Search

Objective To discuss the possible effects of microRNA-141 (miR-141) in sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) via targeting death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1). Methods An SIC mouse model was constructed by abdominal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and divided into control, LPS, LPS + pre-miR-141, and LPS + anti-miR-141 groups. Hemodynamic indicators and heart function indexes of mice were detected. ELISA was used to determine the serum levels of inflammatory cytokines, while TUNEL staining to observe the apoptosis of myocardial cells of mice, as well as qRT-PCR and Western blotting to clarify the expression of miR-141 and DAPK1. Lastly, in vitro experiment was also conducted on the primary neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes (NRVCMs) to validate the results. Results Mice in the LPS group, as compared to the control group, had lower left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular fractional shortening, left ventricular systolic pressure, and ±dp/dt, but a higher left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, while the serum expression of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and cTn-T was up-regulated evidently with the increased apoptotic index of myocardial tissues. However, miR-141 and Bcl-2/Bax were down-regulated with elevated DAPK1 and cleaved caspase-3. The above changes were ameliorated in mice from the LPS + pre-miR-141 group relative to the LPS group, while those in the LPS + anti-miR-141 group were further deteriorated. In vitro experiment showed that miR-141 overexpression could reduce the apoptosis of LPS-induced NRVCMs and the levels of inflammatory cytokines with the increased cell viability. Conclusion MiR-141 could decrease inflammatory response and reduce myocardial cell apoptosis by targeting DAPK1, thereby playing the promising protective role in SIC.

BACKGROUND Patients with schizophrenia have an increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus that has shown a significant association with the rs7754840 polymorphism in the gene encoding the cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) regulatory subunit-associated protein 1-like 1 (CDKAL1). OBJECTIVE To examine whether this polymorphism was involved in the susceptibility in first-episode drug-naive schizophrenic patients (FDSP), and further influenced their clinical symptoms. METHODS This polymorphism was genotyped in 239 FDSP and 368 healthy controls. The clinical symptoms in FDSP were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) five-factor models. RESULTS There was no significant difference in the allelic and genotypic frequencies of this polymorphism between two groups (both p > 0.05) after adjusting for covariates. However, the PANSS depressive score significantly differed by genotype in FDSP after adjusting for covariates (F = 5.25, p = 0.006). This significant difference also persisted after Bonferroni correction (p

Objective: Posner-Schlossman syndrome (PSS), also known as glaucomatocyclitic crisis, is an ocular condition characterized by recurrent attacks of anterior uveitis and raised intraocular pressure. Previous studies by our team and others have identified the genetic association of complement pathway genes with uveitis and glaucoma. This study aimed to investigate the complement genes in PSS patients with the view of elucidating the genetic background of the disease.Methods: A total of 331 subjects (56 PSS patients and 275 controls) were recruited for this study. We selected 27 variants in six complement pathway genes (SERPING1, C2, CFB, CFH, C3, and C5) and detected them using TaqMan single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Genotyping Assays. Univariate SNP association analysis, haplotype-based association analysis, gene-gene interaction analysis among complement genes, and genotype-phenotype correlation analysis were performed.Results: Among the 27 variants of six complement pathway genes, the functional variant I62V (rs800292) at the CFH gene was found to be significantly associated with PSS; there was a significant increase in the frequency of A allele and AA homozygosity in PSS patients than in controls (P = 1.79 × 10−4; odds ratio (OR) 2.18, 95% CI: 1.44–3.29; P = 4.65 × 10−4; OR 3.66, 95% CI: 1.70–7.85, respectively). The additive effect of CFH-rs800292 and SERPING1-rs3824988 was identified with an OR of 12.50 (95% CI: 2.16–72.28). Genotype-phenotype analysis indicated that the rs800292 AA genotype was associated with a higher intraocular pressure and higher frequency of recurrence. Unlike a high proportion of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 positivity in anterior uveitis, only 3 in 56 (5.36%) PSS patients were HLA-B27 positive. In addition, one haplotype block (GC) in the SERPING1 gene showed a nominal association with PSS with an increased risk of 2.04 (P = 0.01; 95% CI: 1.18–3.53), but the P-value could not withstand the Bonferroni correction (Pcorr > 0.05).Conclusion: This study revealed a genetic association of a CFH variant with PSS as well as its clinical parameters, implying that the alternative complement pathway might play an important role in the pathogenesis of PSS. Further studies to enrich the understanding of the genetic background of PSS and the role of the complement system in ocular inflammation are warranted.

