Abstract Objectives: Lung cancer was one of the most common malignancies around the world. It has great significance in to search for the mechanism of occurrence and development of lung cancer. LIM Domain Binding protein 2 (LDB2) belongs to the LIM-domain binding family, it can be used as a binding protein that combined with other transcription factors to form the transcription complex for regulating the expression of target genes. The expression of microRNA-96-5p (miR-96-5p) has been investigated in various tumors. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential role of LDB2 and miR-96-5p in lung cancer. Methods: Real-time quantitative PCR was applied to detect the expression of LDB2 and miR-96-5p. The proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of H1299 cells were analyzed by CCK8, transwell, and wound healing assay after LDB2 or miR-96-5p transfection. Luciferase activities assay and western blot were used to reveal the targeted regulation between LDB2 and miR-96-5p. Results: Here the authors found LDB2 was down-regulated in lung cancer tissues and negatively correlated with miR-96-5p expression, it could promote or inhibit the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of H1299 cells after LDB2 knockdown or overexpression and regulate the expression of cyclinD1, MMP9, Bcl-2, and Bax via ERK1/2 signaling pathway. Furthermore, miR-96-5p exerted its function by directly binding to 3′-UTR of LDB2 and regulating expression of LDB2. miR-96-5p could promote the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of H1299 cells. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that LDB2 can act as a new regulator to inhibit cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis via the ERK1/2 signaling pathway, and miR-96-5p may be a potential promising molecular by targeting LDB2 in lung cancer.

Abstract Objective: transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is one of the common treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Predicting prognosis for HCC patients who received TACE is challenging because of huge differences in outcome. At present, the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) is widely used to screen nutritional risk in hospitalized patients, which has been confirmed to be related to prognosis. Here, the objective of this research is to construct a prognostic nomogram using the NRS-2002 score for HCC patients receiving TACE. Methods: we enrolled 359 HCC patients who received TACE at the Xingtai People's Hospital between January 2015 and December 2020. According to the preoperative NRS-2002 score, patients were divided into an NRS ≥ 3 group (n = 190; 52.9 %) and an NRS < 3 group (n = 167, 47.1 %). Meanwhile, variables associated with survival were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression. Beyond that, a nomogram incorporating independent variables was established. The concordance index (C-index) and calibration curves were used to assess the prediction performance of the nomogram. Results: the median survival of the NRS ≥ 3 group was significantly lower than that of the NRS < 3 group. As shown by multivariate analysis, in the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage an NRS-2002 score ≥ 3, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, and alpha-fetoprotein were significantly associated with survival in HCC patients after TACE. In addition, the C-index was 0.708 (95 % confidence interval: 0.672-0.743), and the calibration curves showed a good consistency between the observed and predicted survivals at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Conclusions: NRS-2002 ≥ 3 could identify high-risk patients with HCC who received TACE. The NRS-2002-based nomogram model had good prognostic prediction accuracy.

Resumen Objetivo: la quimioembolización transarterial (TACE) es uno de los tratamientos comúnmente utilizados para el carcinoma hepatocelular (CHC). La predicción pronóstica en pacientes con CHC sometidos a TACE es un desafío debido a la gran variabilidad del resultado. La “Detección del riesgo nutricional 2002” (NRS-2002) se utiliza ampliamente en la actualidad para evaluar el riesgo nutricional de los pacientes hospitalizados y se ha demostrado que está relacionada con el pronóstico. Aquí, nuestro objetivo fue construir un nomograma pronóstico, utilizando la puntuación NRS-2002, para pacientes con HCC que reciben TACE. Métodos: reclutamos a 359 pacientes con CHC tratados con TACE en el Hospital Popular de Xingtai desde enero de 2015 hasta diciembre de 2020. Los pacientes se dividieron en un grupo NRS ≥ 3 (n = 190; 52,9 %) y un grupo NRS < 3 (n = 167, 47,1 %) según la puntuación NRS-2002 preoperatoria. Las variables asociadas con la supervivencia se analizaron mediante la regresión de Cox univariante y multivariante. Se estableció un nomograma que incorpora variables independientes. El rendimiento predictivo del nomograma se evaluó mediante el índice de concordancia (índice C) y la curva de calibración. Resultados: la mediana de supervivencia del grupo NRS ≥ 3 fue significativamente menor que la del grupo NRS < 3. El análisis multivariante mostró que el estadio del grupo de Clínica de Cáncer de Hígado de Barcelona, una puntuación NRS-2002 ≥ 3, la γ-glutamil transpeptidasa y la alfa-fetoproteína se asociaron significativamente con la supervivencia de los pacientes con CHC después de la TACE. El índice C fue de 0,708 (intervalo de confianza del 95 %: 0,672-0,743) y las curvas de calibración mostraron una buena concordancia entre las supervivencias observadas y las predichas a 1, 2 y 3 años. Conclusiones: la puntuación NRS-2002 ≥ 3 podría identificar a los pacientes con HCC de alto riesgo sometidos a TACE. El modelo de nomograma basado en la NRS-2002 tuvo una buena precisión de predicción pronóstica.

