The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene plays an important role in regulating vascular tone and blood pressure. Recently, the eNOS G894T and T-786C single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) ...were intensively studied with regard to their associations with hypertension. However, the results of these studies were inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted the so far largest meta-analysis to better assess the correlations between eNOS SNPs and hypertension. Eligible articles were searched in PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, and CNKI up to April 2016. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to detect any potential associations between eNOS SNPs and the risk of hypertension. A total of 95 case-control studies involving 29,308 hypertension cases and 33,950 healthy controls were analyzed. The overall meta-analysis results showed that eNOS G894T and T-786C SNPs were both significantly associated with the risk of hypertension, the T allele of G894T SNP (G versus T, P < 0.00001, OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.76-0.89) and C allele of T-786C SNP (T versus C, P = 0.004, OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.87-0.97) conferred an increased susceptibility to hypertension. Further subgroup analyses yielded similar positive results for G894T SNP in essential hypertension, gestational hypertension, and Asian ethnicity, and that for T-786C SNP in essential hypertension and Asian population. Overall, our findings suggest that eNOS G894T and T-786C SNPs were both significantly correlated with hypertension. Additionally, the T allele of G894T SNP and C allele of T-786C SNP may serve as potential biological markers for hypertension susceptibility in Asians.
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to better elucidate the roles of genetic factors in Kawasaki disease (KD), and determine the potential genetic biomarkers of KD. The systematic ...literature search of PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science and CNKI identified 164 eligible studies. The qualitative synthesis revealed that 62 genes may be correlated with the susceptibility to KD, and 47 genes may be associated with the incidence of coronary artery lesions (CALs) in KD. A total of 53 polymorphisms in 34 genes were investigated in further quantitative synthesis. Of these, 23 gene polymorphisms were found to be significantly correlated with KD susceptibility, and 10 gene polymorphisms were found to be significantly associated with the incidence of CALs in KD. In conclusion, our findings indicate that gene polymorphisms of
ACE
,
BLK
,
CASP3
,
CD40
,
FCGR2A
,
FGβ
,
HLA
-
E
,
IL1A
,
IL6
,
ITPKC
,
LTA
,
MPO
,
PD1
,
SMAD3
,
CCL17
and
TNF
may affect KD susceptibility. Besides, genetic variations in
BTNL2
,
CASP3
,
FCGR2A
,
FGF23
,
FGβ
,
GRIN3A
,
HLA
-
E
,
IL10
,
ITPKC
and
TGFBR2
may serve as biomarkers of CALs in KD.
The associations between interleukin-12 (IL-12) gene polymorphisms and cancer risk have been discussed extensively, with controversial results. Therefore, we conducted the present meta-analysis to ...better assess the potential roles of IL-12 gene variation in cancer occurrence. Eligible articles were found via PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Google Scholar and CNKI. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to evaluate the associations between IL-12 gene polymorphisms and cancer risk. Thirty-one studies with 10,749 cancer patients and 11,921 healthy subjects were included in the analyses. The overall results showed that cancer risk was increased by IL-12A rs568408 (GG versus GA + AA: P = 0.004; G versus A: P = 0.005) and IL-12B rs3212227 (AA versus AC + CC: P = 0.004; CC versus AA + AC: P = 0.03; A versus C: P = 0.007) polymorphisms. Further subgroup analyses for IL-12A rs568408 and IL-12B rs3212227 revealed that the positive results could be impacted by the ethnicity of the population, cancer type and/or genotyping methods. However, we failed to detect any significant associations between the IL-12A rs2243115 polymorphism and cancer risk in either the overall or the subgroup analyses. The current study suggests that certain IL-12 gene polymorphisms serve as biological markers of cancer susceptibility.
