Background
This meta‐analysis aimed to assess the rate of malignant transformation (MT) of oral leukoplakia (OL) and to study potential risk factors for the MT of OL into oral squamous cell carcinoma ...(OSCC).
Method
We performed a bibliographic search on nine electronic databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, and Wanfang Data, for data on the MT rate of OL. Possible risk factors were calculated using Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis and Open Meta Analyst software.
Results
The pooled proportion of OL MT for the total population described in the 26 selected studies was 7.20% (95% confidence interval: 5.40–9.10%). Nonhomogeneous type lesions, higher grades of dysplasia, the location of the lesion (tongue and multifocal), and female sex had significant effects on the MT of OL.
Conclusion
OL tended to develop into OSCC (7.2%), and those with significant MT risk factors should be subjected to regular follow‐up and observation. However, we require large‐scale prospective studies to validate these results, together with unified clinicopathological diagnostic criteria, standardized risk factor recording/assessment methods, and long‐term follow‐up guidelines.
•Microbial communities were mainly driven by sampling zones and waste sorting.•The prevalence of potential pathogens indicated the potential risk of dustbin surface microbiome.•Stochastic processes ...significantly drive microbial community assembly.•Neutral ASVs were largely contributed to the stability of microbial networks.
Dustbins function as critical infrastructures for urban sanitation, creating a distinct breeding ground for microbial assemblages. However, there is no information regarding the dynamics of microbial communities and the underlying mechanism for community assembly on dustbin surfaces. Here, surface samples were collected from three sampling zones (business building, commercial street and residential community) with different types (kitchen waste, harmful waste, recyclables, and others) and materials (metallic and plastic); and distribution pattern and assembly of microbial communities were investigated by high-throughput sequencing. Bacterial and fungal communities showed the distinct community variations across sampling zones and waste sorting. Core community and biomarker species were significantly correlated with the spatial distribution of overall community. The detection of pathogens highlighted the potential risk of surface microbiome. Human skin, human feces and soil biomes were the potential source environments of the surface microbiomes. Neutral model prediction suggested that microbial community assembly was significantly driven by stochastic processes. Co-association patterns varied with sampling zones and waste types, and neutral amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) that fall within the 95 % confidence intervals of neutral model were largely involved in the stability of microbial networks. These findings improve our understanding of the distribution pattern and the underlying assembly of microbial community on the dustbin surface, thus enabling prospective prediction and assessment of urban microbiomes and their impacts on human health.
Systemic peroxidation status has been reported as a pathogenic factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). Systemically elevated oxidation levels are associated with serum lipid peroxidation and somatic ...telomere length (TL) shortening. We investigated whether vitamin E (VE) administration suppresses peroxidation and improves clinical symptoms in 34 MS patients. We analyzed serum lipid peroxidation and degree of TL in circulating leukocytes of MS patients before and after VE treatment. The oxidation level was enhanced and TL was shortened in MS. The MS population treated with VE 400 mg/day for 3 months showed significantly reduced serum lipid oxidation level with maintenance of TL. These findings showed that systemic peroxidation is associated with the development of MS. Antioxidants such as vitamin E can be candidates for supplementary therapeutic agents for MS.
Purpose
To compare the performance of three-level EuroQol five-dimensions (EQ-5D-3L) and five-level EuroQol five-dimensions (EQ-5D-5L) among common cancer patients in urban China.
Methods
A ...hospital-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in three provinces from 2016 to 2018 in urban China. Patients with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or lung cancer were recruited to complete the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L questionnaires. Response distribution, discriminatory power (indicator: Shannon index
H
′ and Shannon evenness index
J
′), ceiling effect (the proportion of full health state), convergent validity, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were compared between the two instruments.
Results
A total of 1802 cancer patients (breast cancer: 601, colorectal cancer: 601, lung cancer: 600) were included, with the mean age of 55.6 years. The average inconsistency rate was 4.4%. Compared with EQ-5D-3L (average:
H
′ = 1.100,
J
′ = 0.696), an improved discriminatory power was observed in EQ-5D-5L (
H
′ = 1.473,
J
′ = 0.932), especially contributing to anxiety/depression dimensions. The ceiling effect was diminished in EQ-5D-5L (26.5%) in comparison with EQ-5D-3L (34.5%) (
p
< 0.001), mainly reflected in the pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression dimensions. The overall utility score was 0.790 (95% CI 0.778–0.801) for EQ-5D-3L and 0.803 (0.790–0.816) for EQ-5D-5L (
p
< 0.001). A similar pattern was also observed in the detailed cancer-specific analysis.
Conclusions
With greater discriminatory power, convergent validity and lower ceiling, EQ-5D-5L may be preferable to EQ-5D-3L for the assessment of HRQoL among cancer patients. However, higher utility scores derived form EQ-5D-5L may also lead to lower QALY gains than those of 3L potentially in cost-utility studies and underestimation in the burden of disease.
Background
Nicotine, an important component of tobacco, is a major risk factor of lung cancer, but the mechanism through which nicotine promotes lung cancer development remains unclear.
Methods
...Eighty patients with lung cancer were enrolled in this study, 34 of whom did not smoke and the others did. The expression of miR‐218 and CDK6 messenger RNA (mRNA) was measured using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). A luciferase reporter system was used to identify the direct target of miR‐218. The protein expression of CDK6 was analyzed by using Western blotting. Cell proliferation was analyzed using an approach of calculation of cell number under a microscope.
