Global, regional, and national burdens of myocarditis, 1990-2019: systematic analysis from GBD 2019 : GBD for myocarditis.

OBJECTIVES: Myocarditis, a health-threatening heart disease, is attracting increasing attention. This systematic study was conducted to study the prevalence of disease through the trends of incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) over the last 30 years, which would be helpful for the policymakers to better the choices for reasonable decisions. METHODS: The global, regional, and national burdens of myocarditis from 1990-2019 were analyzed by using the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database. This study on myocarditis produced new findings according to age, sex, and Social-Demographic Index (SDI) by investigating DALYs, age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized death rate (ASDR), and corresponding estimated annual percentage change (EAPC). RESULTS: The number of myocarditis incidence increased by 62.19%, from 780,410 cases in 1990 to 1,265,770 cases in 2019. The ASIR decreased by 4.42% (95%CI, from -0.26% to -0.21%) over the past 30 years. The number of deaths from myocarditis increased by 65.40% from 19,618 in 1990 to 324,490 in 2019, but the ASDR was relatively stable over the investigated period. ASDR increased in low-middle SDI regions (EAPC=0.48; 95%CI, 0.24 to 0.72) and decreased in low SDI regions (EAPC=-0.97; 95%CI, from -1.05 to -0.89). The age-standardized DALY rate decreased by 1.19% (95%CI, from -1.33% to -1.04%) per year. CONCLUSIONS: Globally, the ASIR and DALY for myocarditis decreased and the ASDR was stable over the past 30 years. The risk of incidences and death cases increased with age. Measures should be taken to control the risk of myocarditis in high-burden regions. Medical supplies should be improved in the high-middle SDI regions and middle SDI regions to reduce the deaths from myocarditis in these regions.

Effect of region of interest on ADC and interobserver variability in thyroid nodules.

BACKGROUND: To determine the effect of region of interest (ROI) on tumor's apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and interobserver variability in thyroid nodules. METHODS: Thirty-three individuals with 45 pathologically-confirmed thyroid nodules were assessed by preoperative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with b values of 0 and 400 s/mm2, respectively. Two readers evaluated the ADC values of lesions based on three ROI techniques: whole-volume, single-slice and small solid-sample groups. Interobserver variability was analyzed for all ROI techniques, and the mean ADCs of benign and cancerous thyroid nodules were compared. RESULTS: For the mean ADCs of non-cancerous thyroid nodules, average differences and limits of agreement (LOAs) between readers were 0.00 [- 0.17-0.17] × 10- 3 mm2/s for whole-volume ROI (ICC = 0.967), 0.00 [- 0.26-0.26] × 10- 3 mm2/s for single-slice ROI (ICC = 0.932) and - 0.02 [- 0.38-0.41] × 10- 3 mm2/s for small solid-sample ROI (ICC = 0.823). For the mean ADCs of cancerous thyroid nodules, average differences and LOAs between readers were - 0.05 [- 0.23-0.13] × 10- 3 mm2/s (ICC = 0.885), 0.01 [- 0.23-0.25] × 10- 3 mm2/s (ICC = 0.839) and - 0.07 [- 0.52-0.39] × 10- 3 mm2/s (ICC = 0.579) for the three ROI methods, respectively. The mean ADC values were more scattered in the small solid-sample ROI group in comparison with the whole-volume and single-slice groups, in noncancerous and cancerous specimens. Of all three ROI techniques, whole-volume ROI-determined ADC had the highest combined sensitivity (80.0%), specificity (88.3%) and Youden index (0.683), with a cut-off of 1.84 × 10- 3 mm2/s. CONCLUSIONS: The ROI method overtly affects ADC measurements in benign and cancerous thyroid nodules. Small solid-sample ROI yielded the worst interobserver variability of average ADC measurements.

Erinacine A-Enriched Hericium erinaceus Mycelium Produces Antidepressant-Like Effects through Modulating BDNF/PI3K/Akt/GSK-3ß Signaling in Mice.

