Comparative and phylogenetic analyses of Loranthaceae plastomes provide insights into the evolutionary trajectories of plastome degradation in hemiparasitic plants.

BACKGROUND: The lifestyle transition from autotrophy to heterotrophy often leads to extensive degradation of plastomes in parasitic plants, while the evolutionary trajectories of plastome degradation associated with parasitism in hemiparasitic plants remain poorly understood. In this study, phylogeny-oriented comparative analyses were conducted to investigate whether obligate Loranthaceae stem-parasites experienced higher degrees of plastome degradation than closely related facultative root-parasites and to explore the potential evolutionary events that triggered the 'domino effect' in plastome degradation of hemiparasitic plants. RESULTS: Through phylogeny-oriented comparative analyses, the results indicate that Loranthaceae hemiparasites have undergone varying degrees of plastome degradation as they evolved towards a heterotrophic lifestyle. Compared to closely related facultative root-parasites, all obligate stem-parasites exhibited an elevated degree plastome degradation, characterized by increased downsizing, gene loss, and pseudogenization, thereby providing empirical evidence supporting the theoretical expectation that evolution from facultative parasitism to obligate parasitism may result in a higher degree of plastome degradation in hemiparasites. Along with infra-familial divergence in Loranthaceae, several lineage-specific gene loss/pseudogenization events occurred at deep nodes, whereas further independent gene loss/pseudogenization events were observed in shallow branches. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that in addition to the increasing levels of nutritional reliance on host plants, cladogenesis can be considered as another pivotal evolutionary event triggering the 'domino effect' in plastome degradation of hemiparasitic plants. These findings provide new insights into the evolutionary trajectory of plastome degradation in hemiparasitic plants.

The protective effect of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. polysaccharide on DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in mice via the modulation of gut microbiota and inhibition of NF-κB activation.

BACKGROUND: Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill, a fruit utilized in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has a long history of medical application. It has been used to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill polysaccharide (SACP) is an important biologically active ingredient that has been shown to have a variety of beneficial effects including immune regulation and anti-oxidative properties. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a complicated gastrointestinal inflammatory disease. We explore the protective effect of SACP against UC. RESULTS: Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill polysaccharide significantly reduced the disease activity index (DAI) and levels of myeloperoxidase(MPO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in colonic tissue. It also alleviated weight loss and histopathological damage of mice. The expression of MUC2 and occludin proteins was increased and the barrier function of the colonic mucosa was enhanced by SACP treatment. NF-κB pathway activation was also inhibited and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines was decreased whereas anti-inflammatory cytokines were increased. 16SrDNA sequencing of fecal flora showed that SACP increased the abundance of Muribaculaceaeunclassified, LachnospiraceaeNK4A136group and reduced the abundance of Bacteroides and Erysipelatoclostridium. CONCLUSION: Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill polysaccharide can protect against Dextran Sulfate Sodium Salt (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in mice. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Compression Therapy Following Endovenous Thermal Ablation of Varicose Veins: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to evaluate the necessity for compression therapy with elastic stockings following endovenous thermal ablation (EVTA) for chronic venous insufficiency. METHODS: MedLine, ScienceDirect and the Cochrane Library were searched for the relevant literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two researchers independently extracted data and assessed the quality of the literature. Randomized controlled trials comparing the use of elastic stockings for compression therapy versus no compression therapy following RFA or EVLA for varicose veins were included in this study. The primary outcome of postoperative pain was assessed using the visual analogue pain scale. Secondary outcomes included the bruising score, quality of life, venous clinical severity score, time to return to normal activities, complications, and the rate of saphenous vein occlusion. The mixed effect model or random effect model was used to calculate relative risk (RR), mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference following the heterogeneity test. Sensitivity analysis was performed for outcomes with high heterogeneity (I2 >50%). Outcomes were described qualitatively for studies that could not be pooled. RESULTS: Six RCTs with 1,045 subjects were included. Overall, postoperative compression therapy significantly reduced the mean pain in the first 10 days post-EVTA (MD = - 4.98,95% CI: -8.71 to -1.24), and the time to return to normal activities (MD = -1.01, 95% CI: -1.97 to -0.06). In terms of the bruising score, the venous clinical severity score, complications (RR = 1.05,95% CI: 0.55-2.00), quality of life at 2 weeks (MD = -0.71,95% CI: -2.09 to 0.67) and 6 months (MD = 0.26,95% CI: -1.22 to 1.74), and the saphenous vein occlusion rate (RR=1.00,95% CI: 0.95-1.04), there were no significant differences between the compression and control groups. CONCLUSION: Our study recommends the routine use of compression therapy with elastic stockings following EVTA of varicose veins to reduce postoperative pain and the time to return to normal activities. However, further multi-center and high-quality randomized clinical trials are needed for the unified treatment for varicose veins, the target population as well as the duration of compression therapy on whether elastic stockings is beneficial following EVTA.

