Identification of key genes and therapeutic drugs for cocaine addiction using integrated bioinformatics analysis.

Introduction: Cocaine is a highly addictive drug that is abused due to its excitatory effect on the central nervous system. It is critical to reveal the mechanisms of cocaine addiction and identify key genes that play an important role in addiction. Methods: In this study, we proposed a centrality algorithm integration strategy to identify key genes in a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network constructed by deferential genes from cocaine addiction-related datasets. In order to investigate potential therapeutic drugs for cocaine addiction, a network of targeted relationships between nervous system drugs and key genes was established. Results: Four key genes (JUN, FOS, EGR1, and IL6) were identified and well validated using CTD database correlation analysis, text mining, independent dataset analysis, and enrichment analysis methods, and they might serve as biomarkers of cocaine addiction. A total of seventeen drugs have been identified from the network of targeted relationships between nervous system drugs and key genes, of which five (disulfiram, cannabidiol, dextroamphetamine, diazepam, and melatonin) have been shown in the literature to play a role in the treatment of cocaine addiction. Discussion: This study identified key genes and potential therapeutic drugs for cocaine addiction, which provided new ideas for the research of the mechanism of cocaine addiction.

Down-regulation of S1PR2 is correlated with poor prognosis and immune infiltrates in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: Cervical squamous cell carcinoma and cervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) are the second leading cause of deaths from malignant tumors in women, while their therapeutic and diagnostic aims are still finited. A growing body of evidence indicated that sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 (S1PR2) plays essential roles in the occurrence and development about several human cancers. Nevertheless, the key mechanism and role mechanism of S1PR2 in CESC are still unclear.Methods: We first used Tissue Expression (GTEx) and Genotypic Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data to perform pan-cancer analysis on the expression and prognosis of S1PR2, and found that S1PR2 may have a potential impact on CESC. To generate a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network using the STRING database. The clusterProfiler package is used for feature-rich analysis. The Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource was used to determine the connection between S1PR2 mRNA expression and immune infiltrates. Results: S1PR2 expression in CESC tissues was down-regulated compared with adjacent normal tissues. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that compared with patients with high expression of S1PR2, CESC patients with low S1PR2 expression had a worse prognosis. Reduced S1PR2 expression is associated with patients with high clinical stage, more histological types of squamous cell carcinoma, and poor primary treatment outcomes. The receiver operating characteristic curve of S1PR2 was 0.870. Correlation analysis showed that the mRNA expression of S1PR2 was related to immune infiltrates and tumor purity.Conclusion: Down-regulated S1PR2 expression is related to poor survival and immune infiltration in CESC. S1PR2 is a potential biomarker for poor prognosis and as a potential target for CESC immune therapy.

The mediating effect of clinical teaching behavior on transition shock and career identity among new nurses: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: New nurse attrition is a worldwide problem. Because of the gap between theory and practice in their work, new nurses may experience transition shock, which can have a negative impact on their career identity. Clinical teaching behavior is an important component in reducing the impact of new nurse transition, stabilizing the hospital nursing workforce, and cultivating high-quality nursing talents. OBJECTIVES: Based on the New Nurse Transition Model, to explore the mediating role of clinical teaching behavior in the relationship between transition shock and career identity in the new nurse population of Gansu Province. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: Seventeen hospitals in Gansu province of China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1684 new nurses (1590 female and 94 male) were recruited from seventeen hospitals in Gansu province. METHODS: Three questionnaires include: The Clinical Teaching Behavior Inventory (CTBI-23), the Transition shock of Newly Graduated Nurses Scale (TSNGNS), and the Nurse's Career Identity Scale (NCIS). Structural equation modeling was used to deal with the relationships among clinical teaching behavior, transition shock, and career identity. RESULTS: Transition shock was found to be negatively related to both career identity and clinical teaching behavior, with clinical teaching behavior mediates the relationship between transition shock and career identity. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical teaching behavior of the teaching staff plays a role in mediating the relationship between new nurses' sense of career identity and transition shock. Accordingly, the teaching behavior of clinical teaching should be improved and the quality of clinical teaching behavior should be improved to increase the career identity of new nurses and reduce the turnover rate of new nurses.