Results
Nicotine decreased miR‐218 expression in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and promoted proliferation of NSCLC cells. Smoking patients with NSCLC had lower expression of miR‐218 in tumor compared with NSCLC patients who did not smoke. We found that miR‐218 directly targeted the CDK6 mRNA 3′untranslated region and inhibited its expression in NSCLC cells and also observed a negative correlation between the expression of miR‐218 and CDK6 mRNA in lung cancer tissues. Furthermore, miR‐218‐ or nicotine‐induced proliferative effects of NSCLC cells were rescued by the recovery of the expression level of CDK6.
Conclusion
Nicotine promotes proliferation of NSCLC cells through regulating the miR‐218/CDK6 axis, which may be a potential therapeutic target for lung cancer.
1.
Nicotine can promote non–small cell lung cancer cell proliferation trough regulating the miR‐218/CDK6 axis.
2.
The miR‐218/CDK6 axis may be a potential therapeutic target for non–small cell lung cancer.
► SMPs and EPS in mixed liquor increased conspicuously as temperature decreased. ► Lower temperature resulted in higher polysaccharide content in SMPs. ► Temperature variation displayed a great ...influence on microbial community. ► Microbial community would be ultimately responsible for membrane fouling.
This study aimed to investigate the effect of temperature variation on membrane fouling and microbial community in a membrane bioreactor (MBRs). The results indicated that extracellular polymer substances (EPS) and soluble microbial products (SMPs) increased due to decreasing temperature, which triggered membrane fouling as evidenced by the trans-membrane pressure (TMP) increase rate. Moreover, fluorescent intensity variations in the excitation–emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy of SMPs were closely related to rapid increase in TMP, suggesting that they might be used to monitor SMPs variations and indicate membrane performance. In addition, 16S rRNA clone library and sequence analyses results demonstrated the predominant phyla were always Proteobacteria, Nitrospira and Bacteroidetes. However, at lower temperature, α-proteobacteria and some filamentous bacteria such as Actinobacteria, Haliscomenobacteria and Thiothrix were relatively rich. At higher temperature, Zoogloea showed its presence. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and Mantel test results also demonstrated that temperature had strongly influence on microbial community.
Non-isocyanate polyurethane (NIPU) is a novel kind of polyurethane prepared by reaction of cyclo-carbonates and amines without use of toxic isocyanates. NIPU has attracted increasing attention ...because of its improvements in porosity, water absorption, and thermal and chemical resistance over conventional polyurethanes. Their potential technological applications include chemical-resistant coating, sealants, foam, etc. In this paper, on the basis of a comprehensive survey of the currently available literature on NIPU, we summarize recent progress in NIPU, and mainly discuss the syntheses of cyclo-carbonates oligomers, the reaction mechanism, and the preparation and application of different kinds of NIPU.
An experimental setup, on which the shape-memory effect is based, is developed to measure the free-response frequency and musical pitches of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. In this article, the ...voltage, force, and sound signals of SMA wires are determined simultaneously under two kinds of experiments: 1) constant-temperature uniaxial tensile tests and 2) fixed-length thermal cycle tests. Based on constitutive equations and thermodynamic equations, an empirical formula for the driving voltage and the steady-state stress of SMA wires is proposed, and the undetermined coefficients at radii of 0.050 and 0.070 mm are determined by experiments. The musical pitches of SMA wires under a constant voltage are obtained by combining the empirical formula with the string vibration equation. The theoretical results are compared with the actual musical pitches measured by the sound signals, and the theoretical results are highly consistent with the actual musical pitch. Just for an SMA wire with a radius of 0.070 mm, the free-response frequency range reaches 640-1120 Hz, which covers 6 whole musical tones in total. Thus, the SMA wire can be used as a string to play simple music.
Plant cell growth involves a complex interplay among cell-wall expansion, biosynthesis, and, in specific tissues, secondary cell wall (SCW) deposition, yet the coordination of these processes remains ...elusive. Cotton fiber cells are developmentally synchronous, highly elongated, and contain nearly pure cellulose when mature. Here, we report that the transcription factor GhTCP4 plays an important role in balancing cotton fiber cell elongation and wall synthesis. During fiber development the expression of miR319 declines while GhTCP4 transcript levels increase, with high levels of the latter promoting SCW deposition. GhTCP4 interacts with a homeobox-containing factor, GhHOX3, and repressing its transcriptional activity. GhTCP4 and GhHOX3 function antagonistically to regulate cell elongation, thereby establishing temporal control of fiber cell transition to the SCW stage. We found that overexpression of GhTCP4A upregulated and accelerated activation of the SCW biosynthetic pathway in fiber cells, as revealed by transcriptome and promoter activity analyses, resulting in shorter fibers with varied lengths and thicker walls. In contrast, GhTCP4 downregulation led to slightly longer fibers and thinner cell walls. The GhHOX3–GhTCP4 complex may represent a general mechanism of cellular development in plants since both are conserved factors in many species, thus providing us a potential molecular tool for the design of fiber traits.
In cotton fiber, the high level of miR319 at the early stage of fiber development cleaves GhTCP4 transcripts, while GhTCP4 regulates the phase transition from elongation to wall thickening. GhTCP4 affects fiber cell elongation by repressing the transcriptional activity of an HD-ZIP IV protein, GhHOX3, activating the SCW biosynthesis genes required for cellulose deposition.
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