The complete plastomes of two flowering epiparasites (Phacellaria glomerata and P. compressa): Gene content, organization, and plastome degradation.

A plant parasite obligately parasitizing another plant parasite is referred to as epiparasite, which is extremely rare in angiosperms, and their complete plastome sequences have not been characterized to date. In this study, the complete plastomes of two flowering epiparasites: Phacellaria compressa and P. glomerata (Amphorogynaceae, Santalales) were sequenced. The plastomes of both species are of similar size, structure, gene content, and arrangement of genes to other hemiparasites in Santalales. Their plastomes were characterized by the functional loss of plastid-encoded NAD(P)H-dehydrogenase and infA genes, which strongly coincides with the general pattern of plastome degradation observed in Santalales hemiparasites. Our study demonstrates that the relatively higher level of nutritional reliance on the host plants and the reduced vegetative bodies of P. compressa and P. glomerata do not appear to cause any unique plastome degradation compared with their closely related hemiparasites.

Highly degenerate plastomes in two hemiparasitic dwarf mistletoes: Arceuthobium chinense and A. pini (Viscaceae).

MAIN CONCLUSION: The leafless and endophytic habitat may significantly relax the selection pressure on photosynthesis, and plastid transcription and translation, causing the loss/pseudogenization of several essential plastid-encoding genes in dwarf mistletoes. Dwarf mistletoes (Arceuthobium spp., Viscaceae) are the most destructive plant parasites to numerous conifer species worldwide. In this study, the plastid genomes (plastomes) of Arceuthobium chinense Lecomte and A. pini Hawksworth and Wiens were sequenced and characterized. Although dwarf mistletoes are hemiparasites capable of photosynthesis, their plastomes were highly degenerated, as indicated by the smallest plastome size, the lowest GC content, and relatively very few intact genes among the Santalales hemiparasites. Unexpectedly, several essential housekeeping genes (rpoA, rpoB, rpoC1, and rpoC2) and some core photosynthetic genes (psbZ and petL), as well as the rpl33 gene, that is indispensable for plants under stress conditions, were deleted or pseudogenized in the Arceuthobium plastomes. Our data suggest that the leafless and endophytic habit, which heavily relies on the coniferous hosts for nutrients and carbon requirement, may largely relax the selection pressure on photosynthesis, as well as plastid transcription and translation, thus resulting in the loss/pseudogenization of such essential plastid-encoding genes in dwarf mistletoes. Therefore, the higher level of plastome degradation in Arceuthobium species than other Santalales hemiparasites is likely correlated with the evolution of leafless and endophytic habit. A higher degree of plastome degradation in Arceuthobium. These findings provide new insights into the plastome degeneration associated with parasitism in Santalales and deepen our understanding of the biology of dwarf mistletoes.

