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A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between calcium intake and the risk of brain tumors (especially glioma). The PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched for relevant papers on the association between calcium intake and glioma as of August 22, 2021. The odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using a random-effects model. Egger's test was conducted to assess publication bias. The meta-analysis includes four studies. The meta-analysis showed that calcium intake and the risk of brain tumors have a significant negative relationship (OR = 0.28; 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.72; P = 0.008). Dose-response analysis showed that for every 100 mg/day increase in calcium intake, the risk of glioma decreased by 7% (OR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88 to 0.98). In addition, compared with humans without calcium intake, when calcium intake is 455 mg/day, 800 mg/day and 1000 mg/day, the risk of glioma is 0.65 (95% CI 0.43, 0.97), 0.55 (95% CI 0.37, 0.82) and 0.37 (95% CI 0.15, 0.86). There is a significant negative association between calcium intake and brain tumors (especially gliomas), but more high-quality studies are needed to verify these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The root of Croton crassifolius has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), called Radix Croton Crassifolius, and commonly known as "Ji Gu Xiang" in Chinese. Its medicinal value has been recorded in several medical books or handbooks, such as "Sheng Cao Yao Xing Bei Yao", "Ben Cao Qiu Yuan" and "Zhong Hua Ben Cao". It has been traditional employed for treating sore throat, stomach-ache, rheumatism and cancer. At present, there are limited studies on the evaluation of low-polarity extracts of roots in C. crassifolius. Consequently, the aim of this study was to evaluate the antitumor effect of the low-polarity extract of C. crassifolius root. Extracts were obtained by supercritical fluid extraction. The extracts were tested for antitumor effects in vitro on several cancer cell lines. A CCK-8 kit was used for further analysis of cell viability. A flow cytometer and propidium iodide staining were used to evaluate the cell cycle and apoptosis. Hoechst staining, JC-1 staining and the fluorescence probe DCFH-DA were used to evaluate apoptotic cells. Molecular mechanisms of action were analyzed by quantitative RT‒PCR and Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was used for the evaluation of xenograft tumors in male BALB/c mice. Finally, molecular docking was employed to predict the bond between the desired bioactive compound and molecular targets. Eleven diterpenoids were isolated from low-polarity C. crassifolius root extracts. Among the compounds, chettaphanin II showed the strongest activity (IC 50 = 8.58 μM) against A549 cells. Evaluation of cell viability and the cell cycle showed that Chettaphanin II reduced A549 cell proliferation and induced G2/M-phase arrest. Chttaphanin II significantly induced apoptosis in A549 cells, which was related to the level of apoptosis-related proteins. The growth of tumor tissue was significantly inhibited by chettaphanin II in experiments performed on naked mice. The antitumor mechanism of chettaphanin II is that it can obstruct the mTOR/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in A549 cells. Molecular docking established that chettaphanin II could bind to the active sites of Bcl-2 and Bax. Taken together, the natural diterpenoid chettaphanin II was identified as the major antitumor active component, and its potential for developing anticancer therapies was demonstrated for the first time by antiproliferation evaluation in vitro and in vivo. [Display omitted] • Eleven diterpenoids were obtained from the SFE extract of C. crassifolius roots. • Chettaphanin II showed the strongest antitumor activity against A549 cells. • Chettaphanin II inhibited A549 cell proliferation and arrested cells in G2/M-phase. • Chettaphanin II induced A549 cell apoptosis by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. • Chettaphanin II significantly inhibited the growth of tumor tissue in nude mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective A detection method with high efficiency and accuracy is urgently needed in clinical work. The purpose of our study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay for intestinal tuberculosis (ITB). Methods We searched PubMed and 4 other databases from their establishment to July 19, 2022, for published essays of diagnostic performance in which Xpert MTB/RIF was used to test patients with clinically suspected ITB. An assessment of the quality of the selected literature was conducted using QUADAS-2. We built forest plots by MetaDiSc software. Results The pooled Xpert MTB/RIF sensitivity was 48%, and the specificity was 99%. Moreover, the positive likelihood ratio for ITB diagnosis was 21.61. The negative likelihood ratio was 0.54. There were substantial variations between the study estimates of sensitivity (I 2 = 87.6%) and specificity (I 2 = 82.4%). Conclusion Intestinal TB is detected with limited diagnostic sensitivity by Xpert MTB/RIF but with high specificity. An Xpert-positive result may facilitate the rapid identification of ITB cases. Nevertheless, a negative result has less certainty in excluding the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of the reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for rapid detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in community or primary-care settings. Method We systematically searched the Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases. We conducted quality evaluation using ReviewManager software (version 