Objective To explore the correlation between serum fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) concentration and heart failure and all-cause death in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).Methods The prospective cohort study design was used in the present study.The ESRD patients who were admitted to the department of ne-phropathy in the Hospital and without heart failure symptoms were recruited in this study.The data of patients was collected through baseline questionnaires, physical examinations, echocardiography, and laboratory examinations.The serum FGF23 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) .The follow-up time was 2 years.The onset of heart failure (ACC/AHA stage C-D) and all-cause death were composite endpoint events.The Cox proportional risk model was used to explore the risk factors of outcome events.Through subgroup analyses and interaction analyses, further exploration was conducted to determine whether there was heterogeneity in the as-sociation between FGF23 and outcome events in different subgroups.Results Ultimately,107 ESRD patients were included in this study, with an average age of (52.00 ± 12.51) years.There were 39 males (36.45％), and the median follow-up time was 23 months (21, 25 months).There were 32 (29.9％) outcome events, of which 22 (20.6％) onset of heart failure and 10 (9.3％) all-cause of deaths.The results of this study showed that the con-centration of FGF23 in the outcome event group was significantly higher than that in the non-event group [ (4.40 ± 1.16) pmol/ml vs (3.85 ± 0.82) pmol/ml,P<0.05].The Cox proportional risk model showed that the elevated FGF23 was associated with increased risk of the composite endpoint events in ESRD patients (HR=1.730 , 95％CI:1.164-2.570 , P=0.007) .Subgroup analyses showed that there was an interactive effect between FGF23 levels and gender on the risk of cardiovascular outcome events.Especially in male ESRD patients, the increased FGF23 level was correlated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events (P-interaction <0.05).Conclusion Elevated serum FGF23 is an independent risk factor for the onset of heart failure and all-cause of mortality in ESRD patients, especially in male patients.

Lead is one of the most important occupational hazards in China, and occupational exposure is the leading cause of lead poisoning. Lead can be absorbed by the body through air, food, drinking water and skin, and accumulate in multiple organs in the body, posing health risks to humans, especially to lead workers. Many previous studies have shown that lead can affect the function of glial cells such as microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, resulting in irreversible neurological damage. This article provides an overview of the neurotoxic mechanism induced by lead through glial cells, elucidates that lead can induce neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer′s disease, Parkinson′s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and reviews the relationship between lead and glial cells, in order to provide reference for further research on the neurotoxic mechanism of lead on glial cells.

Lead is one of the most important occupational hazards in China, and occupational exposure is the leading cause of lead poisoning. Lead can be absorbed by the body through air, food, drinking water and skin, and accumulate in multiple organs in the body, posing health risks to humans, especially to lead workers. Many previous studies have shown that lead can affect the function of glial cells such as microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, resulting in irreversible neurological damage. This article provides an overview of the neurotoxic mechanism induced by lead through glial cells, elucidates that lead can induce neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer′s disease, Parkinson′s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and reviews the relationship between lead and glial cells, in order to provide reference for further research on the neurotoxic mechanism of lead on glial cells.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to clarify the mechanism underlying dental pulp cells-extracellular vesicles (DPC–EVs) carrying runt-related transcription factor 3 (RUNX3) in mediating odontogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) with the involvement of miR-30a-5p-regulated NOTCH1. METHODS: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) were isolated from human DPSCs, and identified using transmission electron microscopy, and nanoparticle tracking analysis. PBS, EVs, or EV inhibitor GW4869 was added to DPSCs for co-culture, whilst odontogenic differentiation was assessed in terms of ratio of mineralized nodules and expression odontoblast differentiation markers. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation for binding relation among RUNX3, miR-30a-5p and NOTCH1were employed to evaluate their roles in odontogenic differentiation was determined.Animal experiment was established to confirm the effect of DPC-EVs-loaded RUNX3 on dental pulp. RESULTS: In vitro finding demonstrated that EVs delivered RUNX3 to DPSCs, thereby activated miR-30a-5p expression and inhibited NOTCH1 expression, which was reversed by addition of GW4869. RUNX3 upregulation promoted miR-30a-5p while miR-30a-5p targeted and inhibited NOTCH1. Silencing of RUNX3 in EVs decreased expression of those differentiation markers, downregulated miR-30a-5p and upregulated NOTCH1. CONCLUSION DPSC-EVs can carry RUNX3 to the DPSCs, promote the transcription of miR-30a-5p, and then inhibit the expression of NOTCH1, and finally promote the odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs.

