BackgroundSepsis is a common condition that has a high mortality and morbidity that need prompt diagnosis and treatment. Biomarkers like Soluble CD14 subtype (sCD14-ST, presepsin) may be useful in identifying patients with sepsis and its diagnostic superiority has been confirmed by several preliminary studies. The aim of this study was systematically and quantitatively to evaluate the value of presepsin for the diagnosis of sepsis through the method of meta-analysis.MethodsFour major databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched from inception to March 2015. Two investigators conducted the processes of literature search, study selection, data extraction, and quality evaluation independently. And the original data were extracted from all eligible individual studies to construct two-by-two tables.ResultsA total of eight studies comprising 1757 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio were 0.77 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.75–0.80), 0.73 (95 % CI 0.69–0.77), and 14.25 (95 % CI 8.66–23.42), respectively. The summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) area under the curve (AUC) was 0.8598. The subgroup analysis based on excluding the outliers showed that the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.85 (95 % CI 0.81–0.89) and 0.65 (95 % CI 0.59–0.70), respectively. The AUC was 0.8213 with no significant heterogeneity.ConclusionsPresepsin has moderate diagnostic capacity for the detection of sepsis. Further research of presepsin is needed before widespread use in emergency department. And presepsin in combination with other laboratory biomarkers in diagnosing sepsis may be the focus of future studies.

To investigate the role of lung ultrasound score (LUS) in assessing intubation timing for patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia. Materials and methods Seventy-two patients with critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were admitted to a makeshift intensive care unit (ICU). All patients underwent bedside lung ultrasonography one to two times per day. The patients were either intubated, treated with noninvasive ventilation (NIV), or given high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) after a discussion with the multidisciplinary group after their conditions worsened. Bedside lung ultrasound was performed daily after intubation, and patients received mechanical ventilation. Lung ultrasound was performed on days 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 after patients were admitted to the ICU; if the patient was intubated, LUS determination was performed before intubation within 24 h (T1) and on days 1, 2, 5, and 7 after intubation (T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively).The goal of this study was to evaluate the severity of lung aeration loss in intubated and non-intubated patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia by ultrasound at different time points within one week. Results A total of 16 patients were included in this study, including nine who were intubated and mechanically ventilated and seven patients without intubation. The number of elderly individuals in the intubated group was higher than in the non-intubated group (P < 0.05). In addition, there were more male than female patients in both groups. Patient characteristics (BMI, SOFA, and PaO 2 /FiO 2 value) were similar between the two groups (P > 0.05). The 28-day mortality rate of intubated patients was higher than that of non-intubated patients; six patients in the intubated group and two patients in the non-intubated group died. Nine intubated patients showed changes in LUS within seven days (n = 9). The mean LUS within 24

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis, and remains to be social and medical challenge. Thus, identifying novel molecular targets is important for the prevention and treatment of OA. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to modulate various biological and pathological processes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of lncRNA-p21 in OA and its underlying mechanism, in order to better understand the development of OA and its treatment. Chondrocytes were isolated from cartilage samples obtained from OA and normal patients. Chondrocytes were transfected with microRNA (miRNA/miR)-451 mimics, miR-451 inhibitor, pcDNA3.1(+)-p21 or small interfering RNA-p21. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze cell apoptosis and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was conducted to detect the expression of mRNAs and miRNAs. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was performed to detect cell viability. The results revealed that the level of lncRNA-p21 was significantly upregulated in OA cartilage when compared with the normal cartilage. Silencing of lncRNA-p21 increased cell viability and inhibited the apoptosis rate of chondrocytes in OA, while lncRNA-p21 overexpression decreased cell viability and increased the apoptosis rate of chondrocytes in OA. Overexpression of lncRNA-p21 suppressed the expression of miR-451 while the silencing of lncRNA-p21 reversed this effect. MiR-451 inhibitor effectively inhibited the upregulatory effect of si-p21 on miR-451. The increased cell viability and decreased apoptosis rate induced by lncRNA-p21 silencing was abolished by the miR-451 inhibitor. MiR-451 mimic effectively increased the downregulatory effect of pcDNA3.1-lncRNA-p21 on miR-451. The decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis rate induced by the overexpression of lncRNA-p21 was abolished by the miR-451 mimic. Investigation into the underlying mechanism revealed that lncRNA-p21 interacted with miRNA-451. In addition, lncRNA-p21 negatively regulated the expression of miR-451. Furthermore, lncRNA-p21 promoted the apoptosis of chondrocytes in OA by acting as a sponge for miR-451. Thus, lncRNA-p21 was proposed as a promising target for the treatment of OA.

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