MiR408-SmLAC3 Module Participates in Salvianolic Acid B Synthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gene expression involved in plant development and abiotic stress responses. Recently, miRNAs have also been reported to be engaged in the regulation of secondary plant metabolism. However, there are few functional studies of miRNAs in medicinal plants. For this study, we obtained Sm-miR408 interference lines to investigate the function of Sm-miR408 in a medicinal model plant (Salvia miltiorrhiza). It was found that inhibiting the expression of Sm-miR408 could increase the content of salvianolic acid B and rosmarinic acid in the roots. The SmLAC3 and Sm-miR408 expression patterns were analyzed by qRT-PCR. A 5' RLM-RACE assay confirmed that Sm-miR408 targets and negatively regulates SmLAC3. Moreover, the overexpression of SmLAC3 in S. miltiorrhiza promoted the accumulation of salvianolic acids in the roots. Furthermore, the lignin content of the roots in overexpressed SmLAC3 lines was decreased. Taken together, these findings indicated that Sm-miR408 modulates the accumulation of phenolic acids in S. miltiorrhiza by targeting SmLAC3 expression levels.

The multifaceted roles of long noncoding RNAs in pancreatic cancer: an update on what we know.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Due to the shortage of effective biomarkers for predicting survival and diagnosing PC, the underlying mechanism is still intensively investigated but poorly understood. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) provide biological functional diversity and complexity in protein regulatory networks. Scientific studies have revealed the emerging functions and regulatory roles of lncRNAs in PC behaviors. It is worth noting that some in-depth studies have revealed that lncRNAs are significantly associated with the initiation and progression of PC. As lncRNAs have good properties for both diagnostic and prognostic prediction due to their translation potential, we herein address the current understanding of the multifaceted roles of lncRNAs as regulators in the molecular mechanism of PC. We also discuss the possibility of using lncRNAs as survival biomarkers and their contributions to the development of targeted therapies based on the literature. The present review, based on what we know about current research findings, may help us better understand the roles of lncRNAs in PC.

Detecting influenza and emerging avian influenza virus by influenza and pneumonia surveillance systems in a large city in China, 2005 to 2016.

BACKGROUND: Detecting avian influenza virus has become an important public health strategy for controlling the emerging infectious disease. METHODS: The HIS (hospital information system) modified influenza surveillance system (ISS) and a newly built pneumonia surveillance system (PSS) were used to monitor the influenza viruses in Changsha City, China. The ISS was used to monitor outpatients in two sentinel hospitals and to detect mild influenza and avian influenza cases, and PSS was used to monitor inpatients in 49 hospitals and to detect severe and death influenza cases. RESULTS: From 2005 to 2016, there were 3,551,917 outpatients monitored by the ISS system, among whom 126,076 were influenza-like illness (ILI) cases, with the ILI proportion (ILI%) of 3.55%. After the HIS was used, the reported incident cases of ILI and ILI% were increased significantly. From March, 2009 to September, 2016, there were 5,491,560 inpatient cases monitored by the PSS system, among which 362,743 were pneumonia cases, with a proportion of 6.61%. Among pneumonia cases, about 10.55% (38,260/362,743) of cases were severe or death cases. The pneumonia incidence increased each year in the city. Among 15 avian influenza cases reported from January, 2005 to September, 2016, there were 26.7% (4/15) mild cases detected by the HIS-modified ISS system, while 60.0% (9/15) were severe or death cases detected by the PSS system. Two H5N1 severe cases were missed by the ISS system in January, 2009 when the PSS system was not available. CONCLUSIONS: The HIS was able to improve the efficiency of the ISS for monitoring ILI and emerging avian influenza virus. However, the efficiency of the system needs to be verified in a wider area for a longer time span in China.

Heterologous Expression of Salvia miltiorrhiza MicroRNA408 Enhances Tolerance to Salt Stress in Nicotiana benthamiana.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous small RNAs that regulate the expression of target genes post-transcriptionally; they are known to play major roles in development and responses to abiotic stress. MicroRNA408 (miR408) is a conserved small RNA in plants; it was reported that miR408 genes were involved in abiotic stress in Arabidopsis. However, miR408 in Salvia miltiorrhiza has been rarely investigated. In this study, we cloned Sm-MIR408, the miR408 precursor sequence, and its promoter sequence from S. miltiorrhiza and the role in tolerance to salt stress is described. The effects of salt stress on miR408 expression were studied by using ß-glucuronidase (GUS) staining. Our data indicated that transgenic tobacco overexpressing Sm-MIR408 promoted seed germination and reduced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species under salt stress. Transcript levels of antioxidative genes, i.e., NbSOD, NbPOD, and NbCAT, and their enzyme activities increased in salinity-stressed transgenic tobacco plants, suggesting a better antioxidant system to cope the oxidative damage caused by salinity stress. Taken together, these findings indicated that miR408 functions in positive responses to salt tolerance in tobacco.

