IoT service composition based on improved Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm.

In the complex Internet of Things (IoT) environment, a plethora of IoT services with akin functions but varying qualities of service exist. To meet diverse customer needs and drive widespread application, service composition optimization becomes crucial. In the current era of rapid development in artificial intelligence, intelligent algorithms play a significant role in optimizing service composition. However, algorithms applied to IoT service composition optimization face common challenges of low search efficiency and insufficient optimization precision, including the Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm (SFLA) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). Therefore, this study seeks to enhance the perception of service quality in IoT service composition. It proposes an improved SFLA (ISFLA) based on the original SFLA. The algorithm integrates chaos theory and reverse learning theory for the acquisition of the initial population. It utilizes Euclidean distance to partition the population into groups and employs Gaussian mutation to optimize the optimal individual of each group. Finally, the entire population undergoes evolution through a local update method based on two strategies. Simulated experiments were conducted to search for optimal IoT service composition solutions of different scales. The results indicate that, compared to the SFLA, GA, ISFLA*, IGSFLA and SFLAGA, ISFLA achieves superior fitness values, better composition solutions, and exhibits faster convergence, higher stability, and greater overall operational efficiency.

Abnormalities in the SIRT1-SIRT3 axis promote myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury through ferroptosis caused by silencing the PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is one of the main reasons for poor prognosis in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). To date, the mechanism remains unknown. As members of the silent information regulator 2 (SIR2) family, both SIRT1 and SIRT3 have been shown to play critical roles in protecting cardiomyocytes against MIRI, but their specific protective mechanism, their interact between the two and their relationship with ferroptosis are still unclear. Hence, in this study, we investigated the interact and specific mechanism of SIRT1 and SIRT3 in protecting cardiomyocytes against MIRI, as well as their association with ferroptosis. METHODS: Bioinformatics analysis methods were used to explore the expression of SIRT1 and SIRT3 during MIRI, and then a cell hypoxia/reoxygenation injury model was constructed to verify the results. Then, Pearson correlation analysis was further used to explore the relationship between SIRT1 and SIRT3, whose roles in the regulation of ferroptosis were also analysed by gene knock down, Western Blotting and flow cytometry. Several biomarkers, such as Fe2+ concentration, lipid peroxidation marker MDA and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), were used to evaluate changes in ferroptosis. RESULTS: The expression of SIRT1 and SIRT3 was abnormal during MIRI, and SIRT1 was significantly negatively correlated with SIRT3 in the SIRT1-SIRT3 axis. Further analysis revealed that the SIRT1-SIRT3 axis was closely correlated with ferroptosis, and its silencing effectively increase the incidence of ferroptosis. Furthermore, SIRT1-SIRT3 axis silencing was accompanied by changes in PINK1, Parkin, P62/SQSTM1 and LC3 expression. PINK1 silencing significantly increased the incidence of ferroptosis, while resveratrol (Res) and/or honokiol (HKL) effectively reversed the outcome. CONCLUSION: Abnormalities in the SIRT1-SIRT3 axis promote MIRI through ferroptosis caused by silencing the PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway.

Change of serum lipoproteins and its potential use in stratifying patients with sepsis among neonates.

BACKGROUND: Changes of serum lipoprotein concentration during bacteremia or sepsis are observed and lipoproteins concentration facilitate the evaluation severity of sepsis in adults, but its clinical usage is still unclear. Here, we analyzed the lipoprotein concentration in neonates with sepsis and discussed its use in stratifying patients. METHODS: This is a retrospective study involved 88 culture-proven septic patients. Clinical and microbiology data of involved patients were collected via inquiring databases of our institute. Patients were grouped according to blood culture results or procalcitonin level; the difference between groups were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with uninfected group, there is no change of triglyceride (TG) concentrations and significant decrease of Total cholesterol (TC) concentration in septic patients. There is no significant difference between Gram-positive and Gram-negative-related septic patients in terms of serum TG and TC concentration. Other than group with procalcitonin level of 0.5-2 ng/ml, both serum TG and TC concentration were decreased while serum procalcitonin level increasing. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that serum lipoprotein concentration may be recommended to help diagnosis of bacteria and to evaluate the severity of sepsis.

TTI1 promotes non-small-cell lung cancer progression by regulating the mTOR signaling pathway.

