Sandwich-type homogeneous chemiluminescence immunoassay based on nanoparticle toward detection of Aspergillus galactomannan antigen.

Aspergillus species continue to be an important cause of life-threatening infection in immunocompromised patients and galactomannan (GM) is a popular biomarker in the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA). Here we developed and validated an amplified luminescent proximity homogenous assay-linked immunosorbent assay (AlphaLISA) for serum and bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF) GM based on this approach. Technological processes and reaction conditions were optimized.

Downregulation of REV-ERBα is associated with the progression of lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: The nuclear receptor REV-ERBα (nuclear receptor subfamily 1, Group D member 1, NR1D1) is one of the essential components of the circadian clock which modulates cell proliferation, glucose metabolism, inflammation, and many other biological processes. Modulation of these processes are also relevant to cancer development. Previous studies have suggested that activation of REV-ERBα correlates with cancer cell senescence and death, but how REV-ERBα play roles in tumor progression require further elucidation.

The association between different hormone replacement therapy use and the incidence of lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Many peri- and postmenopausal women use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to relieve menopausal symptoms. However, the side effects of different HRT use (ever/current/former never HRT use) on lung cancer risk in women were not completely consistent. Thus, we conducted this meta-analysis to examine the connection between current, former or ever HRT use and the incidence of lung cancer among women.

Somatic mutations combined with clinical features can predict the postoperative prognosis of stage IIIA lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Prognostic factors for stage IIIA lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) are unclear. The current main treatment for stage IIIA LUAD is still controversial. Some Clinicians advocate synchronous chemoradiotherapy as the main treatment for stage IIIA LUAD.

Apolipoprotein J Attenuates Vascular Restenosis by Promoting Autophagy and Inhibiting the Proliferation and Migration of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

This research investigated the mechanism of CLU in vascular restenosis by regulating vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and migration. Firstly, rat models of balloon injury (BI) were established, followed by the assessment of the injury to the common carotid artery. The effect of CLU on the intimal hyperplasia of BI rats was measured after the intervention in CLU, in addition to the evaluation of proliferation, migration, and autophagy of VSMCs.

Artificial Intelligence-Aided Diagnosis Software to Identify Highly Suspicious Pulmonary Nodules.

Introduction: To evaluate the value of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted software in the diagnosis of lung nodules using a combination of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT).

Method: A total of 113 patients with pulmonary nodules were screened using LDCT. For nodules with the largest diameters, an HRCT local-target scanning program (combined scanning scheme) and a conventional-dose CT scanning scheme were also performed.

The protective role and mechanism of liriodendrin in rats with myocardial infarction.

Background: Liriodendrin is a therapeutic constituent of sargentgloryvine stem which is a famous Chinese traditional medicine. Previous studies have suggested liriodendrin could inhibit different pathways to treat inflammation in lung and intestinal tract. But whether it can treat myocardial infarction (MI) is unknown.

Transradial Retrograde Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Chronic Total Occlusion an Ipsilateral Septal Collateral Using a Single Guiding Catheter: A Case Report.

Background: With the development of specialized equipment and the retrograde technique, success rates for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of chronic total occlusions (CTOs) have increased from 60 to 90% in the past 10 years. Performing PCI a collateral channel from the contralateral artery, using two guiding catheters, is usually the preferred approach to retrograde CTO-PCI. In the case described in this report, only the ipsilateral septal collateral artery from the proximal occluded left anterior descending (LAD) artery was available.

Long non-coding RNA HIF1A-AS2 modulates the proliferation, migration, and phenotypic switch of aortic smooth muscle cells in aortic dissection via sponging microRNA-33b.

Aortic dissection (AD), also known as aortic dissecting aneurysm, is one of the most common and dangerous cardiovascular diseases with high morbidity and mortality. This study was aimed to investigate the functional role of long non-coding RNA Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha-antisense RNA 2 (lncRNA HIF1A-AS2) in AD. An model of AD was established by platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB)-mediated human aortic Smooth Muscle Cells (SMCs).

miR-424 inhibits apoptosis and inflammatory responses induced by sevoflurane through TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway.

Background: Side effects of sevoflurane in anterograde and retrograde memory have been widely reported. However, there is no convincing evidence that sevoflurane directly causes the development of neurotoxicity. miR-424 has the potential to regulate the neurotoxicity caused by isoflurane anesthesia, and it has a complementary sequence with the 3'UTR region of TLR4.

A comparison of drug-eluting stent and coronary artery bypass grafting in mildly to moderately ischemic heart failure.

Aims: The best revascularization strategy for patients with ischaemic heart failure (IHF) remains unclear. Current evidence and guidelines mainly focus on patients with severe ischaemic heart failure (ejection fraction [EF] < 35%). There are limited data comparing clinical outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with implantation of drug-eluting stents (DESs) in patients with mild to moderate ischaemic heart failure (EF 35-50%).

Gastroesophageal reflux disease and paraneoplastic neurological syndrome associated with long-term survival in limited stage small-cell lung cancer.

Introduction: Patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have a very poor prognosis. However, a subset of SCLC achieves long-term survival. The objective of this study was to investigate factors and pattern of long-term survival in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC) who achieved a complete response (CR) after chemoradiotherapy.

Identification of Recurrent Insertions and Deletions in Exon 18 and 19 of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 as Potential Drivers in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer and Other Cancer Types.

Purpose: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) belongs to the same family as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and is known as an important cancer driver gene. Insertions and deletions (indels) are frequent driver mutations in both EGFR and HER2. The most common HER2 indels are the exon 20 insertions within the kinase domain, while others are rarely reported.

