The diagnostic utility of endocytoscopy for the detection of esophageal lesions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To systematically evaluate the value of endocytoscopy (ECS) in the diagnosis of early esophageal cancer (EC). Methods: Pubmed, Ovid and EMbase databases were searched to collect diagnostic tests of ECS assisted diagnosis of early EC. The retrieval time was from the establishment of the database to August 2022. Review manager 5.4, Stata 16.0 and Meta-Disc 1.4 were used for meta-analysis after two researchers independently screened literature, extracted data and evaluated the bias risk of included studies. Results: A total of 7 studies were included, including 520 lesions. Meta-analysis results showed that the combined sensitivity(SE), specificity(SP), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and positive posterior probability (PPP) of ECS screening for early EC were 0.95[95%CI: 0.84, 0.98], 0.92 [95%CI: 0.83, 0.96], 11.8 [95%CI: 5.3, 26.1], 0.06 [95%CI: 0.02, 0.18], 203 [95%CI: 50, 816], and 75%, respectively. The area (AUC) under the receiver Operating Characteristic curve (SROC) was 0.98[95%CI: 0.96, 0.99]. Conclusions: Current evidence suggests that ECS can be used as an effective screening tool for early EC. Due to the limited number and quality of included studies, it is imperative to conduct more high-quality studies to verify the above conclusions

Syntheses, molecular structures, electrochemical behavior, theoretical study, and antitumor activities of organotin(IV) complexes containing 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-cyclopentanecarboxylato ligands

The organotin(IV) compounds [Me2Sn(L)(2)] (1), [Et(2)sn(L)(2)] (2), [(Bu2Sn)-Bu-n(L)(2)] (3), [(n)Oct(2)Sn(L)(2)] (4), [Ph2Sn(L)(2)] (5), and [PhOSnL](6) (6) have been synthesized from the reactions of 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-cyclopentanecarboxylic acid (HL) with the corresponding diorganotin(IV) oxide or dichloride. They were characterized by IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopies, elemental analysis, cyclic voltammetry, and, for 2, 3, 4 and 6, single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. While 1-5 are mononuclear diorganotin (IV) compounds, the X-ray diffraction of 6 discloses a hexameric drumlike structure with a prismatic Sn6O6 core. All these complexes undergo irreversible reductions and were screened for their in vitro antitumor activities toward HL-60, BGC-823, Bel-7402, and KB human cancer cell lines. Within the mononuclear compounds, the most active ones (3, 5) are easiest to reduce (least cathodic reduction potentials), while the least active ones (1, 4) are the most difficult to reduce. Structural rearrangements (i.e., Sn-O bond cleavages and trans-to-cis isomerization) induced by reduction, which eventually can favor the bioactivity, are disclosed by theoretical/electrochemical studies

“We are in the forgotten corner!” a qualitative study of experiences and challenges among Chinese older women at the onset of acute myocardial infarction

BackgroundAcute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a common and serious cardiovascular disease (CVD) that is one of the leading causes of death among women globally and in China. However, there are sex-associated differences and inequalities in the detection and management of AMI, especially in older people. There is little research demonstrating how challenges and barriers affect older women’s help-seeking behavior and health-related procedures in China.PurposeThe objective of this study was to explore the experiences of older women with AMI, focusing on their perception, challenges, and coping strategies at the onset of AMI in Wuhan, China.MethodsThis study utilized a qualitative research design approach and conducted semi-structured, in-depth, and audio-recorded interviews with 18 women aged 65–84 years, purposively selected from two tertiary hospitals in Wuhan City from November 2021 to April 2022.ResultsInterpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used in this study to analyze the data on 18 participants and three major themes were generated: disease perception disorder, negative coping strategies, and barriers due to social-environmental contexts.ConclusionTo reduce older women’s delay in seeking help, healthcare professionals should provide public health education that emphasizes sex-related disparities, and age-specific knowledge-attitude aspects to high-risk groups. Policy-based and health administration recommendations, including e-health information support, access to care, and social-environmental factors, should be highlighted to promote women’s health behavior

Erythroid Promoter Confines FGF2 Expression to the Marrow after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy and Leads to Enhanced Endosteal Bone Formation

Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) has been demonstrated to be a promising osteogenic factor for treating osteoporosis. Our earlier study shows that transplantation of mouse Sca-1+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells that are engineered to express a modified FGF2 leads to considerable endosteal/trabecular bone formation, but it also induces adverse effects like hypocalemia and osteomalacia. Here we report that the use of an erythroid specific promoter, β-globin, leads to a 5-fold decrease in the ratio of serum FGF2 to the FGF2 expression in the marrow cavity when compared to the use of a ubiquitous promoter spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV). The confined FGF2 expression promotes considerable trabeculae bone formation in endosteum and does not yield anemia and osteomalacia. The avoidance of anemia in the mice that received Sca1+ cells transduced with FGF2 driven by the β-globin promoter is likely due to attenuation of high-level serum FGF2-mediated stem cell mobilization observed in the SFFV-FGF2 animals. The prevention of osteomalacia is associated with substantially reduced serum Fgf23/hypophosphatemia, and less pronounced secondary hyperparathyroidism. Our improved stem cell gene therapy strategy represents one step closer to FGF2-based clinical therapy for systemic skeletal augmentation

Contextual factors influencing dietary practices of Chinese Canadian seniors: elderly Chinese Canadians' perspectives