The role of TELO2-interacting protein 1 (TTI1) in the progression of several types of cancer has been reported recently. The aim of this study was to estimate the expression and potential value of TTI1 in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The expression of TTI1 and its prognostic value in NSCLC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were analyzed. To verify the bioinformatics findings, a tissue microarray containing 160 NSCLC and paired peritumoral tissues from NSCLC patients was analyzed by immunohistochemistry for TTI1. Subsequently, the roles of TTI1 in NSCLC cells were investigated in vivo by establishing xenograft models in nude mice and in vitro by transwell, CCK-8, wound healing, and colony formation assays. In addition, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot were applied to explore the underlying mechanism by which TTI1 promotes tumor progression. Finally, the relationship between TTI1 and Ki67 expression level in NSCLC was probed, and Kaplan-Meier and Cox analyses were performed to assess the prognostic merit of TTI1 and Ki67 in NSCLC patients. We found that the expression of TTI1 was significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues compared to paired peritumoral tissues, which coincides with the bioinformatics findings from the TCGA and GEO databases. TTI1 was highly expressed in NSCLC patients with large tumors, advanced tumor stage, and lymphatic metastasis. In addition, the prognostic analysis identified TTI1 as an independent indication for poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. In vitro, upregulation of TTI1 in NSCLC cells could facilitate cell invasion, metastasis, viability, and proliferation. Mechanistically, our study verified that TTI1 could regulate mTOR activity, which has a pivotal role in human cancer. Consistently, the expressions of TTI1 and Ki67 had a positive relationship in NSCLC cells and tissues. Notably, patients with overexpression of TTI1 or Ki67 had a shorter overall survival rate and a higher disease-free survival rate compared to patients with low expression of TTI1 or Ki67, and the combination of TTI1 and Ki67 was an independent parameter predicting the prognosis and recurrence of NSCLC patients. We conclude that TTI1 promotes NSCLC cell proliferation, metastasis, and invasion by regulating mTOR activity, and the combination of TTI1 and Ki67 is a valuable molecular biomarker for the survival and recurrence of NSCLC patients.

Evaluation of microbiological epidemiology and clinical characteristics of maternal bloodstream infection: a 10 years retrospective study.

Objective: Although the incidence of bloodstream infection (BSI) during pregnancy is relatively low, it can lead to unfavorable outcomes. The aim of our study was to analyze the clinical and microbiological characteristics of maternal bacteremia and to assess maternal and fetal outcomes. Methods: Our study was a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary women and children's hospital in Guangzhou, China, from 2013 to 2022. Data were extracted from medical records and the laboratory information system. The participants were divided into groups, and the difference between the groups was analyzed. Results: The incidence of maternal BSI during the 10 years study period was 10.2 cases/10,000 maternities, with a peak found from 2014 to 2016. Escherichia coli (48%) was the predominant causative pathogen, followed by Streptococcus agalactiae (13%). Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (15%) was the most common underlying condition among maternal BSI episodes. Urinary tract (13%) and genital tract (28%) were the predominant source of BSI. About 14% of neonates were infected, and BSI was the most common type of infection. E. coli was the predominant pathogen in mother-neonate pairs with concurrent BSI. Premature rupture of membranes (PROM, OR:4.68) and preterm birth (OR:3.98) were the risk factors predicting neonatal infection. More than 85% of the E. coli were resistant to ampicillin (AMP) and 50% of the E. coli were extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria. Conclusion: Maternal BSI is a rare event, but continuous monitoring on the aspects of pathogen composition, antimicrobial resistance characteristics, and risk factors for adverse outcomes remains necessary to further reduce poor outcomes and mitigate bacterial resistance.

The Oncogenic and Immunological Roles of Apoptosis Antagonistic Transcription Factors in Human Tumors: A Pan-Cancer Analysis.