Comparison of Risk Assessment Strategies for Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and Stable Chest Pain: A Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography Study.

Background: To compare two risk assessment strategies to identify individuals likely to benefit from further imaging testing in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and stable chest pain (SCP) suspected of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: 602 DM patients referred to coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) for SCP were included. They were divided into high- and low-risk groups according to the 2016 National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guideline-determined strategy (NICE strategy) which focused on symptom evaluation and 2019 European Society of Cardiology guideline-determined strategy (ESC strategy) which was based on pretest probability (PTP) sequentially determined by the ESC-PTP estimator and risk factor-weighted clinical likelihood (RF-CL) model, respectively.

The Potential Bioactive Components of Nine TCM Prescriptions Against COVID-19 in Lung Cancer Were Explored Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to screen active components and molecular targets of nine prescriptions recommended by the National Health Commission (NHC) of China by network pharmacology, and to explore the potential mechanism of the core active components against COVID-19 with molecular docking.

Methods: Differentially expressed genes of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) screened by edgeR analysis were overlapped with immune-related genes in MMPORT and COVID-19-related genes in GeneCards. The overlapped genes were also COVID-19 immune-related genes in LUAD.

Overexpression of abnormal spindle-like microcephaly-associated (ASPM) increases tumor aggressiveness and predicts poor outcome in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Cumulative evidence points to abnormal spindle-like microcephaly-associated (ASPM) protein being overexpressed in various cancers, and the aberrant expression of ASPM has been shown to promote cancer tumorigenicity and progression. However, its role and clinical significance in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the expression patterns of ASPM and its clinical significance in LUAD.

Improve endothelialization of metallic cardiovascular stent via femtosecond laser induced micro/nanostructure dependent cells proliferation and drug delivery control.

Regarding restenosis occurrence risk after metallic stent deployment in artery, stents with vascular smooth muscle cells antiproliferative agents sustained released from poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) coating and endothelial cells proliferation favored surface textures were both attempted for endothelialization enhancement. In order to explore the interaction between the surface texture and performance of drug loaded PLGA coating, femtosecond laser surface treatment was used to change the surface characteristics of 316L stainless steel. Two different surface patterns in form of stripe (FSL100) and isolated island-like structure (FSL800) were firstly generated by femtosecond laser processing with 100 and 800 mW energy, then Rapamycin loaded PLGA coating was further deposited to polished and femtosecond laser processed 316L surfaces via a dip-coating method.

Comparison of NICE and ESC strategy for risk assessment in women with stable chest pain: a coronary computed tomography angiography study.

Background: For women presenting with stable chest pain (SCP), the appropriate risk assessment strategy to identify individuals unlikely to benefit from further cardiovascular imaging testing (CIT) is debatable. Thus, the present study intended to compare two risk assessment strategies in these individuals.

Methods: 2592 women with SCP who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) were divided into low and high risk group according to 2016 National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guideline-determined strategy (NICE strategy) and 2019 European Society of Cardiology guideline-determined strategy (ESC strategy), respectively.

A Combined-Radiomics Approach of CT Images to Predict Response to Anti-PD-1 Immunotherapy in NSCLC: A Retrospective Multicenter Study.

Objective: Based on non-contrast-enhanced (NCE)/contrast-enhanced (CE) computed tomography (CT) images, we try to identify a combined-radiomics model and evaluate its predictive capacity regarding response to anti-PD1 immunotherapy of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: 131 patients with NSCLC undergoing anti-PD1 immunotherapy were retrospectively enrolled from 7 institutions. Using largest lesion (LL) and target lesions (TL) approaches, we performed a radiomics analysis based on pretreatment NCE-CT (NCE-radiomics) and CE-CT images (CE-radiomics), respectively.

Homocysteine promotes cardiac fibrosis by regulating the Akt/FoxO3 pathway.

Background: Evaluated plasma homocysteine (Hcy) is an independent risk factor for cardiac fibrosis which is a common feature of cardiovascular disease, although the mechanisms are still unclear. This study aims to explore the mechanism of Hcy-induced cardiac fibrosis.

Methods: The mRNA and protein levels of Forkhead box O3 (FoxO3) and differentiation markers were detected in primary cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) after 300 µM Hcy treatment.

Improved myocardial performance in infarcted rat heart by injection of disulfide-cross-linked chitosan hydrogels loaded with basic fibroblast growth factor.

Myocardial infarction (MI) has been considered as the leading cause of cardiovascular-related deaths worldwide. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a member of the fibroblast growth factor family that promotes angiogenesis after MI; however, it has poor clinical efficacy due to proteolytic degradation, low drug accumulation, and severe drug-induced side effects. In this study, an injectable disulfide-cross-linked chitosan hydrogel loaded with bFGF was prepared a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction for MI treatment.

ACE2 can act as the secondary receptor in the FcγR-dependent ADE of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

It is unknown whether antibody-mediated enhancement (ADE) contributes to the pathogenesis of COVID-19, and the conditions for ADE needs to be elucidated. We demonstrated that without inducing an ACE2-independent ADE on Raji cells, the neutralizing antibody CB6, a mouse anti-S1 serum and convalescent plasma, induced ADE on cells expressing FcγRIIA/CD32A and low levels of endogenous ACE2. ADE occurred at sub-neutralizing antibody concentrations, indicating that unneutralized S protein was required for ADE.

Expert consensus on resection of chest wall tumors and chest wall reconstruction.

Chest wall tumors are a relatively uncommon disease in clinical practice. Most of the published studies about chest wall tumors are usually single-center retrospective studies, involving few patients. Therefore, evidences regarding clinical conclusions about chest wall tumors are lacking, and some controversial issues have still to be agreed upon.