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Background: ATP-Binding Cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) is a semi-transport protein that plays a key role in human diseases, including bladder cancer and lung cancer, and maybe resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Objective: The present study aimed to determine the role and underlying mechanisms of breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2) in breast cancer and to study the reversal effect of inhibiting ABCG2 expression on the drug resistance of breast cancer cells and provide new ideas for gene-targeted therapy of breast cancer. Methods: The structure and genomic alterations of ABCG2 were systematically investigated using GeneCards and cBioPortal to reveal the genetic alterations (including amplification and deep deletions) of ABCG2. We performed the correlation between ABCG2 expression and clinicopathological parameters using the data in bc-GenExMiner 4.4. Then, the protein-protein interaction and functional enrichment analysis of ABCG2 were performed based on the STRING, bc-GenExMiner 4.4, and Enrichr databases. Besides, we analyzed the pathway activity of genes that interact with ABCG2 using GSCALite and PharmGKB. Using magnetic nanoparticles polyMAG as the carrier of ABCG2-siRNA, polyMAG-ABCG2-siRNA was transfected into the Doxorubicin (DOX)-resistant breast cancer cell line MCF-7/ADR and directly into the tumors in nude mice. Patent US20150328485 points out that magnetic nanoparticles can be attached to an anti-cancer drug, such as an antibody-based anti-cancer drug. Results: We found a statistically significant correlation between ABCG2 expression and clinicopathological parameters, such as Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), and nodal status in breast cancer patients. ABCG2 is closely related to SLC2A9, KIT, ABCG1, and MRPS7, which suggests that these proteins may be functional partners of breast cancer. The expression of ABCG2 is correlated with the activation or inhibition of multiple oncogenic pathways. Moreover, we found that ABCG2 is involved in the DOX signaling pathway. The small interfering RNA (siRNA) carried by magnetic nanoparticles can reduce the expression of ABCG2, thereby significantly improving the therapeutic effect of DOX on tumors. Conclusion: Our findings provide a more in-depth understanding of ABCG2 as a biomarker for predicting DOX-resistance and insights into the development of related therapeutic targets in breast cancer.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been extensively investigated for decades for tumor treatment because of its non-invasiveness, spatiotemporal selectivity, lower side-effects, and immune activation ability. It can be a promising treatment modality in several medical fields, including oncology, immunology, urology, dermatology, ophthalmology, cardiology, pneumology, and dentistry. Nevertheless, the clinical application of PDT is largely restricted by the drawbacks of traditional photosensitizers, limited tissue penetrability of light, inefficient induction of tumor cell death, tumor resistance to the therapy, and the severe pain induced by the therapy. Recently, various photosensitizer formulations and therapy strategies have been developed to overcome these barriers. Significantly, the introduction of nanomaterials in PDT, as carriers or photosensitizers, may overcome the drawbacks of traditional photosensitizers. Based on this, nanocomposites excited by various light sources are applied in the PDT of deep-seated tumors. Modulation of cell death pathways with co-delivered reagents promotes PDT induced tumor cell death. Relief of tumor resistance to PDT with combined therapy strategies further promotes tumor inhibition. Also, the optimization of photosensitizer formulations and therapy procedures reduces pain in PDT. Here, a systematic summary of recent advances in the fabrication of photosensitizers and the design of therapy strategies to overcome barriers in PDT is presented. Several aspects important for the clinical application of PDT in cancer treatment are also discussed.

In recent years, nanomaterials and nanotechnology have emerged as vital factors in the medical field with a unique contribution to cancer medicine. Given the increasing number of cancer patients, it is necessarily required to develop innovative strategies and therapeutic modalities to tackle hypoxia, which forms a hallmark and great barrier in treating solid tumors. The present review details the challenges in nanotechnology-based hypoxia, targeting the strategies and solutions for better therapeutic performances. The interaction between hypoxia and tumor is firstly introduced. Then, we review the recently developed engineered nanomaterials towards multimodal hypoxia tumor therapies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and sonodynamic treatment. In the next part, we summarize the nanotechnology-based strategies for overcoming hypoxia problems. Finally, current challenges and future directions are proposed for successfully overcoming the hypoxia tumor problems.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of family history of diabetes (FHD) on blood glucose, lipid levels and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: A total of 1265 GDM women who gave childbirth in Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine during January to December 2019 were enrolled in the study, including 253 women with FHD and 1012 women without FHD. The t-test or χ (2) test were used to compare the blood lipid, blood glucose levels and perinatal outcomes including large for gestational age infant, small for gestational age infant, macrosomia, cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, preterm labor, postpartum hemorrhage, fetal distress. The correlation between FHD and perinatal outcomes were estimated by Logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The high density lipoprotein level at third-trimester was significantly lower in GDM women with FHD ( P

Purpose Lung cancer is one of the most life-threatening cancer worldwide with poor prognosis attributed to the lack of early diagnosis and proper therapy. The estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα) is a multifunctional protein not limited to bind ligands and has been reported to be associated with numerous cancers. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of ERRα in lung cancer and to provide a novel perspective for lung cancer early diagnosis, targeted therapy, and prognosis assessment. Methods The correlation between ERRα mRNA expression and survival time of the online clinical data about lung cancer was analyzed by using Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter. A mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) was constructed to detect the expression level of ERRα in tumor tissues. ERRα-knockdown LUAD cells were generated and the impacts of ERRα on cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis were further analyzed. Cancerous and paracancerous tissues were collected to semi-quantitative the levels of ERRα in LUAD clinical samples (n=88), combined with clinical information for prognostic analysis. Results The KM plotter analysis suggested that ERRα is correlated with poor prognosis in LUAD (n=720) rather than in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) (n=524). ERRα is also upregulated in tumor tissues obtained from LUAD model mice. Quantitative analysis suggested an abnormal elevation of ERRα in LUAD cells rather than in LSCC cells. The results demonstrated that downregulation of ERRα impairs proliferation, invasion and migration abilities (P

