A genetic study of the NOS3 gene for ischemic stroke in a Chinese population

We recruited 560 unrelated patients with ischemic stroke and 153 unrelated controls to undertake a genetic analysis for association between the NOS3 gene and ischemic stroke. All the subjects were Chinese of Han descent. Because the NOS3 gene spans about 21 kb of DNA and contains 26 exons, we selected a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3918181, an A to G base change located in intron 14 of the gene, as a DNA marker. PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was applied to genotype rs3918181 (RsaI site). The chi-square (χ2) goodness-of-fit test showed that the genotypic distributions of the marker were not deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both the patient group (χ2 = 0.166, p = 0.684) and the control group (χ2 = 0.421, p = 0.517). The cocaphase analysis showed allelic association of rs3918181 with ischemic stroke in males (χ2 = 4.04, p = 0.044, OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.01∼2.02) and frequency of allele A was significantly higher in male patients than male control subjects. The χ2 test revealed genotypic association between rs3918181 and ischemic stroke in males (χ2 = 4.26, df = 1, p = 0.039, OR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.02∼2.53) but not in females. The present work suggests that rs3918181 is associated with ischemic stroke in male patients. This finding gives further evidence in support of the eNOS association with ischemic stroke in the Chinese population

The Prognostic Significance of NEK2 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis and Retrospective Cohort Study

Background/Aims: Numerous studies have shown that NIMA-related kinase 2 (NEK2) expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue is associated with survival and clinicopathological features; however, the evidence remains inconclusive. Thus, we aimed to further explore the prognostic and clinicopathological significance of NEK2 expression in HCC using a two-part study consisting of a retrospective cohort study and a meta-analysis. Methods: In the cohort study, NEK2 expression in 206 HCC samples and adjacent normal liver tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Patients were divided into a high NEK2 expression group and a low NEK2 expression group by the median value of the immunohistochemical scores. The Kaplan–Meier method with the log-rank test was used to analyze survival outcomes in the two groups, and multivariate analysis based on Cox proportional hazard regression models was applied to identify independent prognostic factors. In the meta-analysis, eligible studies were searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CNKI databases. STATA version 12.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX) was used for statistical analyses. Results: The IHC results of our cohort study showed higher NEK2 expression in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal liver tissues. Multivariate analysis revealed that high NEK2 expression was an independent risk factor for poor overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.763; 95% CI, 1.060–2.935; P = 0.029] and disease-free survival (DFS) [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.687; 95% CI, 1.102–2.584; P = 0.016] in HCC patients. A total of 11 studies with 1,698 patients were enrolled in the meta-analysis, consisting of 10 studies from the database search and our cohort study. The pooled results revealed that high NEK2 expression correlated closely with poor OS among HCC patients (HR = 1.47; 95% CI, 1.21–1.80; P < 0.01), and DFS/recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.41–2.63; P < 0.01). Additionally, our meta-analysis also showed that the proportion of HCC patients with high NEK2 expression was greater in the group with larger tumors (> 5 cm) than in the group with smaller tumors (≤ 5 cm) [odds ratio (OR) = 2.02; 95% CI, 1.13–3.64; P < 0.01). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that high NEK2 expression is a risk factor for poor survival in HCC patients. More prospective, homogeneous, and multiethnic studies are required to validate our findings

MicroRNA Dysregulation in the Spinal Cord following Traumatic Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a multitude of pathophysiological events that are tightly regulated by the expression levels of specific genes. Recent studies suggest that changes in gene expression following neural injury can result from the dysregulation of microRNAs, short non-coding RNA molecules that repress the translation of target mRNA. To understand the mechanisms underlying gene alterations following SCI, we analyzed the microRNA expression patterns at different time points following rat spinal cord injury

Research on Energy Absorption Characteristics of Protective Devices with Different Wall Thickness Structures

Abstract As square tube type protective device as the object, selected on the basis of the results of the simulation test, design the crossbar and arm structure plan of the six groups of different wall thickness. Through bus rear-ended dangerous goods transport vehicle simulation test way, analyzes the deformation and energy absorption about the bus and six groups of protective device which has different wall thickness. Research results show that the main energy absorption part of square tube type protective device is the arm structure. The optimal design scheme is when the wall thickness of the arm is 4 mm and the wall thickness of the crossbar is 3 mm.</jats:p