CircRNA and Stroke: New Insight of Potential Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets.

Stroke, the second-largest cause of death and the leading cause of disability globally, presents significant challenges in terms of prognosis and treatment. Identifying reliable prognosis biomarkers and treatment targets is crucial to address these challenges. Circular RNA (circRNA) has emerged as a promising research biomarkers and therapeutic targets because of its tissue specificity and conservation. However, the potential role of circRNA in stroke prognosis and treatment remains largely unexplored. This review briefly elucidate the mechanism underlying circRNA's involvement in stroke pathophysiology. Additionally, this review summarizes the impact of circRNA on different forms of strokes, including ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. And, this article discusses the positive effects of circRNA on promoting cerebrovascular repair and regeneration, maintaining the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and reducing neuronal injury and immune inflammatory response. In conclusion, the significance of circRNA as a potential prognostic biomarker and a viable therapeutic target was underscored.

Imaging-based diagnosis and classification of radioactive iodine-induced sialadenitis.

OBJECTIVES: To establish an inflammation grading system for radioactive iodine-induced sialadenitis (RAIS) based on spiral computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography and sialography. METHODS: In all, 120 RAIS patients (18 males and 102 females) were retrospectively included. Spiral CT, ultrasonography and sialography appearances were analysed and categorized as follows: grade I, approximately normal or mild sialadenitis; grade II, moderate sialadenitis; and grade III, severe sialadenitis. Adenitis severity was analysed relative to sex, age, RAI treatment sessions and cumulative doses. RESULTS: Spiral CT showed heterogeneous (78.9%) and atrophic changes (36.8%) in the parotid glands (PGs) and duct ectasia (24.8%) in the submandibular glands (SMGs). Ultrasonography showed heterogeneous echogenicity (54.3%) and diminished gland size (30.2%) in PGs and duct ectasia in SMGs (34.7%). Sialography showed duct obliteration in 25.3% PGs and 3.2% SMGs. Statistical analysis showed good consistency among the three imaging grading results. The incidence and severity of PG lesions were significantly higher than that of SMGs (p < 0.001). As for PGs, adenitis severity was associated with both treatment sessions and cumulative doses; but in SMGs, disease severity was only related to treatment sessions. CONCLUSIONS: A grading system for severity of RAIS was established based on spiral CT, ultrasonography and sialography appearances.

Confirmation of eosinophilic sialodochitis by terminal duct biopsy.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the histopathological features of eosinophilic sialodochitis by using terminal duct biopsy. METHODS: Sixty-five patients with suspected eosinophilic sialodochitis and four with chronic obstructive sialadenitis were prospectively enrolled. Clinical features, laboratory tests and sialograms were comparatively analysed. Terminal duct biopsy of the parotid or submandibular glands was performed concomitantly with endoscopy-assisted duct dilatation to determine the histopathological features of eosinophilic sialodochitis. RESULTS: Based on eosinophil quantification, the samples of suspected patients were scored as 'definite', 'highly suspected' and 'negative' in 26 (40%), 15 (23.1%) and 24 (36.9%) cases, respectively. Gland types and peripheral blood eosinophil counts were significantly different among these three groups. The proportions of itching glands, mucus plug exudations and elevated immunoglobulin E levels were higher in the 'definite' group than in the other two groups; however, the intergroup differences were insignificant. The primary pathological features of eosinophilic sialodochitis were abundant eosinophils and lymphocytes infiltrated around the duct, degranulation of eosinophils, extensive fibrosis and scattered mastocytes. Periductal eosinophils were not found in cases of chronic obstructive sialadenitis. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that terminal duct biopsy is safe and valuable for the pathological confirmation of eosinophilic sialodochitis, and can be used simultaneously with endoscopy-assisted duct dilatation.

Solid-state multinuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray crystallographic investigation of the phosphorus...iodine halogen bond in a bis(dicyclohexylphenylphosphine)(1,6-diiodoperfluorohexane) cocrystal.

Halogen bonding to phosphorus atoms remains uncommon, with relatively few examples reported in the literature. Here, the preparation and investigation of the cocrystal bis(dicyclohexylphenylphosphine)(1,6-diiodoperfluorohexane) by X-ray crystallography and solid-state multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is described. The crystal structure features two crystallographically unique C-I...P halogen bonds [dI...P = 3.090 (5) Å, 3.264 (5) Å] and crystallographic disorder of one of the 1,6-diiodoperfluorohexane molecules. The first of these is the shortest and most linear I...P halogen bond reported to date. 13C, 19F, and 31P magic angle spinning solid-state NMR spectra are reported. A 31P chemical shift change of -7.0 p.p.m. in the cocrystal relative to pure dicyclohexylphenylphosphine, consistent with halogen bond formation, is noted. This work establishes iodoperfluoroalkanes as viable halogen bond donors when paired with phosphorus acceptors, and also shows that dicyclohexylphenylphosphine can act as a practical halogen bond acceptor.

Sperm origins and concentration do not impact the clinical outcomes in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles.

In the present study, we evaluated the impact of sperm origins and concentration on the clinical outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. A total of 1201 ICSI cycles were retrospectively analyzed for male azoospermia or oligozoospermia between January 2015 and December 2015 in the Peking University Third Hospital. Patients were divided into three groups (Group 1 vs Group 2/3; surgically extracted sperm vs ejaculated sperms): Group 1 included 343 ICSI cycles and Group 2 analyzed 388 cycles on semen with sperm concentration <5 × 106 ml-1 (severe oligozoospermia group). Group 3 included 470 cycles with sperm concentration between 5 × 106 ml-1 and 15 × 106 ml-1 (mild oligozoospermia group). Fertilization rates, clinical pregnancy rates, and live birth rates were analyzed and compared among groups of different semen origins and concentrations on the oocyte retrieval day. Group 2 showed a lower fertilization rate than Group 3 (62.9% ± 21.6% vs 66.8% ± 22.1%,P< 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in clinical pregnancy rate per transfer (51.3%, 46.7%, and 50.0%, respectively), live birth rate per transfer (44.4%, 40.9%, and 41.4%, respectively), accumulative live birth rate (58.3%, 51.0%, and 52.1%, respectively), twin birth rate (18.4%, 10.6%, and 12.6%, respectively), and birth defects rate (0, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively) among three groups. The results of this study indicated that sperm origins and concentration do not impact the clinical outcomes in ICSI cycles.