Accumulating evidences indicate that transforming acidic coiled-coil 3 (TACC3) is a tumor-related gene, was highly expressed in a variety of human cancers, which is involved in cancer development. However, the potential role of TACC3 in breast cancer remains largely unknown. In the present study, we found that TACC3 was highly-expressed in breast cancer tissues, and its level was positively correlated with the clinical features of breast cancer patients. Specifically, TACC3 expression was significantly associated with the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, nodal status, the scarff-bloom-richardson (SBR) grade, nottingham prognostic index (NPI), age, subtypes, and triple-negative and basal-like status, suggesting that TACC3 may be a potential diagnostic indicator of breast cancer. Furthermore, functional studies have shown that inhibition of TACC3 can significantly promote the cell proliferation and viability of breast cancer cells. Moreover, TACC3 knockdown suppressed the expression of E-cadherin, but increased the expression of N-cadherin, Snail, ZEB1, and TWIST, which indicate that TACC3 may impact the migration of breast cancer cells in vitro. Taken together, these findings indicate that TACC3 may serve as a prognostic and therapeutic indicator of breast cancer.

Background Accumulating evidences indicate that the signal peptide-CUB-EGF-like domain-containing protein 3 (SCUBE3) plays a key role in the development and progression of many human cancers. However, the underlying mechanism and prognosis value of SCUBE3 in breast cancer are still unclear. Methods The clinical data of 137 patients with breast cancer who underwent surgical resection in Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province were retrospectively analyzed. We first conducted a comprehensive study on the expression pattern of SCUBE3 using the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and UALCAN databases. In addition, the expression of SCUBE3 in breast tumor tissues was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The protein–protein interaction analysis and functional enrichment analysis of SCUBE3 were analyzed using the STRING and Enrichr databases. Moreover, tissue microarray (TMA) was used to analyze the relationship between SCUBE3 expression levels and clinical-pathological parameters, such as histological type, grade, the status of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2). We further supplemented and identified the above results using the UALCAN and bc-GenExMiner v4.4 databases from TCGA data. The correlation between the expression of SCUBE3 and survival was calculated by multivariate Cox regression analysis to investigate whether SCUBE3 expression may be an independent prognostic factor of breast cancer. Results We found that the expression level of SCUBE3 was significantly upregulated in breast cancer tissue compared with adjacent normal tissues. The results showed that the distribution of breast cancer patients in the high expression group and the low expression group was significantly different in ER, PR, HER2, E-cadherin, and survival state (p 0.05). In addition, the high expression of SCUBE3 was associated with relatively poor prognosis of ER- (p = 0.012), PR- (p = 0.029), HER2 + (p = 0.007). The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the hazard ratio (HR) was 2.80 (95% CI 1.20–6.51, p = 0.0168) in individuals with high SCUBE3 expression, and HR was increased by 1.86 (95% CI 1.06–3.25, p = 0.0300) for per 1-point increase of SCUBE3 expression. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that the high expression of SCUBE3 indicates poor prognosis in breast cancer. SCUBE3 expression may serve as a potential diagnostic indicator of breast cancer.

Ammonia electro-oxidation is an extremely significant reaction with regards to the nitrogen cycle, hydrogen economy, and wastewater remediation. The design of efficient electrocatalysts for use in the ammonia electro-oxidation reaction (AOR) requires comprehensive understanding of the mechanism and intermediates involved. In this study, aggregation-induced emission (AIE), a robust fluorescence sensing platform, is employed for the sensitive and qualitative detection of hydrazine (N

Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Surgery is a common intervention for most primary solid tumors; however, surgical trauma-related systemic inflammation facilitates distant tumor metastasis by increasing the spread and adhesion of tumor cells to vascular endothelial cells. Currently, there are no effective interventions to prevent distant metastasis. Here, we show that HECTD3 deficiency in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) significantly reduces tumor metastasis in tumor resection metastasis, LPS-induced metastasis and MMTV-Neu metastasis models. HECTD3 depletion downregulates expression of adhesion molecules, such as VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin, in mouse primary ECs and in human primary umbilical vein ECs stimulated by inflammatory factors and inhibits adhesion of tumor cells to ECs both in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate that HECTD3 promotes stabilization and kinase activity of IKKα by ubiquitinating IKKα with K27- and K63-linked polyubiquitin chains at K296, increasing phosphorylation of histone H3 at Ser10 to promote NF-κB target gene transcription. IKKα kinase inhibitors prevented LPS-induced pulmonary metastasis. These findings reveal the promotional role of the HECTD3-IKKα axis in tumor hematogenous metastasis and provide a potential strategy for tumor metastasis prevention.