The relationships between clinical teaching behaviour and transition shock in newly graduated nurses.

AIM: To explore the relationships between clinical teaching behaviour and transition shock in newly graduated nurses and significant differences in the northwest and northeast China. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design. METHODS: A total of 211 (nurses) and 925 (preceptors) were recruited in six Third-class different hospitals from July to August 2019. RESULTS: The transition shock is negatively correlated with the clinical teaching behaviour in northwest and northeast China, while the transition shock in the northwest is higher than that in the northeast for the behindhand economy and natural limit. CONCLUSION: The transition process of newly graduated nurses in northeast China with ethnic minorities and the behindhand economy is more difficult. For newly graduated nurses, personal health and a supportive environment need further improvement. Teaching strategies for preceptors need to be enhanced. Two-way feedback is more useful for both the newly graduated nurses and preceptors to improve quality care, and holistic care.

Analysis of TRIM27 prognosis value and immune infiltrates in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Up-regulation of tripartite motif-containing 27 (TRIM27) in varieties of tumors found that TRIM27 advanced tumor metastasis and invasion. Nevertheless, the relation of TRIM27 and immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the prognostic value of TRIM27 expression is unknown. We assessed TRIM27 association with immune infiltrates and the prognostic value of TRIM27 in HCC. From the Cancer Genome Atlas, we obtained TRIM27 transcriptional expression profiles of HCC and normal tissues. Using the Human Protein Atlas to evaluate the expression TRIM27, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were produced using the STRING database. Functional enrichment analysis was performed by using the clusterProfiler package. The tumor immune estimation resource was used to determine the relation of TRIM27 expression and immune infiltrates. We found that the expression of TRIM27 was up-regulated in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. High TRIM27 expression correlated with high pathologic stage and high TNM stage. The receiver operating characteristic curve of TRIM27 area was 0.946. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed poor prognosis in HCC patients with high expression of TRIM27. Correlation analysis suggested that the expression of TRIM27 was related to immune infiltrates and tumor purity. This study indicated in HCC up-regulated the expression of TRIM27 is correlated to poor survival and immune infiltration. TRIM27 is an underlying target of immune therapy and is an underlying biomarker for poor prognosis in HCC.

Integrating Expression Data-Based Deep Neural Network Models with Biological Networks to Identify Regulatory Modules for Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of primary lung cancer, but the regulatory mechanisms during carcinogenesis remain unclear. The identification of regulatory modules for lung adenocarcinoma has become one of the hotspots of bioinformatics. In this paper, multiple deep neural network (DNN) models were constructed using the expression data to identify regulatory modules for lung adenocarcinoma in biological networks. First, the mRNAs, lncRNAs and miRNAs with significant differences in the expression levels between tumor and non-tumor tissues were obtained. MRNA DNN models were established and optimized to mine candidate mRNAs that significantly contributed to the DNN models and were in the center of an interaction network. Another DNN model was then constructed and potential ceRNAs were screened out based on the contribution of each RNA to the model. Finally, three modules comprised of miRNAs and their regulated mRNAs and lncRNAs with the same regulation direction were identified as regulatory modules that regulated the initiation of lung adenocarcinoma through ceRNAs relationships. They were validated by literature and functional enrichment analysis. The effectiveness of these regulatory modules was evaluated in an independent lung adenocarcinoma dataset. Regulatory modules for lung adenocarcinoma identified in this study provided a reference for regulatory mechanisms during carcinogenesis.

Identification of influencers in online social networks: measuring influence considering multidimensional factors exploration.

