Homocysteine Level and Risk of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: A Meta-Analysis

Objectives

Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding the association between elevated plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). We investigated this association between Hcy levels in patients with AAA and unaffected controls by conducting a meta-analysis and systematic review.

Methods

We conducted a systematic literature search (up to August 2013) of the PubMed database and Embase. We selected observational studies that evaluated Hcy levels in subjects with AAA compared to unaffected controls. Criteria for inclusion were the assessment of baseline Hcy and risk of AAA as an outcome. The results were presented as odd ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing AAA patients to the control subjects.

Results

7 studies with 6,445 participants were identified and analyzed. Overall, elevated plasma Hcy was associated with an increased risk of AAA (3.29; 95% CI 1.66–6.51). The pooled adjusted OR from a random effect model of only men participants in the AAA compared with the control group was 2.36 (95% CI 0.63–8.82).

Conclusion

This meta-analysis and systematic review suggested that Hcy significantly increased the risk of AAA.     

Isolation and Characterization of a Rhizobacterial Antagonist of Root-Knot Nematodes

The rhizobacterial strain Jdm2 was isolated from the rhizosphere of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Trichosanthes kirilowii in Jiangsu province, China, and was identified as Bacillus subtilis. Exposure of cell-free filtrate of the strain to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita under in vitro conditions caused substantial mortality of the second stage juvenile (J2) and significantly reduced egg hatchability. A greenhouse trial demonstrated that 56 days after treatment with Jdm2, the number of galls associated with M. incognita infection in the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) roots was significantly reduced compared to controls, and the disease severity of infected plants was lower in treated plants (36%) compared to water control (75%). Consistently, in the field trial, the biocontrol efficacy of Jdm2 reached 69%, 51% and 48% after 30, 60 and 90 days post-transplantation, respectively. As indicated by PCR-DGGE analysis, inoculation with Jdm2 strain had an effect on the bacterial community of the tomato rhizosphere at the first stage, but was not able to imperil the bacterial community stability for long time. The novel bacterial strain Jdm2 enhances plant growth and inhibits nematode activity, and has the potential to be a safe and effective microbial pesticide.     

Sexual Risk Reduction for HIV-Infected Persons: A Meta-Analytic Review of “Positive Prevention” Randomized Clinical Trials

Background

Prevention intervention trials have been conducted to reduce risk of sexual transmission among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), but the findings were inconsistent. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate overall efficacy of prevention interventions on unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse (UVAI) among PLWHA from randomized clinical trials (RCTs).

Methods

RCTs of prevention interventions among PLWHA published as of February 2012 were identified by systematically searching thirteen electronic databases. The primary outcome was UVAI. The difference of standardized mean difference (SMD) of UVAI between study arms, defined as effect size (ES), was calculated for each study and then pooled across studies using standard meta-analysis with a random effects model.

Results

Lower likelihood of UVAI was observed in the intervention arms compared with the control arms either with any sexual partners (mean ES: −0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.32, −0.11) or with HIV-negative or unknown-status sexual partners (mean ES and 95% CI: −0.13 [−0.22, −0.04]). Short-term efficacy of interventions with ≤10 months of follow up was significant in reducing UVAI (1–5 months: −0.27 [−0.45, −0.10]; 6–10 months: −0.18 [−0.30, −0.07]), while long-term efficacy of interventions was weaker and might have been due to chance (11–15 months: −0.13 [−0.34, 0.08]; >15 months: −0.05 [−0.43, 0.32]).

Conclusions

Our meta-analyses confirmed the short-term impact of prevention interventions on reducing self-reported UVAI among PLWHA irrespective of the type of sexual partner, but did not support a definite conclusion on long-term effect. It is suggested that booster intervention sessions are needed to maintain a sustainable reduction of unprotected sex among PLWHA in future risk reduction programs.     

Using Amino-Labeled Nucleotide Probes for Simultaneous Single Molecule RNA-DNA FISH

Using amino-labeled oligonucleotide probes, we established a simple, robust and low-noise method for simultaneous detection of RNA and DNA by fluorescence in situ hybridization, a highly useful tool to study the large pool of long non-coding RNAs being identified in the current research. With probes either chemically or biologically synthesized, we demonstrate that the method can be applied to study a wide range of RNA and DNA targets at the single-cell and single-molecule level in cellular contexts.     

Altered Resting-State Amygdala Functional Connectivity after 36 Hours of Total Sleep Deprivation

Objectives

Recent neuroimaging studies have identified a potentially critical role of the amygdala in disrupted emotion neurocircuitry in individuals after total sleep deprivation (TSD). However, connectivity between the amygdala and cerebral cortex due to TSD remains to be elucidated. In this study, we used resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) to investigate the functional connectivity changes of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and centromedial amygdala (CMA) in the brain after 36 h of TSD.

Materials and Methods

Fourteen healthy adult men aged 25.9±2.3 years (range, 18–28 years) were enrolled in a within-subject crossover study. Using the BLA and CMA as separate seed regions, we examined resting-state functional connectivity with fMRI during rested wakefulness (RW) and after 36 h of TSD.

Results

TSD resulted in a significant decrease in the functional connectivity between the BLA and several executive control regions (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC], right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], right inferior frontal gyrus [IFG]). Increased functional connectivity was found between the BLA and areas including the left posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus (PCC/PrCu) and right parahippocampal gyrus. With regard to CMA, increased functional connectivity was observed with the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and right precentral gyrus.

Conclusion

These findings demonstrate that disturbance in amygdala related circuits may contribute to TSD psychophysiology and suggest that functional connectivity studies of the amygdala during the resting state may be used to discern aberrant patterns of coupling within these circuits after TSD.     