Incidence and risk factors for post-ERCP pancreatitis in chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Almost all studies on post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) have mainly involved patients with biliary diseases rather than chronic pancreatitis (CP), and the concept that CP seems to be a protective factor associated with PEP has not been studied in detail. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of PEP in patients with CP at different clinical stages and to identify the predictive and protective factors of PEP in a large cohort. METHODS: In this observational cohort study, medical records of patients with CP (CP group) and biliary diseases (BD group) in a tertiary hospital from January 2011 to May 2015 were examined. The difference in the incidence of PEP between CP group and BD group and the risk of PEP at different clinical stages of CP were calculated by the χ2 test or the Fisher exact test. The predictive and protective factors for PEP were investigated by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: In total, 2028 ERCP procedures were performed in 1301 patients with CP and 2000 procedures in 1655 patients with BD. The overall incidence of PEP in CP group (4.5%) was similar to that in the BD group (4.8%; P = .747). However, CP patients had significantly lower rates of moderate and severe attacks (0% vs 1.3%, P < .01). According to the M-ANNHEIM classification, the PEP incidences of CP at stages 0, I, II, III, and IV were 4.4%, 5.1%, 3.8%, 2.0%, and 2.0%, respectively. CP patients at stage Ia had the highest PEP incidence (8.0%) among all CP patients, significantly higher than that at stages Ib + Ic (3.9%) and II (3.8%). Female gender, history of acute pancreatitis, and prior PEP were independent risk factors of PEP, whereas extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy was a protective factor. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with BD patients, CP patients had similar incidence of PEP overall but lower grades of severity. The incidence of PEP in CP patients decreased significantly with disease progression. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT02781987.).

Applying computerized adaptive testing to the Desires for Speed Questionnaire in the Chinese population: A simulation study.

The current methods for measuring patient-reported outcomes for amphetamine (speed) craving have limitation ability to adapt to the needs of individual patients while maintaining consistency in their scores. This study aimed to investigate whether the 40-item Desires for Speed Questionnaire (DSQ) could be improved for assessing clinical subjects using computerized adaptive testing (CAT). A sample of 677 participants from four drug addiction treatment centers in China was utilized in the study. Two types of analysis were conducted using the response data. First, the psychometric properties of all items were evaluated to meet the requirements of CAT. Second, multiple CAT simulations were carried out using real response data. The results indicated that the CAT method, which only required a small number of items (50%-75%), produced results that were only slightly different from the full DSQ assessment in terms of measuring amphetamine craving and criterion validity. In conclusion, this study suggests that developing a DSQ CAT for clinical subjects is useful as it leads to more efficient measurement without compromising the reliability of the test outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A systematic review and meta-analysis of risk prediction models for post-thrombotic syndrome in patients with deep vein thrombosis.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to systematically evaluate the prediction models for the risk of post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) patients. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). A systematic search on the following electronic database: PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library, and Chinese databases such as WANFANG and CNKI was conducted to look for relevant articles based on the research question. The risk of bias for each studies included was carried out based on Prediction Model Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST). Results: We identified 10 studies that developed a total of 13 clinical prediction models for PTS risk in DVT patients, 3 models were externally validated, 2 models were temporally validated. The top 5 predictors were: BMI (N = 9), Varicose vein (N = 6), Baseline Villalta Score (N = 6), Iliofemoral thrombosis (N = 5), and Age (N = 4). The high risk of bias was from the analysis domain, which the number of participants and selection of predictors often did not meet the requirements of PROBAST. A random-effects meta-analysis of C-statistics was conducted, the pooled discrimination was C-statistic 0.75, 95%CI (0.69, 0.81). Conclusion: Among the 13 PTS risk prediction models reported in this study, no prediction model has been applied to clinical practice due to the lack of external validation. In the development of prediction models, most models were not standardized in data analysis. It is recommended that future studies on the design and implementation of prediction models refer to Transparent reporting of a multivariable prediction model for individual prognosis or diagnosis (TRIPOD) and PROBAST.