Online Social networks exhibit heterogeneous nature with nodes playing far different roles in structure and function. To identify influencers is thus very significant, allowing us to control the outbreak of public negative opinion, to conduct advertisements for e-commercial products, to predict popular scientific publications, and so on. The identification of influencers attracts increasing attentions from both computer science and communication science, with multiple dimensional metrics ranging from structure-based to information-based and action-based. However, most work simply rely on one dimensional metrics. Therefore, in this paper, we analyze three dimensional characteristics (structure-based, information-based, and action-based factors) to develop the multidimensional social influence (MSI) measurement approach. With topic distillation and conditional expectation, the MSI approach can not only measure users topic-level influence, but also measure users global-level influence. Based on data collected from SinaWeibo.com, the experimental results show that the proposed framework outperforms two traditional methods (LeaderRank and FBI) both on the topic-level and the global-level. The proposed framework can be effectively applied to promote word-of-mouth marketing, and to steer public opinion in certain directions, even to support decisions during a negotiation process.

Prognostic Value of Site-Specific Metastases and Therapeutic Roles of Surgery and Chemotherapy for Patients With Metastatic Renal Pelvis Cancer: A SEER Based Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is a lack of research on metastatic renal pelvis cell carcinoma in the current literature. In this study, we aimed to detect distant metastatic patterns in renal pelvis cell carcinoma, and illustrated the affection of different metastatic sites, surgery to primary site and chemotherapy on prognosis outcomes in patients with diverse conditions. METHODS: We collected data between 2010 and 2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank test was used for survival comparisons. Multivariate Cox regression model was employed to analyze the effect of distant metastatic sites on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS: A total of 424 patients were included in the analysis, the median follow-up time was 5 months (interquartile range (IQR): 2-12) and 391 deaths (92.2%) in all patients were recorded. Among them, 192 (45.3%), 153 (36.1%), 137 (32.3%) and 127 (30.0%) patients were diagnosed with lung, bone, liver and brain metastases, respectively, while only 12 (2.8%) patients had brain metastases. The bi-organ, tri-organ and tetra-organ metastatic pattern was found in 135 (31.8%), 32 (7.5%) and 11 (2.6%) patients, respectively. The multivariate Cox analyses showed that distant lymph nodes (DL) metastases was not an independent prognostic factor for both OS and CSS (OS: Hazard ratios (HR) = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.8-1.4, P = 0.622; CSS: HR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.8-1.3, P = 0.906). Besides, there was no significant difference of survival in patients with T3-T4 stage (OS: HR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.5-1.2, P = 0.296; CSS: HR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.5-1.2, P = 0.224), N2-3 stage (OS: HR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.5-1.3, P = 0.351; CSS: HR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.4-1.2, P = 0.259) and multi-organ metastases (OS: HR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.5-1.3, P = 0.359; CSS: HR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.4-1.2, P = 0.179) between surgery to primary site group and no-surgery to primary site group. CONCLUSION: we described the metastatic patterns of mRPCC and the prognosis outcomes of DL metastases, surgery to primary site and chemotherapy. Our findings provide more information for clinical therapeutic intervention and translational study designs.

Clinical teaching behaviour effects professional identity and transition shock in new nurses in western china: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: To examine the interrelationship between professional identity, clinical teaching behaviour and transition shock for new nurses in Western China. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design. METHODS: A total of 779 new nurses were recruited in Gansu province and Lanzhou city from June to July 2019. Each patient was given three questionnaires to complete, and structural equation modelling was used to identify the relationships. RESULTS: The overall mean scores for the transition shock, professional identity and clinical teaching behaviour were 92.53(SD = 22.17), 89.74(SD = 16.57) 80.12(SD = 12.38), respectively. The most important aspects identified were the Physical aspect, the Sense of Mastery and Committing to Teaching. Professional identity and clinical teaching behaviour were negatively related to transition shock, a better sense of identity coupled with supportive clinical teaching were keys to a smoother journey from new to experienced nurses.

Effect of clinical teaching behaviours on transition shock in graduate nurses.

