A novel HBI-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for rapid detection of trifluoroborate.

A 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole (HBI)-based ratiometric fluorescent probe, known as BTEP, was synthesized using 5-bromosalicylaldehyde as the raw material via Sonogashira coupling and condensation reaction. This probe was designed for rapid detection of boron trifluoride solutions and gases. The N and O coordination atoms in the probe undergo a boron difluoride addition with BF3, which affects the process of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) leading to a blue shift of fluorescence emission. Obvious changes in the fluorescence signal can be observed within 60 seconds. The introduction of an acetylene trimethylsilane fragment increases the conjugate plane and is beneficial to improving the selectivity of the probe. The I408/I479 fluorescence ratio of the probe displays a linear relationship with the concentration of BF3 in the range of 5-50 µM, with a detection of limit as low as 69.5 nM. Furthermore, the probe demonstrates specific and selective recognition of BF3 among eight common interference substances. Test strips prepared using BTEP have the capability of real-time naked-eye detection of trace BF3 gas.

Mfsd2a-mediated lysolipid transport is important for renal recovery after acute kidney injury.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a global public health concern with high mortality and morbidity. In ischemic-reperfusion injury (IRI), a main cause of AKI, the brush border membrane of S3 proximal tubules (PT) is lost to the tubular lumen. How injured tubules reconstitute lost membrane lipids during renal recovery is not known. Here, we identified Mfsd2a, a sodium-dependent lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) transporter, to be expressed specifically in the basolateral membrane of S3 PT. Using an in vivo activity probe for Mfsd2a, transport activity was found to be specific to the S3 PT. Mice with haploinsufficiency of Mfsd2a exhibited delayed recovery of renal function after acute IRI, with depressed urine osmolality and elevated levels of histological markers of damage, fibrosis, and inflammation, findings corroborated by transcriptomic analysis. Lipidomics revealed a deficiency in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) containing phospholipids in Mfsd2a haploinsufficiency. Treatment of Mfsd2a haploinsufficient mice with LPC-DHA improved renal function and reduced markers of injury, fibrosis, and inflammation. Additionally, LPC-DHA treatment restored S3 brush border membrane architecture and normalized DHA-containing phospholipid content. These findings indicate that Mfsd2a-mediated transport of LPC-DHA is limiting for renal recovery after AKI and suggest that LPC-DHA could be a promising dietary supplement for improving recovery following AKI.

Coronary CT angiography for preoperative evaluation of non-cardiac surgery in patients with thoracic tumors: preliminary exploratory analysis in a retrospective cohort.

PURPOSE: Noninvasive coronary CT angiography (CCTA) was used to retrospectively analyze the characteristics of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with thoracic tumors and the impact of the results on clinical surgery decision-making, thus increasing the understanding of perioperative cardiac risk evaluation. METHOD: A total of 779 patients (age 68.6 ± 6.6 years) with thoracic tumor (lung, esophageal, and mediastinal tumor) scheduled for non-cardiac surgery were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups: accepted or canceled surgery. Clinical data and CCTA results were compared between the two groups, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictors of the events of cancellations of scheduled surgeries. RESULTS: 634 patients (81.4%) had non-significant CAD and 145 patients (18.6%) had significant CAD. Single­, 2­, and 3­ vessel disease was found in 173 (22.2%), 93 (11.9%) and 50 (6.4%) patients, respectively. 500 (64.2%), 96 (12.3%), 96 (12.3%), 56 (7.2%) and 31 (4.0%) patients were rated as CACS 0, 1-99, 100-399, 400-999 and > 1000, respectively. Cancellations of scheduled procedures continue to increase based on the severity of the stenosis and the number of major coronary artery stenosis. The degree of stenosis and the number of vascular stenosis were independent predictors of cancelling scheduled surgery. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with thoracic tumors scheduled for non-cardiac surgery, the results suggested by CCTA significantly influenced surgery planning and facilitated to reduce perioperative cardiovascular events.

