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Ischemic stroke is a cerebrovascular disease with a high morbidity and mortality rate, which poses a serious challenge to human health and life. Meanwhile, the management of ischemic stroke remains highly dependent on manual visual analysis of noncontrast computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, artifacts and noise of the equipment as well as the radiologist experience play a significant role on diagnostic accuracy. To overcome these defects, the number of computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) methods for ischemic stroke is increasing substantially during the past decade. Particularly, deep learning models with massive data learning capabilities are recognized as powerful auxiliary tools for the acute intervention and guiding prognosis of ischemic stroke. To select appropriate interventions, facilitate clinical practice, and improve the clinical outcomes of patients, this review firstly surveys the current state-of-the-art deep learning technology. Then, we summarized the major applications in acute ischemic stroke imaging, particularly in exploring the potential function of stroke diagnosis and multimodal prognostication. Finally, we sketched out the current problems and prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed at performing a systematic review and a network meta-analysis of the effects of several membranes on vertical bone regeneration and clinical complications in guided bone regeneration (GBR) or guided tissue regeneration (GTR). We compared the effects of the following membranes: high-density polytetrafluoroethylene (d-PTFE), expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE), crosslinked collagen membrane (CCM), noncrosslinked collagen membrane (CM), titanium mesh (TM), titanium mesh plus noncrosslinked (TM + CM), titanium mesh plus crosslinked (TM + CCM), titanium-reinforced d-PTFE, titanium-reinforced e-PTFE, polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and polylactic acid 910 (PLA910). Using the PICOS principles to help determine inclusion criteria, articles are collected using PubMed, Web of Science, and other databases. Assess the risk of deviation and the quality of evidence using the Cochrane Evaluation Manual, and GRADE. 27 articles were finally included. 19 articles were included in a network meta-analysis with vertical bone increment as an outcome measure. The network meta-analysis includes network diagrams, paired-comparison forest diagrams, funnel diagrams, surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) diagrams, and sensitivity analysis diagrams. SUCRA indicated that titanium-reinforced d-PTFE exhibited the highest vertical bone increment effect. Meanwhile, we analyzed the complications of 19 studies and found that soft tissue injury and membrane exposure were the most common complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyssopus cuspidatus Boriss (H. cuspidatus) is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used in the treatment of asthma. In the present study, we applied bioinformatics techniques for mRNA-miRNA profiling to elucidate the potential mechanisms of H. cuspidatus in asthma treatment. Bioactive compounds from H. cuspidatus, potential therapeutic targets of H. cuspidatus, and asthma-related targets were identified from the literature and databases. The intersection of H. cuspidatus-related targets and asthma-related targets was identified using the STRING platform. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses were performed using the Metascape platform. Networks were constructed from these nodes using Cytoscape. The results showed that 23 active compounds were identified in H. cuspidatus, sharing 122 common asthma-related targets. Moreover, 43 miRNAs regulating 19 key targets involved in the antiasthmatic effects of H. cuspidatus were identified. Further analysis of biological pathways, active compound-key target-pathway network, and active compound-key target-miRNA network indicated that the antiasthmatic effects of H. cuspidatus mainly occurred through caffeic acid, methyl rosmarinate, luteolin, esculetin, and 8-hydroxycirsimaritin. These compounds interacted with multiple miRNAs, including miR-99a, miR-498, miR-33b, and miR-18a, regulating multiple genes, including JAK, STAT3, EGFR, LYN, and IL-6, in multiple pathways, including those involved in the regulation of JAK-STAT signaling, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, PI3K-Akt signaling, and inflammation. In summary, we have elucidated the potential mechanisms of H. cuspidatus treatment of asthma from a systemic and holistic perspective through analysis of compound-mRNA-miRNA interaction. Our study should provide new insights for further research on H. cuspidatus treatment of asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a widespread inflammatory disease whose clinical manifestations are joint swelling, pain, and disability, affecting approximately 1% of individuals worldwide. Conventional anti-RA drugs currently used in clinic have severe side effects. The present study is aimed at investigating the antiarthritic effects of total saponins from Nigella glandulifera seeds (TSNGS) in rats with adjuvant-induced rheumatoid arthritis (AIA). Arthritis score, paw swelling, and body weight were monitored throughout the period of TSNGS treatment. The histopathological features and levels of cytokines, including IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-17A, and OPG/RANKL signaling, were measured to determine the amelioration by TSNGS and its potential mechanisms on the inflammatory response and bone erosion. The differentiation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in