The Role of Early Growth Response Family Members 1–4 in Prognostic Value of Breast Cancer

Early growth response family members (EGRs), EGR1–4, have increasingly attracted attention in multiple cancers. However, the exact expression patterns and prognostic values of EGRs in the progress of breast cancer (BRCA) remain largely unknown. The mRNA expression and prognostic characteristics of EGRs were examined by the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Oncomine, and Kaplan-Meier plotter. Enrichment analyses were conducted based on protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database and MethSurv were further explored. The protein expression of EGR1 in BRCA was measured by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The migration of mammary epithelial cells was determined by Boyden chamber assay. The transcriptional levels of EGR1/2/3 displayed significantly low expression in BRCA compared with that in normal tissues, while EGR4 was shown adverse expression pattern. Survival analysis revealed upregulated EGR1–4 were remarkably associated with favorable relapse-free survival (RFS). A close correlation with specific tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) and several CpG sites of EGRs were exhibited. Immunohistochemistry assays showed that the protein expression of EGR1 was remarkably downregulated in BRCA compared with that in paracancerous tissues. The migration of MCF10A mammary epithelial cells was increased after the silence of EGR1 by siRNA transfection. This study provides a novel insight to the role of EGRs in the prognostic value of BRCA

Modulations of resting-static functional connectivity on insular by electroacupuncture in subjective tinnitus

ObjectiveTo explore the modulations of electroacupuncture in subjective tinnitus (ST) by comparing the difference of functional connectivity (FC) in ST patients and healthy volunteers between the insular (INS) and the whole brain region.MethodsA total of 34 ST patients were selected into electroacupuncture group (EG) and 34 age- and sex-matched normal subjects were recruited into control group (CG). The EG received acupuncture at SI19 (Tinggong), GB11 (Touqiaoyin), TE17 (Yifeng), GV20 (Baihui), GV15 (Yamen), GV14 (Dazhui), SJ13 (Zhongzhu), among which the points of SI19 and GB11 were connected to the electroacupuncture instrument with the density wave of 2/50 Hz, and 3 treatments per week for 10 sessions in total. The severity of tinnitus was evaluated by Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), the hearing status was recorded using pure tone audiometry, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was performed on the brain before and after treatment, the CG received no intervention yet only rs-fMRI data were collected.ResultsWith the electroacupuncture treatment, the total THI score, average air conduction threshold of patients of EG were significantly lower than before (p < 0.01), and the total effective rate was 88.24%. Compared with CG, FC of ST patients between INS and left superior temporal gyrus and right hippocampal significantly decreased before treatment, while FC of ST patients between INS and right superior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus and right anterior cuneus significantly decreased after treatment (voxel p < 0.001, cluster p < 0.05, corrected with GRF). FC of ST patients between the INS and right middle frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus and right paracentral lobule showed a significant decrease after treatment (voxel p < 0.001, cluster p < 0.05, corrected with GRF). In addition, THI score in EG was negatively correlated with the reduction of FC value in INS-left superior frontal gyrus before treatment (r = −0.41, p = 0.017). Therefore, this study suggests that abnormal FC of INS may be one of the significant central mechanisms of ST patients and can be modulated by electroacupuncture.DiscussionElectroacupuncture treatment can effectively reduce or eliminate tinnitus symptoms in ST patients and improve the hearing by decreasing FC between the INS and the frontal and temporal brain regions

Interface Charge Characteristics in Polymer Dielectric Contacts: Analysis of Acoustic Approach and Probe Microscopy

Abstract Interfaces are essential components in polymer contact systems, which widely exist in electronic devices and power equipment. Interface charge originating from the mismatch of the electronic structure in interfaces is one of the key issues to modify the device performance due to its multifunctional migration and accumulation behaviors. Hence, the detection and analysis of the interface charge characteristics are of great importance to deeply understand the polymer contact system in various devices. This paper presents an overview of recent research progress in the interface charge properties at dielectric interfaces. Based on the theoretical analysis of the MWS polarization and electronic localized states, two typical approaches of discussing the interface charges from micrometer to millimeter are mainly studied. Acoustic method is prevalent in detecting the space charge in various dielectrics. However, owing to its limited resolution (several µm), it is difficult to clarify the charge distributions at the interface with a micro‐scale. Probe microscopy presents a promising technique due to its flexible surface potential detection at a submicron scale. The challenges and prospects of acoustic and probe microscopy methods are discussed in this paper. The advanced techniques of interface charges can promote the development of new energy electronic devices