Background: Apoptosis-antagonizing transcription factor (AATF) participates in tumor progression in multiple cancer types. However, its role across cancers is not well understood. Methods: Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), and Human Protein Atlas (HPA) were used to analyze the multiomic roles of AATF in 33 tumor types, including gene and protein expression, survival prognosis, gene mutation, DNA methylation, protein phosphorylation, AATF coexpressed genes and their enrichment analysis, and immunological analysis. Results: In TCGA and GTEx databases, 31 tumors and their corresponding normal tissues had AATF expression data, and it was differentially expressed in 29 of them. AATF was elevated in 27 tumors, decreased in 2 tumors, and was a risk factor for overall survival (OS) in 8 tumors and a risk factor for disease-free survival (DFS) in 4 tumors. AATF expression levels in various cancer types were significantly correlated with the infiltration levels of cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial cells, CD4+ T cells, B cells, myeloid dendritic cells, eosinophils, and macrophages. The immune checkpoints PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA4 were positively correlated with AATF expression in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA), kidney chromophobe (KICH), and prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD). Conclusion: In cancer, AATF expression is generally higher than that in normal tissue, and it is also associated with immunomodulation-related genes. AATF may be a risk factor for poor prognosis across cancers.

Upregulated Expression of IL2RB Causes Disorder of Immune Microenvironment in Patients with Kawasaki Disease.

Aims: The clinical diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (KD) is not easy because of many atypical manifestations. This study is aimed at finding potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for KD and analysing their correlation with immune cell infiltrations. Methods: First, we downloaded the KD dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and used R software to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and perform functional correlation analysis. Then, CIBERSORT algorithm was used to evaluate immune cell infiltrations in samples. Coexpression analysis between DEGs and infiltrating immune cells was performed to screen the main infiltrating immune cells. Subsequently, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression analysis was used to screen the core genes related to KD. Finally, correlation analysis between the core genes and the main infiltrating immune cells was performed. Results: 327 DEGs were screened out in this study. Among them, 72 shared genes were the category of genes most likely to be disease-causing for they did not change before and after treatment. After analysis, it was found that expression level of IL2RB in KD tissues was significantly upregulated, the number of resting CD4+ memory T cells was decreased, and the decrease was significantly negatively correlated with the upregulated expression of IL2RB. Therefore, it was speculated that the upregulated expression of IL2RB disrupted Th1/Th2 cell differentiation balance, which led to a decrease of resting CD4+ memory T cells and finally caused disorder of immune microenvironment in patients with KD. Conclusions: Upregulated expression of IL2RB leads to disorder of immune microenvironment in patients with KD and eventually causes the occurrence and development of KD. Therefore, IL2RB may serve as a diagnostic marker and potential therapeutic target for KD.

Minimally Invasive Myxoma Resection: A Single-Center 5 Years' Experience.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing demand for minimally invasive myxoma resection. This study aimed to investigate the safety and feasibility of minimally invasive myxoma resection. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we collected information from 95 patients who underwent myxoma resection between January 2016 and December 2020. Based on the operative approach, the patients were divided into the minimally invasive myxoma resection (Mini-MR) group (N = 30) and the sternotomy myxoma resection (SMR) group (N = 65). Intraoperative and postoperative data were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The postoperative ventilator-assisted time, CSICU time, and postoperative hospital stay were shorter in the Mini-MR group than in the SMR (13.05 ± 4.98 vs. 17.07 ± 9.52 h; 1.73 ± 0.29 vs. 2.27 ± 1.53 d; 6.20 ± 1.50 vs. 9.48 ± 3.37 d, respectively), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Mini-MR had lower postoperative drainage and blood transfusion rate in the first 24 h compared with SMR (38.93 ± 69.62 vs. 178.25 ± 153.06 ml; 26.6% vs. 63.1%), and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Mini-MR has the advantages of less CSICU stay time, less ventilator time, less postoperative drainage in the first 24h, less blood transfusion, fewer postoperative hospital stays, and faster recovery. Mini-MR is a safe and feasible surgical procedure for myxoma resection.