Chinese expert consensus on clinical treatment of adult patients with severe traumatic brain injury complicated by corona virus disease 2019 (version 2023) / 中华创伤杂志

The condition of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) complicated by corona virus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is complex. sTBI can significantly increase the probability of COVID-19 developing into severe or critical stage, while COVID-19 can also increase the surgical risk of sTBI and the severity of postoperative lung lesions. There are many contradictions in the treatment process, which brings difficulties to the clinical treatment of such patients. Up to now, there are few clinical studies and therapeutic norms relevant to sTBI complicated by COVID-19. In order to standardize the clinical treatment of such patients, Critical Care Medicine Branch of China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Healthcare and Editorial Board of Chinese Journal of Trauma organized relevant experts to formulate the Chinese expert consensus on clinical treatment of adult patients with severe traumatic brain injury complicated by corona virus infection 2019 ( version 2023) based on the joint prevention and control mechanism scheme of the State Council and domestic and foreign literatures on sTBI and COVID-19 in the past 3 years of the international epidemic. Fifteen recommendations focused on emergency treatment, emergency surgery and comprehensive management were put forward to provide a guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of sTBI complicated by COVID-19.

Risk factors of hypoglycemia in late preterm infants / 中国新生儿科杂志

Objective:To study the risk factors of hypoglycemia in late preterm infants.Methods:From January 2019 to December 2021, late premature infants admitted to NICU of our hospital were retrospectively studied. The infants with hypoglycemia were assigned into the hypoglycemia group and infants with same gestational age and normoglycemia were assigned into the control group in a 1∶1 ratio. The perinatal and maternal data of the two groups were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors of hypoglycemia in late premature infants.Results:A total of 366 cases each were included in the hypoglycemia group and the control group. No significant difference existed in birth weight between the two groups ( P>0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that antenatal corticosteroid ( OR=1.567, 95% CI 1.127-2.180), cesarean section ( OR=2.013, 95% CI 1.376-2.944), twin birth ( OR=2.241, 95% CI 1.479-3.396) and infant of a diabetic mother ( OR=1.635, 95% CI 1.131-2.365) were the risk factors of hypoglycemia in late preterm infants ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Antenatal corticosteroid, cesarean section, twin birth and infant of a diabetic mother are independent risk factors for hypoglycemia in late preterm infants.

Interpreting the impact of extraversion and neuroticism on social media addiction among university students of Pakistan: A mediated and moderated model.

This study aims to investigate the association between two important personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism) and social media addiction (SMA) through social media usage (SMU) while considering the important moderating role of life satisfaction. We collected data from 623 university students in Pakistan through an electronic survey. SmartPLS software was utilized to perform partial least squares - structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analyses to verify our proposed model. The results revealed a significant direct association between extraversion and social media addiction whereas social media usage partially mediates this relationship. However, the direct relationship between neuroticism and social media addiction was not found significant but was fully mediated by social media usage. In addition, life satisfaction revealed no moderating effect on the relationship between extraversion, neuroticism, and social media addiction. Our results contribute to the prior studies that intensity of using social media for whatever purpose leads to social media addiction; life satisfaction does not play any role in social media addiction. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

The value of radiomics based on dual-energy CT for differentiating benign from malignant solitary pulmonary nodules.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of monochromatic dual-energy CT (DECT) images based on radiomics in differentiating benign from malignant solitary pulmonary nodules. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and informed consent was waived. Pathologically confirmed lung nodules smaller than 3 cm with integrated arterial phase and venous phase (AP and VP) gemstone spectral imaging were retrospectively identified. After extracting the radiomic features of each case, principal component analysis (PCA) was used for feature selection, and after training with the logistic regression method, three classification models (ModelAP, ModelVP and ModelCombination) were constructed. The performance was assessed by the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC), and the efficacy of the models was validated using an independent cohort. RESULTS: A total of 153 patients were included and divided into a training cohort (n = 107) and a validation cohort (n = 46). A total of 1130 radiomic features were extracted from each case. The PCA method selected 22, 25 and 35 principal components to construct the three models. The diagnostic accuracy of ModelAP, ModelVP and ModelCombination was 0.8043, 0.6739, and 0.7826 in the validation set, with AUCs of 0.8148 (95% CI 0.682-0.948), 0.7485 (95% CI 0.602-0.895), and 0.8772 (95% CI 0.780-0.974), respectively. The DeLong test showed that there were significant differences in the AUCs between ModelAP and ModelCombination (P = 0.0396) and between ModelVP and ModelCombination (P = 0.0465). However, the difference in AUCs between ModelAP and ModelVP was not significant (P = 0.5061). These results demonstrate that ModelCombination shows a better performance than the other models. Decision curve analysis proved the clinical utility of this model. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a radiomics model based on monochromatic DECT images to identify solitary pulmonary nodules. This model could serve as an effective tool for discriminating benign from malignant pulmonary nodules in patients. The combination of arterial phase and venous phase imaging could significantly improve the model performance.