To realize the multi-targets detection, tracking and identification by the dissimilar sensors fusion in the air early-warning and surveillance system, the multi-targets joint detection, tracking and recognition strategy based on the random finite set model for the dissimilar sensors fusion is studied. Through the unified description of the target’s kinematics state and target recognition attribute state, the multi-targets state is modeled as a global state described by a random finite set. By analyzing the kinematic sensor and attribute sensor models, the various sensors are modeled as a global sensor, and then each dissimilar sensor measurement is modeled as a global measurement described by a random finite set. According to the global state and the global measurement model, the process of multi-targets joint detection, tracking and recognition by dissimilar sensors fusion is described as a Bayesian filtering process, and the corresponding strategy of multi-targets joint detection, tracking and recognition has been proposed. Simulated experiment is given to prove the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related death, for which the majority of deaths result from metastases. Von Willebrand factor C and EGF domain (VWCE) is a member of the Von Willebrand factor (VWF) gene family; however, its function, regulatory mechanism, and clinical value in breast cancer remain unclear. In the present study, we sought to elucidate the role of VWCE in breast cancer metastasis. We examined the expression of VWCE in breast cancer tissues and normal control tissues of 50 breast cancer patients. We found that VWCE expression was downregulated in breast cancer cells and tissues compared to normal breast epithelial cells or the adjacent normal tissues. To explore the role of VWCE in human breast cancer development, we introduced a VWCE-overexpressing or control lentiviral vector into the breast cancer MDA-MB-453 and MDA-MB-231 lines in vitro. The overexpression of VWCE inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and chemoresistance of the breast cancer cell lines. More importantly, the forced expression of VWCE suppressed tumor formation and metastasis in nude mice. iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis revealed that VWCE overexpression induced a 10-fold decrease in the level of WD-repeat domain 1 (WDR1) protein expression. Rescue experiments further verified that WDR1 was a downstream molecule of VWCE, and WDR1 overexpression reversed the above effects of VWCE overexpression on tumor growth. Therefore, VWCE may represent a novel tumor suppressor, for which its deregulation promotes breast cancer progression via the upregulation of WDR1.

Here, we describe a combination strategy of black phosphorus (BP)-based photothermal therapy together with anti-CD47 antibody (aCD47)-based immunotherapy to synergistically enhance cancer treatment. Tumour resistance to immune checkpoint blockades in most cancers due to immune escape from host surveillance, along with the initiation of metastasis through immunosuppressive cells in the tumour microenvironment, remains a significant challenge for cancer immunotherapy. aCD47, an agent for CD47/SIRPα axis blockade, induces modest phagocytic activity and a low response rate for monotherapy, resulting in failures in clinical trials. We showed that BP-mediated ablation of tumours through photothermal effects could serve as an effective strategy for specific immunological stimulation, improving the inherently poor immunogenicity of tumours, which is particularly useful for enhancing cancer immunotherapy. BP in combination with aCD47 blockade activates both innate and adaptive immunities and promotes local and systemic anticancer immune responses, thus offering a synergistically enhanced effect in suppression of tumour progression and in inducing abscopal effects for inhibition of metastatic cancers. Our combination strategy provides a promising platform in which photothermal agents could help to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of immunotherapy., Immunotherapy: enhancing the therapeutic effectiveness of photothermal cancer treatments By combining photothermal therapy and immunotherapy, scientists have improved cancer treatments. In cancer immunotherapy, the body’s immune system is artificially boosted to fight cancer. Some cancers, however, can protect themselves from immunotherapies by stimulating immune checkpoint targets, which regulate the immune system and prevent it from attacking non-cancerous cells. Checkpoint blockade immunotherapy helps the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. However, it is ineffective in treating patients suffering from most solid tumour cancers like melanomas. Now, a team of scientists, led by Paras Prasad from the State University of New York, have used a combination of black phosphorus-based photothermal therapy and antibody immunotherapy to enhance the therapeutic efficiency of the treatment. By exerting a synergistically enhanced antitumor effect, the technique has proved effective in suppressing the proliferation and growth of cancer cells.

BackgroundThe 2019-nCoV epidemic is the public health emergency that has had the greatest impact on the world. Our study aimed to better understand the underlying mechanisms and function of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor of 2019-nCoV on lung adenocarcinoma patients (LUAD), and provide a theoretical basis for early diagnosis, prognosis and targeted therapy of 2019-nCoV. MethodsThis study focuses on the expression level, functions, mutation rate, and copy number variations (CNVs) of ACE2 in LUAD using an extensive bioinformatics data mining process. The interaction between ACE2 expression and clinical-pathological parameters of patients with LUAD was investigated using UALCAN. Also, the essential biological features, single nucleotide variations (SNVs), CNVs, and pathway activities of genes interacting with ACE2 in these cancers were further analyzed. ResultsWe found that ACE2 expression in LUAD patients increased with age, but it was not related to cancer status, patient’s race, patient’s gender, or patient’s smoking habits. Moreover, our results showed that compared to that in normal tissues, ACE2 was highly expressed in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP), pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), rectum adenocarcinoma (READ), and stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD). However, there is no significant difference in the expression of ACE2 in patients of different ages. ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate the importance of ACE2 in LUAD, and provide insights into the regulatory mechanisms and function of ACE2.

Optical techniques using developed laser and optical devices have made a profound impact on modern medicine, with "biomedical optics" becoming an emerging field. Sophisticated technologies have been developed in cancer nanomedicine, such as photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy, among others. However, single-mode phototherapy cannot completely treat persistent tumors, with the challenges of relapse or metastasis remaining; therefore, combinatorial strategies are being developed. In this review, the role of light in cancer therapy and the challenges of phototherapy are discussed. The development of combinatorial strategies with other therapeutic methods, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, and radiotherapy, is presented and future directions are further discussed. This review aims to highlight the significance of light in cancer therapy and discuss the combinatorial strategies that show promise in addressing the challenges of phototherapy.

