Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), has affected more than 50 million patients worldwide and caused a global public health emergency. Therefore, there ...is a recognized need to identify risk factors for COVID-19 severity and mortality. A systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library) for studies published before September 29, 2020, was performed. Studies that investigated risk factors for progression and mortality in COVID-19 patients were included. A total 344,431 participants from 34 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Regarding comorbidities, cerebrovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), coronary heart disease (CHD), and malignancy were associated with an increased risk of progression and mortality in COVID-19 patients. Regarding clinical manifestations, sputum production was associated with a dramatically increased risk of progression and mortality. Hemoptysis was a risk factor for death in COVID-19 patients. In laboratory examinations, increased neutrophil count, decreased lymphocyte count, decreased platelet count, increased C-reactive protein (CRP), coinfection with bacteria or fungi, increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and creatine kinase (CK), increased N-terminal pronatriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and bilateral pneumonia in CT/X-ray were significantly more frequent in the severe group compared with the non-severe group. Moreover, the proportion of patients with increased CRP and total bilirubin (TBIL) was also significantly higher in the deceased group than in the survival group. CVD, CKD, sputum production, increased neutrophil count, decreased lymphocyte count, decreased platelet count, increased CRP, coinfection with bacteria or fungi, increased ALT and CK, increased NT-proBNP, and bilateral pneumonia in CT/X-ray were associated with an increased risk of progression in COVID-19 patients. Moreover, the proportion of patients with increased sputum production, hemoptysis, CRP and TBIL was also significantly higher in the deceased group.
In this report, we demonstrate that sodium hydrosulfide （NariS）, a hydrogen sulfide （H2S） donor, promoted adventitious root formation mediated by auxin and nitric oxide （NO）. Application of the HzS ...donor to seedling cuttings of sweet potato （Ipomoea batatas L.） promoted the number and length of adventitious roots in a dose-dependent manner. It was also verified that H2S or HS- rather than other sulfur-containing components derived from NariS could be attributed to the stimulation of adventitious root formation. A rapid increase in endogenous H2S, indole acetic acid （IAA） and NO were sequentially observed in shoot tips of sweet potato seedlings treated with HallS. Further investigation showed that H2S-mediated root formation was alleviated by N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid （NPA）, an IAA transport inhibitor, and 2-（4-carboxyphenyl）. 4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-0xide （cPTIO）, an NO scavenger. Similar phenomena in H2S donor-dependent root organogenesis were observed in both excised willow （Salix matsudana var. tortuosa Vilm） shoots and soybean （Glycine max L.） seedlings. These results indicated that the process of H2S-induced adventitious root formation was likely mediated by IAA and NO, and that H2S acts upstream of IAA and NO signal transduction pathways.
Background/Aims: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) contribute to the development of multiple malignant tumors. Here, we focused on the biological function and underlying molecular mechanism of an lncRNA, ...nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods: In vitro experiments were conducted to determine the biological effects of NEAT1 in LUAD cells. A luciferase activity reporter assay was performed to corroborate the interaction between NEAT1 and miR-193a-3p. Data from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Oncomine, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and our in-house reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) were combined to examine the expression of NEAT1 and miR-193a-3p in LUAD. To further explore the regulatory mechanism of NEAT1, we searched for putative target genes of miR-193a-3p from 12 online prediction databases and determined genes positively correlated with NEAT1 as candidate targets. Furthermore, we analyzed the expression of these selected genes using data from TCGA. Results: In vitro experiments showed that knockdown of NEAT1 in LUAD cells markedly restrained cell proliferation, invasion, and migration and stimulated cell apoptosis. The dual-luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR-193a-3p directly targeted NEAT1 at its 3’-UTR. We then detected NEAT1 and miR-193a-3p in LUAD cells and normal lung epithelial cells and discovered high expression of NEAT1 and low expression of miR-193a-3p in LUAD cell lines. Simultaneously, the pooled results from the GEO, Oncomine, TCGA, and in-house RT-qPCR showed that the NEAT1 expression increased while the miR-193a-3p expression decreased in LUAD tissues versus normal lung tissues. Furthermore, the USF1 gene was not only upregulated in LUAD, but also positively correlated with NEAT1, suggesting that NEAT1 may function as a ceRNA to sponge miR-193a-3p and abrogate the inhibitory effect of miR-193a-3p on USF1. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that NEAT1 plays important roles in the occurrence and progression of LUAD. It may exert its role by acting as a ceRNA to regulate miR-193a-3p.
Abstract
Purpose
With increasing life expectancy, the number of elderly patients (≥ 65 years) with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has steadily increased. Hepatectomy remains the first-line treatment ...for HCC patients. However, the prognosis of hepatectomy for elderly patients with HCC remains unclear.
Methods
Clinical and follow-up data from 1331 HCC patients who underwent surgery between 2008 and 2020 were retrospectively retrieved from a multicentre database. Patients were divided into elderly (≥ 65 years) and non-elderly (< 65 years) groups, and PSM was used to balance differences in the baseline characteristics. The postoperative major morbidity and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of the two groups were compared and the independent factors that were associated with the two study endpoints were identified by multivariable regression analysis.