Antidepressant-like effects of ethanolic extract of Hericium erinaceus (HE) mycelium enriched in erinacine A on depressive mice challenged by repeated restraint stress (RS) were examined. HE at 100, 200 or 400 mg/kg body weight/day was orally given to mice for four weeks. After two weeks of HE administration, all mice except the control group went through with 14 days of RS protocol. Stressed mice exhibited various behavioral alterations, such as extending immobility time in the tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST), and increasing the number of entries in open arm (POAE) and the time spent in the open arm (PTOA). Moreover, the levels of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) were decreased in the stressed mice, while the levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were increased. These changes were significantly inverted by the administration of HE, especially at the dose of 200 or 400 mg/kg body weight/day. Additionally, HE was shown to activate the BDNF/TrkB/PI3K/Akt/GSK-3ß pathways and block the NF-κB signals in mice. Taken together, erinacine A-enriched HE mycelium could reverse the depressive-like behavior caused by RS and was accompanied by the modulation of monoamine neurotransmitters as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines, and regulation of BDNF pathways. Therefore, erinacine A-enriched HE mycelium could be an attractive agent for the treatment of depressive disorders.

Lower class competence stereotypes of the upper class increase class conflict: mediation by intergroup envy and moderation by upward social mobility belief.

Background: With increasing gaps between the rich and poor, potential risk factors for class conflict have attracted increasing attention from researchers. Although cognitive factors are known to be significant predictors of class-conflict behavior, limited attention has been paid to competence stereotypes of the upper class. When considering economic inequality, people pay more attention to competence stereotypes of the upper class, which may have adverse effects. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between competence stereotypes held by the lower class about the upper class and class conflict, and to test the mediating role of intergroup envy in this relationship and the moderating role of upward social mobility belief. Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample from a comprehensive university in China. Based on scores on subjective and objective class scales, 284 lower-class college students (103 males and 181 females) aged 18-24 were selected to participate (both their subjective and objective scores were lower than 3 points). Their endorsement of upper-class competence stereotypes, intergroup envy, upward social mobility beliefs, and class conflict were measured using a well-validated self-report questionnaire. Results: The main data were analyzed using correlation analysis, the SPSS macro PROCESS (Model 7), and simple slope analysis. The results show a significant positive correlation between competence stereotypes held by lower-class college students toward the higher class and class conflict, and this connection was mediated by intergroup envy. Moreover, the indirect effect of intergroup envy on this link was moderated by upward social mobility beliefs; this effect was stronger for college students with lower upward social mobility beliefs. Conclusion: This study broadens our understanding of how and when competence stereotypes among the lower class concerning the upper class are related to class conflict. Researchers and policymakers should pay special attention to competence stereotypes of the upper class, especially intergroup envy and class conflict among lower-class individuals with lower levels of upward social mobility beliefs.

Clinical outcomes of recommended active pharmacotherapy agents from NICE guideline for post-traumatic stress disorder: Network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that can emerge after an individual experiences a traumatic event such as physical abuse, sexual/relationship violence, combat exposure, witnessing death, or serious injury. This study aimed to identify the most suitable drugs for the management of PTSD based on a network meta-analysis (NMA). METHODS: Six databases (Ovid Medline, EMBase, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, Ovid Health and Psychosocial Instruments, and Web of Science) were searched from inception to September 6, 2022. RESULTS: Thirty articles with a total of 5170 participants were included. Compared with placebo, active drugs including olanzapine (SMD = -0.66, 95% CI: -1.19 to -0.13), risperidone (SMD = -0.23, 95% CI: -0.42 to -0.03), quetiapine (SMD = -0.49, 95% CI: -0.93 to -0.04), venlafaxine (SMD = -0.29, 95% CI: -0.42 to -0.16), sertraline (SMD = -0.23, 95% CI: -0.34 to -0.11), paroxetine (SMD = -0.48, 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.36) and fluoxetine (SMD = -0.27, 95% CI: -0.42 to -0.12), significantly reduced the total clinician-administered PTSD scale score. CONCLUSION: The results of this study support the use of paroxetine, venlafaxine, and quetiapine as first-line treatment for PTSD. In addition, quetiapine is recommended for patients with PTSD affected by symptoms of hyperarousal and re-experience disorder. Clinicians should prescribe medications based on the severity of PTSD symptoms and other conditions to develop the best treatment strategy for this patient population.

