Tumor abnormal protein as a promising biomarker for screening solid malignancies and monitoring recurrence and metastasis.

Background: Tumor abnormal protein (TAP), the sugar chain protein released by tumor cells during metabolism, allows the development of a technique that exploits aggregated tumor-associated abnormal sugar chain signals in diagnosing malignancies. Clinically, we have found that TAP detection can well predict some malignancies, but several physicians have not paid attention, and related studies have been minimal. Methods: We evaluated TAP's ability to distinguish between malignancies and benign diseases by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and studied the possibility of monitoring malignancy progression by evaluating TAP levels in follow-up. We used Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazard regression models to investigate the relationship between TAP and prognosis. Results: TAP levels were higher in whole solid malignancies and every type of solid malignancy than in benign patients. ROC curve analysis showed that TAP levels aid in distinguishing between malignancies and benign diseases. TAP levels decreased in patients with complete remission (CR) after treatment and increased in patients with relapse from CR. Patients with metastases had higher TAP levels than non-CR patients without metastases. There was no difference in overall survival among patients with different TAP levels, and multivariate analysis suggested that TAP was not an independent risk factor for solid malignancies. Conclusion: TAP is an effective screening biomarker for many solid malignancies that can be used to monitor the progression of malignancies but not to prognosticate.

[A multicenter survey of antibiotic use in very and extremely low birth weight infants in Hunan Province].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. METHODS: The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. RESULTS: The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9%. The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (rs=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (rs=0.196, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs.

Long Non-Coding RNA (LncRNA)-ATB Promotes Inflammation, Cell Apoptosis and Senescence in Transforming Growth Factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) Induced Human Kidney 2 (HK-2) Cells via TGFß/SMAD2/3 Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND Renal fibrosis occurs in the end-stage of all chronic kidney disease. Transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) is a central contributor in fibrosis. Identifying effective biomarkers that targets TGF-ß1 is necessary for the development of therapeutic agents for kidney disease. In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanism of long non-coding RNA (LncRNA)-ATB in TGF-ß1 induced human kidney 2 (HK-2) cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS We investigated the effects of either overexpression or knockdown of LncRNA-ATB on inflammation, cell apoptosis, and senescence in TGF-ß1 induced HK-2 cells. TGF-ß1 induced HK-2 cells served as the cell model. The gene level was evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and protein expressions by western blot. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was performed for assessment of cell viability. Flow cytometry was applied for detection of cell apoptosis. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1ß, and IL-6 were measured by corresponding kits. RESULTS LncRNA-ATB was highly expressed in TGF-ß1 induced HK-2 cells. Inflammation, cell apoptosis, and senescence were enhanced by TGF-ß1 and these effects were all reduced by knockdown of LncRNA-ATB. Whereas overexpression of LncRNA-ATB had the opposite effects with knockdown of LncRNA-ATB. The TGFß/SMAD2/3 signaling pathway was activated by TGF-ß1 and this effect was further enhanced by LncRNA-ATB overexpression. Silencing LncRNA-ATB inhibited the TGFß/SMAD2/3 signaling pathway in TGF-ß1 induced cells. The effects of LncRNA-ATB overexpression aforementioned in TGF-ß1 induced cells were abolished by blockage of the TGFß/S0MAD2/3 signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS LncRNA-ATB overexpression have promoting effects on inflammation, cell apoptosis and senescence in TGF-ß1 induced HK-2 cells via activating the TGFß/SMAD2/3 signaling pathway. LncRNA-ATB act as a key downstream mediator via activating the TGFß/SMAD2/3 signaling pathway and silencing LncRNA-ATB might be a new strategy for chronic kidney disease treatment.

An evaluation scale of medical services quality based on "patients' experience".

An evaluation scale of medical services quality was developed on the basis of "patients' experience". The questionnaires were developed by, among others, searching relevant literature, collecting well-established assessment scales, measuring patients' experience and satisfaction, brain-storming, literature analysis. Delphi method was adopted for expert consultation. Scale items were screened and revised. The key indexes were converted. Field surveys were conducted for testing the reliability and validity of the scale. Our modified evaluation scale for measuring medical services quality based on "patients' experience" included 6 dimensions (tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and continuity), and 50 items. The novel scale based on "patients' experience" may better serve the purpose of assessing medical services quality.