Highlights d Heterogeneity and plasticity of non-parenchymal cells in healthy and NASH liver d Landscape of intrahepatic ligand-receptor signaling at single-cell resolution d Emergence of Trem2+ NASH-associated macrophages (NAMs) in mouse and human NASH d Stellakine secretion and contractile response to vasoactive hormones by HSCs

Highlights Psychological disturbances of frontline medical staff are more than those of general population. Daily working hours are a risk factor for all measured psychological disturbances in frontline medical staff. Some other factors may be involved in certain psychological disturbances of frontline medical staff.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading worldwide, with a staggering number of cases and deaths. However, available data on the psychological impacts of COVID-19 on pregnant women are limited. The purposes of this study were to assess the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms among pregnant women, and to compare them with non-pregnant women. From February 28 to March 12, 2020, a cross-sectional study of pregnant and non-pregnant women was performed in China. The online questionnaire was used to collect information of participants. The mental health status was assessed by patient health questionnaire, generalized anxiety disorder scale, insomnia severity index, somatization subscale of the symptom checklist 90, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist-5. Totally, 859 respondents were enrolled, including 544 pregnant women and 315 non-pregnant women. In this study, 5.3%, 6.8%, 2.4%, 2.6%, and 0.9% of pregnant women were identified to have symptoms of depression, anxiety, physical discomfort, insomnia, and PTSD, respectively. However, the corresponding prevalence rates among non-pregnant women were 17.5%, 17.5%, 2.5%, 5.4%, 5.7%, respectively. After adjusting for other covariates, we observed that pregnancy was associated a reduced risk of symptoms of depression (OR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.12–0.45), anxiety (OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.16–0.42), insomnia (OR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.06–0.58), and PTSD (OR = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.04–0.53) during the COVID-19 epidemic. Our results indicate that during the COVID-19 epidemic in China, pregnant women have an advantage of facing mental problems caused by COVID-19, showing fewer depression, anxiety, insomnia, and PTSD symptoms than non-pregnant women.

ObjectiveLiver transplantation is an optimal radical therapy for selected patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The stringent organ allocation system driven by the Milan criteria has been challenged by alternative sets of expanded criteria. Careful analysis is needed to prove that the Milan criteria can be expanded safely and effectively.DesignThis study collectively reviewed 6012 patients of hepatocellular carcinoma from the China Liver Transplant Registry. Expanded criteria were evaluated to characterise an optimised expansion with acceptable outcomes beyond the Milan criteria.ResultsCompared with the Milan criteria, Valencia, University of California, San Francisco, University Clinic of Navarra and Hangzhou criteria provided an expansion of 12.4%, 16.3%, 19.6%, and 51.5%, respectively. The post-transplant survivals of patients fulfilling the expanded criteria were comparable to that of the Milan criteria. The analysis of net reclassification improvement and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves showed an excellent efficiency in recurrence prediction for the expanded criteria compared with the Milan criteria. In patients exceeding Milan but fulfilling the Hangzhou criteria (N=1352), α-fetoprotein (AFP) >100 ng/mL and tumour burden>8 cm were the only two independent prognostic factors (p<0.001). Accordingly, the Hangzhou criteria were stratified as type A (tumour burden ≤8 cm, or tumour burden >8 cm but AFP≤100 ng/mL) and type B (tumour burden >8 cm but AFP between 100 and 400 ng/mL). Type A showed significantly higher 5-year tumour-free survival rates compared with type B (p<0.001).ConclusionsThe Milan criteria can be expanded safely and effectively. The prognostic stratification system based on the Hangzhou criteria serves as a hierarchy of transplant candidates for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: The present study aimed to explore the association between NFIX circular RNA (circNFIX) and miR-34a-5p in glioma. Furthermore, this study investigated the influence that circNFIX has on glioma progression through the upregulation of NOTCH1 via the Notch signaling pathway by sponging miR-34a-5p.Methods: We applied five methods, CIRCexplorer2, circRNA-finder, CIRI, find-circ and MapSplice2, to screen for circRNAs with differential expression between three glioma tissue samples and three paired normal tissue samples. The GSEA software was used to confirm whether significantly different pathways were activated or inactivated in glioma tissues. The binding sites between circNFIX and miR-34a-5p were confirmed by TargetScan. QRT-PCR and western blot were used to measure the relative expression levels of circNFIX, miR-34a-5p and NOTCH and identify their correlation in glioma. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) validated the binding relationship between circNFIX and miR-34a-5p, while the targeted relationship between NOTCH1 and miR-34a-5p was verified by a dual luciferase reporter assay. Cell viability and mobility were examined by a CCK-8 assay and wound healing assay, and a flow cytometry assay was employed to analyze cell apoptosis. The nude mouse transplantation tumor experiment verified that si-circNFIX exerted a suppressive effect on glioma progression in vivo.Results: Twelve circRNAs were differentially expressed between the tissue types. Of those, circNFIX was the sole circRNA to be overexpressed in glioma among the five methods of finding circRNAs. In addition, the Notch signaling pathway was considerably upregulated in tumor tissues compared with the paired normal brain tissues. It was determined that circNFIX acted as a sponge of miR-34a-5p, a miRNA that targeted NOTCH1. Downregulation of circNFIX and upregulation of miR-34a-5p both inhibited cell propagation and migration. Furthermore, a miR-34a-5p inhibitor neutralized the suppressive effect of si-circNFIX on glioma cells. Si-circNFIX and miR-34a-5p mimics promoted cell apoptosis. Moreover, it was demonstrated in vivo that si-circNFIX could suppress glioma growth by regulating miR-34a-5p and NOTCH1.Conclusion: CircNFIX was markedly upregulated in glioma cells. CircNFIX could regulate NOTCH1 and the Notch signaling pathway to promote glioma progression by sponging miR-34a-5p via the Notch signaling pathway. This finding provided a deeper insight into the function of circNFIX in human glioma cancer progression.