African Swine Fever Virus Interaction with Host Innate Immune Factors.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) adversely affects pig farming owing to its 100% mortality rate. The condition is marked by elevated body temperature, bleeding, and ataxia in domestic pigs, whereas warthogs and ticks remain asymptomatic despite being natural reservoirs for the virus. Breeding ASFV-resistant pigs is a promising solution for eradicating this disease. ASFV employs several mechanisms to deplete the host antiviral response. This review explores the interaction of ASFV proteins with innate host immunity and the various types of machinery encompassed by viral proteins that inhibit and induce different signaling pathways, such as cGAS-STING, NF-κB, Tumor growth factor-beta (TGF-ß), ubiquitination, viral inhibition of apoptosis, and resistance to ASFV infection. Prospects for developing a domestic pig that is resistant to ASFV are also discussed.

Maternal Variability of Amplitudes of Frequency Fluctuations Is Related to the Progressive Self-Other Transposition Group Intervention in Autistic Children.

The self-to-other model of empathy (SOME) states that a key reason for the empathic deficiency in autistic individuals is the imbalance of the self-other switch. The existing interventions of theory of mind contain training of self-other transposition ability but combined with other cognitive trainings. The self-other distinction brain areas of autistic individuals have been revealed, but the brain areas of the self-other transposition ability and its intervention have not been investigated. There are normalized amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations (mALFFs) within 0.01-0.1 Hz and many normalized amplitudes of frequency fluctuations (mAFFs) within 0-0.01, 0.01-0.05, 0.05-0.1, 0.1-0.15, 0.15-0.2, and 0.2-0.25 Hz. Therefore, the current study established a progressive self-other transposition group intervention to specifically and systematically improve autistic children's self-other transposition abilities. The transposition test with a three mountains test, an unexpected location test, and a deception test was used to directly measure autistic children's transposition abilities. The Interpersonal Responsiveness Index Empathy Questionnaire with perspective-taking and fantasy subscales (IRI-T) was used to indirectly measure autistic children's transposition abilities. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) was used to measure autistic children's autism symptoms. The experiment was designed with two (intervention: experimental group vs. control group) independent variables and two (test time: pretest vs. posttest or tracking test) × three (test: transposition test vs. IRI-T test vs. ATEC test) dependent variables. Furthermore, it used eyes-closed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate and compare the relevant maternal mALFFs and average energy rank and energy rank variability of mAFFs of autistic children's transposition abilities, autism symptoms, and intervention effects. The results showed the following: (1) There were many improvements (pretest vs. posttest or tracking test) greater than chance 0 in the experimental group, such as the three mountains, lie, transposition, PT, IRI-T, PT tracking, cognition, behavior, ATEC, language tracking, cognition tracking, behavior tracking, and ATEC tracking improvements. However, there was no improvement greater than chance 0 in the control group. (2) The maternal mALFFs and maternal average energy rank and energy rank variability of mAFFs could predict the autistic children's transposition abilities, autism symptoms, and intervention effects with some overlap and some difference in maternal self-other distinction, sensorimotor, visual, facial expression recognition, language, memory and emotion, and self-consciousness networks. These results indicated that the progressive self-other transposition group intervention successfully improved autistic children's transposition abilities and reduced their autism symptoms; the intervention effects could be applied to daily life and last up to a month. The maternal mALFFs, average energy rank, and energy rank variability of mAFFs were three effective neural indictors of autistic children's transposition abilities, autism symptoms, and intervention effects, and the average energy rank and energy rank variability of mAFFs were two new neural indictors established in the current study. The maternal neural markers of the progressive self-other transposition group intervention effects for autistic children were found in part.