Cloning and Characterization of tesk1, a Novel Spermatogenesis-Related Gene,in the Tongue Sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)

Testis-specific protein kinase 1 (Tesk1) is a serine/threonine kinase with unique structural features. In the present study, we cloned and characterized the tesk1 gene of tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis. The full-length tesk1 cDNA consists of 1,672 nucleotides, encoding a 331 amino acid polypeptide with a characteristic structure composed of an N-terminal kinase domain and a C-terminal proline-rich domain. The tesk1 genomic sequence contains eight exons and seven introns. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that tesk1 mRNA is expressed predominantly in the testis, though the level of expression varied throughout development. We used in situ hybridization to show that tesk1 mRNA is expressed in the spermatids of males and pseudo-males, but not in triploid males. Our results suggest that tongue sole Tesk1 may play a role in spermatogenesis.     

Transplantation of ATP7B–Transduced Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Decreases Copper Overload in Rats

Background

Recent studies have demonstrated that transplantation of ATP7B-transduced hepatocytes ameliorates disease progression in LEC (Long-Evans Cinnamon) rats, a model of Wilson''s disease (WD). However, the inability of transplanted cells to proliferate in a normal liver hampers long-term treatment. In the current study, we investigated whether transplantation of ATP7B-transduced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) could decrease copper overload in LEC rats.

Materials and Methods

The livers of LEC rats were preconditioned with radiation (RT) and/or ischemia-reperfusion (IRP) before portal vein infusion of ATP7B-transduced MSCs (MSCs^ATP7B). The volumes of MSCs^ATP7B or saline injected as controls were identical. The expression of ATP7B was analyzed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at 4, 12 and 24 weeks post-transplantation. MSC^ATP7B repopulation, liver copper concentrations, serum ceruloplasmin levels, and alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels were also analyzed at each time-point post-transplantation.

Results

IRP-plus-RT preconditioning was the most effective strategy for enhancing the engraftment and repopulation of transplanted MSCs^ATP7B. This strategy resulted in higher ATP7B expression and serum ceruloplasmin, and lower copper concentration in this doubly preconditioned group compared with the saline control group, the IRP group, and the RT group at all three time-points post-transplantation (p<0.05 for all). Moreover, 24 weeks post-transplantation, the levels of ALT and AST in the IRP group, the RT group, and the IRP-plus-RT group were all significantly decreased compared to those of the saline group (p<0.05 compared with the IRP group and RT group, p<0.01 compared with IRP-plus-RT group); ALT and AST levels were significantly lower in the IRP-plus-RT group compared to either the IRP group or the RT group (p<0.01 and p<0.05. respectively).

Conclusions

These results demonstrate that transplantation of MSCs^ATP7B into IRP-plus-RT preconditioned LEC rats decreased copper overload and was associated with an increase in MSC engraftment and repopulation.     

Sonographic Appearance of Primary Thyroid Lymphoma-Preliminary Experience

Objective

Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is an uncommon thyroid malignancy. Despite the rarity of PTL, it is important to recognize PTL promptly because its management differs from that of all the other thyroid neoplasms. This study was designed to investigate the sonographic features of PTL.

Methods

Twenty-seven pathologically confirmed PTLs were categorized into diffuse and non-diffuse type. Sonographic features including thyroid size, thyroid background echotexture, lesion size, echogenecity, calcification, vascularity, cervical lymphadenopathy of each type were retrospectively analyzed.

Results

All 27 PTLs were diffuse large B-cell lymphomas and were accompanied by diffuse Hashimoto''s thyroiditis. Ten were diffuse type and seventeen were non-diffuse type sonographically. The observations in diffuse group included goiter (10/10, 100.0%), marked echogenesity (10/10, 100.0%), heterogeneous echotexture (10/10, 100.0%), and cervical lymphadenopathy (4/10, 40.0%). The observations in non-diffuse group included marked hypoechogenicity (17/17, 100.0%), heterogeneous background thyroid gland (17/17, 100.0%), goiter (15/17, 88.2%), increased vascularity (8/13, 61.5%), mulifocality (10/17, 58.8%), and cervical lymphadenopathy (7/17, 41.2%).

Conclusions

Although some common features were found, the sonographic appearance of PTL is unspecific, especially for the diffuse type. Therefore, interventional diagnostic procedures should be warranted in the clinical settings when PTL is suspected.     

Inferring Novel Indications of Approved Drugs via a Learning Method with Local and Global Consistency

Inferring new indication of approved drugs is critical not only for the elucidation of the interaction mechanisms between these drugs and their associated diseases, but also for the development of drug therapy for various human diseases. This paper proposes a network-based approach to reveal the association between 52 human diseases and potential therapeutic drugs based on multiple types of data. The advantage of the approach is that it can obtain the global relevance features for each drug-disease pair in the network by the learning local and global consistency method (LLGC). Cross-validation tests results demonstrate the proposed approach can achieve better performance comparing with previous methods. More importantly, it provides a promising strategy to maximize the value of therapeutic drugs and offer safe and effective treatments for different diseases.     

大型医院医疗设备采购流程精细化管理的探讨

医疗设备采购工作由于环节众多,过程复杂,且工作性质的特殊性、敏感性关系,很多的审批、监督环节无法省略,对工作速度造成了严重影响。该文探讨了一种基于项目团队模式的医疗设备采购管理新模式。打破了采购工作各相关部门的职能壁垒,按精细化管理的原则,构建了一个跨部门的医疗设备采购工作职能团队,快速、准确、高效地完成大型医院医疗设备购置工作,提高医疗设备采购工作的效率和质量,以充分发掘采购工作的效益。