A single-pulse spot welding test was performed on 0.13C-6.98Mn medium manganese TRIP steel. The test results showed that the joint performance increases with a rise in welding heat input before splashing occurs. Owing to the fusion zone (FZ) being closest to the heat source, its austenite content was completely transformed and its performance was worse than that of the heat affected zone comprising austenite. The segregation bands of C and Mn observed in the FZ were considered to be the main reason for the deterioration of grain boundary strength. These characteristics of the weld zone led to evident intergranular cracking and transgranular fracture in the tensile test, and all samples in this test showed partial or complete interfacial fractures.

Severe pneumonia related to human adenoviruses (HAdVs) has a high lethality rate in children and its early diagnosis and treatment remain a major challenge. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are novel long noncoding RNAs that play important roles in gene regulation and disease pathogenesis. To investigate the roles of circRNAs in HAdV pneumonia, we analyzed the circRNA profiles of healthy children and children with HAdV pneumonia, including both mild and severe cases, and identified 139 significantly upregulated circRNAs in children with HAdV pneumonia vs healthy controls and 18 significantly upregulated circRNAs in children with severe HAdV pneumonia vs mild HAdV pneumonia. In particular, hsa_circ_0002171 was differentially expressed in both groups and might thus be useful as a diagnostic biomarker of HAdV pneumonia and severe HAdV pneumonia. To identify the underlying mechanisms of circRNAs in HAdV pneumonia, we analyzed the transcriptome of children with HAdV pneumonia and established a circRNA-mRNA regulatory network. Enrichment analysis of differentially expressed target mRNAs demonstrated that the differentially expressed genes between healthy controls and HAdV pneumonia patients were mainly involved in RNA splicing while the differentially expressed genes between children with mild and severe HAdV pneumonia were mainly involved in regulating lymphocyte activation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested that hsa_circ_0002171 had a significant value in the diagnosis of HAdV pneumonia and of severe HAdV pneumonia. Taken together, the circRNA expression profile was altered in children with HAdV pneumonia. These results demonstrated that hsa_circ_0002171 is a potential diagnostic biomarker of HAdV pneumonia.

ABSTRACT Objective This study aimed to present the impact of age and gender on thyroid hormone levels in a large Chinese population with sufficient iodine intake. Subjects and methods A total of 83643 individuals were included and were stratified by age and gender. The median, 2.5th and 97.5th of thyrotropin (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) and FT3/FT4 ratio were calculated for both genders for every decade from 18 to over 80 years. TSH, FT3, FT4, FT3/FT4 distribution in each age group was evaluated for females and males using smoothing splines in the generalized additive models (GAM). TSH concentrations were compared in the different age groups in gender. Results In the over 80s age group, the TSH level (median: 2.57 mIU/L, 2.5th-97.5th: 0.86-7.56 mIU/L) was significantly higher than other age groups, irrespective to gender (P<0.001). Females had a higher TSH value than males in all age groups (P<0.001). Results of the smoothing curves showed that TSH increased with age, FT3 concentration was higher in males than in females and the tendency of the FT3/FT4 ratio was basically similar to that of FT3. TSH concentration in the 50s age group (median 2.48 mIU/L for females versus 2.00 mIU/L for males) was significantly higher than that in the 30s age group (median 2.18 mIU/L for females versus median 1.85 mIU/L for males). Conclusions In accord with increasing TSH values during aging, females and older adults have lower FT3 values and lower FT3/FT4 ratios, while the FT4 values remain stable.

OBJECTIVES: Anemia and changes in platelets (PLT) are common in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In our study, we aimed to verify whether PLT count can independently reflect the severity of IBD. METHODS: In our hospital, 137 Crohn’s Disease (CD), 69 Ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, and 412 healthy controls were included to compare the differences in PLT count. In addition, the effect of anemia, C-reactive protein (CRP), age, CD activity index (CDAI) or Mayo on PLTs was also analyzed. If PLTs independently affected CD or UC, we used the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to verify the diagnostic value and obtain the cut-off value of PLT. RESULTS: CD and UC patients had higher PLT than controls (p<0.001, p<0.001; respectively). In CD patients, the results showed that patients with anemia (P<0.01), Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) (p<0.001), CRP≥8 mg/L (p=0.046), and CDAI≥150 (p<0.001) had higher PLT, while in UC patients, those with anemia (p=0.018), CRP≥8 mg/L (p=0.045), and Mayo≥3 (p=0.029) had higher PLT. Univariate analysis showed that CDAI was positively correlated with PLT count (p<0.001), while hemoglobin (p=0.001) and age (p<0.001) were negatively correlated with PLT in CD. In UC patients, Mayo (p=0.001) and CRP (p<0.001) were positively correlated with PLT, while hemoglobin (p=0.002) was negatively correlated. Finally, by linear stepwise multivariate analysis, we clarified the positive relationship between PLT and CD (p<0.001) by eliminating the interference of hemoglobin, and determined the cut-off value of PLT as 298×109/L. For UC, we did not obtain similar results. CONCLUSIONS: PLT can be an indicator of disease severity in CD, while there is a lack of evidence regarding this finding in UC.