5.0). We then used MetaDisc software (version 1.4) and Stata software (version 12.0) to build forest plots, along with a Deeks funnel plot and a bivariate boxplot for analysis. Result Overall, the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio were 0.79, 0.97, and 328.18, respectively. The sensitivity for the subgroup with RNA extraction appeared to be higher, at 0.88 (0.86–0.90), compared to the subgroup without RNA extraction, at 0.50 (0.45–0.55), with no significant difference in specificity. Conclusion RT-LAMP assay exhibited high specificity regarding current SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, its overall sensitivity was relatively moderate. Extracting RNA was found to be beneficial in improving sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To explore the effect of high-quality nursing based on comprehensive nursing on postoperative quality of life and satisfaction of patients with malignant glioma. Methods. From September 2017 to May 2020, 86 patients with malignant glioma treated in our hospital were recruited and assigned (1 : 1) to receive either comprehensive nursing (comprehensive group) or high-quality nursing plus comprehensive nursing (high-quality group). Outcome measures included preoperative and postoperative self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores, self-rating depression scale (SDS) scores, quality of life, and nursing satisfaction. Results. High-quality nursing plus comprehensive nursing was associated with significantly lower SAS and SDS scores versus comprehensive nursing alone (P < 0.05). Patients receiving high-quality nursing plus comprehensive nursing showed higher quality of life scores versus those only given comprehensive nursing (P < 0.05). High-quality nursing plus comprehensive nursing resulted in higher nursing satisfaction of the patients versus comprehensive nursing alone (P < 0.05). Conclusion. High-quality nursing can relieve the negative emotions of patients with malignant glioma and significantly enhance their quality of life, thereby improving the nursing satisfaction of patients with nursing, so it is worthy of clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Race disparities exist in bone metastasis (BM) development and survival in lung cancer (LC) patients. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to investigate different patterns of BM development and survival in different races. Design: LC patients with BM were identified from the database from 2010 to 2014. Risk factors were investigated by univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Potential factors for prognosis were evaluated by univariable and multivariable Cox regression. Results: Asian and Pacific Islander (API) patients presented the highest prevalence of BM (24.6%), followed by white (20.7%) and black patients (19.9%) (χ2 = 78.74; p <.001). After adjusting for the demographic and clinical factors, API race was independently associated with a high risk of BM development. The median survival times for the API, white and black LC patients with BM were 16 months (95% CI: 15.2–16.8), 11 months (95% CI: 10.9–11.1) and 10 months (95% CI: 9.7–10.3), respectively, with significant differences (p <.001). Multivariable Cox regression showed that API race was positively associated with greater overall survival compared with white and black patients. Male gender, larger tumor size, lymph node involvement, lower tumor differentiated grade, and the presence of lung, liver and brain metastases were independently associated with a high risk of developing BM and worse survival with LC across all races. Age, income, insurance and histological types had different impacts on BM among different races. Conclusion: Homogeneous and heterogeneous associated factors for BM were revealed among different races. Individualized screening and treatment should be performed race-specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 075 study evaluated the feasibility of enrolling and retaining men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) from Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa. During the study follow-up, 21 participants acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (seroconverters). We analyzed HIV subtype diversity, drug resistance, transmission dynamics, and HIV superinfection data among MSM and TGW enrolled in HPTN 075. Methods HIV genotyping and drug resistance testing were performed for participants living with HIV who had viral loads >400 copies/mL at screening (prevalent cases, n = 124) and seroconverters (n = 21). HIV pol clusters were identified using Cluster Picker. Superinfection was assessed by a longitudinal analysis of env and pol sequences generated by next-generation sequencing. Results HIV genotyping was successful for 123/124 prevalent cases and all 21 seroconverters. The major HIV subtypes were A1 (Kenya) and C (Malawi and South Africa). Major drug resistance mutations were detected in samples from 21 (14.6%) of 144 participants; the most frequent mutations were K103N and M184V/I. Phylogenetic analyses identified 11 clusters (2–6 individuals). Clusters included seroconverters only (n = 1), prevalent cases and seroconverters (n = 4), and prevalent cases only (n = 6). Superinfections were identified in 1 prevalent case and 2 seroconverters. The annual incidence of superinfection was higher among seroconverters than among prevalent cases, and was higher than the rate of primary HIV infection in the cohort. Conclusions This report provides important insights into HIV genetic diversity, drug resistance, and superinfection among MSM and TGW in sub-Saharan Africa. These findings may help to inform future HIV prevention interventions in these high-risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]