AIM: This study aimed to explore the impact of preceptor clinical teaching behaviours on transition shock in graduate nurses using bi-directional feedback between graduate nurses and clinical preceptors and to assess preceptor clinical teaching behaviours. DESIGN: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. METHODS: This study was conducted from January-February 2019. Participants included graduate nurses (N = 117) and clinical preceptors (N = 908) from a major public tertiary hospital in Western China. RESULTS: Overall level of transition shock of graduate nurses was moderate (mean = 89 SD  17.54). Transition shock level of graduate nurses rose with the increasing of time in clinical work. Intensive care unit graduate nurses suffered the strongest transition shock, whereas surgery graduate nurses suffered the least. Graduate nurses thought that clinical preceptors were best at evaluation and feedback, whereas clinical preceptors thought they were best at showing concern and support. The primary factors associated with transition shock in graduate nurses were the time admitted to the hospital, feedback, and evaluation, use of appropriate teaching strategies, and showing concern and support, explaining 63.5% of the total variation in transition shock in graduate nurses. CONCLUSION: In Western China, where the development of economic and medical conditions lag, transition shock is a major obstacle to the professional development of graduate nurses and clinical teaching behaviours is the key to overcoming transition obstacles. However, the serious shortage of nurses makes it difficult to not only complete heavy clinical nursing work but also to undertake the teaching of students and graduate nurses. The clinical teaching system is influenced by many factors. Focusing on clinical teaching behaviours and transition shock in graduate nurses will provide valuable data for future intervention studies. IMPLICATION: The findings of this study will be of interest to managers at all levels and will enable them to support graduate nurses by engaging in excellent clinical teaching behaviours. In the clinical teaching process, giving more feedback and evaluation, improving the ability of using appropriate teaching strategies and focusing on the physical and mental health of graduate nurses may effectively decrease transition shock of graduate nurses and reduce the turnover rate.

The effectiveness of different teaching methods on medical or nursing students: Protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: One of the major challenges in nursing and medical education is to foster the critical thinking ability and autonomous learning ability for students. But the effect of different teaching methods on these abilities of nursing or medical students has not been conclusive, and few studies have directly compared the differences in the effects of different teaching methods. As a result, it is necessary for students to evaluate the impact of different teaching methods on critical thinking ability and autonomous learning ability. METHODS: A systematic search will be performed using Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data (Chinese database), VIP Information (Chinese database), Chinese Biomedical Literature, and English language databases, including PubMed and Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL Complete (EBSCO0, Cochrane library to identify relevant studies from inception to July 10, 2020. We will include random controlled trials that evaluated the different teaching methods. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 quality assessment tool will be used to assess the risk of bias in each study. Standard pairwise meta-analysis and network meta-analysis will be performed using STATA V.12.0, MetaDiSc 1.40, and R 3.4.1 software to compare the diagnostic efficacy of different hormonal biomarkers. RESULTS: The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION: This study will summarize the direct and indirect evidence to determine the effectiveness of different teaching methods for medical or nursing students and attempt to find the most effective teaching method. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval and patient consent are not required, because this study is a meta-analysis based on published studies. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202070017.

U-shaped relationship of age at diagnosis and cancer-specific mortality in primary urachal adenocarcinoma: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: To examine the association between age at diagnosis and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in primary urachal adenocarcinoma. METHODS: The data was obtained from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program (SEER). A total of 393 patients were included in the study. Smooth curve fitting and two-piecewise Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify the nonlinearity between the age at initial diagnosis and cancer-specific survival rate. Survival time between different groups was compared using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the log-rank test. RESULTS: Using smooth curve fitting we found that the relationship between age at diagnosis and cancer-specific survival takes on a U-shaped curve. The inflection point that we identified for the age at initial diagnosis was 60 years. The log-likelihood ratio test (P<0.05) indicated that the two-piecewise Cox regression model was more appropriate for fitting the correlation of age at diagnosis and CSM. The two-piecewise Cox regression model showed that when the age was <60 years, reduced risk of CSM was significantly associated with increased age (HR: 0.95, P=0.0002). Conversely, when age was >60 years, increased risk of CSM was significantly associated with increased age (HR: 1.05, P=0.0499). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our study suggested that the relationship between age at diagnosis and cancer-specific survival is nonlinear, and takes on a U-shaped curve. Both younger and older age at initial diagnosis age were associated with increased CSM.