The circular RNA circHMGB2 drives immunosuppression and anti-PD-1 resistance in lung adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas via the miR-181a-5p/CARM1 axis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have confirmed the oncogenic role of HMGB2 in various cancers, but the biological functions of HMGB2-derived circRNAs remain unknown. Thus, we intended to investigate the potential role of HMGB2-derived circRNAs in lung adenocarcinomas (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinomas (LUSC). METHODS: The expression profiles of HMGB2-derived circRNAs in LUAD and LUSC tissues and matched normal tissues were assessed using qRT-PCR. The role of circHMGB2 in the progression of the LUAD and LUSC was determined in vitro by Transwell, CCK-8, flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry assays, as well as in vivo in an immunocompetent mouse model and a humanized mouse model. In addition, in vivo circRNA precipitation assays, luciferase reporter assays and RNA pulldown assays were performed to explore the underlying mechanism by which circHMGB2 promotes anti-PD-1 resistance in the LUAD and LUSC. RESULTS: The expression of circHMGB2 (hsa_circ_0071452) was significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues, and survival analysis identified circHMGB2 as an independent indicator of poor prognosis in the LUAD and LUSC patients. We found that circHMGB2 exerted a mild effect on the proliferation of the LUAD and LUSC cells, but circHMGB2 substantially reshaped the tumor microenvironment by contributing to the exhaustion of antitumor immunity in an immunocompetent mouse model and a humanized mouse model. Mechanistically, circHMGB2 relieves the inhibition of downstream CARM1 by sponging miR-181a-5p, thus inactivating the type 1 interferon response in the LUAD and LUSC. Moreover, we found that the upregulation of circHMGB2 expression decreased the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy, and we revealed that the combination of the CARM1 inhibitor EZM2302 and an anti-PD-1 antibody exerted promising synergistic effects in a preclinical model. CONCLUSION: circHMGB2 overexpression promotes the LUAD and LUSC progression mainly by reshaping the tumor microenvironment and regulating anti-PD-1 resistance in the LUAD and LUSC patients. This study provides a new strategy for the LUAD and LUSC treatment.

ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis may be a novel biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma: a bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is one of the most lethal malignant tumors that endangers human health. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has increased dramatically in recent decades, accounting for nearly 40% of all lung cancer cases. Increasing evidence points to the importance of the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) intrinsic mechanism in various human cancers. However, behavioral characteristics of the ceRNA network in lung adenocarcinoma need further study. METHODS: Groups based on SLC2A1 expression were used in this study to identify associated ceRNA networks and potential prognostic markers in lung adenocarcinoma. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to obtain the patients' lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA expression profiles, as well as clinical data. Informatics techniques were used to investigate the effect of hub genes on prognosis. The Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic effect of hub genes. The methylation, GSEA, and immune infiltration analyses were utilized to explore the potential mechanisms of the hub gene. The CCK-8, transwell, and colony formation assays were performed to detect the proliferation and invasion of lung cancer cells. RESULTS: We eventually identified the ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis as an independent fact may promote lung adenocarcinoma progression. Furthermore, methylation analysis revealed that hypo-methylation may cause the dysregulated ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis, and immune infiltration analysis revealed that the ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis may affect the immune microenvironment and the progression of lung adenocarcinoma. The CCK-8, transwell, and colonu formation assays suggested that ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 promotes the progression of lung adenocarcinoma. And hsa-miR-30b-3p reversed the ITGB1/ARNTL2-mediated oncogenic processes. CONCLUSION: Our study identified the ITGB1-DT/ARNTL2 axis as a novel prognostic biomarker affects the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.

Cancer cell-derived exosomal circUSP7 induces CD8+ T cell dysfunction and anti-PD1 resistance by regulating the miR-934/SHP2 axis in NSCLC.

BACKGROUND: CD8+ T cells play a critical role in the innate antitumour immune response. Recently, CD8+ T cell dysfunction has been verified in various malignant cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the molecular biological mechanisms of CD8+ T cell dysfunction in human NSCLC are still unclear. METHODS: The expression of circular ubiquitin-specific protease-7 (circUSP7) in NSCLC tissues, exosomes, and cell lines was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Exosomes were isolated from the culture medium of NSCLC cells and the plasma of NSCLC patients using an ultracentrifugation method and the ExoQuick Exosome Precipitation Solution kit. The exosomes were then characterized by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), NanoSight and western blotting. The role of circUSP7 in CD8+ T cell dysfunction was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In vivo circular RNA (circRNA) precipitation (circRIP), RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), and luciferase reporter assays were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms of circUSP7 in CD8+ T cells. In a retrospective study, the clinical characteristics and prognostic significance of circUSP7 in NSCLC tissues were determined. RESULTS: The expression levels of circUSP7 were higher in human NSCLC tissues than in matched adjacent nontumour tissues. Increased levels of circUSP7 indicate poor clinical prognosis and CD8+ T cell dysfunction in patients with NSCLC. The circUSP7 found in NSCLC patient plasma is predominantly secreted by NSCLC cells in an exosomal manner, and circUSP7 inhibits IFN-γ, TNF-α, Granzyme-B and Perforin secretion by CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, circUSP7 inhibits CD8+ T cell function by upregulating the expression of Src homology region 2 (SH2)-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2) via sponging miR-934. Finally, we show that circUSP7 may promote resistance to anti-PD1 immunotherapy in NSCLC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Exosomal circUSP7 is predominantly secreted by NSCLC cells and contributes to immunosuppression by promoting CD8+ T cell dysfunction in NSCLC. CircUSP7 induces resistance to anti-PD1 immunotherapy, providing a potential therapeutic strategy for NSCLC patients.

