RGIE: A Gene Selection Method Related to Radiotherapy Resistance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is a malignant tumor with a high degree of malignancy, invasiveness, and metastasis rate. Radiotherapy, as an important adjuvant therapy for HNSCC, can reduce the postoperative recurrence rate and improve the survival rate. Identifying the genes related to HNSCC radiotherapy resistance (HNSCC-RR) is helpful in the search for potential therapeutic targets. However, identifying radiotherapy resistance-related genes from tens of thousands of genes is a challenging task. While interactions between genes are important for elucidating complex biological processes, the large number of genes makes the computation of gene interactions infeasible. METHODS: We propose a gene selection algorithm, RGIE, which is based on ReliefF, Gene Network Inference with Ensemble of Trees (GENIE3) and Feature Elimination. ReliefF was used to select a feature subset that is discriminative for HNSCC-RR, GENIE3 constructed a gene regulatory network based on this subset to analyze the regulatory relationship among genes, and feature elimination was used to remove redundant and noisy features. RESULTS: Nine genes (SPAG1, FIGN, NUBPL, CHMP5, TCF7L2, COQ10B, BSDC1, ZFPM1, GRPEL1) were identified and used to identify HNSCC-RR, which achieved performances of 0.9730, 0.9679, 0.9767, and 0.9885 in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, and AUC, respectively. Finally, qRT-PCR validated the differential expression of the nine signature genes in cell lines (SCC9, SCC9-RR). CONCLUSION: RGIE is effective in screening genes related to HNSCC-RR. This approach may help guide clinical treatment modalities for patients and develop potential treatments.

Effects of empowerment education on patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Empowerment education is a new nursing education model with great significance in the process of chronic disease rehabilitation, and a number of studies have found that it has good benefits for patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). But there is no meta-analysis on how empowerment education influence the life of patients after PCI. AIMS: Our study intends to evaluate the impact of empowerment education on the quality of life, cognitive level, anxiety and depression level of patients after PCI. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis, following PRISMA guidelines. METHODS: RevMan5.4 software and R software were used for statistical analysis. Mean difference or standard mean difference was used as effect analysis statistic for continuous variables with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Six studies met the inclusion criteria, including 641 patients. The Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale score of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group, with statistically significant difference. Empowerment education could increase the knowledge of coronary heart disease in patients after PCI, but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Significant effects of empowerment have been found in improving patients' quality of life and self-care ability. Empowerment education could be a safe exercise option in PCI rehabilitation. However, the effect of empowerment on cognitive level for coronary heart disease and the depression needs to carry out more large-sample, multi-center clinical trials. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: A data-analysis researcher and 3 clinicians are responsible for the writing, and no patients participated in the writing of this paper.

The GAL/GALR2 axis promotes the perineural invasion of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma via epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

BACKGROUND: Perineural invasion (PNI) is a typical pathological characteristic of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) and other neurotrophic cancers. The mechanism of the neural microenvironment controlling tumor progression during the PNI process is unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role and molecular mechanisms of nerve-derived neuropeptide galanin (GAL) and its receptor (GALR2) in the regulation of PNI in SACC. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry staining and clinical association studies were performed to analyze the expression of GAL and GALR2 in SACC tissues and their clinical value. Dorsal root ganglion or SH-SY5Y cells were co-cultured with SACC cells in vitro to simulate the interactions between the neural microenvironment and tumor cells, and a series of assays including transcriptome sequencing, Western blot, and Transwell were performed to investigate the role and molecular mechanism of GAL and GALR2 in the regulation of SACC cells. Moreover, both the in vitro and in vivo PNI models were established to assess the potential PNI-specific therapeutic effects by blocking the GAL/GALR2 axis. RESULTS: GAL and GALR2 were highly expressed in SACC tissues, and were associated with PNI and poor prognosis in SACC patients (p < 0.05). Nerve-derived GAL activated GALR2 expression in SACC cells and induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in SACC cells. Adding human recombinant GAL to the co-culture system promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of SACC cells significantly, but inhibited the apoptosis of SACC cells. Adding M871, a specific antagonist of GALR2, significantly blocked the above effects (p < 0.05) and inhibited the PNI of SACC cells in vitro and in vivo (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that nerve-derived GAL activated GALR2 expression, and promoted EMT in SACC cells, thereby enhancing the PNI process. Interruption of the GAL/GALR2 axis might be a novel strategy for anti-PNI therapy for SACC.

