Performance of EAST in diagnosing inhalant allergens in children with allergic rhinitis

The performance of enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (EAST) for identifying six indoor allergens was evaluated using skin prick test (SPT) as reference tests in 154 children with allergic rhinitis. Sensitivity of EAST ranged from 9% (cat) to 54% (HDM) with specificity of 74%(cockroach) to 100% (cat) with an agreement ranged from 58 to 86%. Cut off values ?> ?0.35 kU/L showed best sensitivity and specificity. Our findings agree with extant literature which suggests that the ability of EAST to determine the precipitating allergen is moderate. Assays for definitively identifying the inhalant allergen are currently not available.     

Do social support and community engagement act as mechanisms in the association between neighbourhood income inequality and the mental health of mothers in Calgary,Canada? A mediation analysis

PurposeAccording to the social determinants of health framework, income inequality is a potential risk factor for adverse mental health. However, few studies have explored the mechanisms suspected to mediate this relationship. The current study addresses this gap through a mediation analysis to determine if social support and community engagement act as mediators linking neighbourhood income inequality to maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms within a cohort of new mothers living in the City of Calgary, Canada.MethodsData collected at three years postpartum from mothers belonging to the All Our Families (AOF) cohort were used in the current study. Maternal data were collected between 2012 and 2015 and linked to neighbourhood socioeconomic data from the 2006 Canadian Census. Income inequality was measured using Gini coefficients derived from 2006 after-tax census data. Generalized structural equation models were used to quantify the associations between income inequality and mental health symptoms, and to assess the potential direct and indirect mediating effects of maternal social support and community engagement.ResultsIncome inequality was not significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms (β = 0.32, 95%CI = −0.067, 0.70), anxiety symptoms (β = 0.11, 95%CI = −0.39, 0.60), or lower social support. Income inequality was not associated with community engagement. For the depression models, higher social support was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms (β = −0.13, 95%CI = −0.15, −0.097), while community engagement was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.059, 95%CI = −0.15, 0.27). Similarly, for the anxiety models, lower anxiety symptoms were significantly associated with higher levels of social support (β = −0.17, 95%CI = −0.20, −0.13) but not with higher levels of community engagement (β = 0.14, 95%CI = −0.14, 0.41).ConclusionThe current study did not find clear evidence for social support or community engagement mediating the relationship between neighbourhood income inequality and maternal mental health. Future investigations should employ a broader longitudinal approach to capture changes in income inequality, potential mediators, and mental health symptomatology over time.     

Management of blood pressure disorders in individuals with spinal cord injury

Blood pressure regulation is impacted by a spinal cord injury (SCI) due to impaired descending sympathetic vascular control. Common blood pressure problems in the SCI population include persistently low blood pressure with bouts of orthostatic hypotension and autonomic dysreflexia, which are more prevalent in individuals with lesions above the sixth thoracic vertebral level; however, they may occur regardless of the neurological level of injury. Although blood pressure disorders adversely impact daily function and quality of life, most individuals with SCI do not acknowledge this association. Few pharmacological options have been rigorously tested for safety and efficacy to manage blood pressure disorders in the SCI population. Furthermore, clinical management of any one blood pressure disorder may adversely impact others, as such treatment is complicated and not often prioritized.     

Preoperative comprehensive malignancy risk estimation for thyroid nodules: Development and verification of a network-based prediction model

BackgroundIn order to avoid excessive treatment of thyroid nodules in the clinic, it is necessary to find a simple and practical analysis method to comprehensively and accurately reflect benign or malignant thyroid nodules. This study aimed to construct and validate a comprehensive and reliable network-based predictive model using a variety of imaging and laboratory criteria for thyroid nodules to stratify the risk of malignancy prior to surgery.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed data from patients who underwent surgical treatment for thyroid nodules at the Thyroid and Breast Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Weifang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January 2018 and December 2020. Binary logical regression analysis was performed to predict whether nodules were malignant or benign. The developmental dataset included 457 patients (January 2018–December 2020). The validation set included separate data points (n = 225, January 2018–December 2020).ResultsIn this study, criteria that showed significant predictive value for malignant nodules included TI-RADS: 4b (p = 0.065); Bethesda IV, Bethesda V, Bethesda VI (P < 0.0001); BRAF^V600E mutation (P < 0.0001); Calcitonin>5 pg/ml (p = 0.0037); and FNA-Tg>30 ng/ml (p = 0.0003). A 10-grade risk scoring system was developed. The risk of malignancy risk ranged from 2.06% to 100% and was positively associated with increasing risk grade. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of the development and validation sets were 0.972 and 0.946, respectively.ConclusionA simple, comprehensive and reliable web-based predictive model was designed using a variety of imaging and laboratory criteria to stratify thyroid nodules by probability of malignancy.     

lncRNA CYTOR靶向调控miR-503/CCNE1信号轴促进上皮性卵巢癌细胞增殖北大核心

目的:探讨细胞骨架调节剂(lncRNA cytoskeleton regulator,CYTOR)是否通过靶向调控miR-503来促进细胞周期蛋白E1(cyclin E1,CCNE1)影响上皮性卵巢癌增殖。方法:实时定量聚合酶链反应(RT-qPCR)检测CYTOR在不同临床分期、病理分级和有无淋巴结转移患者人上皮性卵巢癌组织、癌旁组织和正常组织以及不同卵巢癌细胞中的表达;starBase数据库(网址:http://starbase.sysu.edu.cn/)预测分析CYTOR和miR-503以及miR-503与CCNE1之间的关系,同时荧光素酶实验进行验证;RT-qPCR和免疫荧光分别检测miR-503与CCNE1在人上皮性卵巢癌组织、癌旁组织和正常组织以及不同卵巢癌细胞中的表达;RNA转染技术在A2780中细胞分别沉默CYTOR、过表达miR-503和沉默CCNE1表达,CCK-8检测各组细胞增殖能力变化;RT-qPCR和免疫荧光检测沉默CYTOR后miR-503和CCNE1的表达以及过表达miR-503后CCNE1的表达。结果:CYTOR和CCNE1在上皮性卵巢癌组织中表达增加,同时在临床分期III-IV期、病理分级G_(3)级、淋巴结转移阳性患者肿瘤组织中表达同样显著增加且导致卵巢癌患者术后预后较差;通过数据库分析CYTOR可直接靶向抑制miR-503,而miR-503可直接靶向抑制CCNE1表达,双荧光素酶实验结果与之相同;CYTOR和CCNE1促进上皮性卵巢癌增殖,而miR-503抑制上皮性卵巢癌增殖作用。结论:lncRNA CYTOR通过调控miR-503/CCNE1轴促进上皮性卵巢癌的增殖。