Effectiveness, Acceptability and Safety of Pharmaceutical Management for Combat-Related PTSD in Adults Based on Systematic Review of Twenty-Two Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: This study assessed the efficacy, acceptability, and safety of pharmaceutical management for combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to provide a clinical decision-making basis for clinicians. Method: A comprehensive search was conducted using Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science for randomized controlled trails (RCTs), which reported pharmaceutical management and placobo for adults with combat-related PTSD, that were published until April 21, 2021. The effectiveness, acceptability, and adverse events (AEs), were designed as interested outcomes. The change in total symptoms of combat-related PTSD according to the clinician rating scale was defined as primary outcome, and the others were defined as secondary outcomes. Results: Twenty-two RCTs with 1,221 patients were involved. Compared with placebo, overall active comparators had statistical differences for all outcomes, including the change in total symptoms of combat-related PTSD [SMD = -0.36, 95%CI (-0.62,-0.09)], depression [SMD = -0.28, 95%CI (-0.45,-0.10)], anxiety [SMD = -0.44, 95%CI (-0.64,-0.23)], re-experience [SMD = -0.33, 95%CI (-0.52,-0.13)], avoidance [SMD = -0.24, 95%CI (-0.43,-0.05)], and hyper-arousal [SMD = -0.26, 95%CI (-0.48,-0.03)]. Compared with the placebo, in terms of acceptability, overall active comparators did not significantly decrease all-cause discontinuance rates [RR = 0.97, 95%CI (0.78,1.20)], and the significance decreased due to AEs [RR = 2.42, 95%CI (1.41,4.13)]. Nevertheless, overall there was no statistically significant difference for overall AEs, including somnolence, sedation, dizziness, paresthesia, anxiety, blurred vision, generalized anxiety disorder, and sleep disturbance. All funnel plots were symmetrical and no publication bias was found. Conclusion: Active drugs, especially amitriptyline, imipramine, and quetiapine, had a positive effect on the improvement of combat-related PTSD symptoms. Despite there being no significant increase in the AEs of the active drugs, the fact that the discontinuation rates of these drugs, including risperidone, imipramine, and topiramate, were increased deserves attention. Furthermore, as active drugs were effective across ethnic groups and battlefields, active drug regimens were revealed to be more appropriate for treating people with symptoms of extreme severe PTSD (≥80) or PTSD that is at least 8 weeks old. In addition, current evidence was from adults under 60 years of age and male combat-related PTSD. Whether this evidence can be extended to other populations of combat-related PTSD needs to be confirmed by subsequent high-quality, large-sample studies.

Promotion of Erythropoietic Differentiation in Hematopoietic Stem Cells by SOCS3 Knock-Down.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) plays an important role in mice fetal liver erythropoiesis, but the roles of SOCS3 in human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have not been well investigated. In the present study, lentiviral small interference RNA expression vectors (shRNA) of SOCS3 were constructed and stably transferred into HSCs. We found that SOCS3 knockdown induced erythroid expansion in HSCs. Conversely, Ectopic expression of SOCS3 in progenitor cells blocked erythroid expansion and erythroid colony formation of HSCs. To further explore the involved mechanism, we compared gene expression profiles of SOCS3-shRNA tranduced HSCs with that of control HSCs by whole genome microarrays. The results indicated that cell developmental process related genes, especially hematopoietic lineage-specific genes, associated with the responses to SOCS3 in HSCs.Downexpression of SOCS3 in HSCs or differentiated erythroid progenitor cells induced a transcriptional program enriched for erythroid development relative genes. Our results proved that SOCS3 down-expression induced lineage commitment towards erythroid progenitor cell fate by activation of erythroid-specific gene in HSCs and provided new insight into the mechanism of erythropoietic development.