To reduce young female fertility loss, the in-vitro culture of cryopreserved ovarian cortical tissues (OCTs) is considered an effective approach without delaying treatment and undergoing stimulation ...medicine. However, ischemic damage and follicular loss during the in-vitro culture of OCTs are major technical challenges. Human umbilical cord stem cells (HUMSCs) and their conditioned medium (HUMSC-CM) have been considered to be potential resources for regeneration medicine because they secrete cytokines and enhance cell survival and function. The aim of this study was to determine whether HUMSC-CM improves the development of frozen-thawed in-vitro cultured ovarian tissues compared with a serum-free culture medium (SF-CM).
The thawed OCTs (n = 68) were cultivated in HUMSC-CM and SF-CM in vitro for 8 days, and the ovarian tissues were processed and analyzed by a classical histological evaluation. The microvessel density (MVD) and apotosis detection during in-vitro culture of OCTs were also performed.
A significant difference in the rate of morphologically normal primordial follicles in the HUMSC-CM group was observed compared to that in the SF-CM group (group C) from days 2 to 4 (day 2: group B 58.0 ± 2.45% vs group C 32.0 ± 5.83%, p = 0.002; day 3: group B 55.5 ± 4.20% vs group C 21.0 ± 9.80%, p = 0.048; day 4: group B 52.0 ± 4.08% vs group C 21.5 ± 8.19%, p = 0.019). The microvessel density (MVD) detection showed a time-dependent increase and peaked on day 4. There was a significant difference between groups B (49.33 ± 0.58) and C (24.33 ± 3.79) (p = 0.036). The percentage of apoptotic follicles in group B was lower than that in group C on day 1 (13.75 ± 2.50% vs 27.0 ± 10.10%, p = 0.003), day 5 (11.75 ± 1.50% vs 51.0 ± 10.5%, p = 0.019) and day 7 (15.0 ± 5.10% vs 46.5 ± 21.75%, p = 0.018).
These data have provided the first experimental evidence of the effect of HUMSC-CM on frozen-thawed OCTs in vitro. The results showed that the HUMSC-CM group provided a better protecting effect on the in-vitro culture of the cryopreserved OCTs compared to the SF-CM group.
Purpose: To elucidate the performance of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) patients through a systematic review and meta-analysis.Methods: A systematic ...literature review was performed by searching eligible articles in PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Google Scholar and CNKI. Meta-analysis of included case-control/cohort studies was further conducted. Relative risks (RRs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to compare clinical outcomes of BAV patients and non-BAV patients.Results: A total of 17 articles including eight case reports, four case series and five case-control/cohort studies with 166 BAV patients were analyzed. Device success rate achieved for TAVI in this cohort of BAV patients was 95.2%. The 30-day mortality rate was 8.4%, and the medium-term (range from 6 months to 2 years) mortality rate reported was 17.9%. Overall, the performance of TAVI in BAV patients was comparable to that in non-BAV patients, as reported by the included case-control/cohort studies (30-day mortality rate: RR = 1.05, 95%CI 0.57–1.95, p = 0.87; Device success rate: RR = 1.00, 95%CI 0.95–1.05, p = 0.94; Incidence of moderate to severe paravalvular regurgitation: RR = 1.25, 95%CI 0.85–1.84, p = 0.25).Conclusion: The present study suggested that TAVI may be a feasible and safe treatment modality for BAV patients.