"Hepatitis virus indicator"----the simultaneous detection of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses based on the automatic particle enumeration.

As the common hepatitis viruses, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are important causes of liver diseases, which greatly threaten human health and public hygiene. Furthermore, due to the similar transmission routes of HBV and HCV, it is highly susceptible to suffer from the cross-infection of HBV and HCV when humans are infected by hepatitis viruses. So it is urgent to develop strategies with high sensitivity to distinguish HBV/HCV and detect their overlapping infection. Herein, a new biosensor named "hepatitis virus indicator" for simultaneous detection of HBV and HCV based on the automatic particle enumeration was developed by the combination of Exo III assisted signal amplification strategy and particle counting technology with a dark-field microscopy. The limit of detections (LOD) were as low as 0.194 pM for HBV and 0.169 pM for HCV, respectively. In addition, the proposed method was capable of simultaneously detecting HBV and HCV based on the colorful light scattering from plasmonic nanoparticles. The proposed assay was simple, sensitive and selective for the simultaneous detection of HBV and HCV, which provided a new idea for the early diagnosis of diseases, such as hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis D virus (HDV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV).

The diagnostic performance of radiomics-based MRI in predicting microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of radiomics-based MRI in predicting microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Method: The databases of PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, Web of Science, Ovid MEDLINE, Springer, and Science Direct were searched for original studies from their inception to 20 August 2022. The quality of each study included was assessed according to the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 and the radiomics quality score. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated. The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was plotted and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were performed to explore the source of the heterogeneity. Deeks' test was used to assess publication bias. Results: A total of 15 studies involving 981 patients were included. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC were 0.79 (95%CI: 0.72-0.85), 0.81 (95%CI: 0.73-0.87), 4.1 (95%CI:2.9-5.9), 0.26 (95%CI: 0.19-0.35), 16 (95%CI: 9-28), and 0.87 (95%CI: 0.84-0.89), respectively. The results showed great heterogeneity among the included studies. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the results of this study were statistically reliable. The results of subgroup analysis showed that hepatocyte-specific contrast media (HSCM) had equivalent sensitivity and equivalent specificity compared to the other set. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method had high sensitivity and specificity than other methods, respectively. The investigated area of the region of interest had high specificity compared to the volume of interest. The imaging-to-surgery interval of 15 days had higher sensitivity and slightly low specificity than the others. Deeks' test indicates that there was no publication bias (P=0.71). Conclusion: Radiomics-based MRI has high accuracy in predicting MVI in HCC, and it can be considered as a non-invasive method for assessing MVI in HCC.

A gradient-based discriminant analysis method for process quality control of carbonized TCM via Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy: A case study on carbonized Typhae Pollen.

Carbonized traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a kind of distinctive traditional drug which has been widely used in various bleeding syndromes for over two thousand years, and most of them are still in clinical use. Although they share similar processing method: stir-frying, there are no specific quality standards and few quality control researches carried out on carbonized TCM up until now. Carbonized Typhae Pollen (CTP) is a typical carbonized TCM with efficacy of eliminating blood stasis and stanching bleeding. In this study, a novel process quality control model coupled with near infrared spectroscopy was established, called Gradient-based Discriminant Analysis method (GDA). Compared with conventional modeling methods (Convolutional Neural Network, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Standard Normal Variate-LDA), GDA model applied in fiber optic probe acquisition mode exhibited highest test accuracy (0.961), satisfactory correct identification (internal validation, 100%; external validation, 97.1%) and excellent model stability. This method provided a perfect guideline for process quality control of Carbonized TCM as well as ensured their clinical efficacy.