Results
Of the 1331 HCC patients enrolled in this study, 363 (27.27%) were elderly, while 968 (72.73%) were not. After PSM, 334 matched samples were obtained. In the propensity score matching (PSM) cohort, a higher rate of major morbidity was found in elderly patients (P = 0.040) but the CSS was similar in the two groups (P = 0.087). Multivariate analysis revealed that elderly age was not an independent risk factor associated with high rates of major morbidity (P = 0.117) or poor CSS (P = 0.873). The 1-, 3- and 5-year CSS rates in the elderly and non-elderly groups were 91.0% versus 86.2%, 71.3% versus 68.8% and 55.9% versus 58.0%, respectively. Preoperative alpha fetoprotein (AFP) level, Child‒Pugh grade, intraoperative blood transfusion, extended hemi hepatectomy, and tumour diameter could affect the postoperative major morbidity and preoperative AFP level, cirrhosis, Child‒Pugh grade, macrovascular invasion, microvascular invasion (MVI), satellite nodules, and tumor diameter were independently and significantly associated with CSS.
Conclusion
Age itself had no significant effect on the prognosis of elderly patients with HCC after hepatectomy. Hepatectomy can be safely performed in elderly patients after cautious perioperative management.
The monopolar spindle one binder (MOB) protein, a key signal transducer of the Hippo signaling pathway, is involved in growth control and cancer. In this study, a new MOB kinase activator-like 1 of ...the oriental river prawns, Macrobrachium nipponense, (MnMOB1) was isolated and characterized. The open reading frame of MnMOB1 consisted of 651 nucleotides that encoded 216 amino acid residues and contained the Mob1_phocein domain. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that MnMOB1 clustered together with the MOB1 from Penaeus vannamei. The distribution of MnMOB1 expression in various tissues of normal prawn revealed that the MnMOB1 expression was highest in the hepatopancreas followed by those in the intestines, gill, heart, stomach, and hemocytes. In prawns challenged with Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, the expression levels of MnMOB1 in the hepatopancreas, gills, and intestine were upregulated. Furthermore, the expression levels of crustins and anti-lipopolysaccharide factors in prawn injected with S. aureus and V. parahaemolyticus and MnMOB1 knockdown were significantly decreased relative to those in the control group. These findings indicated that MnMOB1 is involved in the regulation of antimicrobial peptide expression and plays a crucial role in the innate immunity of M. nipponense.
•A MOB kinase activator-like 1 was first identified in Macrobrachium nipponense.•MnMOB1 mRNA was expressed in various tissues of prawn.•MnMOB1 could respond quickly to bacterial stimulation.•RNAi showed that MnMOB1 could regulate the transcripts of AMPs.
For liver intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) data acquisition, respiratory‐triggering (RT) MRI is commonly used, and there are strong motivations to shorten the scan duration. For the same scan ...duration, more b values or higher numbers of excitations can be allowed for free‐breathing (FB) imaging than for RT. We studied whether FB can be used to replace RT when careful IVIM image acquisition and image processing are conducted. MRI data of 22 healthy participants were acquired using a 3.0 T scanner. Diffusion imaging was based on a single‐shot spin‐echo‐type echo‐planar sequence and 16 b values of 0, 2, 4, 7, 10, 15, 20, 30, 46, 60, 72, 100, 150, 200, 400, and 600 s/mm2. Each subject attended two scan sessions with an interval of 10–20 days. For each scan session, a subject was scanned twice, first with RT and then with FB. The mean image acquisition time was 5.4 min for FB and 10.8 min for RT. IVIM parameters were calculated with bi‐exponential model segmented fitting with a threshold b value of 60 s/mm2, and fitting started from b = 2 s/mm2. There was no statistically significant difference between IVIM parameters measured with FB imaging or RT imaging. Perfusion fraction ICC (intraclass correlation coefficient) for FB imaging and RT imaging in the same scan session was 0.824. For perfusion fraction, wSD (within‐subject standard deviation), BA (Bland–Altman) difference, BA 95% limit, and ICC were 0.022, 0.0001, −0.0635~0.0637, and 0.687 for FB and 0.031, 0.0122, −0.0723~0.0967, and 0.611 for RT. For Dslow (×10−3 s/mm2), wSD, BA difference, BA 95% limit, and ICC were 0.057, 0.0268, −0.1258~0.1793, and 0.471 for FB and 0.073, −0.0078, −0.2170–0.2014, and <0.4 for RT. The Dfast coefficient of variation was 0.20 for FB imaging and 0.28 for RT imaging. All reproducibility indicators slightly favored FB imaging.
For liver intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) data acquisition, respiratory‐triggering (RT) MRI is commonly used, and there are motivations to shorten the scan duration. We studied whether free‐breathing (FB) imaging can be used to replace RT when careful IVIM image acquisition and image processing are conducted. Good agreement was shown between FB results and RT results. Reproducibility parameters slightly favored FB imaging. Approximately half of the image data acquisition time can be saved by using FB imaging rather than RT imaging.
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