Clinical study of minimally invasive aortic valve replacement through a right parasternal second intercostal transverse incision: The first Chinese experience.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing demand for minimally invasive aortic valve replacement. This study aimed to investigate the safety and feasibility of minimally invasive aortic valve replacement through a right parasternal second intercostal transverse incision. METHODS: This was a retrospective study, and we collected information from 111 patients who underwent isolated aortic valve replacement surgery performed by the same surgeon from January 2018 to December 2019. According to the operative approach, the patients were divided into a sternotomy aortic valve replacement (SAVR) group (n = 62) and a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (Mini-AVR) group (n = 49). We compared the intraoperative and postoperative data between the two groups. RESULT: There was no difference in preoperative data between the Mini-AVR and SAVR. The postoperative ventilator-assisted time, CSICU time and postoperative hospital stay of the Mini-AVR were shorter than those of the SAVR [(15.45 ± 5.75) VS (18.51 ± 6.71) h; (1.77 ± 0.31) VS (2.04 ± 0.63) d; (8.69 ± 2.75) VS (10.77 ± 2.94) d], and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Mini-AVR had lower postoperative drainage and blood transfusion rates in the first 24 h than SAVR [(109.86 ± 125.98) VS (508.84 ± 311.70) ml; 22.4% VS 46.8%], and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative AF in the Mini-AVR group was also lower than that in the SAVR group (10.2% VS 30.6%), and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Mini-AVR has the advantages of less ventilator time, a reduced need for blood transfusion, less AF and a faster recovery. Mini-AVR is a safe and feasible surgical technique that is worthy of clinical application.

Asymptomatic long-segmental type A aortic dissection diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography: A case report and literature review.

Aortic dissection (AD) is a life-threatening disease. Patients usually experience severe pain in the chest, back, or abdomen, but some patients report a variety of other symptoms without pain. Completely asymptomatic AD is sporadic and probably under-recognized. The present study aimed to (a) report an extremely rare case of asymptomatic long-segmental type A AD, wherein exaggeratedly low diastolic blood pressure and broad pulse pressure were the primary signs, and (b) summarize the clinical characteristics of asymptomatic AD through the literature review.

circMET promotes NSCLC cell proliferation, metastasis, and immune evasion by regulating the miR-145-5p/CXCL3 axis.

In recent years, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been increasingly reported to play a crucial role in the proliferation, migration, and invasion of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. However, the circRNA MET (circMET) oncogenic mechanism that drives NSCLC development and progression remains largely unknown. In this study, the present results demonstrated that circMET expression was significantly higher in NSCLC tissues than in peritumoral tissues using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Notably, NSCLC patients with a large tumor diameter, poor differentiation and lymphatic metastasis had high RNA levels of circMET. Moreover, high circMET expression served as an independent risk factor for short overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in NSCLC patients. Next, we validated that circMET overexpression can enhance NSCLC cell proliferation, metastasis, and immune evasion in vitro. Mechanistically, our study uncovers that circMET acts as a miR-145-5p sponge to upregulate CXCL3 expression. Collectively, circMET regulates the miR-145-5p/CXCL3 axis and serves as a novel, promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in patients with NSCLC.

Modified Distal Aortic Arch Occlusion During Aortic Arch Replacement.