Exercise for fatigue in breast cancer patients: An umbrella review of systematic reviews.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate evidence from published systematic reviews about the effectiveness of exercise interventions on fatigue management in breast cancer patients. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), Embase databases, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the Wanfang database, the China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and the VIP database were searched to identify relevant systematic reviews. The reviews which assessed exercise interventions on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in breast cancer patients were included. Quality of evidence was evaluated by the Grade of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool. The Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) appraisal tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of included systematic reviews. RESULTS: Twenty-four systematic reviews met all the inclusion criteria. The overall mean score for AMSATR is 7.38 and ranged from 4 to 10 points. In addition, 21 reviews arrived at positive conclusions, which exercises could reduce CRF, and 3 obtained that exercise does not affect fatigue. As for GRADE, 8 of the reviews were graded as 'moderate', 2 of the studies were 'very low', and the others were 'low'. CONCLUSIONS: Aerobic and resistance exercise can be regarded as beneficial to CRF in breast cancer patients, and limited evidence exists that yoga had an effect on reducing fatigue. The quality of the current systematic review is still far from satisfactory.

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict survival in patients with metastatic testicular germ cell tumors.

BACKGROUND: To develop a nomogram to predict cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with metastatic testicular germ cell tumors (mTGCTs). METHODS: Data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to identify factors associated with CSS. Survival times between different groups were compared using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the log-rank test. A nomogram visualization model was established using the R language to predict survival rates. Harrell's concordance index (C-index), the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration plots were used to assess the performance of the model. RESULTS: We analyzed the data of 949 patients. The median follow-up time was 32 months (range 0 to 83 months), and 224 (23.60%) patients died before the last follow-up, of whom 193 (20.33%) died of mTGCTs. The site of distant metastases was an independent prognostic factor for CSS. Compared to patients without involvement of the corresponding organ, patients with bone, brain, liver, and lung involvement had worse CSS. We also found that age, histological type, surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, metastatic site and insurance status affected the CSS of patients with mTGCTs. We used these prognostic factors to construct our nomogram. Harrell's C-index for CSS was 0.739. The AUC and calibration plots indicated good performance of the nomogram. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram for predicting CSS in patients with mTGCTs has been developed, which can help patients and clinicians accurately predict mortality risk and recommend personalized treatment modalities.

Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting survival in patients with non-metastatic primary adenocarcinoma of the bladder.

BACKGROUND: To develop a nomogram for predicting cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with non-metastatic primary adenocarcinoma of the bladder (NMACB). METHODS: We used a retrospective cohort study design. Patient data were obtained from the SEER database, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with CSS. A nomogram visualization model was established using R language software to predict survival rate. Harrell's concordance index (C-index), area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) in addition to calibration plots were used to assess the performance of the model. RESULTS: A total of 1,635 patients were included in the study. A multivariate Cox regression model indicated that age, histological type, grade, stage, and surgery were independent covariates associated with CSS. Using these prognostic factors, a nomogram was constructed. Harrell's C indices for CSS were 0.729 in the training cohort and 0.716 in the validation cohort. AUC values were 0.769, 0.735 and 0.724 for 1, 3, and 5-year in the training cohort, and 0.738, 0.727 and 0.713 for 1, 3 and 5-year in the validation cohort, respectively. The AUC values and calibration plots indicated that the nomogram provided good predictive performance. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram for predicting CSS in patients with NMACB was developed to assist clinicians in the accurate prediction of mortality risk to allow them to recommend a personalized treatment modality.

[Seasonal Variation and Source Analysis of Water-soluble Inorganic Ions in Fine Particulate Matter in Zhengzhou].