Objective:To investigate a time series deep learning model for respiratory motion prediction.Methods:Eighty pieces of respiratory motion data from lung cancer patients were used in this study. They were divided into a training set and a test set at a ratio of 8∶2. The Informer deep learning network was employed to predict the respiratory motions with a latency of about 600 ms. The model performance was evaluated based on normalized root mean square errors (nRMSEs) and relative root mean square errors (rRMSEs).Results:The Informer model outperformed the conventional multilayer perceptron (MLP) and long short-term memory (LSTM) models. The Informer model yielded an average nRMSE and rRMSE of 0.270 and 0.365, respectively, at a prediction time of 423 ms, and 0.380 and 0.379, respectively, at a prediction time of 615 ms.Conclusions:The Informer model performs well in the case of a longer prediction time and has potential application value for improving the effects of the real-time tracking technology.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the status of psychological resilience among women in their second pregnancy and to investigate the possible influencing factors. Methods: A total of 275 women in their second pregnancy and who met the criteria were surveyed from two public hospitals in China from July 2018 to January 2019. The instruments included the General Self-designed Questionnaire, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, Social Support Rate Scale, and 36-item Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale. Results: The total psychological resilience score of second-pregnancy women was relatively low. Multivariate regression analysis identified five factors associated with psychological resilience: intimacy with husbands, social support utilization, gender of the first child, high-risk pregnancy of the first child, and the stress caused by worrying about the health and safety of the mother and fetus. Conclusion Women in their second pregnancy represent a unique population, and their low psychological resilience score deserves attention. Identification of factors contributing to decreased psychological resilience may enable us to design prevention and intervention strategies and to deliver specific psychological supports to pregnant women at high risk of developing negative psychology.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the status of psychological resilience among women in their second pregnancy and to investigate the possible influencing factors. Methods: A total of 275 women in their second pregnancy and who met the criteria were surveyed from two public hospitals in China from July 2018 to January 2019. The instruments included the General Self-designed Questionnaire, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, Social Support Rate Scale, and 36-item Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale. Results: The total psychological resilience score of second-pregnancy women was relatively low. Multivariate regression analysis identified five factors associated with psychological resilience: intimacy with husbands, social support utilization, gender of the first child, high-risk pregnancy of the first child, and the stress caused by worrying about the health and safety of the mother and fetus. Conclusion Women in their second pregnancy represent a unique population, and their low psychological resilience score deserves attention. Identification of factors contributing to decreased psychological resilience may enable us to design prevention and intervention strategies and to deliver specific psychological supports to pregnant women at high risk of developing negative psychology.

Objective To explore the effects of endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on early apoptosis of human neutrophil through PIM3.Methods Venous blood samples were collected from a healthy adult volunteer to isolate neutrophils.The neutrophils were divided into control group,LPS group,and LPS + PIM447 group according to the random number table.No treatment was given to the cells in control group.The cells in LPS group underwent LPS stimulation (1 μL,1 μg/mL).The cells in LPS + PIM447 group underwent PIM447 (1 μL,final amount-of-substance concentration of 5 μmol/L) intervention 30 min before having the same LPS stimulation as that in LPS group.After conventional culture for 1 h,the early cell apoptosis rate was determined with flow cytometer;the generation level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was assessed with dihydrogenrhodamine 123 fluorescent probe staining method;and the level of PIM3 was detected by Western blotting.After conventional culture for 2 h,the cell chemotaxis distance was measured by agarose chemotaxis cell model.The sample numbers of each group in the 4 experiments were all 5.Data were processed with one-way analysis of variance and Student-Newman-Keuls test.Results (1) The early apoptosis rate of cells in LPS group [(0.891 ± 0.012) ％] was close to that in control group [(1.351 ± 0.183)％,P ＞0.05)].The early apoptosis rate of cells in LPS+PIM447 group [(82.057±0.121)％]was higher than that in LPS group (P ＜ 0.01).(2) The cell chemotaxis distance of cells in LPS group [(984 ±5) μm] was significantly shorter than that in control group [(2 241 ±7) μm,P ＜0.01].The cell chemotaxis distance of cells in LPS + PIM447 group [(1 785 ± 1 1) μm] was significantly longer than that in LPS group (P ＜ 0.05).(3) The generation level of ROS in cells of LPS group was significantly higher than that in control group (P ＜ 0.05).The generation level of ROS in cells of LPS + PIM447 group was significantly lower than that in LPS group (P ＜ 0.05).(4) The expression level of PIM3 in cells of LPS group (1.297 ±0.015) was significantly higher than that in control group (0.789 ±0.021,P ＜0.05).The expression level of PIM3 in cells of LPS + PIM447 group (0.731 ± 0.011) was significantly lower than that in LPS group (P ＜0.05).Conclusions LPS stimulation can reduce the early apoptosis of human neutrophils.Pre-intervention with PIM447 can significantly increase the early apoptosis of neutrophils after LPS stimulation,recover the chemotaxis,and inhibit the production of ROS.The mechanism may be related to LPS promoting the expression of PIM3.