Inhibitory effects of intravenous lansoprazole 30 mg and pantoprazole 40 mg twice daily on intragastric acidity in healthy Chinese volunteers: a randomized, open-labeled, two-way crossover study.

BACKGROUND: Until now there has been no study that directly compares the effect of lansoprazole and pantoprazole administered intravenously on intragastric acidity. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of lansoprazole (30 mg) and pantoprazole (40 mg) administered intravenously on gastric acidity. MATERIAL/METHODS: Helicobacter pylori-negative healthy volunteers were recruited in this open-label, randomized, two-way crossover, single centre study. Lansoprazole at 30 mg or pantoprazole at 40 mg was intravenously administered twice daily for 5 consecutive days with at least a 14-day washout interval. Twenty-four-hour intragastric pH was continuously monitored on days 1 and 5 of each dosing period. RESULTS: Twenty-five volunteers completed the 2 dosing periods. The mean intragastric pH values were higher in subjects treated with lansoprazole than those with pantoprazole on both day 1 (6.41 ± 0.14 vs. 5.49 ± 0.13, P=0.0003) and day 5 (7.09 ± 0.07 vs. 6.64 ± 0.07, P=0.0002). Significantly higher percentages of time with intragastric pH >4 and pH >6 were found in the subjects treated with lansoprazole than those with pantoprazole on day 1 (pH >4, 87.12 ± 4.55% vs. 62.28 ± 4.15%, P=0.0012; pH >6, 62.12 ± 4.12% vs. 47.25 ± 3.76%, P=0.0216) and pH >6 on day 5 (76.79 ± 3.77% vs. 58.20 ± 3.77%, P=0.0025). CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous lansoprazole produces a longer and more potent inhibitory effect on intragastric acidity than does intravenous pantoprazole.

[Expression and promotor methylation of p73 gene in ovarian epithelial tumors].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression and promoter methylation status of p73 gene in ovarian epithelial tumors and their clinicopathological correlations. METHODS: Tissue microarrays (TMA) consisting of 68 ovarian cancers, 37 ovarian borderline tumors and 21 ovarian benign tumors were constructed. p73 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry (EnVision method). Fresh-frozen tissue samples from 13 cases of ovarian carcinomas and 5 cases of borderline tumors were evaluated for the presence of p73 promoter methylation using bisulfite sequencing. RESULTS: Overall, 92.6% (63/68) ovarian carcinomas expressed p73, with a mean value of 32% (percentage of p73 positive cells in the tumor). The mean value of p73 expression rate (40%) in serous carcinoma (26/26) was higher than those of other cancer types (P = 0.006). The mean value of p73 expression rate (40%) in type II ovarian carcinoma was significantly higher than that in type I ovarian carcinoma (24%, P = 0.010). The expression of p73 was not associated with FIGO stage and histological grade (both P > 0.05). The mean values of p73 expression in ovarian borderline tumor (30/37) and benign tumor (12/21) were 16% and 15%, respectively. Of the two groups, the mean value of p73 expression rate in serous type was higher than that in mucous type (P = 0.003, P = 0.026). Ovarian carcinomas had a higher level of p73 expression than borderline tumors and benign tumors (both P < 0.05), while that between ovarian borderline tumors and benign tumors had no statistical difference (P > 0.05). Among serous tumors (49/53), the mean value of p73 expression in the carcinoma group (26/26) was significantly higher than those in the borderline tumor group (12/14) and benign tumor group (11/13; P = 0.024 and P = 0.002, respectively), while that between borderline tumor group and benign tumor group had no statistical difference (P = 0.428). Among mucous tumors (15/27), the mean value of p73 expression in carcinoma group (6/7) was higher than that in benign tumor group (1/8; P = 0.032). No statistical difference of p73 expression was seen between the carcinoma group and ovarian borderline tumor group (8/12) and between the borderline tumor group and benign tumor group (P = 0.234, P = 0.201, respectively). p73 promotor methylation was found in 8 of 13 cases of carcinomas but at different methylation levels with a mean value of 8.0%. Two of 5 ovarian borderline tumors showed detectable p73 promotor methylation with a mean value of 9.0%. Compared with the borderline tumors, ovarian carcinomas showed a similar p73 methylation level (P > 0.05). The p73 methylation level in ovarian carcinomas was not associated with histological type, pathogenetic type, histological grade and FIGO stage (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Most of ovarian epithelial tumors express p73 protein with mean values higher in ovarian carcinomas than those in the borderline and benign tumors. Ovarian serous carcinomas have the highest expression level of p73. A simple linear correlation does not exist between the promoter methylation and protein expression of p73.