In order to explore the characteristics of PM2.5 concentration and water-soluble inorganic ions in Zhengzhou City, a total of 170 PM2.5 samples were collected in the spring, summer, autumn, and winter seasons of 2016, with 30 days continuous sampling during each season. The mass concentration of PM2.5 was analyzed gravimetrically, water-soluble inorganic ions were determined by ion chromatography, and principle component analysis was employed for source apportionment. The results showed that the mass concentration of PM2.5 was 150.72µg·m-3 during the sampling period. The mass concentration was highest in winter and lowest in summer, and that of autumn is higher was higher than that of spring. The ions SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+ were the major WSIs found in PM2.5, accounting for 92.55%, 92.94%, 93.06%, and 93.15% of the total amount of the seven ions found in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. The anion-to-cation ratio was 0.886, which indicated that PM2.5 was slightly alkaline in Zhengzhou. Secondary inorganic species, including NH4+, NO3-, and SO42- were the major components of the water-soluble ions. These ions most likely existed in the form of NH4NO3 and (NH4)2SO4 during spring and summer, while they were present as NH4NO3, (NH4)2SO4 and NH4HSO4 in autumn. In addition to these three forms, NH4Cl or other forms may exist in winter. Industrial emissions, combustion, secondary transformation, soil, and construction dust were the major sources of the water-soluble ions in PM2.5.

[Interannual Variation of Metal Elements and Water-Soluble Ions in PM2.5 During Wintertime in Xinxiang and Their Source Apportionment].

To study the interannual variations of chemical composition and source apportionment, a field campaign was carried out to collect the PM2.5 temperance sample during the winter of 2015 and the winter of 2016 in Xinxiang urban areas. PM2.5 mass concentration, metal elements, and the water-soluble ions were determined and meteorological factors were recorded simultaneously. The results showed that the daily mean concentrations of PM2.5 indicated serious pollution with values of 226 µg·m-3 and 224 µg·m-3 in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The Cd and Pb elements in PM2.5 were significantly enriched, with EF more than 1000. However, compared with 2015, the enrichment effect of most metal elements showed a trend of decrease in 2016. The water-soluble ions were mainly composed of SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+. The results showed a trade-off effect between metal elements and water-soluble ions in the two study periods. The results of PCA and PMF analyses show that there were four main emission sources in Xinxiang city in winter, namely dust, secondary source, industrial source, and fossil fuel combustion source. Moreover, the main sources of PM2.5 was the mixed source of soil and building dust and secondary aerosol pollution, with contributions of 37.46% and 34.94% in the winters of 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Circular RNA circBACH2 plays a role in papillary thyroid carcinoma by sponging miR-139-5p and regulating LMO4 expression.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs that are broadly expressed in various biological cells and function in regulating gene expression. They are structurally stable and tissue-specific. However, the function of human circRNAs and the role of circRNAs in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remain to be determined. Herein, the function of circRNA circBACH2 was investigated in human PTC cells. First, we detected the expression of circBACH2 in PTC tissues and PTC cell lines by RT-PCR. FISH was used to confirm the subcellular localization of circBACH2. A luciferase reporter assay and AGO2-RIP was used to confirm the relationship between circBACH2 and miR-139-5p. PTC cells were stably transfected with siRNA against circBACH2 and cell proliferation, migration and invasion were detected to evaluate the effect of circBACH2 in PTC, while tumorigenesis was assayed in nude mice. We found that circBACH2 was highly expressed in PTC tissues and PTC cell lines. Mechanistically, we confirmed that circBACH2 could directly bind to miR-139-5p and relieve suppression of the target LMO4. Functionally, we found that inhibiting circBACH2 expression decreased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Finally, down-regulating circBACH2 suppressed the growth of PTC xenografts in nude mice. Our findings indicate that circBACH2 acts as a novel oncogenic RNA that sponges miR-139-5p and can be used as a tumor biomarker of PTC. What's more, these results revealed that the circBACH2/miR-139-5p/LMO4 axis could be targeted as a potential treatment strategy for PTC.

A novel method for sewage sludge composting using bamboo charcoal as a separating material.