BACKGROUND: Circulatory arrest has been identified as an independent risk factor related to postoperative mortality in patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection. This study described a modified technique for distal aortic arch occlusion that markedly shortened the circulatory arrest time. The early results are encouraging. METHODS: From May 2016 to September 2018, 51 patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection underwent the modified procedure for aortic arch replacement. All operations were performed via transitory circulatory arrest by clamping the distal aorta between the left common carotid artery and the left subclavian artery. The in-hospital and follow-up data of the treated patients were investigated. RESULTS: Successful repair of the involved vasculature was achieved in all patients. One (1) patient died due to postoperative aspiration and infection, and three patients required continuous renal replacement therapy due to poor preoperative renal function. The remaining patients were successfully discharged. The median average circulatory arrest time was 5.0 (3.0-6.0) minutes. No cases of tracheotomy, delayed closure, secondary thoracotomy, or other complications occurred. During the follow-up period of 2.4-18.6 months, the implanted grafts and stented elephant trunks were all fully open and not kinked. CONCLUSIONS: A modified distal aortic arch occlusion can considerably shorten the duration of circulatory arrest. Current experience suggests that this approach can serve as a feasible alternative for patients during aortic arch replacement because of its simplicity and satisfactory clinical effects.

High level of H3K4 tri-methylation modification predicts poor prognosis in esophageal cancer.

Objectives: An increase in the trimethylation of lysine 4 of histone 3 (H3K4me3) has been reported to be involved in the development of several types of tumors. However, the level and role of H3K4me3 in human esophageal cancer (HEC) remain unknown. Here, we assessed the role and clinical significance of H3K4me3 in HEC. Methods: The level of H3K4me3 was determined in 15 pairs of HEC and paracancerous tissues by Western blotting. A tissue microarray including samples from 100 HEC patients was analyzed by immunohistochemistry to determine the relationship between the level of H3K4me3 and the clinicopathological features of HEC patients. Then, the levels of H3K4me3 in HEC cells were elevated via knockdown of inhibitor of growth family member 4(Ing4) expression. Finally, the prognostic significance of H3K4me3 levels in HEC patients was further analyzed. Results: We found that H3K4me3 levels were frequently elevated in HEC tissues compared with adjacent esophageal tissues, and elevated H3K4me3 was significantly associated with poor tumor differentiation (p =1.39×10-5) and advanced tumor stage (p=8.5×10-5). After Ing4 knockdown in HEC cells, we found that the cell proliferation, metastasis, invasion and colony formation abilities were enhanced compared to those in the control cells. Notably, we found that HEC patients with a high level of H3K4me3 exhibited an unfavorable 5-year survival rate compared to those with a low level of H3K4me3 (p=6.8×10-5). The univariate analysis showed that the tumor differentiation, TNM stage, and H3K4me3 level were predictors of the overall survival rate of HEC patients. In the multivariate analysis, tumor stage (p=0.015) and H3K4me3 level (p=0.034) were revealed to be independent parameters for predicting the prognosis of HEC patients. Conclusions: Thus, high levels of H3K4me3 may be used as a meaningful biomarker for HEC prognosis evaluation.

Long non-coding RNA PSMA3-AS1 promotes malignant phenotypes of esophageal cancer by modulating the miR-101/EZH2 axis as a ceRNA.

BACKGROUNDS: Emerging evidences has demonstrated that dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is critically involved in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) progression. However, the function of lncRNA PSMA3-AS1 in ESCC is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore the functions and potential mechanisms of PSMA3-AS1 in ESCC cells progression. RESULTS: Here, we found that PSMA3-AS1 expression was significantly up-regulated in ESCC tissues. Forced PSMA3-AS1 expression was correlated with tumor size, distant metastasis, and poor prognosis in ESCC patients. Functionally, PSMA3-AS1-overexpression promoted ESCC cells proliferation, invasion, and migration in vitro. Mechanistically, PSMA3-AS1 up-regulated EZH2 expression by competitively binding to miR-101. CONCLUSION: PSMA3-AS1 is significantly up-regulated in ESCC tissues, and the PSMA3-AS1/miR-101/EZH2 axis plays a critical role in ESCC progression. Taken together, our results may provide promising targets for ESCC therapy. METHODS: PSMA3-AS1 and miR-101 expression were explored using qRT-PCR in ESCC tissues and cell lines. Immunohistochemistry assays were carried out to analyze EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homolog) protein expression. RIP, dual-luciferase reporter, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and biotin pull-down assays were used to detect the interactions of PSMA3-AS1, miR-101 and EZH2. The biological functions of PSMA3-AS1 in PSMA3-AS1-altered cells were explored using CCK-8, colony formation, wound healing, and transwell assays in vitro.