Background: Sirtuin 7 (SIRT7), a protein-coding gene whose abnormal expression and function are associated with carcinogenesis. However, the prognosis of SIRT7 in different breast cancer subtypes and its correlation with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes remain unclear. Methods: The expression and survival data of SIRT7 in patients with breast cancer were analyzed using Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER), Gene Expression Profiling Interaction Analysis (GEPIA), The Human Protein Atlas (HPA), UALCAN, Breast Cancer Gene-Expression Miner (BC-GenExMiner), and Kaplan-Meier plotter databases. Also, the expression correlations between SIRT7 and immune infiltration gene markers were analyzed using TIMER and further verified the results using immunohistochemistry. Results: SIRT7 exhibited higher expression levels in breast cancer tissues than the adjacent normal tissues. SIRT7 expression was significantly correlated with sample type, subclass, cancer stage, menopause status, age, nodal status, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and triple-negative status. High SIRT7 expression was associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer-luminal A [overall survival (OS): hazard ratio (HR) = 1.54, p = 1.70e-02; distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS): HR = 1.56, p = 2.60e-03]. Moreover, the expression of SIRT7 was positively correlated with the expression of IRF5 (M1 macrophages marker, r = 0.165, p = 1.13e-04) and PD1 (T cell exhaustion marker, r = 0.134, p = 1.74e-03). These results suggested that the expression of SIRT7 was related to M1 macrophages and T cell exhaustion infiltration in breast cancer-luminal. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that the high expression of SIRT7 indicates poor prognosis in breast cancer as well as increased immune infiltration levels of M1 macrophages and T cell exhaustion in breast cancer-luminal. Thus, SIRT7 may serve as a candidate prognostic biomarker for determining prognosis associated with immune infiltration in breast cancer-luminal.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have unhealthy bodyweight. This meta-analysis was performed to understand the weight status in individuals with ASD or ADHD. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and ISI Web of Science databases were searched from inception until June 2020 to identify relevant studies. Prevalence estimates and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of obesity, overweight and underweight were separately pooled using random-effects models. A total of 95 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimates of the prevalence of obesity, overweight and underweight were 21.8%, 19.8% and 6.4% in individuals with ASD and 14.7%, 20.9% and 4.0% in individuals with ADHD. In subgroup analyses, an increasing trend in the prevalence of unhealthy weight was observed from children aged 2 to 5 years to adults with ASD (obesity: from 16.7% to 31.3%, overweight: from 16.2% to 27.2%, underweight from 5.3% to 8.6%) and from children aged 6 to 12 years to adults with ADHD (obesity: from 13.5% to 19.3%, overweight: from 18.8% to 31.2%). The worrisome epidemic of obesity and overweight in individuals with ASD, ADHD highlighted the need for weight management.

Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) is abnormally up-regulated in many cancer cells. It may help cancer cells to escape from immune surveillance and establish metastatic lesions. However, whether DcR3 can be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of cancer metastasis is unclear. In this study, sera from healthy controls and patients with different cancers were collected, and tested for their DcR3 levels by ELISA. Significantly elevated DcR3 levels were observed in the sera of patients with gastric cancer (2.04 ± 1.01, P = 0.0061), lymphoma (1.62 ± 0.75, P = 0.041), and breast cancer (1.53 ± 0.51, P = 0.023). DcR3 was found to be a suitable biomarker for identifying gastric cancer patients. Importantly, DcR3 was positively associated with platelet distribution width (PDW) (P = 2.45 × 10−6, R = 0.63) in metastatic cancers but negatively associated with hemoglobin (HGB) (P = 0.002, R = −0.59) and hematocrit (HCT) (P = 0.001, R = −0.62) in non-metastatic cancers. Combined with PDW, HGB and HCT, serum DcR3 could be used to predict the occurrence of cancer metastasis. These findings indicate that DcR3 could be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of gastric cancer, and for cancer metastasis in combination with hematological traits.

Objective A key step in managing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is to differentiate nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from simple steatosis (SS). Method Serum samples were collected from three groups: NASH patients ( N = 21), SS patients ( N = 38) and healthy controls ( N = 31). High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used to analyse the metabolic profile of the serum samples. The acquired data were processed by multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) to identify novel metabolites. The potential biomarkers were quantitatively determined and their diagnostic power was further validated. Results A total of 56 metabolites were capable of distinguishing NASH from SS samples based on the OPLS-DA model. Pyroglutamate was found to be the most promising factor in distinguishing the NASH from SS groups. With an optimal cut-off value of 4.82 mmol/L, the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis of NASH were 72% and 85%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) of the pyroglutamate levels of NASH versus SS patients was more than those of tumor necrosis factor-α, adiponectin and interleukin-8. Conclusion These data suggest that pyroglutamate may be a new and useful biomarker for the diagnosis of NASH.