CircZNF532 knockdown protects retinal pigment epithelial cells against high glucose-induced apoptosis and pyroptosis by regulating the miR-20b-5p/STAT3 axis.

INTRODUCTION: The loss of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is associated with the etiology of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study investigated the effects of circular RNA ZNF532 (circZNF532) on apoptosis and pyroptosis of RPE cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood samples were collected from patients with DR and healthy volunteers. A human RPE cell line ARPE-19 was induced by high glucose (HG) and assayed for cell viability, apoptosis, and pyroptosis. The binding of miR-20b-5p with circZNF532 and STAT3 was confirmed by a luciferase activity assay. A mouse model of diabetic retinopathy was established. RESULTS: CircZNF532 and STAT3 were upregulated but miR-20b-5p was downregulated in the serum samples of patients with DR and HG-induced ARPE-19 cells. Elevated miR-20b-5p or CircZNF532 knockdown enhanced proliferation but reduced apoptosis and pyroptosis of ARPE-19 cells. CircZNF532 sponged miR-20b-5p and inhibited its expression. STAT3 was verified as a target of miR-20b-5p. MiR-20b-5p modulated ARPE-19 cell viability, apoptosis, and pyroptosis by targeting STAT3. Mice with STZ-induced diabetes showed elevated expressions of circZNF532 and STAT3 but decreased the level of miR-20b-5p compared with the controls. Knockdown of circZNF532 inhibited apoptosis and pyroptosis in mouse retinal tissues. CONCLUSION: CircZNF532 knockdown rescued human RPE cells from HG-induced apoptosis and pyroptosis by regulating STAT3 via miR-20b-5p.

Preliminary experience of flexible vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath(FV-UAS) in retrograde intrarenal lithotripsy / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:Objectives To introduce the preliminary experience of flexible vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath(FV-UAS) in the treatment of upper urinary calculi in retrograde intrarenal lithotripsy(RIRS).Methods:The clinical data of 11 patients with upper urinary calculi who were treated in Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital from August to September 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 6 males and 5 females, with the mean age of 48 years (32-72 years), the mean size of stone of 15.5 mm (11-20mm), and the mean stone volume of 1 958 mm3 (1 108-4 036 mm3), including 1 case with upper ureteral calculi, 10 cases with renal calculi, and 2 cases with calculi in multiple renal calyces. Ureteral stents were placed in 2 cases preoperatively. There were 2 cases of grade Ⅱ hydronephrosis according to Grignon classification. All patients were treated by retrograde intrarenal lithotripsy, and the FV-UAS(F12/14) was used during the operation. FV-UAS can be passively bent(>90°) with the bending of the flexible ureteroscopy(f-URS), and connect vacuum suction devices. The method of placing the FV-UAS during the operation was the same as traditional ureteral access sheath. The FV-UAS should be as close to the target stone as possible by the f-URS during the operation. F6 ureteral stent was routinely indwelled for 2-4 weeks. The operation time, postoperative complications, and stone volume clearance rate were summarized and analyzed, and stone volume clearance rate was calculated as(1-residual stone volume/preoperative stone volume)×100%. The stone volume was obtained by CT 3-D reconstruction preoperatively and first day postoperatively.Results:All patients underwent RIRS successfully at the first stage, with the usage of FV-UAS(F12/14)during the operation. The mean operation time was 57.1 minutes(34-90 minutes), and the mean stone volume clearance rate was 98.9%(94.8%-100.0%)on the first day postoperatively. Seven cases reached 100.0% stone-free rate, and 4 cases presented residual calculi. The mean hemoglobin drop was 0.8 g/L, and 1 case presented vomiting without fever on the first day postoperatively. For the 4 cases with residual calculi, no residual stone was found by B-ultrasound when the ureteral stent was removed.Conclusions:Our preliminary study found that it is feasible and safe to use FV-UAS in RIRS, which can follow the f-URS to extend into the renal pelvis and renal calyces. Vacuum-assist can increase the probability of stone-free.