serum was assessed by flow cytometry. The results demonstrate that TSNGS at 10 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, and 250 mg/kg inhibited AIA-induced clinical score, paw swelling, and histological changes. TSNGS reduced the immune-inflammatory reaction by restoring the secretion and expression of inflammatory cytokines and elevating the proportion of CD4+ CD25+ Tregs, accompanied by an increase in transcription factor Foxp3 levels. TSNGS also displayed bone protection by upregulation of the OPG/RANKL pathway. Collectively, TSNGS inhibited arthritis in AIA rats and so represents a potential novel treatment for RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tilianin is a naturally occurring phenolic compound with a cardioprotective effect against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI). The aim of our study was to determine the potential targets and mechanism of action of tilianin against cardiac injury induced by MIRI. An in silico docking model was used in this study for binding mode analysis between tilianin and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion- (OGD/R-) injured H9c2 cardiomyocytes and ischemia/reperfusion- (I/R-) injured isolated rat hearts were developed as in vitro and ex vivo models, respectively, which were both treated with tilianin in the absence or presence of a specific CaMKII inhibitor KN93 for target verification and mechanistic exploration. Results demonstrated the ability of tilianin to facilitater the recovery of OGD/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury and the maintenance of cardiac function in I/R-injured hearts. Tilianin interacted with CaMKIIδ with an efficient binding performance, a favorable binding score, and restraining p-CaMKII and ox-CaMKII expression in cardiomyocytes injured by MIRI. Importantly, inhibition of CaMKII abolished tilianin-mediated recovery of OGD/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury and maintenance of cardiac function in I/R-injured hearts, accompanied by the disability to protect mitochondrial function. Furthermore, the protective effects of tilianin towards mitochondrion-associated proapoptotic and antiapoptotic protein counterbalance and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/nuclear factor- (NF-) κB-related inflammation suppression were both abolished after pharmacological inhibition of CaMKII. Our investigation indicated that the inhibition of CaMKII-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis and JNK/NF-κB inflammation might be considered as a pivotal mechanism used by tilianin to exert its protective effects on MIRI cardiac damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influenza pandemic is a wide-ranging threat to people's health and property all over the world. Developing effective strategies for predicting the influenza outbreak which may prevent or at least get ready for a new influenza pandemic is now a top global public health priority. Owing to the complexity of influenza outbreaks that are usually involved with spatial and temporal characteristics of both biological and social systems, however, it is a challenging task to achieve the real-time monitoring of influenza outbreaks. In this study, by exploring the rich dynamical information of the city network during influenza outbreaks, we developed a computational method, the minimum-spanning-tree-based dynamical network marker (MST-DNM), to identify the tipping point or critical stage prior to the influenza outbreak. With historical records of influenza outpatients between 2009 and 2018, the MST-DNM strategy has been validated by accurate predictions of the influenza outbreaks in three Japanese cities/regions, respectively, i.e., Tokyo, Osaka, and Hokkaido. These successful applications show that the early-warning signal was detected 4 weeks on average ahead of each influenza outbreak. The results show that our method is of considerable potential in the practice of public health surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand dynamic changes in rhizosphere microbial community in consecutive monoculture, Illumina MiSeq sequencing was performed to evaluate the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA in the rhizosphere of newly planted and three-year ratooning sugarcane and to analyze the rhizosphere bacterial communities. A total of 126,581 and 119,914 valid sequences were obtained from newly planted and ratooning sugarcane and annotated with 4445 and 4620 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), respectively. Increased bacterial community abundance was found in the rhizosphere of ratooning sugarcane when compared with the newly planted sugarcane. The dominant bacterial taxa phyla were similar in both sugarcane groups. Proteobacteria accounted for more than 40% of the total bacterial community, followed by Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria. The abundance of Actinobacteria was higher in the newly planted sugarcane, whereas the abundance of Acidobacteria was higher in the ratooning sugarcane. Our study showed that Sphingomonas, Bradyrhizobium, Bryobacter, and Gemmatimonas were dominant genera. Moreover, the richness and diversity of the rhizosphere bacterial communities slightly increased and the abundance of beneficial microbes, such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Streptacidiphilus, in ratooning sugarcane were more enriched. With the consecutive monoculture of sugarcane, the relative abundance of functional groups related to energy metabolism, glycan biosynthesis, metabolism, and transcription were overrepresented in ratooning sugarcane. These findings could provide the way for promoting the ratooning ability of sugarcane by improving the soil bacterial community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiac dysfunction is a major component of sepsis-induced multiorgan failure in critical care units. Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) involves immune response, regulation of oxidative stress, and maintenance of mitochondrial membrane potential as well as energy production. However, whether and how UCP2 plays roles in the development of septic cardiac dysfunction are largely unknown. Here, intraperitoneal injection of LPS significantly activated UCP2 expression accompanied by a significant decrease of cardiac function and caused a significantly lower survival rate in mice. Of note, knockdown of UCP2 through a cardiotropic adenoassociated viral vector carrying a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) specifically targeting the UCP2 evoked resistance to LPS-triggered septic cardiac dysfunction and lethality in vivo. Moreover, UCP2 deficiency ameliorated the reduced levels of intracellular ATP in the LPS-challenged heart tissues and preserved mitochondrial membrane potential loss in primary adult mouse cardiomyocytes in LPS-challenged animals. Mechanistically, we confirmed that the inhibition of UCP2 promoted autophagy in response to LPS, as shown by an increase in LC3II and a decrease in p62. At last, the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA abolished UCP2 knockdown-afforded cardioprotective effects. Those results indicate that UCP2 drives septic cardiac dysfunction and that the targeted induction of UCP2-mediated autophagy may have important therapeutic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. To investigate the role of Coxsackie-adenovirus receptor (CAR) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Background. CAR, a type I transmembrane protein with functions in virus attachment, has been shown to be associated with epithelial tight junctions (TJs) and mediates cell adhesion, implying its potential roles in the pathogenesis of IBD. Methods and Materials. To determine the effect of CAR in IBD using QPCR and Western blotting to determine the expression of CAD in TNF-α induced NCM460 and SW480 cells and IBD tissues compared to control groups. Furthermore, TJs dysregulation, FITC-Dextran permeability assay, qRT-PCR, Western blot, and IF assessed the permeability in CAR overexpressed cells treated with TNF-α. HE, qRT-PCR, Western blot, and IHC assay were used to assess the CAR overexpressed cells whether they have the effect to cure DSS induced ulcerative colitis rat model in vivo. Result. We found CAR levels in human colon cell lines are significantly downregulated under the treatment of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Furthermore, overexpression of CAR markedly prevented TNF-α induced inflammatory response, TJs dysregulation, and permeability disruption (FITC-Dextran permeability assay) in cells. Consistent with these findings in vitro, we found that CAR overexpression could suppress gut inflammation, attenuate the downregulation of TJ protein ZO-1 and Occludin, and limit the induction of barrier permeability in a DSS induced ulcerative colitis rat model in vivo. Together, our findings strongly suggest that CAR could protect tight junctions and has an anti-inflammatory effect during the pathogenesis of IBD. Thus CAR may serve as a therapeutic target for the diagnosis and treatment of IBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and risk factors in patients with lung cancer and COPD. Materials and Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 282 patients with lung cancer, including 174 and 108 patients with and without COPD, respectively. Information on age, sex, smoking status, and histologic type was obtained from medical records. Results. Lung cancer patients with COPD and those with the chronic bronchitis (CB) phenotype had higher smoking indices compared to those without COPD (723.95±631.48 and 920.95±712.93 versus 418.40±506.84; P=0.010; P=0.001, resp.), and current smokers accounted for significantly higher proportions of lung cancer patients with COPD and the CB phenotype versus without COPD (51.15% and 63.74% versus 35.19%; P=0.009; P=0.001, resp.). Adenocarcinoma was significantly more common in lung cancer patients without versus with COPD (48.15% versus 35.63%; P=0.037), whereas small cell lung cancer was more common in patients with COPD (23.56% versus 13.89%). Among patients with COPD, male sex (odds ratio [OR], 19.946; P<0.001), current smokers (OR: 6.588; P=0.001), and age ≥ 75 years (OR: 2.670; P=0.008) were identified as high-risk factors. Conclusion. The risk factors for COPD among lung cancer patients were age ≥ 75 years, current smokers with the CB phenotype, and male sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs, which regulate numerous cell functions by targeting mRNA for cleavage or translational repression, and have been found to play an important role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our study aimed to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in AD brain as a reference of potential therapeutic miRNAs or biomarkers for this disease. We used amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin 1 (PS1) double transgenic mice and age-matched wild-type (WT) littermates to determine the expression of miRNAs in the brain. MiRNAs were profiled by microarray, and differentially expressed miRNAs underwent target prediction and enrichment analysis. Microarray analysis revealed 56 differentially expressed miRNAs in AD mouse brain, which involved 39 miRNAs that were significantly upregulated and 19 that were downregulated at different ages. Among those miRNAs, a total of 11 miRNAs, including miR-342-3p, miR-342-5p, miR-376c-3p, and