Electrode position after deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD) needs to be confirmed, but there are concerns about the risk of postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after DBS. These issues could be avoided by fusion images obtained from preoperative MRI and postoperative computed tomography (CT). This study aimed to investigate image fusion technology for displaying the position of the electrodes compared with postoperative MRI. This was a retrospective study of 32 patients with PD treated with bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS between April 2015 and March 2016. The postoperative (same day) CT and preoperative MRI were fused using the Elekta Leksell 10.1 planning workstation (Elekta Instruments, Stockholm, Sweden). The position of the electrodes was compared between the fusion images and postoperative 1-2-week MRI. The position of the electrodes was highly correlated between the fusion and postoperative MRI (all r between 0.865 and 0.996; all P0.001). The differences of the left electrode position in the lateral and vertical planes was significantly different between the two methods (0.30 and 0.24mm, respectively, both P0.05), but there were no significant differences for the other electrode and planes (all P0.05). The position of the electrodes was highly correlated between the fusion and postoperative MRI. The CT-MRI fusion images could be used to avoid the potential risks of MRI after DBS in patients with PD.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, Background: Weight status and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are rising public health concerns. An increasing number of reports indicate that individuals with ASD may have unhealthy weight status, but the evidence is mixed. To understand the weight status in individuals with ASD and provide strategies for prevention and intervention, we describe the protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at assessing the prevalence of obesity, overweight, and underweight in ASD. Methods: A broad range of key bibliographic databases including MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Cochrane, and ISI Web of Science will be searched to identify studies reporting the prevalence of obesity, overweight, and underweight in patients with ASD. Retrieved records will be independently screened by 2 authors and relevant estimates will be extracted from studies reporting data on obesity, overweight, and underweight prevalence among individuals with ASD. The assessment of study quality will be conducted primarily using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale and checklist proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Prevalence estimates of obesity and overweight will be separately pooled using random-effects model. The pooled estimates will be summarized and presented by regional groupings. Subgroup analysis will be conducted for variables (such as study setting, participants’ age, and geographical region) across studies, depending on data availability. Between-study heterogeneity will be assessed using the I2 statistic and explored through subgroup analyses. This systematic review and meta-analysis will be reported following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses checklist and the meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology statements guidelines for meta-analysis and systematic reviews of observational studies. Results: In this study, we will outline details of the aims and methods on the meta-analysis of weight status of individuals with ASD. Conclusion: The results of this study will summarize the current data of weight status of individuals with ASD. Registration: PROSPERO-National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42019130790).

A rapid clinical diagnosis may efficiently improve the survival rate and prognosis of patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Therefore, a one-step, rapid and inexpensive analysis for the quick diagnosis of IHD was investigated in the present study. Consecutive patients who were subjected to myoglobin, cardiac troponin I and creatine kinase-MB isoenzyme assessment at the Emergency Department of Shenzhen Second People's Hospital (Shenzhen, China) between December 2017 and March 2018 prior to treatment were screened. Clinically applicable disposable strips were employed for quantification of the cardiac biomarkers. The analytical performance of the strips was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and compared with the traditional chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) method. The data of 391 participants were collected. At the baseline, 57 patients were diagnosed with IHD and 334 patients were diagnosed with other diseases. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the CLIA model was 0.787 (95% CI, 0.709-0.865) with a specificity of 76.7% and a sensitivity of 71.9%. At the optimal cutoff value of -1.867, the negative and the positive predictive value were 94.1 and 34.5%, respectively. The AUC of the disposable strip model was 0.792 (95% CI, 0.729-0.855). At the cutoff value of -1.820 or below, the negative predictive value was 94.9%, the positive predictive value was 28.9%, the specificity was 66.8% and the sensitivity was 79.0%. The P-value of the ROCs was 0.858, indicating no statistically significant difference between the two assay methods. The cost of the disposable strip was 50% of that of the CLIA method and it took only 25% of the time that was required for the quantification of the three cardiac markers by CLIA. In conclusion, the disposable strip provides a platform for point-of-care testing and may be an easy, rapid, reliable and cost-saving method for the diagnosis of IHD.

The key physiological condition for successful pregnancy is a critical issue in reproductive science. Many studies have shown that the pregnancy process requires a lot of subtle cardiovascular adaptation, including a decrease in systemic vascular resistance, an increase in maternal heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output. Those adaptation will also lead to changes in the arterial pulse spectrum. Since pregnancy requires the mother's competency to change the hemodynamic state, an interesting question is if the pre-pregnancy hemodynamics of the cardiovascular system affect the clinical pregnancy rate of each embryo transfer. Therefore, we initiated an observational study to validate our conjecture. We recruited 116 women of childbearing age(range 22 to 41 years) who planned to carry out in vitro fertilization(IVF). Each subject underwent photoplethysmography(PPG) before embryo implantation. We calculated the first ten harmonic amplitudes (C1~C10) and phases (P1~P10) from the pulse data of PPG using the Fourier transform method, and tracked these women to 42 days after implantation to confirm the successful pregnancy. The results showed that the subjects with successful IVF had higher C4 and C7(P=0.006; P=0.018), compared with those who failed the IVF. We then classified the enrolled patients into quartile groups of C4 and C7 respectively. Log rank test further proved that the cumulative rates of successful pregnancy were significant higher for those with the higher C4 and C7, taking groups with smaller values as reference(Figure 1). In conclusion, maternal hemodynamic state before implantation have an impact on the successful pregnancy rate during IVF.

Traditional digital holographic imaging algorithms need multiple iterations to obtain focused reconstructed image, which is time-consuming. In terms of phase retrieval, there is also the problem of phase compensation in addition to focusing task. Here, a new method is proposed for fast digital focus, where we use U-type convolutional neural network (U-net) to recover the original phase of microscopic samples. Generated data sets are used to simulate different degrees of defocused image, and verify that the U-net can restore the original phase to a great extent and realize phase compensation at the same time. We apply this method in the construction of real-time off-axis digital holographic microscope and obtain great breakthroughs in imaging speed.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a type of autoimmune disease that damages multiple organs, including the heart, joints, liver and kidneys. The main characteristics of SLE are the deposition of circulating autoantibodies; autoantigen complexes in the renal system; and abnormal expression of complements, cytokines and chemokines. Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most serious manifestation of SLE and is characterized by inflammation of the kidney. This review summarizes recent clinical applications of protein biomarkers including autoantibodies, complements, cytokines and chemokines and some new protein biomarkers in SLE and LN. The clinical differential diagnosis of protein biomarkers related to prognosis and diagnosis is discussed and highlighted. Protein biomarkers play crucial roles in the study of SLE and LN. Useful biomarkers will provide insights into effective treatments for these diseases.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is a global concern and highly infectious. HCMV-infected individuals are often carriers with damaged immunity. However few diagnostic indicators block HMCV control and prevention. Thus, we measured 21 serum proteins related to HCMV infection using iTRAQ-labeling based quantitative proteomic approaches and SAA1 and APOE were confirmed as candidate serum indicators for identification of HMCV infection according to ROC curve analysis and that co-occurrence of SAA1 and APOE are better markers than individual proteins.