The diagnostic value of (1,3)-ß-D-glucan alone or combined with traditional inflammatory markers in neonatal invasive candidiasis.

BACKGROUND: Asymptom of invasive candidiasis (IC) and low positive rate of blood culture lead to delay diagnose of neonatal infection. Serum (1,3)-ß-D-glucan (BDG) performs well in adult IC, but its use in neonatal IC is unclear. We evaluated the use of BDG, procalcitonin (PCT), high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) or platelet count (PC) in neonatal IC. METHODS: We collected the data of neonates admitted to our institute. Eighty neonates were enrolled, and divided into IC group, bacterial infection (BI) group and control (CTRL) group. We analyzed the difference of these indicators between groups, and generated Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. The value of BDG in antifungal therapy efficacy assessment was also investigated. RESULTS: The BDG level was higher in IC group compared with BI and CTRL group. C. albicans lead to significant increase of BDG compared with C. parapsilosis. IC group had highest hsCRP level and lowest PC. PCT level was similar between groups. ROC showed that BDG or hsCRP performs well in neonatal IC, the optimal cut-off for BDG was 13.69 mg/ml. Combined BDG with hsCRP, PCT and PC increased diagnostic value. Serum BDG level was decreased during antifungal treatment. CONCLUSION: Serum BDG performs well in identification of neonatal IC and in monitoring the antifungal therapy efficacy.

Rapid identification of Brucella sepsis/osteomyelitis in a 6-year old febrile patient with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry directly from positive blood culture: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Brucella is high-consequence pathogen and one of the most common seen laboratory- acquired infection pathogens. Quick and accurate detection of the pathogen will be of great important to reducing laboratory- acquired infection. Traditional biomedical reaction based method is time consumption, and mass spectrometry based method greatly reduces time consumption in pathogen identification. In the case presented here, we shared our experience in identification of Brucella directly from positive blood culture with mass spectrometry based method. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient is a 6-year boy with a history of three weeks fever accompanied with sweating and a pain at right patella. The patient also has a history of thalassemia and blood transfusion was performed previously admitted to our hospital. Two bottles of marrow culture and one bottle of blood culture were positive, and direct mass spectrometry from positive culture material revealed Brucella infection within 1 h. CONCLUSION: Clinical characters and laboratory findings of the patient presented here might help clinician in non-endemic region to made suspected brucellosis diagnose. Our experience in rapid identification of Brucella from positive blood culture with MALDI-TOF SP could help preventing laboratory-acquired infection of Brucella.

Clinical Characteristic and Pathogen Spectrum of Neonatal Sepsis in Guangzhou City from June 2011 to June 2017.

BACKGROUND Preterm and low birth weight (birth weight <2500 g) neonates are vulnerable to sepsis, and the causative pathogens vary in different regions and times. The objective of this study was to identify common organisms leading to neonatal sepsis and identify the characteristic of patients infected with different bacteria, which may help in the selection of antibiotics for empirical treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS We retrospectively collected the clinical and microbiological data of neonates with culture-proven sepsis in our clinical setting from June 2011 to June 2017. The demography, composition, and distribution of the pathogens and the clinical characteristic of the cases infected with different bacteria were analyzed. RESULTS Of a total of 1048 bacteria that were isolated from patient samples, detailed clinical and microbiological data of 297 cases were available. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (co-NS) were the top 3 isolated pathogens. Streptococcus agalactiae predominantly led to early-onset sepsis, while K. pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus mainly led to late-onset sepsis. K. pneumoniae was mainly acquired in the hospital. Leukopenia was more commonly seen than leukocytosis in our study, and patients infected with K. pneumoniae and Candida spp encountered more thrombocytopenia. CONCLUSIONS The results of our study revealed the composition of the pathogens of neonatal sepsis in our region and the clinical characteristic of sepsis caused by different bacteria; these data may help in the selection of antibiotics for empirical treatment of neonates with high risk of sepsis.