Development and validation of a clinical prediction model for post thrombotic syndrome following anticoagulant therapy for acute deep venous thrombosis.

OBJECTIVES: To identify independent prediction factors for post thrombotic syndrome (PTS) following acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and develop a clinical prediction model assessing the risk of PTS in individual patient. METHODS: We prospectively recruited consecutive adult patients with acute DVT who were managed at Shanxi Bethune Hospital, China between June 2014 and December 2016. Investigator assessed PTS using the Villalta scale at 1, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months following diagnosis of DVT. Variable selection was performed by applying the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) with 10-fold cross-validation. Based on these data, we established a clinical prediction model for the development of PTS following DVT. The Bootstrap method was used for internal validation. During the process of model development, we re-collected the information of DVT patients from 2016 to 2017 for a temporal validation. The performance of the prediction model included discrimination and calibration, and clinical utility of prediction model was also evaluated using a decision curve analysis. RESULTS: A total of 808 consecutive patients with acute DVT were enrolled in the training and validation datasets, of which 540 patients were included in the training dataset for the development of prediction model and the other 268 patients were in the other dataset for temporal validation. Seventy-six patients in training dataset developed PTS. The prediction factors associated with PTS were ilio-femoral DVT (OR = 4.835, 95% CI: 2.471-9.463), active cancer (OR = 3.006, 95% CI: 1.404-6.435), history of chronic venous insufficiency (OR = 7.464, 95% CI: 3.568-15.616), previous venous thromboembolism (OR = 6.326, 95% CI: 2.872-13.932), and chronic kidney disease (OR = 9.916, 95% CI: 2.238-43.937), duration of compression therapy <6 months (OR = 2.894, 95% CI: 1.595-5.251). The c index of the prediction model was 0.825 (0.774-0.877), and the c index of internal validation and temporal verification were 0.816 and 0.773 (95% CI: 0.699-0.848), indicated that the prediction model had a good discrimination in predicting PTS risk following DVT. All the calibration curve showed the model had a good calibration. The decision curve analysis showed a better net benefit of prediction model predicting PTS risk within threshold probability ranged from 0% to 72% and 86% to 98% in training dataset, and 0% to 58% in the validation datasets. CONCLUSION: Our prediction model can accurately estimate the likelihood of PTS risk and identify high-risk patients who may develop PTS following DVT based on individual characteristics, but further external validation is still required.

Increased expression of SYCP2 predicts poor prognosis in patients suffering from breast carcinoma.