Effect of Extracts from Veronica peregrine on Breast Cancer Cell-induced Osteoclastic Bone Metastasis via Inhibiting Runx2 Activation / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate inhibitory effect of extracts from Veronica peregrina （EVP） on the osteoclastic bone metastasis induced by breast cancer cells. MethodBone metastasis model was established by injection of MDA-MB-231 cells， a human breast cancer cell line， into the left ventricle of BALB/c nude mice. The expression of human cytokeratin-19 （Ck-19） gene in mouse bone marrow was determined by nested polymerase chain reaction（PCR） to assess the bone metastasis of MDA-MB-231 cells. To assess the effects of EVP on the activation of bone marrow macrophages （BMMs）， we counted the multinuclear cells and measured the secretion of Cathepsin K. Western blot was adopted to assess the effects of EVP on receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB （RANK）， Runt-related transcription factor 2 （ Runx2 ）， phosphorylated Runx2 （p-Runx2）， and matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9） in BMMs. Gelatin zymography was employed to determine the activities of matrix metalloproteinases （MMPs）. ResultCompared with that in the blank group， Ck-19 expression was down-regulated in EVP groups （P<0.05）. The multinucleated cells increased when the BMMs were induced by soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand （sRANKL）， which was inhibited by EVP （P<0.05）. The level of cathepsin K in the supernatant of sRANKL group increased compared with that of the blank group， while EVP groups had lower cathepsin K levels than sRANKL group （P<0.05）. Compared with the blank group， the sRANKL group showed up-regulated RANK expression， Runx2 phosphorylation， and MMP-9 expression （P<0.05）， while the expression levels of RANK， p-Runx2， and MMP-9 were down-regulated when the cells were incubated with EVP （P<0.05）. Furthermore， exposure of BMMs to sRANKL resulted in an increase in gelatin hydrolyzation compared with the blank group （P<0.01）， which， however， was reversed in EVP groups （P<0.05）. ConclusionEVP significantly inhibits bone marrow metastasis of MDA-MB-231 cells， which may be associated with the suppression of osteoclast activation by inhibiting Runx2 phosphorylation.

Research advances in the treatment of liver failure with mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes / 中华肝脏病杂志

Liver failure is a serious clinical syndrome in which multiple pathogenic factors exceed the liver's self-repair capability, resulting massive hepatocellular necrosis, rapid disease progression and high mortality. Liver transplantation is the most effective method for the treatment of liver failure, but it has disadvantages, such as insufficient liver donor and high cost. The clinical efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in liver failure have been validated, but its application has been limited to certain extent. Cell-free-based therapies, especially mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes, has become a research hotspot in recent years. This paper reviews the research advances in the treatment of liver failure with the use of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes.

Clinical application of serum Golgi protein 73 in patients with chronic liver diseases / 中华肝脏病杂志

Golgi protein 73 (GP73) is a transmembrane protein on the Golgi apparatus and can be cut and released into the blood. In recent years, an increasing number of clinical studies have shown that the elevated serum GP73 level is closely related to liver diseases. And thus GP73 is expected to be used as a new serum marker for assessing progress of chronic liver diseases. Herein, the clinical application of serum GP73 in chronic hepatitis, liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma with different etiologies was reviewed based on available literatures; and a research outlook in this field is made.

Accuracy of CT texture analysis for differentiating low-grade and high-grade renal cell carcinoma: systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the accuracy of CT texture analysis (CTTA) for differentiating low-grade and high-grade renal cell carcinoma (RCC). DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, OVID Medline, Science Direct and Springer were searched to identify the included studies. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR INCLUDING STUDIES: Clinical studies that report about the accuracy of CTTA in differentiating low-grade and high-grade RCC. METHODS: Multiple databases were searched to identify studies from their inception to 20 October 2021. Two radiologists independently extracted data from the primary studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR) and diagnostic OR (DOR) were calculated to assess CTTA performance. The summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was plotted, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the accuracy of CTTA in grading RCC. RESULTS: This meta-analysis included 11 studies, with 1603 lesions observed in 1601 patients. Values of the pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR were 0.79 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.84), 0.84 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.87), 5.1 (95% CI 4.0 to 6.4), 0.24 (95% CI 0.19 to 0.32) and 21 (95% CI 13 to 33), respectively. The SROC curve showed that the AUC was 0.88 (95% CI 0.84 to 0.90). Deeks' test found no significant publication bias among the studies (p=0.42). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that CTTA has a high accuracy in differentiating low-grade and high-grade RCC. A standardised methodology and large sample-based study are necessary to certain the diagnostic accuracy of CTTA in RCC grading for clinical decision making.