Bibliography: p. 138-149The dietary behaviours of elderly Chinese immigrants can be multidimensional, varying with cultural beliefs, acculturation, socioeconomic status, and other factors. Informed by the PRECEDE-PROCEED model and Kleinman's explanatory models, the primary purpose of this qualitative study was to explore factors influencing Chinese Canadian seniors' dietary practices. The ultimate goal is to increase the health care professionals' awareness and understanding on how to provide culturally appropriate and effective health care that meet the elderly Chinese immigrants' dietary needs. In-depth interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire were conducted with 10 male and female Chinese Canadian seniors. The results of this study revealed that: (a) cultural beliefs and values played a major role in the Chinese elderly participants' dietary practices; (b) family members, peers, as well as health care professionals and services greatly influenced the elderly participants' dietary practices; and (c) the participants' biological changes, psychological health, accessibility and availability of traditional Chinese foods, and financial issues significantly affected their dietary practices. Strategies were suggested to help provide appropriate and effective health education programs and consultation for the elderly Chinese immigrants

Fetal Hypoxia Impacts on Proliferation and Differentiation of Sca-1+ Cardiac Progenitor Cells and Maturation of Cardiomyocytes: A Role of MicroRNA-210

Hypoxia is one of the most frequent and severe stresses to an organism’s homeostatic mechanisms, and hypoxia during gestation has profound adverse effects on the heart development increasing the occurrence of congenital heart defects (CHDs). Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) are responsible for early heart development and the later occurrence of heart disease. However, the mechanism of how hypoxic stress affects CPC fate decisions and contributes to CHDs remains a topic of debate. Here we examined the effect of hypoxic stress on the regulations of CPC fate decisions and the potential mechanism. We found that experimental induction of hypoxic responses compromised CPC function by regulating CPC proliferation and differentiation and restraining cardiomyocyte maturation. In addition, echocardiography indicated that fetal hypoxia reduced interventricular septum thickness at diastole and the ejection time, but increased the heart rate, in mouse young adult offspring with a gender-related difference. Further study revealed that hypoxia upregulated microRNA-210 expression in Sca-1+ CPCs and impeded the cell differentiation. Blockage of microRNA-210 with LNA-anti-microRNA-210 significantly promoted differentiation of Sca-1+ CPCs into cardiomyocytes. Thus, the present findings provide clear evidence that hypoxia alters CPC fate decisions and reveal a novel mechanism of microRNA-210 in the hypoxic effect, raising the possibility of microRNA-210 as a potential therapeutic target for heart disease

MicroRNA-210 suppresses glucocorticoid receptor expression in response to hypoxia in fetal rat cardiomyocytes

Hypoxia is a common intrauterine stressor, often resulting in intrauterine growth restriction and increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in life. The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that microRNA-210 (miR-210) mediates the detrimental suppression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in response to hypoxia in fetal rat cardiomyocytes. Cardiomyocytes isolated from gestational day 21 Sprague Dawley fetal rats showed increased miR-210 levels and reduced GR abundance after exposure to hypoxia (1% O2). In regard to mechanisms, the different contributions of hypoxia response elements (HREs) motifs in the regulation of miR-210 promoter activity and the miR-210-mediated repression of GR expression were determined in rat embryonic heart-derived myogenic cell line H9c2. Moreover, using a cell culture-based model of hypoxia-reoxygenation injury, we assessed the cytotoxic effects of GR suppression under hypoxic conditions. The results showed that hypoxia induced HIF-1α-dependent miR-210 production, as well as miR-210-mediated GR suppression, in cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, inhibition or knockdown of GR exacerbated cell death in response to hypoxia-reoxygenation injury. Altogether, the present study demonstrates that the HIF-1α-dependent miR-210-mediated suppression of GR in fetal rat cardiomyocytes increases cell death in response to hypoxia, providing novel evidence for a possible mechanistic link between fetal hypoxia and programming of ischemic-sensitive phenotype in the developing heart

Revealing a Significant Latent Loss of Dry Matter in Rice Based on Accurate Measurement of Grain Growth Curve

Against the background of increased population and resource depletion, managing food losses means conserving agricultural production resources and increasing farmer income. This paper mainly introduces the discovery and value of latent loss. In 2019, our experimental team formulated the 5T management method, which concerned the rice harvest period. Moreover, to promote the 5T management method, our team conducted relevant experiments about rice grain growth curve and found an accidental reduction in the dry matter weight of rice. To ensure the accuracy of the results of the latent rice loss in 2019, easy-to-use nuclear magnetic resonance is a non-destructive, rapid evaluation method, which is suitable for accurately determining high-moisture content and multi-variety rice. Overall, the experimental results in 2020 showed that if rice was harvested at the optimal time, the rice loss rate could be reduced by 3.5346%, which is equivalent to a yield of 235,051 tons of rice. The results are in agreement with evidence from field trials and suggest that the latent loss of dry matter caused by delayed harvest not only causes yield losses and economic losses but also increases postharvest grain loss and rice seed shattering loss. This significant factor, the optimal harvest time, in harvest period is strictly controlled to prevent the dry matter loss caused by innate knowledge and traditional management and to provide new possibilities for increasing the amount of available fertile land and generating income

Lnc-LRRTM4 promotes proliferation, metastasis and EMT of colorectal cancer through activating LRRTM4 transcription

Abstract Numerous mechanisms have shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) promote the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), but the role of lnc-LRRTM4 in the progression of CRC remains unclear. In this article, we found that lnc-LRRTM4 was highly expressed in CRC tissues and cell lines and that lnc-LRRTM4 could promote the proliferation and metastasis of CRC cells. These consequences were achieved by lnc-LRRTM4 directly binding to the promoter of LRRTM4 to induce its transcription. Moreover, lnc-LRRTM4 enhanced the growth of CRC cells in vivo by promoting cell cycle progression and reducing apoptosis. Taken together, our results revealed that lnc-LRRTM4 promotes the proliferation and metastasis of CRC cells, suggesting that it may be a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for CRC