Traditional composting processes must be conducted with a bulking agent to ensure adequate air space for aeration. The bulking agent and composting materials are always completely mixed. A novel layered structure was introduced in sewage sludge composting, in which no bulking agent was used and bamboo charcoal was used as a separating material. Three lab-scale composting reactors (A: sawdust and sludge; B: bamboo charcoal and sludge; and C: sawdust, bamboo charcoal, and sludge) were continuously operated for 29 days. Several physicochemical parameters were investigated to evaluate the feasibility of layered composting with bamboo charcoal. The results indicated that the maximum temperatures during the thermophilic stage in treatments A, B, and C were 51.4, 50.9, and 51 °C, respectively. Layered composting with bamboo charcoal decreased the pH of the thermophilic stage from 8.98 in A to 8.75 in C, and delayed the peaks by about 120 h. The degradation rates of dissolve organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved nitrogen (DN) were 75 and 71.5% in treatment B, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of control group A (60 and 59.1%, respectively). The total NH3 emissions of treatment C (2127.8 mg) were significantly lower than those of A (2522.8 mg). Our results suggested that layered composting using bamboo charcoal as a separating material could be an alternative strategy to the traditional composting method. Moreover, layered composting combined with sawdust could effectively reduce NH3 emissions and N loss.

[Low-dose PDE5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction with subclinical metabolic syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of low-dose PDE5 inhibitors on metabolic parameters and erectile function in ED patients with subclinical metabolic syndrome (SCMS). METHODS: Totally, 132 ED patients, aged 21－61 (mean 34.5) years, were treated in the Andrology Clinic of the First Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from April 2017 to May 2018. According to the diagnostic criteria, we divided the patients into groups A (simple ED, n = 40), B (ED with SCMS, n = 34) and C (ED with MS, n = 58) to receive 3 months of oral administration of tadalafil at 5 mg qd at bedtime, and followed them up for 3 months after drug withdrawal. During the treatment, we advised the patients to keep a healthy diet, change bad habits, participate in regular physical exercise, and maintain psychological balance. Before and right after medication and at 3 months after drug withdrawal, we recorded the changes in the IIEF-5 scores, abdominal circumference, blood pressure and levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) of the patients. RESULTS: The IIEF-5 scores showed statistically significant differences at different time points between groups A and C (P < 0.01), remarkably higher right after treatment than before treatment and at 3 months after drug withdrawal in group B (19.71 ± 2.40 vs 10.21 ± 3.92 and 16.29 ± 2.41, P < 0.01). At 3 months after drug withdrawal, the abdominal circumference was significantly smaller in group A than in B and C (ï¼»78.10 ± 6.00ï¼½ vs ï¼»84.15 ± 8.17ï¼½ and ï¼»91.53 ± 11.49ï¼½ cm, P < 0.01) and the HDL level lower in group C than in A and B (ï¼»0.96 ± 0.15ï¼½ vs ï¼»1.27 ± 0.14ï¼½ and ï¼»1.16 ± 0.2ï¼½] mmol/L, P < 0.01). Systolic blood pressure exhibited statistically significant differences between any two time points in group C (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) but not in group A (P > 0.05) or B (P > 0.05). Diastolic blood pressure was markedly lower in group B right after medication and at 3 months after drug withdrawal than before treatment (ï¼»75.62 ± 10.70ï¼½ and ï¼»74.65 ± 9.90ï¼½ vs ï¼»78.00 ± 11.42ï¼½ mmHg, P < 0.05), and so was it in group C (ï¼»82.19 ± 10.36ï¼½ and ï¼»82.40 ± 10.09ï¼½ vs ï¼»86.71 ± 12.32ï¼½ mmHg, P < 0.05), but manifested no significant difference between any two time points in group A (P > 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the FBS level among different time points in groups A and C (P < 0.05) but not in B between post-treatment and 3 months after drug withdrawal (ï¼»5.34 ± 0.60ï¼½ vs ï¼»5.36 ± 0.40ï¼½ mmol/L, P > 0.05), and so were there in the TG level among different time points in groups A and C (P < 0.05) but not in B between pre- and post-treatment (ï¼»1.80 ± 0.98ï¼½ vs ï¼»1.64 ± 1.19ï¼½ mmol/L, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Periodic administration of low-dose sustained-release PDE5 inhibitors with health education and lifestyle guidance may reverse ED with SCMS and improve most of the related metabolic parameters.