Comparison of organic matter (OM) pools in water, suspended particulate matter, and sediments in eutrophic Lake Taihu, China: Implication for dissolved OM tracking, assessment, and management.

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediments are important sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in lake water. However, studies on what extent and how both sources affect DOM composition are lacking, which hampers DOM management. Herein, DOM, SPM-extracted particulate organic matter (POM), and sediment-extracted organic matter (SOM) were characterized and compared in terms of absorption spectral properties and chemical composition in Lake Taihu, a large cyanobacterial bloom-affected shallow lake. A statistical method was proposed to quantify the similarity of organic matter (OM) in the different states and to evaluate the potential effects of SPM and sediments on DOM. Results showed that POM and DOM were mainly composed of small-molecular-size and low-humified organic components (i.e., 27 %-38 % tryptophan-like and ~30 % protein-like substances), and most of them were derived from autochthonous sources. While tyrosine-like (57 %) and humic-like (27 %) substances were dominant in SOM. The OM similarity between POM and DOM was approximately 1.5 times higher than that between SOM and DOM, indicating the greater effect of SPM than sediments on DOM composition. High pH and low nitrogen (e.g., nitrate and ammonia) were positively correlated to the OM similarity between POM and DOM. Further, the findings indicated that nitrogen limitation enhanced the OM exchange between POM and DOM by promoting the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in cyanobacterial aggregates. The obtained findings highlighted the importance of SPM in shaping the DOM composition relative to sediments and facilitating the DOM management in bloom-affected lakes.

LINC01123 promotes immune escape by sponging miR-214-3p to regulate B7-H3 in head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma.

Numerous studies have shown that long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are involved in the development and immune escape of head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the specific regulatory mechanisms by which LINC01123 regulates HNSCC and its correlation with immunity remain unclear. Therefore, this study's primary purpose was to explore the mechanisms by which LINC01123 regulates the immune escape and progression of HNSCC. This study confirmed that LINC01123 is competitively bound to miR-214-3p, and miR-214-3p specifically targets B7-H3. The effects of LINC01123, B7-H3, and miR-214-3p on tumor progression, CD8+T-cell-mediated immune response, and the tumorigenicity of HNSCC in vitro and in vivo were examined through the downregulation or upregulation of LINC01123, B7-H3, and miR-214-3p. Our results indicated that LINC01123 and B7-H3 were highly expressed in HNSCC and are associated with poor prognosis in patients. Notably, overexpression of LINC01123 or B7-H3 or downregulation of miR-214-3p inhibited the function of CD8+T cells and promoted the progression of HNSCC. Therefore, LINC01123 acts as a miR-214-3p sponge to inhibit the activation of CD8+T cells and promote the progression of HNSCC by upregulating B7-H3.

[Efficacy of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy versus Surgery for the Treatment 
of Early Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Meta-analysis].

BACKGROUND: To compare the clinical efficacy of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) versus surgery for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer through evidence based medicine analysis. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in the PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI and Wan Fang databases to find studies published before June 2020. Two authors independently extracted the data and assessed the eligibility. All of the statistical analyses were performed using Stata 13.0. Subgroup analysis were performed according to the score matching study and operation type (lobectomy, segmentectomy and thoracoscopic assisted surgery). RESULTS: Finally, 14 articles were included, including 15,841 cases in SBRT group and 17,708 cases in operation group. 10 articles used propensity score matching methods for survival analysis. Thirteen were retrospective cohort studies and one was randomized controlled trial. The results of meta-analysis showed that the overall survival rate of the surgery group and the SBRT group was statistically significant. The overall survival rate of the SBRT group (HR=1.51, 95%CI: 1.31-1.74) was inferior to that of the surgery group. In the subgroup analysis of the surgical type, there was no statistical difference between the SBRT group and each surgical type. The difference of overall survival rate between SBRT group and surgery group was statistically significant (HR=1.66, 95%CI: 1.45-1.90) in studies of propensity score matching. There was no statistically significant difference in cancer-specific survival between the surgery and SBRT groups (HR=1.12, 95%CI: 0.83-1.52). CONCLUSIONS: The overall survival rate of surgical treatment is better than that of SBRT, but it has no obvious advantages in cancer specific survival rate.

