Background: MircoRNAs(miRNAs) are short, endogenously non-coding RNAs. The abnormal expression of miRNAs may be valuable for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors.

Sepsis is defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by dysregulated host systemic inflammatory and immune response to infection. Over decades, advanced understanding of host–microorganism interaction has gradually unmasked the genuine nature of sepsis, guiding toward new definition and novel therapeutic approaches. Diverse clinical manifestations and outcomes among infectious patients have suggested the heterogeneity of immunopathology, while systemic inflammatory responses and deteriorating organ function observed in critically ill patients imply the extensively hyperactivated cascades by the host defense system. From focusing on microorganism pathogenicity, research interests have turned toward the molecular basis of host responses. Though progress has been made regarding recognition and management of clinical sepsis, incidence and mortality rate remain high. Furthermore, clinical trials of therapeutics have failed to obtain promising results. As far as we know, there was no systematic review addressing sepsis-related molecular signaling pathways and intervention therapy in literature. Increasing studies have succeeded to confirm novel functions of involved signaling pathways and comment on efficacy of intervention therapies amid sepsis. However, few of these studies attempt to elucidate the underlining mechanism in progression of sepsis, while other failed to integrate preliminary findings and describe in a broader view. This review focuses on the important signaling pathways, potential molecular mechanism, and pathway-associated therapy in sepsis. Host-derived molecules interacting with activated cells possess pivotal role for sepsis pathogenesis by dynamic regulation of signaling pathways. Cross-talk and functions of these molecules are also discussed in detail. Lastly, potential novel therapeutic strategies precisely targeting on signaling pathways and molecules are mentioned.

In order to investigate the clinical features of pregnant women and their neonates with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the evidence of vertical transmission of COVID-19, we retrieved studies included in PubMed, Medline and Chinese databases from January 1, 2000 to October 25, 2020 using relevant terms, such as 'COVID-19', 'vertical transmission' et al. in 'Title/Abstract'. Case reports and case series were included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We conducted literature screening and data extraction, and performed literature bias risk assessment. Total of 13 case series and 16 case reports were collected, including a total of 564 pregnant women with COVID-19 and their 555 neonates, of which 549 neonates received nucleic acid test for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and 18 neonates was diagnosed with COVID-19. The positive rate is 3.28%. Amniotic fluid of one woman was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The majority of infected neonates were born under strict infection control and received isolation and artificial feeding. Up till now, there is no sufficient evidence to exclude the possibility of vertical transmission for COVID-19 based on the current available data.

The aim of the present study was to characterize the distribution and antibiotic resistance of pathogens isolated from patients with bloodstream infections (BSIs) in the Hematology and Oncology department of the Affiliated Children’s Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical School (Hangzhou, China), between January and December 2010 and to provide early and appropriate support for the clinical administration of antibiotics. Out of 1,500 inpatients, 161 children who were diagnosed with BSI based on the national diagnostic criteria were retrospectively analyzed. Neutropenia was defined as an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) in the peripheral blood of less than 0.5×109 cells/l. A microbiologically documented infection (MDI) was defined as when the causative pathogen was isolated from the blood. Drug susceptibility tests were performed using a VITEK-60 AutoMicrobic System and the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The data were analyzed using STATA software (version 9.0) and a two-sided P-value of ≤0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. A total of 79 strains were isolated from the blood specimens. The incidence of BSI was 10.73% (161/1,500). Gram-positive cocci, Gram-negative bacilli and fungi accounted for 55.70, 43.04 and 1.27% of the BSIs, respectively. Staphylococcus epidermidis (20.25%), Escherichia coli (15.19%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (15.19%) were frequently identified isolates. The staphylococci were susceptible to vancomycin and linezolid, while Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were sensitive to cefoperazone/sulbactam, imipenem and meropenem. In conclusion, Gram-positive bacteria are slightly more prevalent than Gram-negative bacteria in BSI and the selection of antibiotics according to the susceptibility test results is superior to empirical treatment. It is essential to administer antimicrobial agents early and appropriately to treat child blood cancer patients with BSI.