Circular RNAs regulate cancer-related signaling pathways and serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers for human cancers

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are RNAs that have an important role in various pathological processes, including cancer. After the usage of high-throughput RNA sequencing, many circRNAs were found to be differentially expressed in various cancer cell lines and regulate cell signaling pathways by modulating particular gene expressions. Understanding their role in these pathways and what cancers they are found in can set the stage for identifying diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets of cancer. This paper will discuss which circRNAs are found in different cancers and what mechanisms they use to upregulate or downregulate certain cellular components

Using computed tomography angiography and computational fluid dynamics to study aortic coarctation in different arch morphologies

ObjectiveTo study the differences in computed tomography angiography (CTA) imaging of gothic arches, crenel arches, and romanesque arches in children with Aortic Coarctation (CoA), and to apply computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to study hemodynamic changes in CoA children with gothic arch aorta.MethodsThe case data and CTA data of children diagnosed with CoA (95 cases) in our hospital were retrospectively collected, and the morphology of the aortic arch in the children was defined as gothic arch (n = 27), crenel arch (n = 25) and romanesque arch (n = 43). The three groups were compared with D1/AOA, D2/AOA, D3/AOA, D4/AOA, D5/AOA, and AAO-DAO angle, TAO-DAO angle, and aortic arch height to width ratio (A/T). Computational fluid dynamics was applied to assess hemodynamic changes in children with gothic arches.ResultsThere were no significant differences between D1/AOA and D2/AOA among gothic arch, crenel arch, and romanesque arch (P > 0.05). The differences in D3/AOA, D4/AOA, and D5/AOA among the three groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05), D4/AOA, D5/AOA of the gothic arch group were smaller than the crenel arch group, and the D3/AOA and D5/AOA of the gothic arch group were smaller than the romanesque arch group (P < 0.05). The difference in AAO-DAO angle among the three groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05), and the AAO-DAO angle of gothic arch was smaller than that of romanesque arch and crenel arch group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the TAO-DAO angle between the three groups (P > 0.05). The difference in A/T values among the three groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05), and the A/T values: gothic arch > romanesque arch > crenel arch (P < 0.05). The CFD calculation of children with gothic arch showed that the pressure drop between the distal stenosis and the descending aorta was 58 mmHg, and the flow rate at the isthmus and descending aorta was high and turbulent.ConclusionGothic aortic arch is common in CoA, it may put adverse effects on the development of the aortic isthmus and descending aorta, and its A/T value and AAO-DAO angle are high. CFD could assess hemodynamic changes in CoA

The diploid genome sequence of an Asian individual

Here we present the first diploid genome sequence of an Asian individual. The genome was sequenced to 36-fold average coverage using massively parallel sequencing technology. We aligned the short reads onto the NCBI human reference genome to 99.97% coverage, and guided by the reference genome, we used uniquely mapped reads to assemble a high-quality consensus sequence for 92% of the Asian individual's genome. We identified approximately 3 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) inside this region, of which 13.6% were not in the dbSNP database. Genotyping analysis showed that SNP identification had high accuracy and consistency, indicating the high sequence quality of this assembly. We also carried out heterozygote phasing and haplotype prediction against HapMap CHB and JPT haplotypes (Chinese and Japanese, respectively), sequence comparison with the two available individual genomes (J. D. Watson and J. C. Venter), and structural variation identification. These variations were considered for their potential biological impact. Our sequence data and analyses demonstrate the potential usefulness of next-generation sequencing technologies for personal genomics

Nursing of a patient with primary dysmenorrhea treated by auricular acupressure combined with auricular pressure (耳穴按摩联合耳穴贴压治疗原发性痛经1例的护理体会)

This paper summarized the nursing management for a patient with primary dysmenorrhea treated by auricular acupressure combined with auricular pressure. Under the guidance of TCM theory, auricular acupressure combined with auricular pressure was applied to primary dysmenorrhea based on symptom and pain assessment. The combination of auricular acupressure and auricular pressure was effective to improve the symptoms of dysmenorrhea and patient's quality of life. (本文总结耳穴按摩联合耳穴贴压治疗1例原发性痛经(PD)患者的护理体会。基于中医理论指导, 科学评估PD患者症状及疼痛程度, 辨证取穴, 应用耳穴按摩联合耳穴贴压治疗, 有效改善患者痛经症状和体征, 提高患者生活质量。

Continuously Quantifying Oral Chemicals Based on Flexible Hybrid Electronics for Clinical Diagnosis and Pathogenetic Study

Simultaneous monitoring of diverse salivary parameters can reveal underlying mechanisms of intraoral biological processes and offer profound insights into the evolution of oral diseases. However, conventional analytical devices with bulky volumes, rigid formats, and discrete sensing mechanisms deviate from the requirements of continuous biophysiological quantification, resulting in huge difficulty in precise clinical diagnosis and pathogenetic study. Here, we present a flexible hybrid electronic system integrated with functional nanomaterials to continuously sense Ca2+, pH, and temperature for wireless real-time oral health monitoring. The miniaturized system with an island-bridge structure that is designed specifically to fit the teeth is only 0.4 g in weight and 31.5×8.5×1.35 mm3 in dimension, allowing effective integration with customized dental braces and comfort attachment on teeth. Characterization results indicate high sensitivities of 30.3 and 60.6 mV/decade for Ca2+ and pH with low potential drifts. The system has been applied in clinical studies to conduct Ca2+ and pH mappings on carious teeth, biophysiological monitoring for up to 12 h, and outcome evaluation of dental restoration, providing quantitative data to assist in the diagnosis and understanding of oral diseases. Notably, caries risk assessment of 10 human subjects using the flexible system validates the important role of saliva buffering capacity in caries pathogenesis. The proposed flexible system may offer an open platform to carry diverse components to support both clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as fundamental research for oral diseases and induced systemic diseases

Maternal Glycemia During Pregnancy and Child Carotid Intima Media Thickness, Pulse Wave Velocity, and Augmentation Index

10.1210/clinem/dgaa211JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM1057E2581-E2590JCEMAGUSTO (Growing up towards Healthy Outcomes)GUSTO (Growing up towards Healthy Outcomes

Influence of red blood cell indices on HbA1c performance in detecting dysglycaemia in a Singapore preconception cohort study

Abstract Abnormalities of red blood cell (RBC) indices may affect glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. We assessed the influence of haemoglobin (Hb) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) on the performance of HbA1c in detecting dysglycaemia among reproductive aged women planning to conceive. Women aged 18–45 years (n = 985) were classified as normal (12 ≤ Hb ≤ 16 g/dL and 80 ≤ MCV ≤ 100 fL) and abnormal (Hb < 12 g/dL and/or MCV < 80 fL). The Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUROC) curve was used to determine the performance of HbA1c in detecting dysglycaemic status (prediabetes and diabetes). There were 771 (78.3%) women with normal RBC indices. The AUROCs for the normal and abnormal groups were 0.75 (95% confidence interval 0.69, 0.81) and 0.80 (0.70, 0.90), respectively, and were not statistically different from one another [difference 0.04 (− 0.16, 0.08)]. Further stratification by ethnicity showed no difference between the two groups among Chinese and Indian women. However, Malay women with normal RBC indices displayed lower AUROC compared to those with abnormal RBC indices (0.71 (0.55, 0.87) vs. 0.98 (0.93, 1.00), p = 0.002). The results suggest that the performance of HbA1c in detecting dysglycaemia was not influenced by abnormal RBC indices based on low Hb and/or low MCV. However, there may be ethnic variations among them