The frequency of patient-initiated violence and its psychological impact on physicians in china: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION:In China, the severity of medical disputes has greatly increased during the past two decades, which has caused various adverse outcomes for health professionals. Previous research on violence in healthcare settings has primarily examined the occurrence of patient-initiated violence and its effects on physicians, but few studies have focused on the impact of the extent of physicians' exposure to violence. This study examined the different frequency levels of specific types of violence and their relationships to physicians' psychological wellbeing, including emotional exhaustion (EE), job satisfaction (JS), and intention to leave (IL). METHODS:Using a stratified random sampling method, the participants were drawn from 123 public hospitals in Shanghai, Hubei Province, and Gansu Province in China, and 1,656 completed questionnaires were collected. Chi-square test, analysis of variance, and mixed linear model were employed in the analysis. RESULTS:The results showed that the rate of exposure to verbal abuse (VA) was the highest (92.75%), followed by threats of assault (TA, 88.10%) and physical assaults (PA, 81.04%). Physicians' reported high-frequency exposure to VA, TA, and PA was 35.14%, 27.72%, and 19.32%, respectively. The results indicated that exposure to violence significantly affected EE, JS, and IL, and the intensity of the harm of high-frequency exposure was several times stronger than that of low-frequency exposure. Interestingly, we found that VA produced a greater adverse impact on physicians' EE and satisfaction with work (JS-1) than did TA or PA. This finding may be attributed to the fact that physicians are more likely to be exposed to a high frequency of VA, and the effect of high-frequency exposure is much stronger. CONCLUSION:The results indicated that decreasing violent incidents and creating a safer work environment for physicians should be a top priority for both government and society

Förster Resonance Energy-Transfer-Based Ratiometric Fluorescent Indicator for Quantifying Fluoride Ion in Water and Toothpaste

A Förster resonance energy-transfer (FRET)-based ratiometric fluorescent indicator Cou-FITC-Si toward fluoride ion has been designed and synthesized by combining coumarin unit and fluorescein derivative as energy donor and acceptor, respectively. The fluorescein unit is capped with tert-butyldiphenylchlorosilane. The indicator gives out emission responses based on switch-on of the FRET process that triggered by the desilylation mediated by the fluoride ion. The fluorescence emission spectrum of Cou-FITC-Si presents a significant bathochromic shift of 59 nm after the addition of fluoride ion with up to 180-fold increase of the fluorescence intensity ratio. The limit of detection of the Cou-FITC-Si indicator system toward fluoride ion was estimated to be 3.3 ppb. Furthermore, this indicator has been successfully applied for quantifying the fluoride ion of different concentrations from commercially available toothpaste

Additional file 1: of Types of health care facilities and the quality of primary care: a study of characteristics and experiences of Chinese patients in Guangdong Province, China

Multistage Cluster Sampling Method. (DOCX 125 kb

The Risk of Developing Osteoporosis in Hemolytic Anemia—What Aggravates the Bone Loss?

Hemolytic anemia (HA) renders erythropoietic stress on the bone marrow and has been linked to osteoporosis. In this nationwide retrospective cohort study, we examined this correlation by utilizing the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). We identified two cohorts, matching population with and without HA in a 1:4 ratio. A total of 2242 HA patients and 8968 non-HA patients were enrolled. Patients with HA had a significantly higher cumulative incidence (log-rank test p = 0.0073), higher incidence density (5.11 vs. 3.76 per 1000 persons-years), and a 1.31-fold risk of developing osteoporosis than non-HA patients (aHR = 1.31, 95% C.I. 1.04–1.63, p = 0.01). After adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities, patients with factors including female (aHR = 2.57, 95% C.I. 2.05–3.22, p < 0.001), age > 65 (aHR = 9.25, 95% C.I. 7.46–11.50, p < 0.001), diagnosis of cholelithiasis (aHR = 1.76, 95% C.I. 1.20–2.58, p = 0.003) and peptic ulcer disease (aHR = 1.87, 95% C.I. 1.52–2.29, p < 0.001) had significantly higher risk of osteoporosis. We propose that this correlation may be related to increased hematopoietic stress, increased consumption of nitric oxide (NO) by hemolysis, and the inhibitory effects of iron supplements on osteogenesis through the receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL)/Osteoprotegerin pathway and the Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) factor. Our findings suggest that patients with hemolytic anemia are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, and it would be in the patient’s best interest for physicians to be aware of this potential complication and offer preventative measures

Percentages of exposure to the three types of patient-initiated violence at different frequency levels by personal characteristics and work-related factors, %.

<p>Percentages of exposure to the three types of patient-initiated violence at different frequency levels by personal characteristics and work-related factors, %.</p

Hypotheses of the relationship between patient-initiated violence and psychological variables.

<p>Note. Control variables considered in MT-I and MT-II included personal characteristics and work-related factors (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0128394#pone.0128394.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>);</p><p>+: positive, -:negative, ++: increasingly positive, --:increasingly negative.</p><p>Hypotheses of the relationship between patient-initiated violence and psychological variables.</p