Systematic review and meta-analysis for thrombolysis treatment in patients with acute submassive pulmonary embolism.

PURPOSE: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of thrombolytic treatment in patients with submassive pulmonary embolism (PE). METHODS: An electronic search was carried out based on the databases from MEDLINE, Embase, Science Citation Index (SCI), and the Cochrane Library. We included prospective, randomized, and clinical trials in thrombolysis with heparin alone in adults who had evidence of right ventricular dysfunction and normotension. The main endpoints consist of mortality, recurrent PE, and bleeding risk. The relative risk (RR) and the relevant 95% confidence intervals were determined by the dichotomous variable. RESULTS: Only seven studies involving 594 patients met the inclusion criteria for further review. The cumulative effect of thrombolysis, compared with intravenous heparin, demonstrated no statistically significant difference in mortality (2.7% versus 4.3%; RR=0.64 [0.29-1.40]; P=0.27) or recurrent PE (2% versus 5%; RR=0.44 [0.19-1.05]; P=0.06). Thrombolytic therapy did not increase major hemorrhage compared with intravenous heparin (4.5% versus 3.3%; RR=1.16 [0.51-2.60]; P=0.73), but it was associated with an increased minor hemorrhage (41% versus 9%; RR=3.91 [1.46-10.48]; P=0.007). CONCLUSION: Compared with heparin alone, neither mortality nor recurrent PE is reduced by thrombolysis in patients with submassive PE, and it does not reveal an increasing risk of major bleeding. In addition, thrombolysis also produces the increased risk of minor bleeding; however, no sufficient evidence verifies the thrombolytic benefit in this review, because the number of patients enrolled in the trials is limited. Therefore, a large, double-blind clinical trial is required to prove the outcomes of this meta-analysis.

[Reduning injection for community-acquired pneumonia: meta-analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Reduning injection for treating community-acquired pneumonia. METHOD: Literatures about randomized controlled trials of Reduning injection for treating community-acquired pneumonia were reviewed. The methodological quality of the trials was assessed by the Jadad scale, and evaluation was performed. RESULT: Seven RCTS were included. Reduning combined group (Reduning injection plus antibiotics and basic therapy) was compared with antibiotics group (antibiotics plus basic therapy). Meta-analysis showed that the relative risk (RR) for the total cure rate was 1.34, and 95% confidence interval (CI) was [1.19, 1.51]; RR for the total effective rate was 1.10, and 95% CI was [1.06, 1.15]. The weighted mean difference (WMD) in disappearance time of fever between the two groups was - 1.42, and 95% CI was [- 2.58, -0.26]; The WMD between the two groups for the total obvious effect rate of cough and expectoration were - 2.36, and 95% CI was [- 3.41, - 1.31]; Improve the time of pulmonary rales MD -2.30, 95% CI [- 2.61, - 2.00]; The WMD between the two groups in absorption of chest x-ray shadow was -2.36 and 95% CI [-2.52, -2.20]. Serious systematic adverse reactions had not been reported in the trials. CONCLUSION: The effect of combined therapy with Reduning injection plus antibiotics and basic therapy is better than that of antibiotics plus basic therapy. Reduning injection can improve the symptoms of cough and expectoration, shorten the fever time and facilitate the absorption of chest x-ray shadow without any significant adverse reactions. However, further high quality trials are needed.