While increasing evidence suggested that PM2.5 is the most harmful fraction of the particle pollutants, the health effects of coarse particles (PM10–2.5) have been inconclusive, especially on ...cerebrovascular diseases, we thus evaluated the effects of PM10, PM2.5, and PM10–2.5 on stroke mortality in six Chinese subtropical cities using generalized additive models. We also conducted random-effects meta-analyses to estimate the overall effects across the six cities. We found that PM10, PM2.5, and PM10-2.5 were significantly associated with stroke mortality. Each 10 μg/m3 increase of PM10, PM2.5 and PM10-2.5 (lag03) was associated with an increase of 1.88% (95% CI: 1.37%, 2.39%), 3.07% (95% CI: 2.35%, 3.79%), and 5.72% (95% CI: 3.82%, 7.65%) in overall stroke mortality. Using the World Health Organization's guideline as reference concentration, we estimated that 3.21% (95% CI: 1.65%, 3.01%) of stroke mortality (corresponding to 1743 stroke mortalities, 95% CI: 896, 1633) were attributed to PM10, 5.57% (95% CI: 0.50%, 1.23%) stroke mortality (3019, 95% CI: 2286, 3777) were attributed to PM2.5, and 2.02% (95% CI: 1.85%, 3.08%) of stroke mortality (1097, 95% CI: 1005, 1673) could be attributed to PM10-2.5. Our analysis indicates that both PM2.5 and PM10-2.5 are important risk factors of stroke mortality and should be considered in the prevention and control of stroke in the study area.
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•We estimated the association between coarse PM pollution and stroke mortality.•Both fine and coarse particular are associated with stroke mortality.•The effect of PM10-2.5 on stroke is higher than PM2.5.
Determining the tissue of origin (TOO) is essential for managing cancer of unknown primary (CUP). In this study, we evaluated the concordance between genome profiling and DNA methylation analysis in ...determining TOO for lung-specific CUP and assessed their performance by comparing the clinical responses and survival outcomes of patients predicted with multiple primary or with metastatic cancer.
We started by retrospectively screening for CUP patients who presented with both intra- and extrathoracic tumors. Tumor samples from included patients were analyzed with targeted sequencing with a 520-gene panel and targeted bisulfite sequencing. TOO inferences were made in parallel via an algorithm using genome profiles and time interval between tumors and via machine learning-based classification of DNA methylation profiles.
Four hundred patients were screened retrospectively. Excluding patients definitively diagnosed with conventional diagnostic work-up or without available samples, 16 CUP patients were included. Both molecular approaches alone enabled inference of clonality for all analyzed patients. Genome profile enabled TOO inference for 43.8% (7/16) patients, and the percentage rose to 68.8% (11/16) after considering inter-tumor time lag. On the other hand, DNA methylation analysis was conclusive for TOO prediction for 100% (14/14) patients with available samples. The two approaches gave 100% (9/9) concordant inferences regarding clonality and TOO identity. Moreover, patients predicted with metastatic disease showed significantly shorter overall survival than those with multiple primary tumors.
Genome and DNA methylation profiling have shown promise as individual analysis for TOO identification. This study demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating the two methods and proposes an integrative scheme to facilitate diagnosing and treating lung-specific CUPs.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to play a critical role in cancer invasion and metastasis. Our previous study showed that miR-375 frequently downregulated in gastric cancer suppresses cell ...proliferation by targeting Janus kinase 2 (JAK2). Here, we further found that the expression level of miR-375 is significantly decreased in metastatic gastric cancer tissues compared with the non-metastasis controls. Ectopic expression of miR-375 inhibits the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells partially by targeting JAK2. Furthermore, miR-375 expression is negatively regulated by the metastasis associated transcription factor Snail, which directly binds to the putative promoter of miR-375. Moreover, overexpression of Snail can partially reverse the inhibition of gastric cancer cell migration caused by miR-375. Taken together, these data suggest that miR-375 may be negatively regulated by Snail and involved in gastric cancer cell migration and invasion potentially by targeting JAK2.
Lung cancer ranks as the first most common cancer and the first leading cause of cancer-related death in China and worldwide. Due to the difficulty in early diagnosis and the onset of cancer ...metastasis, the 5-year survival rate of lung cancer remains low. JAK2 has emerged as pivotal participant in biological processes, often dysregulated in a range of cancers. Recently our study found that JAK2 might play an important role in lung cancer pathogenesis. While our understanding of JAK2 in the onset and progression of lung cancer is still in its infancy, there is no doubt that understanding the variations and functions of JAK2 will certainly secure strong biomarkers and improve treatment options for lung cancer patients. The expression level of JAK2 mRNA was assayed using RT-PCR. JAK2 mutations and amplification were detected using next-generation sequencing (NGS). The shRNA and overexpression plasmids of JAK2 were conducted. MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazoliumbromide) assay, Trans-well migration and Matrigel invasion assay were conducted to study the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of lung adenocarcinoma cells independently. We found that JAK2 mRNA was up-regulated in lung adenocarcinoma tissues when compared with their adjacent non-tumor tissues, and was associated with lymph node metastasis (p < 0.05). JAK2 V617F and N30S mutations and JAK2 amplification were detected by NGS in plasmid samples in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Downregulation of JAK2 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. Moreover, overexpression of JAK2 induced the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of A549 cells. Thus, the up-regulation, mutation and amplification of JAK2 detected in lung adenocarcinoma may participate in lung cancer progression by regulating cancer cells’ proliferation, migration and invasion.