Distant metastasis is the main cause of breast cancer-related death; however, effective therapeutic strategies targeting metastasis are still scarce. This is largely attributable to the spatiotemporal intratumor heterogeneity during metastasis. Here we show that protein deacetylase SIRT7 is significantly downregulated in breast cancer lung metastases in human and mice, and predicts metastasis-free survival. SIRT7 deficiency promotes breast cancer cell metastasis, while temporal expression of Sirt7 inhibits metastasis in polyomavirus middle T antigen breast cancer model. Mechanistically, SIRT7 deacetylates and promotes SMAD4 degradation mediated by β-TrCP1, and SIRT7 deficiency activates transforming growth factor-β signaling and enhances epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Significantly, resveratrol activates SIRT7 deacetylase activity, inhibits breast cancer lung metastases, and increases survival. Our data highlight SIRT7 as a modulator of transforming growth factor-β signaling and suppressor of breast cancer metastasis, meanwhile providing an effective anti-metastatic therapeutic strategy., Metastatic disease is the major reason for breast cancer-related deaths; therefore, a better understanding of this process and its players is needed. Here the authors report the role of SIRT7 in inhibiting SMAD4-mediated breast cancer metastasis providing a possible therapeutic avenue.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide and despite recent improvements in lung cancer treatments patient mortality remains high. miR-193a-5p serves a crucial role in the initiation and development of cancer; it is necessary to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms of miR-193a-5p in lung cancer, which may enable the development of improved clinical diagnoses and therapies. The present study investigated the diagnostic value of peripheral blood and tissue miR-193a-5p expression using a microarray meta-analysis. Peripheral blood miR-193a-5p was revealed to be upregulated in patients with lung cancer. The pooled area under the curve (AUC) was 0.67, with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.74 and 0.56, respectively. Conversely, the peripheral tissue miR-193a-5p expression in patients with lung cancer was significantly downregulated. The pooled AUC was 0.83, and the sensitivity and specificity were 0.65 and 0.89, respectively. Through bioinformatics analysis, three Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) terms, pathways in cancer, prostate cancer and RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway, were identified as associated with miR-193a-5p in lung cancer. In addition, in lung cancer, six key miR-193a-5p target genes, receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 (ERBB2), nuclear cap-binding protein subunit 2 (NCBP2), collagen α-1(I) chain (COL1A1), roprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), casein kinase II subunit α (CSNK2A1) and nucleolar transcription factor 1 (UBTF), were identified, five of which were significantly upregulated (ERBB2, NCBP2, COL1A1, CSNK2A1 and UBTF). The protein expression of ERBB2, NCBP2, COL1A1, CSNK2A1 and UBTF was also upregulated. NCBP2 and CSNK2A1 were negatively correlated with miR-193a-5p. The results demonstrated that miR-193a-5p exhibited opposite expression patterns in peripheral blood and tissue. Upregulated peripheral blood miR-193a-5p and downregulated tissue miR-193a-5p may be promising diagnostic biomarkers in lung cancer. In addition, the KEGG terms pathways in cancer, prostate cancer and RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway may suggest which pathways serve vital roles in lung cancer by regulating miR-193a-5p. In addition, six genes, ERBB2, COL1A1, PCSK9, UBTF and particularly NCBP2 and CSNK2A1, may be key target genes of miR-193a-5p in lung cancer.

International audience; In the framework of the feasibility study of high-level radioactive waste geological disposal, the potential interaction between adjacent galleries is an important issue to the layout design of the repository. Based on some experimental investigations by ANDRA, the present work is devoted to provide a preliminary evaluation on this phenomenon by a series of numerical simulations. According to the repository concept in France, the multi-barriers system, composed of geological and engineered barriers, is adopted for the construction of underground repository. The engineered barriers mainly include the canister, the concrete and the clay embankment. In the study, the hydromechancial behaviour of host rock (claystone) and concrete are characterized by a coupled elastoplastic damage model. On long-term scale, the creep of host rock as well as the chemical degradation of concrete is taken into account. A nonlinear elastic model of the classical Cam-clay type is applied to the bentonite plug. The numerical simulations are then performed for adjacent galleries with different inter distances. The evolution of stress distribution, pore pressure, and inelastic zone are analysed which can help the engineers to get a good understanding on the interaction of adjacent galleries. Finally, based on the predictive results, the minimum interdistance between galleries is discussed.

Background The aim of this study was to investigate susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) signal changes in different brain regions in a rabbit model of acute hemorrhagic anemia. Material/Methods Ten New Zealand white rabbits were used for construction of the model of acute hemorrhagic anemia. Signal intensities of SWI images of the bilateral frontal cortex, frontal white matter, temporal lobe, and thalamic nuclei were measured. In addition, the cerebral gray-white contrast and venous structures of the SWI images were evaluated by an experienced physician. Results Repeated bloodletting was associated with significant reductions in red blood cell count, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, pH, and PaCO2, and elevations of blood lactate and PaO2. In normal status, the SWI signal intensity was significantly higher in the frontal cortex than in the frontal white matter (63.10±22.82 vs. 52.50±20.29; P

Decreased cerebral blood flow causes cognitive impairments and neuronal injury in vascular dementia. In the present study, we reported that donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor, improved transient global cerebral ischemia-induced spatial memory impairment in gerbils. Treatment with 5mg/kg of donepezil for 21 consecutive days following a 10-min period of ischemia significantly inhibited delayed neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 region. In Morris water maze test, memory impairment was significantly improved by donepezil treatment. Western blot analysis showed that donepezil treatment prevented reductions in p-CaMKII and p-CREB protein levels in the hippocampus. These results suggest that donepezil attenuates the memory deficit induced by transient global cerebral ischemia and this neuroprotection may be associated with the phosphorylation of CaMKII and CERB in the hippocampus.

