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Di Zhu,1,2,* Chi Wang,1,* You Zhou,3 Hebin Che,1 Ruiqing Wang,1,2 Liting Cheng,3 Chongyou Rao,1,2 Qin Zhong,1 Zongren Li,1 Yongjie Duan,1,2 Kunlun He1 1Medical Big Data Research Center, Medical Innovation Research Department of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of China; 2Graduate School of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Kunlun He, Medical Big Data Research Center, Medical Innovation Research Department of PLA General Hospital, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-10-66939107, Email kunlunhe@plagh.orgBackground: The associations of two novel inflammation biomarkers, systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) and systemic immune inflammation index (SII), with mortality risk in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) are not well-characterized.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients with CHF in two medical centers of Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China. The outcomes of this study included in-hospital mortality and long-term mortality. Associations of SIRI and SII with mortality were assessed using multivariable regressions and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses.Results: A total of 6232 patients with CHF were included in the present study. We documented 97 cases of in-hospital mortality and 1738 cases of long-term mortality during an average 5.01-year follow-up. Compared with patients in the lowest quartile of SIRI, those in the highest quartile exhibited 134% higher risk of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio, 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16– 4.72) and 45% higher risk of long-term mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.25– 1.67). Compared with patients in the lowest quartile of SII, those in the highest quartile exhibited 27% higher risk of long-term mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11– 1.46). In ROC analyses, SIRI showed better prognostic discrimination than C-reactive protein (area under the curve: 69.39 vs 60.91, P = 0.01, for in-hospital mortality; 61.82 vs 58.67, P = 0.03, for 3-year mortality), whereas SII showed similar prognostic value with C-reactive protein.Conclusion: SIRI and SII were significantly associated with mortality risk in patients with CHF. SIRI may provide better prognostic discrimination than C-reactive protein.Keywords: systemic inflammation, systemic immune inflammation index, systemic inflammation response index, chronic heart failure, mortality risk

Huiming Li,1 Jun Liu,1 Shaoying Yan,1 Chunmei Rao,2 Ling Wang3 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ling Wang, Email wangling7832@163.comBackground: Platelet distribution width (PDW) is a marker of platelet anisocytosis that increases with platelet activation. The clinical implications of PDW in HCC are not well-defined. This study aimed to determine whether PDW could predict recurrence in patients with HCC after resection.Methods: Between January and December 2008, 471 patients with HCC were recruited retrospectively. The clinicopathological characteristics of patients with HCC were analyzed based on the relationship between the two PDW groups. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between PDW and disease-free survival (DFS). A novel nomogram was developed based on the identified independent risk factors. Its accuracy was evaluated using a calibration curve and concordance index. The predictive value was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results: PDW was significantly associated with direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, urea, and prothrombin time. Patients with PDW ≥ 17.1 were a significantly shorter DFS than those with PDW < 17.1 (17.98% vs 49.83%, p< 0.001). Multivariate analysis determined that alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen, microvascular invasion (MVI), tumor size, and tumor number were the independent variables associated with DFS. Patients with PDW ≥ 17.1 had a hazard ratio of 1.381 (95% confidence interval: 1.069– 1.783, p = 0.014) for DFS. AFP, PDW, MVI, tumor size, and tumor number were identified as preoperative independent risk factors for DFS and used to establish the nomogram. Calibration curve analysis revealed that the standard curve fitted well with the predicted curve. ROC curve analysis demonstrated the high efficiency of the nomogram.Conclusion: Increased PDW may predict recurrence-free survival in patients with HCC. Our nomogram model also performed well in predicting patient prognoses.Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, platelet distribution width, recurrence, nomogram

Yueshan Fan,1– 3,* Dong Wang1,2 ,* Chenxu Rao,1– 3,* Ying Li,1,2 Hongtao Rong,1,2 Zengguang Wang,1,2 Jianning Zhang1,2 1Department of Neurosurgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, People’s Republic of China; 2Tianjin Neurological Institute, Key Laboratory of Post-Neuroinjury Neuro-Repair and Regeneration in Central Nervous System, Ministry of Education and Tianjin City, Tianjin 300052, People’s Republic of China; 3Graduate School, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300000, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jianning Zhang; Zengguang Wang Tel +86 22-60817448Email jianningzhang@hotmail.com; wzgforrest@163.comObjective: Our previous study showed that the combination therapy with atorvastatin and low-dose dexamethasone protected endothelial cell function in chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) injury. In this study, we aimed to investigate the mechanism underlying the effects of this combination therapy on CSDH-induced cell dysfunction.Methods: Monocytes and endothelial cells were cocultured with CSDH patient hematoma samples to mimic the pathological microenvironment of CSDH. Monocytes (THP-1 cells) and endothelial cells (hCMEC/D3 cells) were cocultured in a transwell system for 24 h before stimulation with hematoma samples diluted in endothelial cell medium (ECM) at a 1:1 ratio. Tight junction markers were detected by Western blotting, PCR and immunofluorescence. hCMEC/D3 cells were collected for Western blot and PCR analyses to detect changes in the expression levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), and Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF-2). The IL-6, IL-10 and VEGF levels in the supernatant were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results: KLF-2 expression in endothelial cells was decreased after stimulation with CSDH patient hematoma samples, but combination therapy with atorvastatin and low-dose dexamethasone reversed this trend. KLF-2 protected injured cells by increasing the expression of VE-cadherin and ZO-1; attenuating the expression of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, IL-6 and VEGF; and enhancing the expression of IL-10, all of which play pivotal roles in endothelial inflammation. Moreover, the effect of combination therapy with atorvastatin and low-dose dexamethasone was obviously reduced in endothelial cells with KLF-2 knockdown compared with normal cells.Conclusion: Coculture with hematoma samples decreased KLF-2 expression in human cerebral endothelial cells. Combination therapy with atorvastatin and low-dose dexamethasone counteracted hematoma-induced KLF-2 suppression in human cerebral endothelial cells to attenuate robust endothelial inflammation and permeability. KLF-2 plays an important role in drug therapy for CSDH and may become the key factor in treatment and prognosis.Keywords: chronic subdural hematoma, atorvastatin combined with low-dose dexamethasone treatment, endothelial inflammation and permeability, Kruppel-like factor 2

Abstract The domestication of pigeonpea has severely impacted the intrinsic host‐plant resistance (HPR) to pest and diseases, particularly pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera hubner). This study with 41 Australian wild Cajanus genotypes and interspecific hybrids demonstrated a high level of resistance to H. armigera in the accessions of Cajanus acutifolius, C. latisepalus, C. lanceolatus, C. pubescens, and C. reticulatus var. reticulatus. Significant variation in herbivory development and mortality (P

In this study, we define the cardinal temperatures and thermal time for germination and emergence of pigeonpea genotypes. Seeds of six genotypes were subjected to constant temperatures ranging between 5 and 50°C in petri dishes with filter paper (germination) and with media (emergence) were placed in a thermal gradient plate. A nonlinear bent-stick model fitted to the rate of development to germination and emergence resulted in parameters predicting cardinal temperatures including base (Tb), optimum (To), maximum (Tm), and thermal time. Estimated Tb for 50% germination and emergence were 8.4 and 10.8°C, respectively, with no significant differences between genotypes. Optimum temperatures were 33.8 and 37.9°C for germination and emergence, respectively, with genotypes differing significantly. Thermal time for 50% germination and emergence varied significantly among genotypes. The results suggest that genotypic responses to the temperature are typical for their tropical origin and hence their suitability for cropping in summer dominant rainfall regions insubtropical Australia.