As the most populous nation in the world, China has now becoming an emerging ageing society. Shanghai is the first city facing the challenge of ageing demographics. Against this background, a study ...that employs self-rated health (SRH) assessment system was designed to explore the health status of Shanghai elders, and learn their attitudes toward health issues; as well as to investigate the determinants of SRH among Shanghai elders. Understanding SRH is crucial for finding appropriate solutions that could effectively tackle the increasing eldercare demand.
This study adopted a quantitative research strategy. Using a multistage stratified cluster sampling method, we conducted a questionnaire survey in August 2011 in Shanghai, which collected 2001 valid survey responses. SRH assessments were categorized by five levels: very good, fairly good, average, fairly poor, or poor. The respondents' functional status was evaluated using the Barthel index of activities for daily living. In the data analysis, we used chi-squared test to determine differences in socio-demographic characteristics among various groups. Along with statistics, several logistic regression models were designed to determine the associations between internal influence factors and SRH.
Younger age (χ
= 27.5, p < 0.05), male sex (χ
= 11.5, p < 0.1), and living in the suburbs (χ
= 55.1, p < 0.05) were associated with better SRH scores. Higher SRH scores were also linked with health behaviour of the respondents; namely, do not smoke (χ
= 18.0, p < 0.1), do not drink (χ
= 18.6, p < 0.1), or engage in regular outdoor activities (χ
= 69.3, p < 0.05). The respondents with better social support report higher SRH scores than those without. Respondents' ability to hear (χ
= 38.7, p < 0.05), speak (χ
= 16.1, p < 0.05) and see (χ
= 78.3, p < 0.05) impacted their SRH scores as well. Meanwhile, chronic illness except asthma was a major influence factor in low SRH score. Applying multiple regression models, a series of determinants were analysed to establish the extent to which they contribute to SRH. The impact of these variables on SRH scores were 6.6% from socio-demographic and health risk behaviours, 2.4% from social support, 8.5% from mental health, 20% from physical conditions, and13% from chronic diseases.
This is the first study that examines the determinants of SRH among Shanghai elders. Nearly 40% of our study's respondents reported their health status as "good". The main determinants of SRH among elders include living condition, health risk behaviour, social support, health status, and the economic status of the neighbourhood.
Glioma is the most common malignant tumors in the brain. Previous studies have revealed that, as the innate immune cells in nervous system, microglia cells were involved in glioma pathology. And, the ...resident microglia displayed its specific biological roles which distinguished with peripheral macrophages. In this study, an integrated analysis was performed based on public resource database to explore specific biological of microglia within glioma. Through comprehensive analysis, the biological characterization underlying two conditions, glioma microglia compared to glioma macrophage (MicT/MacT) as well as glioma microglia compared to normal microglia (MicT/MicN), were revealed. Notably, nine core MicT/MicN genes displayed closely associations with glioma recurrence and prognosis, such as P2RY2, which was analyzed in more than 2800 glioma samples from 25 studies. Furthermore, we applied a random walk based strategy to identify microglia specific subpathways and developed SubP28 signature for glioma prognostic analysis. Multiple validation data sets confirmed the predictive performance of SubP28 and involvement in molecular subtypes. The associations between SuP28 score and microglia M1/M2 polarization were also explored for both GBM and LGG types. Finally, a comprehensive drug-subpathway network was established for screening candidate medicable molecules (drugs) and identifying therapeutic subpathway targets. In conclusions, the comprehensive analysis of microglia related gene and functional signatures in glioma pathobiologic events by large-scale data sets displayed a framework to dissect inner connection between microglia and glioma, and identify robust signature for glioma clinical implications.
In this paper, hierarchically structured NiO nanoflowers were facile synthesized by incorporating a convenient solution process with a subsequent thermal treating process. Their catalytic activity ...was then electrochemically investigated in detail. The NiO nanoflower modified biosensor exhibits excellent sensing performance for the determination of
l-ascorbic acid with a response time less than 8
s, linear range between 0.005 and 3.5
mM, and sensitivity as 220.4
μA
mM
−1
cm
−2. Besides, a high selectivity towards the oxidation of AA in the presence of dopamine (DA) and nitrite was also observed at their maximum physiological concentrations. The good analytical performance, long-term stability, low cost and straightforward fabrication process made the NiO nanomaterials promising for the development of effective electrochemical sensors for a wide range of potential applications in medicine, biotechnology and environmental chemistry.
Abstract
Background
Immunotherapy is a revolutionary strategy in cancer therapy, but the resistance of which is one of the important challenges. Detecting the regulation of immune cells and ...biomarkers concerning immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy is of great significance.
Methods
Here, we firstly constructed regulation networks for 11 immune cell clusters by integrating biological pathway data and single cell sequencing data in metastatic melanoma with or without ICB therapy. We then dissected these regulation networks and identified differently expressed genes between responders and non-responders. Finally, we trained and validated a logistic regression model based on ligands and receptors in the regulation network to predict ICB therapy response.
Results
We discovered the regulation of genes across eleven immune cell stats. Functional analysis indicated that these stat-specific networks consensually enriched in immune response corrected pathways and highlighted antigen processing and presentation as a core pathway in immune cell regulation. Furthermore, some famous ligands like SIRPA, ITGAM, CD247and receptors like CD14, IL2 and HLA-G were differently expressed between cells of responders and non-responders. A predictive model of gene sets containing ligands and receptors performed accuracy prediction with AUCs above 0.7 in a validation dataset suggesting that they may be server as biomarkers for predicting immunotherapy response.
Conclusions
In summary, our study presented the gene–gene regulation landscape across 11 immune cell clusters and analysis of these networks revealed several important aspects and immunotherapy response biomarkers, which may provide novel insights into immune related mechanisms and immunotherapy response prediction.