Clinical Outcome of Twice-Weekly Hemodialysis Patients with Long-Term Dialysis Vintage

Background/Aims: Twice-weekly hemodialysis(HD) is prevalent in the developing countries, scarce data are available for this treatment in patients with long-term dialysis vintage. Methods: 106 patients with more than 5 years HD vintage undergoing twice-weekly HD or thrice-weekly HD in a hemodialysis center in Shanghai between December 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 were enrolled into the cohort study with 3 years follow-up. Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare patient survival between the two groups. Subgroup analysis of 62 patients more than 10 years HD vintage was also performed according to their different dialysis frequency. Results: Compared with patients on thrice-weekly HD, twice-weekly HD patients had significantly longer HD session time and higher single-pool Kt/V (spKt/V) (session time, 4.59±0.45 vs 4.14±0.31 hours/per session, P< 0.001; spKt/V, 2.12±0.31 vs 1.83±0.30, P< 0.001). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis indicated that the two groups had similar survival (P=0.983). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age and time-dependent serum albumin were predictors of patient mortality. Subgroup analysis of 62 patients more than 10 years HD vintage also indicated that the two groups had similar survival. During the follow-up, 4 patients dropped out from the twice-weekly HD group and transferred to thrice-weekly HD. Conclusion: The similar survival between twice-weekly HD and thrice-weekly HD in patients with long-term dialysis vintage is likely relating to patient selection, individualized treatment for dialysis patients based on clinical features and socioeconomic factors remains a tough task for the clinicians

Energy Conditions for Hamiltonicity of Graphs

Let G be an undirected simple graph of order n. Let A(G) be the adjacency matrix of G, and let μ1(G)≤μ2(G)≤⋯≤μn(G) be its eigenvalues. The energy of G is defined as ℰ(G)=∑i=1n‍|μi(G)|. Denote by GBPT a bipartite graph. In this paper, we establish the sufficient conditions for G having a Hamiltonian path or cycle or to be Hamilton-connected in terms of the energy of the complement of G, and give the sufficient condition for GBPT having a Hamiltonian cycle in terms of the energy of the quasi-complement of GBPT

miR-455 Inhibits the Viability and Invasion by Targeting RAB18 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been regarded as the fifth most common cancer worldwide with a low prognosis. miR-455 usually played the role of a tumor suppressor in multiple cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of miR-455 in HCC. Materials and Methods. Cell viability and invasion were measured by CCK8 and Transwell assays. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify that miR-455 directly binds to the 3′-noncoding region (UTR) of RAB18 mRNA in Huh7 cells. Results. The expression of miR-455 was lower in HCC tissues and cell lines than in nontumor tissues and normal cell line, and downregulation of miR-455 was connected with worse outcome of HCC patients. miR-455 suppressed cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, and it inhibited the abilities of cell invasion and EMT in HCC. RAB18 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines, and the expression of RAB18 was regulated by miR-455. RAB18 reversed partial roles of miR-455 on cell viability and invasion in HCC. Conclusion. miR-455 inhibited cell viability and invasion by directly targeting the 3′-UTR of RAB18 mRNA of hepatocellular carcinoma

Danhong injection alleviates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by improving intracellular energy metabolism coupling in the ischemic penumbra

Danhong injection (DHI) is a compound Chinese medicine widely used in China for treatment of ischemic cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. However, limited data are available regarding the protective effect of DHI on the ischemic penumbra in ischemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate the effect of intravenous DHI on neuronal injure in the ischemic penumbra after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R), focusing especially on the involvement of intracellular energy metabolism coupling. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to right middle cerebral artery occlusion for 60 min followed by reperfusion with or without intravenous DHI (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mL/kg) once daily for 7 days. Post-treatment with DHI ameliorated neurological defects, diminished cerebral infarction, alleviated cerebral edema, improved microcirculatory perfusion after 7days of reperfusion, and inhibited apoptosis and enhanced neuronal survival in the ischemic penumbra. In addition, DHI significantly ameliorated oxidative stress, reduced DNA damage, and inhibited the activation of PARP1/AIF pathway, thereby restoring cytoplasmic glycolytic activity. Furthermore, this drug increased PDH activity by inhibiting the HIF1α/PDK1 signaling pathway, thus eliminating the inhibitory effect of CI/R on mitochondrial metabolism. The results of this study suggest that DHI can alleviate cerebral edema after CI/R and rescue the ischemic penumbra, and these protective effects are due to the regulation of intracellular energy metabolic coupling

Genomic variation in 3,010 diverse accessions of Asian cultivated rice

Here we analyse genetic variation, population structure and diversity among 3,010 diverse Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) genomes from the 3,000 Rice Genomes Project. Our results are consistent with the five major groups previously recognized, but also suggest several unreported subpopulations that correlate with geographic location. We identified 29 million single nucleotide polymorphisms, 2.4 million small indels and over 90,000 structural variations that contribute to within- and between-population variation. Using pan-genome analyses, we identified more than 10,000 novel full-length protein-coding genes and a high number of presence-absence variations. The complex patterns of introgression observed in domestication genes are consistent with multiple independent rice domestication events. The public availability of data from the 3,000 Rice Genomes Project provides a resource for rice genomics research and breeding