To explore the combined influences of temperature-sensitive bone mesenchymal stem cells (tsBMSCs) and mild hypothermia (MH) on neurological function and glucose metabolism in rats with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).SD rats were randomly divided into sham, TBI, TBI + MH, TBI + BMSCs and TBI + MH +tsBMSCs groups. Then, the brain water content, serum-specific proteins (S100β, NSE, LDH, and CK), and blood glucose at different time points were measured. Furthermore, GLUT-3 expression was detected by Western blotting, and apoptotic rate was determined by TUNEL staining.After TBI rat establishment, the brain injury resulted in significant increases in mNSS scores and brain water content, and upregulations in serum levels of S100β, NSE, LDH and CK, and blood glucose, with the elevated cell apoptotic rate in the injured cortex. However, these changes were reversed by MH alone, BMSCs alone, or combination treatment of MH and tsBMSCs in varying degrees, and the combination treatment was superior to the treatment with BMSCs or MH alone.Combination therapy of tsBMSCs and MH can reduce the neuronal apoptosis in severe TBI rats, with the suppression of serum biomarkers and hyperglycemia, contributing to the recovery of neurological functions.tsBMSCs: temperature-sensitive bone mesenchymal stem cells; MH: mild hypothermia; TBI: traumatic brain injury; mNSS: modified Neurological Severity Score.

This meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness of moist exposed burn ointment (MEBO) for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Two researchers independently assessed the quality and validity of included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in 7 electronic databases. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane handbook guidelines. Twenty seven trials which include 1,979 patients were involved for analysis. Comparison of the same intervention strategies revealed significant differences in total effectiveness rates between BEBO and conventional therapy group (Risk Ratio [RR], 6.36, [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.20, 12.64], P < 0.00001); MEBO combined with standard therapy (Risk Ratio [RR], 1.19, [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08, 1.31], P = 0.0007); and healing time of DFU (Mean Difference [MD], 14.15, [95% confidence interval (CI), -18.14, -10.17], P < 0.00001). MEBO may be effective for treating DFU. However, a firm conclusion could not be reached because of the poor quality of the included trials. Further trials with higher quality are justified. Key words: Exposed wound ointment (MEBO), diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), recombinant bovine, basic fibroblast growth factor (rb-bFGF), vacuum sealing drainage (VSD).

To evaluate the therapeutic effects of moisture exposed burn ointment (MEBO) on phlebitis, seven electronic databases where checked until September, 2016 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of MEBO on phlebitis. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane handbook guidelines. Thirty eight randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria in which the aggregated results indicated that comparison revealed significant differences in total effectiveness rate of MEBO versus conventional therapy (RR=1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.06, 1.52, and P=0.009), and there were some beneficial evidence regarding the effects on reducing incidence of phlebitis MEBO versus conventional therapy in preventing phlebitis (RR=2.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.94, 3.85, and P

Objective The purpose of this study is to uncover the controversial problems and review the safety of extracranial-intracranial arterial bypass (EC-IC arterial bypass) in the treatment of moyamoya disease. Methods Published randomized controlled clinical trials were searched from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of science without date or language limitations until September 2016. Meta-analysis was performed as recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration of trials. Results In total 2 studies were included by strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The result of meta-analysis showed that surgical group had a greater reduction of the primary end points (OR [0.35], 95% CI [0.15, 0.84], I = 0%) than that of the nonsurgical group. Conclusion Surgical therapy significantly lowers incidence of the primary end points (including rebleeding attack; completed stroke resulting in significant morbidity; mortality from any medical cause and requirement for bypass surgery fora nonsurgical patient as determined by a registered neurologist) compared with nonsurgical therapy. High-quality randomized controlled trials are required to confirm this conclusion.

For many years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to treat patients with intestinal adhesion. However, no meta-analysis has been previously conducted to investigate the benefits of TCM therapy in patients with such disorder. This paper aims to summarize the beneficial effects of applying TCM as an adjuvant in patients with intestinal adhesion through conducting a meta-analysis. Until October 2016, seven databases have been retrieved to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and investigate the effects of applying TCM as an adjuvant treatment in patients with the mentioned disorder. The risk of bias has been assessed according to Cochrane Handbook guidelines. 24 of the 169 potentially relevant trials met the inclusion criteria. However, their methodological qualities were low. The application of TCM as an adjuvant was associated with a significantly lower incidence of intestinal adhesion, as well as higher total effective rate. Compared with the controls as adjuvant treatment, TCM therapy promoted incision healing and reduced the recovery time of borborygmus, anal exhaust time and first defecation time as well as gastrointestinal decompression duration. However, the pooled data for the studies showed there was no difference in blood plasma fibrinogen (FIB). This meta-analysis suggests that TCM therapy appears to cause additional beneficial effects in patients with intestinal adhesion. However, available studies are not adequate to draw a conclusion on the efficacy of TCM due to the methodological flaws of the included trials. Hopefully this work will provide useful experience for further studies; better designed trials are needed to confirm the findings in this study. Key words: Traditional Chinese medicine, intestinal adhesion, meta-analysis

nanostructured Al2O3 coated ZrO2-Y2O3 thermal barrier coatings were prepared by plasma spraying method using nanostructured alumina coated 8mol%Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 powder as starting material and the thermal insulation property was investigated as a function of the thickness of the coating. The results indicate that the structure and property of thermal barrier coating using nanoAl2O3 coated ZrO2-Y2O3 powder was superior to that of using single zirconia powder. The thermal insulation property of the thermal barrier coating increased with thickness of the coating increasing, and the advantage is more obvious with temperature increasing.