Acute hemorrhagic anemia can decrease blood flow and oxygen supply to brain, and affect its physiological function. While detecting changes in brain function in patients with acute hemorrhagic anemia is helpful for preventing neurological complications and evaluating therapeutic effects, clinical changes in the nervous systems of these patients have not received much attention. In part, this is because current techniques can only indirectly detect changes in brain function following onset of anemia, which leads to lags between real changes in brain function and their detection. Some methods such as Transcranial Doppler can detect changes in cerebral blood-flow velocity that result from compensatory responses to the deficient oxygen delivery seen in anemia (i.e. higher velocity associated with anemia and lower velocity associated with recovery), but cannot reflect the actual oxygen supply and metabolism in the brain or organic changes such as stroke (Purkayastha and Sorond, 2012). Conventional CT and MRI can detect early cerebral infarction so as to facilitate early treatment, but cannot monitor physiological changes in the brain that occur because of anemia (Allmendinger et al., 2012). Near-infrared spectroscopy is a non-invasive method capable of measuring total blood-oxygen levels in brain (Murkin and Arango, 2009; Navarro et al., 2012; Yamazaki et al., 2013), but is unable to provide fine details concerning alterations in different cerebral tissues. Susceptibility-weighted imaging is a novel, non-invasive method for detecting changes in cerebral oxygen levels that may provide more detailed information regarding cerebral blood flow in patients with hemorrhage (Li et al., 2013). In the present study, we used susceptibility-weighted imaging to detect cerebral changes in an animal model of acute hemorrhagic anemia. Construction of the rabbit model of acute hemorrhagic anemia was based on the method used by Morimoto et al. (2001). A 40-mL blood sample was drawn through an arterial catheter. To compensate for the effects of simple blood-volume loss, the same volume of a 6% hydroxyethyl starch in 0.9% sodium chloride solution was injected through a femoral vein catheter. Following this, a blood sample was drawn again for blood-gas analysis and whole blood tests, and the head of the rabbit was re-scanned by MRI. The bloodletting, fluid infusion, and scanning processes were repeated continuously five times before the animal recovered from anesthesia; on the fifth occasion, the bloodletting volume and fluid-infusion volume were both 50 mL. The investigation conformed to the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH publication No. 85-23, revised 1996), and the protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Care Committee from Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen City, First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, China. The blood samples obtained from the femoral artery were used for blood-gas analysis, which determined the PaO2 PaCO2 lactic acid, and pH levels. In addition, mean arterial pressure was measured (Figure 1). A catheter was inserted through the femoral vein to the atrium for infusion of fluid, and red blood-cell count, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, and central venous pressure were assessed (Figure 1). There was an approximate halving of the red blood-cell count, hemoglobin concentration, and hematocrit values after the first bloodletting, and these values progressively decreased following each of the four subsequent bloodletting procedures. The values of these parameters after the fifth bloodletting were significantly lower than the pre-bleed values (P 0.05, vs. pre-bleed; Figure 1D). Figure 1 Results of whole blood tests, blood-gas analyses, mean arterial pressure, and central venous pressure after acute hemorrhagic anemia. The rabbits were fixed to a special board in the supine position and scanned by a Siemens Magnetom Avanto 1.5 T MRI Scanner, using a body coil (excitation) and wrap-around surface coil (reception). T2 dual-echo fast spin-echo with fat-suppression (FSE-T2WI/PD) and susceptibility-weighted imaging 3D sequences were used. The scan extended downward from a plane passing through the superior orbital margin to the medulla oblongata of the rabbit. FSE-T2WI/PD acquisition was conducted using the following parameters: repetition time = 2,800 ms, echo time = 33/78 ms, field of view = 12 cm × 12 cm, matrix size = 256 × 256; acquisition time = 3.09 minutes. Susceptibility-weighted imaging acquisition was performed with a three-dimensional gradient echo sequence, as follows: repetition time = 49 ms; echo time = 40 ms; flip angle = 15°; field of view = 15 cm × 15 cm; bandwidth = 80 kHz; IPAT factor = 2. Additional processing was carried out on the phase-corrected susceptibility-weighted imaging sequences. The third ventricle and the olfactory bulb parallel to the corpus callosum were measured. The bilateral frontal cortex, frontal white matter, temporal lobe, and thalamus were selected manually as regions of interest. The control (pre-bleed) susceptibility-weighted imaging-signal value of the frontal white matter was significantly lower than that of the frontal cortex (52.50 ± 20.29 vs. 63.10 ± 22.82; P 0.05). Susceptibility-weighted imaging signals from the frontal cortex, temporal lobe, and thalamus after the second, third, fourth and fifth bloodletting procedures were significantly lower compared with the corresponding control (pre-bleed) values (P < 0.05; Figures ​Figures2,2, ​,33). Figure 2 Representative susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) and corresponding T2-weighted images of a rabbit brain that was obtained at the superior aspect of the olfactory bulb (1a, 1b), the border of the olfactory bulb (2a, 2b), the thalamus (3a, 3b), and ... Figure 3 Effects of repeated bloodletting on the susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) signal values of selected regions of the rabbit brain. We also evaluated the overall cerebral white-gray contrast and vein structure to examine the susceptibility-weighted imaging minimum-intensity projection images. The contrast between cerebral gray and white matter was higher after bloodletting (particularly after the fourth and fifth procedures) than beforehand, and the venous structure was more abundant and clear (Figure 4). Figure 4 Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) minimum-intensity projection images of the rabbit thalamus and cerebral veins obtained by magnetically-sensitive scanning after bloodletting. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed that degeneration and necrosis of neurons and glial cells were not evident in the brains or cerebellums of our rabbits with acute hemorrhagic anemia (Figure 5). However, spaces had formed around blood vessels and cells, consistent with the occurrence of cerebral edema. Figure 5 Pathological changes in rabbit brain tissue after the fifth bloodletting (hematoxylin-eosin staining, × 100). In conclusion, this study has revealed that susceptibility-weighted imaging is an effective tool for detecting PaO2 and PaCO2-induced changes in cerebral oxygenation of different brain regions after acute hemorrhagic anemia. Therefore, susceptibility-weighted imaging may be a useful technique for monitoring the pathophysiologic changes and related complications associated with acute anemia.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is considered to be a typical condition of glucose intolerance in which a woman previously undiagnosed with diabetes exhibits high levels of blood glucose during the third trimester of pregnancy. It can hence be defined as any degree of intolerance to glucose with its first recognition only during the pregnancy. Approximately 7 % of all cases of pregnancy are found to be variedly complicated with GDM and this result in more than 200,000 cases annually. In US only, GDM has been found to complicate about 7–14 % cases annually, and the trend seems to have increased by 35–100 % in the recent years. A history of GDM can be considered to be one of the sturdiest risk factors concerning the development of type 2 diabetes. Among women who have a history of GDM, the risk of developing classical type 2 diabetes usually ranges from 20 to 50 %. Evidences collected from various efficacy trials suggest that lifestyle interventions like weight management can modulate and prevent type 2 diabetes in at-risk individuals. The cornerstone of GDM management is glycemic control, and hence, it is attributed to be the main focus of attention for the therapy. In this review, we have tried to highlight the various risk factors associated with GDM along with the available therapeutic options in the treatment and management of the disease.

