Association between hospitalizations for asthma exacerbation and weather conditions in Qingdao: an ecological study.

Background: The hospitalization for asthma exacerbation has varied with seasons, however, the underlying weather reasons have not been fully explored yet. This study is aimed to explore the effect of weather factors on increased number of hospitalization due to worsening of asthma symptoms. This will provide more information to the relevant authorities to allocate appropriate medical resources as per the weather conditions in Qingdao, China. Methods: All adult patients admitted for asthma exacerbation from 1 January, 2017 to 31 December, 2019 were enrolled from 13 main hospitals of Qingdao. The clinical data, including age, sex, smoking history, etc., were collected from the electronic medical record (EMR) systems. The hourly air quality of Qingdao from 2017-2019, including the air quality index (AQI), PM2.5 and PM10, was obtained from the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre. All these parameters during 2017-2019 were compared monthly. For meteorological data, the monthly horizontal wind at 850 hPa and vertical velocity at 500 hPa during 1960-2020 were obtained from National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) global reanalysis dataset. The correlation analysis was applied to determine the association between asthma hospitalizations and the environmental factors, including atmospheric pressure, humidity, vertical visibility, and etc., monthly. Results: In all, 10,549 asthmatic inpatients (45.7% males, 54.3% females) were included in the study. The inpatients number for asthma exacerbation had a plateau lasting from March to June of 2019, accompanied with high PM2.5 and PM10, as well as bad air quality from January to March of 2019, potentially governed by the El Niño event in 2018. However, there was no significance correlation between the number of asthma hospitalizations and the average value of all environmental factors. Conclusions: The high rate of hospitalization for asthma exacerbation in Qingdao during the spring of 2019 was associated with the unfavorable weather conditions, which might be linked to the atmospheric circulation in East Asia.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0000326 acts as a miR-338-3p sponge to facilitate lung adenocarcinoma progression.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the transcriptional or posttranscriptional level. According to recent studies, circRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of cancer, but the roles of circRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma are largely unknown. METHODS: In this study, we identified a novel upregulated circRNA, hsa_circ_0000326, in human lung adenocarcinoma tissues using microarray analysis and qRT-PCR. We then explored the biological role of hsa_circ_0000326 using gain- and loss-of-function assays in adenocarcinoma cells. Bioinformatics databases were used to screen for potential target miRNAs and the luciferase reporter assays and RNA-FISH further validated the interaction. Downstream protein was detected by western blot. Finally, we established xenografts in nude mice to assess the function of hsa_circ_0000326 in vivo. RESULTS: We found that high expression of hsa_circ_0000326 was correlated with tumor size, regional lymph node status and differentiation in human lung adenocarcinoma. Additionally, we conducted gain- and loss-of-function assays and found that hsa_circ_0000326 acted as a positive regulator of cell proliferation and migration and a negative regulator of apoptosis. Mechanistic studies showed that hsa_circ_0000326 acted as a miR-338-3p sponge and altered the function of miR-338-3p, which in turn upregulated the expression of the downstream target RAB14 and affected the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our study results reveal crucial roles for hsa_circ_0000326 in the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells and suggest that hsa_circ_0000326 may represent a potential therapeutic target in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Hsa_circ_0005519 increases IL-13/IL-6 by regulating hsa-let-7a-5p in CD4+ T cells to affect asthma.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that could serve as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. We hypothesized that circRNAs of CD4+ T cells are involved in asthma. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the circRNA expression profile and the possible mechanism by which hsa_circ_0005519 participates in asthma. METHODS: The expression profiles of circRNAs in CD4+ T cells were revealed by circRNA microarray. Hsa_circ_0005519 expression in CD4+ T cells was confirmed in asthmatic patients (n = 65) and healthy subjects (n = 30). Hsa-let-7a-5p, the target of hsa_circ_0005519, was predicted by online algorithms and verified by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Correlation assays between the expression of hsa_circ_0005519 and hsa-let-7a-5p, the mRNA levels of interleukin (IL)-13 and IL-6 in CD4+ T cells, and the clinical characteristics of asthmatic patients were performed. The role of hsa_circ_0005519 in proinflammatory cytokine expression was investigated in CD4+ T cells from asthmatic patients in vitro. Hsa_circ_0005519 expression in PBMCs was determined in another cohort including 30 asthmatic patients and 24 controls. Correlation assays of hsa_circ_0005519 expressions between CD4+ T cells and PBMCs were performed. RESULTS: Hsa_circ_0005519 was up-regulated and negatively correlated with hsa-let-7a-5p expression in CD4+ T cells of asthmatic patients. Both the fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and the peripheral blood eosinophil ratio were positively correlated with hsa_circ_0005519 expression in CD4+ T cells. These outcomes were also different in asthmatic patients with low vs high hsa_circ_0005519 levels. Hsa_circ_0005519 expressions between CD4+ T cells and PBMCs were concordant in asthmatic patients. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0005519 might bind to hsa-let-7a-5p and relieve suppression for IL-13/IL-6 in CD4+ T cells. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our data suggest that hsa_circ_0005519 may induce IL-13 and IL-6 expression by regulating hsa-let-7a-5p in CD4+ T cells to affect asthma. And hsa_circ_0005519 may be a potential biomarker of asthma.

[Applications of polylactide and its copolymers in medical device fields].

Polylactide and its copolymers are a kind of biomedical material andhave been approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This paper briefly introduces its applications in surgical suture, orthopedics, plastic surgery, ophthalmology and other medical device fields, and also analyzes its development in our country.