Objective To compare changes in indexes and analyze their values in prognosis of severe burn patients with sepsis.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted. The patients with severe burn sepsis admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from August 2014 to December 2016 were enrolled. The blood culture was positive in the clinical diagnosis of sepsis. According to the prognosis, the patients were divided into death group and survival group. Their general information, vital signs, blood routine examination, serum sodium (Na+), serum glucose (Glu), C-reactive protein (CRP) and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) at the time of admission and diagnosis of sepsis as well as the level of serum procalcitonin (PCT) at admission, diagnosis of sepsis and 1-8 days of post diagnosis were also compared. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to analyze the prognostic value of each index, and multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the influence of each index on the survival time, and the survival curve of Kaplan-Meier was analyzed for dead patients.Results There were 25 cases of severe burn patients with sepsis, which were admitted to hospital within 12 hours after injury; the time of diagnosis of burn sepsis was (14±6) days; 8 cases of survival; 17 cases died, the mortality rate was 68.0%, the time from diagnosis of sepsis to death was (28±14) days. The age of the death group was significantly higher than that of the survival group (years: 41±12 vs. 29±9,t = 2.598,P = 0.016), but there was no significant difference in the gender, total burn area,Ⅲ degree area, and the time of diagnosis of sepsis between the two groups. The platelet count (PLT) at the diagnosis of sepsis in death group was significantly lower than that of the survival group (×109/L: 69±43 vs. 180±108,t = -2.773, P = 0.023), and the PCT at 1-8 days of post-diagnosis in the death group was significantly higher than that of survival group [μg/L: 4.4 (2.2, 9.0) vs. 1.6 (0.7, 2.3),Z = -2.521,P = 0.012], but there was no significant difference in body temperature, heart rate, white blood cell count (WBC), percentage of neutrophils (Neu), Na+, Glu, CRP, PCT, PaCO2 at the time of admission and diagnosis of sepsis and PLT at the time of admission between the two groups. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under ROC curve (AUC) of age, PLT at the time of diagnosis and PCT at 1-8 days of post-diagnosis of sepsis was 0.808, 0.779, 0.825, respectively, for predicting the prognosis of patients with severe burn sepsis (allP < 0.05). At the cut-off age of 32, the sensitivity was 73.3% and the specificity was 75.0%. As the cut-off of PLT was 138×109/L at the time of diagnosis, the sensitivity was 92.3% and the specificity was 75.0%. As the cut-off of PCT was 2.39μg/L at 1-8 days of post-diagnosis of sepsis, the sensitivity was 73.3% and the specificity was 87.5%. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age and PLT at the time of diagnosis were the favorable factors for the survival time of patients with severe burn sepsis (β value were -1.834, -0.029, respectively, bothP < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for patients in the death group showed that the median survival time of patients ≥32 years old was longer than that of patients < 32 years old (days: 32 vs. 9); 18-day cumulative survival rate was significantly higher than that of patients < 32 years old [83.3% (10/12) vs. 25.0% (1/4),χ2 = 9.705,P = 0.003].Conclusion Age, PLT at diagnosis of sepsis and PCT at 1-8 days after diagnosis of sepsis could be used as prognostic indexes for severe burn patients with sepsis.

Objective To study the effect of Numb gene overexpression on invasion and migration in human renal cell carcinoma cells and its related mechanism. Methods The Numb-ORF plasmid was transfected into renal cell carcinoma cells 786-O, set the negative control and blank control. The expression of Numb and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was detected by real-time PCR and western blot. Then abilities of cells invasion and migration were measured respectively by transwell assay and scratch-wound-healing assay. Results Compared to negative control (2.51±0.27) and blank control (2.87±0.21), Numb expression in Numb-ORF group (36.13 ±8.33) was significantly higher (P= 0.00). Meanwhile, MMP-9 level in Numb-ORF group was decreased: Numb-ORF group was 2.36±0.29, negative control was 8.73±0.91, blank control was 8.99±0.78 (P=0.00). In scratch-wound-healing assay,the repair ratio of 12 h was as follow: Numb-ORF group was 0.53 ±0.06, negative control was 0.73 ±0.09, blank control was 0.75 ±0.08 (P= 0.02). In transwell assay, the number of invasion cells in Numb-ORF group was 31.40±5.96, less than negative control (126.93±13.61) and blank control (131.87 ±15.42) (P= 0.00). Conclusion Overexpression of Numb significantly decreases abilities of invasion and migration in 786-O cells, and the suppressive effect may be due to the down-regulation of MMP-9 expression in human renal cell carcinoma.