Overexpression of synaptonemal complex protein-2 (SYCP2) has been identified in various human papillomavirus (HPV)-related carcinomas, whereas its significant role in breast carcinoma remains unclear. The aim of this study was to elucidate the prognostic value and potential function of SYCP2 in breast carcinoma. Herein, data for breast carcinoma patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA) were analyzed. The enrichment analysis of SYCP2 including Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), Friends, and GSEA was performed. Kaplan-Meier analysis, Cox regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed for determining the predictive value of SYCP2 on clinical outcomes in patients suffering from breast carcinoma. A nomogram was generated to predict the effect arising from SYCP2 on prognosis. The association analysis of SYCP2 gene expression and diverse immune infiltration levels was conducted through ssGSEA and ESTIMATE analysis, which consisted of dendritic cell (DC), neutrophil, eosinophil, macrophage, mast cell, NK cell, and other 18 cell subtypes. The results showed that SYCP2 expression was significantly elevated in breast carcinoma tissues as compared with that of normal tissues (p < 0.001). SYCP2 plays a certain role in pathways related to DNA methylation, keratinocyte differentiation, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and immune infiltration. The high expression of SYCP2 had a significant relationship to age, pathological type, ER expression, and PR expression (p < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients suffering from breast carcinoma characterized by high-SYCP2 expression had a poorer prognosis than patients with low-SYCP2 expression (p = 0.005). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that SYCP2 had an independent relationship to overall survival (p = 0.049). Moreover, ROC curves suggested the significant diagnostic ability of SYCP2 for breast carcinoma, and as time went on, SYCP2 had more accurate prognostic efficacy. Furthermore, a high level of SYCP2 expression was found to have a relationship to poor prognosis of breast carcinoma in the subgroups of T3, N0, and M0, and infiltrating ductal carcinoma (HR > 1, p < 0.05). The calibration plot of the nomogram indicated that the SYCP2 model has an effective predictive performance for breast carcinoma patients. Conclusively, SYCP2 plays a vital role in the pathogenesis and progression of human breast carcinoma, so it may serve as a promising prognostic molecular marker of poor survival.

EUS in exploring the etiology of mild acute biliary pancreatitis with a negative finding of biliary origin by conventional radiological methods.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Conventional radiological methods, including transcutaneous ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) are non-invasive and recommended for the detection of etiologies of acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP). There are still, however, a number of patients whose etiologies cannot be found by these methods. The value of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for this population is still unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of EUS in exploring the unknown etiology of mild ABP. METHODS: The data from patients with mild ABP admitted to Changhai Hospital, Shanghai, China, from June 2006 to December 2009 were retrospectively collected, and the results of the imaging methods in detecting biliary disorders were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 223 patients with mild ABP underwent both US and CT. Of these, 106 underwent additional MRCP. There were still 37 patients with unknown biliary etiologies, even after the use of the conventional methods mentioned earlier. EUS was conducted in 33 of these patients. Abnormalities associated with the etiology of mild ABP were found in 14 cases (42.4%) confirmed by subsequent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, with biliary stones in 11 cases, biliary sludge in two cases, and ampullary adenocarcinoma in one case. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that EUS is helpful in the identification of the etiology of mild biliary pancreatitis when conventional radiological imaging is negative or equivocal.

DNA barcodes for discriminating the medicinal plant Scutellaria baicalensis (Lamiaceae) and its adulterants.

Scutellaria baicalensis GEORGI (Lamiaceae) is the botanical origin of the well-known traditional Chinese medicine "Huang Qin" (Radix Scutellariae). Due to overexploitation that had induced a decline in natural sources, the dried roots of its congeners, S. amoena, S. rehderiana, and S. viscidula, have been used to adulterate it in recent years. This practice may cause a series of inconsistent therapeutic effects and quality control problems in the herbal medicine industry. Hence, we sequenced and analyzed three candidate DNA barcodes, the ribosomal RNA maturase gene (matK), the ribulose-1,4-bisphosphate carboxylase large subunit gene (rbcL), and the psbA-trnH intergenic spacer (psbA-trnH), to discriminate S. baicalensis and its adulterants. All candidate DNA barcodes had been successfully amplified from leaf samples. Comparatively, only psbA-trnH had been yielded from commercially prepared crude drug samples. Based on the sequence divergence, rbcL can assign S. baicalensis and its adulterants into the correct family and genus, whereas, either matK or psbA-trnH can accurately discriminate S. baicalensis and its adulterants. We proposed the multilocus barcodes rbcL+psbA-trnH for the species identification of S. baicalensis and its adulterants, and the unique barcode psbA-trnH for the authentication of commercial Radix Scutellariae. The DNA barcoding technique could be applied to the quality control of "Huang Qin"-based medicinal preparations and to the management of medicinal herb trade in the markets.