellular stimuli to subsequent signaling molecules but also amplify the initiating signals to ultimately activate effector molecules and induce cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. To explore the relationship between MEKK3 and cell apoptosis, clinicopathology and prognosis, we characterize the expression of MEKK3 and survivin in cervical cancer. MEKK3 and survivin expression was measured by RT-PCR and Western blotting of fresh surgical resections from 30 cases of cervical cancer and 25 cases of chronic cervicitis.

Imbalance between MMP-2, 9 and TIMP-1 promote the invasion and metastasis of renal cell carcinoma via SKP2 signaling pathways.

S-phase kinase-associated protein-2 (Skp2) is overexpressed in human cancers and acted as an oncogenic protein associated with poor prognosis by enhancing tumor metastasis. The present study has demonstrated that Skp2 overexpresses stable transfectants from 786-0 human renal cancer cells. We found that these stable transfectants exhibited increased migratory and invasive abilities.

Expression and function analysis of mitotic checkpoint genes identifies TTK as a potential therapeutic target for human hepatocellular carcinoma.

The mitotic spindle checkpoint (SAC) genes have been considered targets of anticancer therapies. Here, we sought to identify the attractive mitotic spindle checkpoint genes appropriate for human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapies. Through expression profile analysis of 137 selected mitotic spindle checkpoint genes in the publicly available microarray datasets, we showed that 13 genes were dramatically up-regulated in HCC tissues compared to normal livers and adjacent non-tumor tissues.

Inhibition of KAP1 enhances hypoxia-induced Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus reactivation through RBP-Jκ.

Unlabelled: Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) has been frequently implicated in many cancers as well as viral pathogenesis. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is linked to several human malignancies. It can stabilize HIF-1α during latent infection and undergoes lytic replication in response to hypoxic stress.

The expression and clinical significance of matrix metalloproteinase 7 and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases 2 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most common malignant neoplasms in the urinary system, and has a high frequency of local invasion and distant metastasis. This study assessed the expression and clinical significance of matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP-2) in human clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) by tissue microarray, immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR analysis. The expression of MMP-7 in CCRCC tissues was significantly higher compared with that in the control group (CG) and TIMP-2 expression in CCRCC, by contrast, was lower compared with that in the CG.

Genome sequence of the human-pathogenic bacterium Vibrio vulnificus type strain ATCC 27562.

Vibrio vulnificus, which is, like Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a pathogen of humankind, is a Gram-negative, curved, motile, and rod-shaped bacterium [corrected] Here, we present the draft genome sequence of the type strain, ATCC 27562, which was the first isolated Vibrio vulnificus strain.

Epidemiology and resistance mechanisms to imipenem in Klebsiella pneumoniae: a multicenter study.

Four clinical isolates of imipenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated from clinical patient specimens and from samples obtained from hygienic surveillance in our hospital. We examined their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to various types of antibiotics, detected the carbapenemases by a modified Hodge test and analyzed the genotype and homogeneity. The enzyme, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-2, was detected in all four isolates and this was the main cause of their imipenem resistance.

[Relationship between neurogenic urination and psychological status in school children].

Objective: To study whether anxiety and depression are associated with the development of neurogenic urination in children.

Methods: A total of 136 9 to 12-year-old children with neurogenic urination (case group) and 136 age-matched healthy children (control group) were enrolled. The Screen for Children Anxiety Related Emotion Disorders (SCARED) and Depression Self-rating Scale for Children (DSRSC) were used to evaluate the psychological status.

Expression of survivin, caspase-3 and p53 in cervical cancer assessed by tissue microarray: correlation with clinicopathology and prognosis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the role of survivin, caspase-3 and p53 expression in cervical cancer, and their correlation with clinicopathological features and prognosis.

Methods: Two hundred and twenty-eight cases of cervical disease were analyzed retrospectively between February 2003 and May 2007 at Taizhou Hospital of Taizhou Enze Medical Center. The expressions of survivin, caspase-3 and p53 were detected by immunohistochemistry (EnVision), assessed by tissue microarray.

Primary gastric plasmacytoma associated with Helicobacter pylori infection: a report of two cases with different prognosis.

We describe two cases of primary gastric plasmacytoma (GP) associated with Helicobacter pylori infection. Case 1 was that of a 58-year-old man with epigastric pain. H.

Sarcomatoid thymic carcinoma arising in metaplastic thymoma: a case report.

Metaplastic thymoma is an extremely rare tumor. To date, only 17 cases of metaplastic thymoma have been reported. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the second reported case of a sarcomatoid carcinoma arising in metaplastic thymoma; the carcinoma in this case is larger than that in the previous case.