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To investigate the expression pattern of long non-coding RNA TUG1 in elderly patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (sCAP) and evaluate its diagnostic and prognostic value for sCAP. Serum TUG1 levels were detected in 130 sCAP patients and 122 healthy volunteers via qRT-PCR method. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and k-M plot were drawn for the diagnostic and prognostic value evaluation. A diminished trend of TUG1 was detected in the serum of sCAP cases, and negatively correlated with the concentration of TNF-α, CRP, suPAR and sTREM-1. Among the 130 cases, 30 cases died from sCAP within 30 days after admission. Serum TUG1 had the diagnostic value for 30-day mortality prediction with the AUC of 0.823. In the non-survival group, more cases had old age, high CURB score and PSI score. K-M plot demonstrated that cases with low TUG1 levels showed poor survival than those carrying high TUG1 levels. Serum TUG1 was an independent risk factor for death in elderly patients with sCAP within 30 days after admission. Serum TUG1 was at low expression in sCAP patients, and it had the predictive value for the clinical prognosis of elderly sCAP patients.

Various Ce3+-doped Ca9Nd(PO4)7 (denotes as CNP: xCe3+) samples were synthesized through a conventional high-temperature solid-state reaction. The CNP: Ce3+ has a similar lattice with β-Ca3(PO4)2. Both X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and the corresponding Rietveld refinement showed the phase purity of CNP:xCe3+ and a preferable site occupation of Ce. The luminescent properties of CNP:xCe3+ have been investigated. Factors that lead to concentration quenching was determined as the dipole-dipole interaction by fitting the emission spectra of these samples. The structural variation upon different dopant concentrations was also studied by theoretical simulation based on density functional theory, which also reveals a large band gap of the CNP host to accommodate luminescent centers. Charge density difference reveals the changes in the local environment after Ce3+/Ca2+ replacements. The work provides a thorough case study of a Ce3+ doped material to give insight into further site engineering.

Background & objective Tocotrienol supplementation has been emerged as a potent candidate for the treatment of dyslipidemia. In the present study, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed with the aim of examining the effects of tocotrienol supplementation on the lipid profile. Methods Four databases (Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and Embase) were used to accomplish the literature search up to November 2019. Clinical trials encompassing the impact of tocotrienol supplementation on lipid profile were extracted regardless of clinical condition, with studies included involving only adults patients. Results A total of 15 articles with 20 arms were eligible and included in the meta-analysis to estimate the pooled effect size. Overall results showed a significant effect of tocotrienol supplementation on increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (weight mean difference (WMD): 0.146 mmol/L, I2 = 85.9%) and a non-significant influence on total cholesterol (TC) (WMD: 0.010 mmol/L, I2 = 64.5%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD: 0.095 mmol/L, I2 = 87.4%), and triglycerides (TG) (WMD: −0.112 mmol/L, I2 = 67.4%) levels. Increment in HDL-C levels was significant greater for the tocotrienol dosage ≥ 200 mg/d (WMD: 0.202 mmol/L) and ≤8 weeks (WMD: 0.278 mmol/L). Moreover, studies that investigated tocotrienol dose ≥200 mg had no heterogeneity, while showing a significant decrease in TG levels (WMD: −0.177 mmol/L). Conclusion The present meta-analysis demonstrated that supplementing with tocotrienols does not decrease the concentrations of LDL-C, TC and TG. However, tocotrienol supplementation was considered a candidate for increasing HDL-C levels.