Immune dysfunction is implicated in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Previous studies found that TIM1 polymorphisms were associated with immune dysfunction. However, the associations between TIM1 ...polymorphisms and DCM have not been investigated. Therefore, we conducted the present study to evaluate whether TIM1 polymorphisms were associated with DCM in the Han Chinese population. A total of 396 DCM patients and 403 healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. Two promoter region single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TIM1 gene, -416G>C and -1454G>A, were genotyped by PCR-RFLP. The associations between two SNPs genotyped and the overall survival (OS) of DCM patients were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis. Plasma TIM-1 levels were further measured by ELISA. We found that the C allelic frequency of -416G>C and A allelic frequency of -1454G>A were higher in DCM patients than that in controls (P < 0.001). The genotypic frequencies of both SNPs were associated with DCM susceptibility in the codominant, dominant, and overdominant models (P < 0.01). They were also associated with the OS of DCM patients in the dominant, recessive, and overdominant models (P < 0.001). The CC genotype of -416G>C and AA genotype of -1454G>A were associated with the worst prognosis (P < 0.001). In addition, the plasma TIM-1 levels in DCM patients were higher than that in controls (259.0 pg/mL versus 149.8 pg/mL, P = 0.035). The CC genotype of 416G>C and AA genotype of -1454G>A were associated with the highest TIM-1 production (P < 0.01). Overall, our findings suggest that TIM1 polymorphisms are associated with DCM susceptibility and prognosis in this Han Chinese population.
In order to meet the experimental requirements, modern physics experiments need to monitor a large number of indicators and give timely control commands. Considering the characteristics of ...large-scale physical experiments, including long-distance, various equipment and massive data, a distributed detector control system (DCS) was developed. It implements communication with non-standard hardware, data acquisition, alarm management and data archiving functions. A set of EPICS IOCs (input/output controller) is used to communicate with hardware. Because the electronics use IPbus as communication protocol, driver support is developed. The DCS implementation includes user interfaces, an alarm system, a data archiving system, and web services, among other things. At present, this DCS has been used by the experiment of Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) to monitor the system status in electronics test. It provides the necessary reference for the technical route of large-scale monitoring.
In this theoretical paper, author proposes an embodied framework of empathic communication in Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) practice that celebrates the very essence of human connectedness. Based on ...Franz de Waal's Russian doll model of empathy, author explores three traditional phenomena in DMT practice that cultivate empathy and intersubjectivity: Primitive Mirroring; Shared Intention; and Movement Understanding. In each topic, author extends the integrative exploration into different areas of existing studies to illuminate the profound connectedness of human empathic communication. The term Reciprocal Waves inspired by Chinese Taoist philosophy highlights the back and forth relationship-building process that occurs daily in human lives. It is a framework derived from DMT practice that can be referenced in all psychotherapeutic practices that would benefit from promoting empathic human relationships.
Cancer incidence is dramatically increasing worldwide, therefore improved prediction and therapeutic methods are needed. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in cytokine genes may contribute to ...carcinogenesis. Interleukin (IL)‑4 gene polymorphisms have been intensively studied with regard to their associations with cancer. However, the results of these previous studies remain inconclusive. The present study, therefore, aimed to conduct a meta‑analysis of previously published studies in order to clarify the association of IL‑4 with cancer risk. Eligible published articles were searched in Medline, PubMed, Embase and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases up to March 2016. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to identify potential associations between IL‑4 genetic polymorphisms and the risk of cancer. A meta‑analysis was then performed on 10,873 patients and 14,328 controls for IL‑4 rs2243250 polymorphism, 3,970 patients and 5,686 controls for IL‑4 rs2070874 polymorphism, and 1,896 patients and 2,526 controls for IL‑4 rs79071878 polymorphism. A significant association with cancer risk was observed for rs2243250 and rs79071878 polymorphisms. In the subgroup analysis by cancer type, rs2243250 polymorphism was demonstrated to be associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer and breast cancer, rs2070874 polymorphism was correlated with leukemia and oral carcinoma, and rs79071878 polymorphism was relevant to bladder carcinoma risk. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, IL‑4 rs2243250 polymorphism was demonstrated to be associated with cancer risk in both Caucasian and Asian populations, rs2070874 was associated with cancer risk in Asian populations, while rs79071878 polymorphism was associated with cancer risk in Caucasian populations. In conclusion, the present results suggested that the IL‑4 rs2243250 and rs79071878 polymorphisms were associated with cancer susceptibility. Further subgroup analyses revealed that the effects of IL‑4 gene polymorphisms on cancer risk may vary by cancer type and by ethnicity.
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