miR-301b-3p, were not only conserved in human but also predicted to have targets and signaling pathways closely related to the pathology of AD. In conclusion, in this study, differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in AD brain and proposed as biomarkers, which may have the potential to indicate AD progression. Despite being preliminary, these results may aid in investigating pathological hallmarks and identify effective therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xyr1 has been demonstrated to be the main transcription activator of (hemi)cellulases in the well-known cellulase producer Trichoderma reesei. This study comprehensively investigates the genes regulated by Xyr1 through RNA sequencing to produce the transcription profiles of T. reesei Rut-C30 and its xyr1 deletion mutant (Δxyr1), cultured on lignocellulose or glucose. xyr1 deletion resulted in 467 differentially expressed genes on inducing medium. Almost all functional genes involved in (hemi)cellulose degradation and many transporters belonging to the sugar porter family in the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) were downregulated in Δxyr1. By contrast, all differentially expressed protease, lipase, chitinase, some ATP-binding cassette transporters, and heat shock protein-encoding genes were upregulated in Δxyr1. When cultured on glucose, a total of 281 genes were expressed differentially in Δxyr1, most of which were involved in energy, solute transport, lipid, amino acid, and monosaccharide as well as secondary metabolism. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays confirmed that the intracellular β-glucosidase bgl2, the putative nonenzymatic cellulose-attacking gene cip1, the MFS lactose transporter lp, the nmrA-like gene, endo T, the acid protease pepA, and the small heat shock protein hsp23 were probable Xyr1-targets. These results might help elucidate the regulation system for synthesis and secretion of (hemi)cellulases in T. reesei Rut-C30. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared the Austin Moore hemiarthroplasty versus cemented hemiarthroplasties using a propensity score matched cased control study. For a consecutive cohort of 450 patients with displaced intracapsular neck of femur fractures, 128 matched cases in each group were selected based on age, gender, walking status, nursing home residency, delays in surgery, ASA score, and the Charlson comorbidity score. At a mean follow-up of 16.3 months, we evaluated their outcomes. Significantly more patients with AMA experienced thigh pain (RR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.67–7.33,  p=0.000), overall complications (RR = 4.47, 95% CI: 1.77–11.3, p=0.000), and implant loosening (RR = 8.42, 95% CI: 2.63–26.95, p=0.000). There were no definite cement related deaths in this series. There was no significant difference in mortality, walking status, and the number of revisions between the groups. We support the routine use of cemented hemiarthroplasty instead of the Austin Moore for treating elderlies with displaced intracapsular neck of femur fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To validate the ability of 99mTc-Annexin V to visualize early stage of glucocorticoid-induced femoral head necrosis by comparing with 99mTc-MDP bone scanning. Methods. Femoral head necrosis was induced in adult New Zealand white rabbits by intramuscular injection of methylprednisolone. 99mTc-Annexin scintigraphy and 99mTc-MDP scans were performed before and 5, 6, and 8 weeks after methylprednisolone administration. Rabbits were sacrificed at various time points and conducted for TUNEL and H&E staining. Results. All methylprednisolone treated animals developed femoral head necrosis; at 8 weeks postinjection, destruction of bone structure was evident in H&E staining, and apoptosis was confirmed by the TUNEL assay. This was matched by 99mTc-Annexin V images, which showed a significant increase in signal over baseline. Serial 99mTc-Annexin V scans revealed that increased 99mTc-Annexin V uptake could be observed in 5 weeks. In contrast, there was no effect on 99mTc-MDP signal until 8 weeks. The TUNEL assay revealed that bone cell apoptosis occurred at 5 weeks. Conclusion. 99mTc-Annexin V is superior to 99mTc-MDP for the early detection of glucocorticoid-induced femoral head necrosis in the rabbit and may be a better strategy for the early detection of glucocorticoid-induced femoral head necrosis in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We systematically identified the prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout in mainland China and provided informative data that can be used to create appropriate local public health policies. Relevant articles from 2000 to 2014 were identified by searching 5 electronic databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Chinese Wanfang, CNKI, and Chongqing VIP. All of the calculations were performed using the Stata 11.0 and SPSS 20.0 software. The eligible articles (n=36; 3 in English and 33 in Chinese) included 44 studies (38 regarding hyperuricemia and 6 regarding gout). The pooled prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout was 13.3% (95% CI: 11.9%, 14.6%) and 1.1% (95% CI: 0.7%, 1.5%), respectively. Although publication bias was observed, the results did not change after a trim and fill test, indicating that that impact of this bias was likely insignificant. The prevalence of hyperuricemia and gout was high in mainland China. The subgroup analysis suggested that the geographical region, whether the residents dwell in urban or rural and coastal or inland areas, the economic level, and sex may be associated with prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]