BACKGROUND Regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES)-chemokine ligand 5 plays a key role in mediating heart transplant rejection. Suppression of RANTES-mediated signals can reduce leukocyte recruitment and mitigate transplant rejection severity. The present study describes the construction of an adenovirus overexpression vector encoding a natural S24F RANTES variant as a means of reducing leukocyte recruitment, resulting in the prevention of allograft rejection. METHODS The in vitro transendothelial chemotaxis assay was used to compare RANTES-induced transmigration of peripheral blood mononuclear cells across human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultured on the upper Transwell chamber. Intracoronary delivery of Ad-S24F, Ad-Null, or phosphate-buffered saline was performed in BALB/c donor hearts that were transplanted into the abdominal cavity of C57BL/6 recipients as a measure of allograft survival. Intragraft inflammatory cell infiltrates and associated proinflammatory cytokine expression profiles were detected by immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction on day 6 after transplantation, respectively. RESULTS Regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted-induced peripheral blood mononuclear cell transendothelial chemotaxis is inhibited by S24F (Ad-S24F, 9.2%±0.02%; Ad-Null, 17.7%±0.02%; medium control, 15.1%±0.01%; P

A combined homogenization/thermodynamics framework is presented for constitutive modelling of friction-induced inelastic deformation and damage by microcracking as well as their coupling with the effect of pore pressure for microcracked solids. The key for thermodynamic formulations of the cracked system weakened by pores is to determine the free energy and then a complementary energy by a transformation of the former. It is shown that the pore pressure is involved in both the macroscopic stress and the local stress. A Coulomb-type friction criterion function of this local stress and a strain-energy release rate based damage criterion are adopted respectively for describing evolution of inelastic deformation and damage propagation.The proposed unified model contains a back-stress hardening/softening term. The number of parameters in the current model can be largely reduced when compared with phenomenological models. DESCRIPTION OF A MATRIX-CRACKS SYSTEM Let us consider a matrix-inclusion system with boundary @: the matrix phase with the elasticity tensor C m and the inclusion phase of penny-shaped microcracks. In the Eshebly solution-based linear homogenization context, the inelastic deformation due to opening microcracks E c can be linked linearly to the macroscopic strain E such that E c = A c E where and A c denote the volume fraction and the global strain concentration tensor of the cracks’ phase, respectively. In the dry case and adopting the strain decompositionE =E m +E c , it has been proved that the total free

In this paper, by merging the hole-dominated triphenylamine (TPA) and tetraphenylethene (TPE) moieties together with different linkage positions, four derivatives of 1,2-bis[4'-(diphenylamino)biphenyl-4-yl]-1,2-diphenylethene (2TPATPE) were successfully synthesized with confirmed structures, and their thermal, optical and electronic properties were fully investigated. Thanks to the introduction of the meta-linkage mode on the TPE core, their p-conjugation length could be effectively restricted to ensure blue emission. The non-doped OLEDs based on these four emitters exhibit blue emissions from 443–466 nm, largely blue-shifted with respect to the green emission of 2TPATPE (514 nm). Meanwhile, good electroluminescence efficiencies with Lmax, 𝛈C,max, and 𝛈P,max of up to 8160 cd m-2 , 3.79 cd A-1, and 2.94 Im W-1 respectively, have also been obtained, further validating our rational design of blue AIE fluorophores.