A Prospective Multicenter Study of the Chinese Scoring System for Hepatitis B Liver Failure.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical utility of a Chinese scoring system for hepatitis B liver failure in a prospective and multicenter study. Methods: Clinical data for 1,143 patients with hepatitis B liver failure who had been followed up for a minimum of 6 months were collected from seven liver disease centers across China. The disease severity and prognosis for the patients were predicted using the Chinese scoring system and compared to those predicted with the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, MELD-Na score, and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score. Results: The Chinese scoring system was more effective at predicting the outcomes of survival and mortality than the MELD score. In the peak disease stage, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the Chinese scoring system was 0.954, significantly higher than that (0.896) for the MELD scoring system (P < 0.001). The positive prediction at 30, 90, and 180 days with the Chinese scoring system was 0.764 (95% CI: 0.714-0.808), 0.731 (95% CI: 0.694-0.769), and 0.724 (95% CI: 0.679-0.765), also significantly higher than that with the MELD, MELD-Na, and CTP scores (P < 0.001). In addition, the Chinese scoring system was superior to the MELD, MELD-Na, and CTP scores (P < 0.001) at predicting the prognosis of patients with hepatitis B liver failure at both 30 and 180 days. Conclusion: The Chinese scoring system demonstrated superior performance to the three established scoring systems in assessing the severity and outcomes of hepatitis B liver failure in this cohort.

Size-Dependent Plasmonic Resonance Scattering Characteristics of Gold Nanorods for Highly Sensitive Detection of microRNA-27a.

MicroRNAs, as one kind of significant biomarkers, play indispensable roles in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Yet, owing to low expression and high sequence homology, high sensitivity and specificity for microRNA detection are greatly challenging. Herein, a sensitive sensing platform with high specificity was developed for microRNA-27a (miRNA-27a) based on the miRNA-27a-triggered chemical etching of gold nanorods to a smaller size, which was accompanied by a significant blue shift and a large decrease of intensity in the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) scattering and remarkable color variability from red to green. When combined with strand displacement reactions as well as liposome signal amplification and transduction, the proposed bioassay presented high selectivity toward miRNA-27a in a dynamic range from 100 fM to 3 pM and a low limit of detection of 16.5 fM (3σ/k) by dark-field microscopy. Additionally, the remarkable discrimination of single nucleotide difference suggested superior selectivity and was able to detect miRNA-27a extracted from breast cancer cells. The strategy put forward is universal, presenting amusing application prospects in the early diagnosis of various cancers by adapting the corresponding nucleotide sequences.

Early, short-term, low-dose glucocorticoid therapy effectively blocks progression of severe acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B to liver failure.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether early, short-term, low-dose glucocorticoid treatment prevents the progression of severe acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B to liver failure. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 125 patients with severe acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B from the Department of Infectious Diseases, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between September 2013 and March 2016. The patients were randomized to a hormone group (3-day, low-dose glucocorticoid treatment plus conventional treatment; 63 patients) and a control group (conventional treatment only; 62 patients). We analyzed markers of liver function, complications, mortality rates, and duration and cost of hospitalization. RESULTS: Serum alanine transaminase levels were significantly lower in the hormone group than in the control group at 3 days (P = 0.009) and 1 week (P = 0.018) after treatment. The decrease in this level from the baseline value on day 3 was greater in the hormone group than in the control group (P = 0.023). The trend of the changes in this level significantly differed between the two groups (P = 0.008). The incidence of liver failure (8.06% vs. 30.16%; P = 0.002) and the duration of hospitalization (23.79 vs. 31.79 days; P = 0.031) were significantly lower in the hormone group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: Low-dose, short-term glucocorticoid treatment early in the course of severe acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B along with conventional treatment significantly reduced the risk of progression to liver failure and shortened the duration of hospitalization, without increasing the complication rate.