Background: Several studies were published to assess the association between serum uric acid levels and atrial fibrillation risk, but no consistent results were reported. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the evidence of the association between hyperuricemia and atrial fibrillation risk. Material/Methods: Pubmed and Embase databases were searched for prospective cohort studies assessing the association between hyperuricemia and atrial fibrillation risk. Relative risks (RRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were pooled using random-effect of meta-analysis to assess the risk of atrial fibrillation in individuals with hyperuricemia. Results: Six cohort studies were finally included into the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis of those 6 studies showed that hyperuricemia was significantly associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation (RR = 1.49, 95%CI 1.24-1.79, P < 0.001). Sensitivity analysis by omitting single study sequentially by turns did not have any obvious influence on the pooled risk estimates. There was no obvious risk of publication bias in the meta-analysis. Conclusions: Based on the currently available data, hyperuricemia is associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

Background: Acarbose and voglibose are alpha-glucosidase inhibitors and they are an effective therapy in patients with diabetes mellitus. Our aim is to directly compare the efficacy and safety of acarbose and voglibose for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: We searched the international web databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science) with an English language restriction (up to August, 2016). In addition, we checked bibliographies of each included study and the latest reviews to identify additional studies. For each clinical outcome, dichotomous data were analyzed by using the risk ratio (RR) with the 95% confidence interval (CI). Continuous outcomes measured on the same scale and units were analyzed by using weighted mean differences (WMD) with the 95% confidence interval (CI); if continuous outcomes were measured on the different scale or units, it were analyzed by using standardised mean differences (SMD) with the 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: There are no differences in glycemic control between acarbose and voglibose while adverse events in acarbose group were higher than voglibose group.Conclusion: Our limited evidence finds that voglibose is more suitable for the treatment of type 2 diabetes compared with acarbose. Further well-designed and multicentric RCTs with larger sample are required to confirm these findings.

In this paper, the basis function of TDCS system (Transform Domain Communication System) is used to design cognitive radar transmitter waveform. Based on the noise environment, the waveform can be adjusted adaptively. Then after clipping to reduce the PAPR (Peak to Average Power Ratio) of radar echo signal, the obtained signal is used as the next launch of the radar signal. The cognitive radar transmitter requires a nonlinear waveform to improve the efficiency of radar transmitter power amplifier, so reducing the PAPR of signal is essential. This paper presents the gray complementary sequence is applied to TDCS communication systems, and then it needs to reduce PAPR of signals by clipping. Proven, PAPR of the transmitted signal is maintained at about 3.25dB, and the signal has a low probability of intercept, high anti-interference ability and distant target detection range.

This paper puts forward a kind of radar moving target detection system based on single chip of field programmable gate array (FPGA), including the input buffer, string and transformation, window function, Doppler filter group, the constant false alarm and output caching function modules. Doppler filter group is 16 point FIR filter direct filtering method, constant false alarm circuit adopts alarm circuit which choose larger in the average of adjacent cells. The experimental results show that the moving target detection system can effectively detect targets. Compared with traditional system performance this method is more stable and has stronger anti-interference ability.

Sjogren’s syndrome (SjS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are common systemic autoimmune diseases, which impact not only patient health but also their quality of life. miRNA-146a is a microRNA that participates in the pathophysiology of SjS and SLE. In this investigation, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine the relationship of miR-146a to primary SjS (PSS) and to SLE. The following databases were interrogated; Pubmed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, WANFANG, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WEIPU. Standard mean difference with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to study the relationship between miRNA-146a expression and thee diseases by random-effects model. A total of six studies, with 158 cases and 124 controls were included for the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis shows that miRNA-146a expression is associated with the risk of PSS (MD = 6.32, p = 0.005). No relationship between miR-146a expression and SLE was identified (MD = −0.86, p = 0.26). SLE subgroup analysis (peripheral blood mononuclear cells and serum) confirmed this result. The risk for PSS is related to miR-146a expression, while miRNA-146a expression is not related to SLE. As such, miRNA-146a may serve as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of PSS, but not SLE.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a commonly encountered disease that greatly endangers human beings. Its clinical symptoms in Chinese medicine are mainly chest distress, heart region pain, palpitation, and shortness of breath, and the disease is considered belonging to the categories of Xiong-bi (胸痹) and cardialgia. The pathogenesis of CHD is very complex (1) , and lots of materials have illustrated that thrombosis plays an important role in the genetic and developing process of CHD. Thrombosis is closely related with vascular endothelial injury, platelet activation, and the blood coagulation-fibrinolytic system, and detection of thrombosis-associated factors, including von Willebrand factor (vWF), D-dimer, and fibrinogen (Fg), can help in understanding the severity of the hyper-coagulative manner and the probable occurrences of thrombosis and thrombo-embolism, benefit the diagnosis and judgment of prognosis and clinical efficacy in CHD patients, and provide a scientific theoretical and experimental basis for enriching and developing Chinese medicine syndrome typing of CHD.