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Objectives. The expression of metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), a highly abundant and ubiquitously expressed long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), influences clinical parameters and may have prognostic value in cancer. This meta-analysis evaluated the prognostic role of MALAT1 in various cancers. Materials and Methods. Systematic literature searches of PubMed and EMBASE databases were conducted for eligible studies of the prognostic role of MALAT1 in cancer. Overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed. Summary hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were assessed to evaluate the influence of MALAT1 expression on patient prognosis. Results. Nine studies with a total of 932 patients were included in the analysis. Elevated MALAT1 expression was significantly correlated with poor OS (HR 2.02; 95% CI: 1.62–2.52; P < 0.001; I 2 = 0%). Subgroup analysis indicated that tumor type, histology type, ethnicity, and measurement technique did not affect the prognostic value of MALAT1 for OS. The HR of elevated MALAT1 for DFS was 2.78 (95% CI: 1.87–4.15; P < 0.001; I 2 = 0%). Conclusions. Elevated MALAT1 expression is correlated with poor OS in various types of cancer, suggesting that this gene is a prognostic factor for different types of cancer.

Double Hopf bifurcation analysis can be used to reveal some complicated dynamical behavior in a dynamical system, such as the existence or coexistence of periodic orbits, quasi-periodic orbits, or even chaos. In this paper, an algorithm for deriving the normal form near a codimension-two double Hopf bifurcation of a reaction-diffusion system with time delay and Neumann boundary condition is rigorously established, by employing the center manifold reduction technique and the normal form method. We find that the dynamical behavior near bifurcation points are proved to be governed by twelve distinct unfolding systems. Two examples are performed to illustrate our results: for a stage-structured epidemic model, we find that double Hopf bifurcation appears when varying the diffusion rate and time delay, and two stable spatially inhomogeneous periodic oscillations are proved to coexist near the bifurcation point; in a diffusive predator-prey system, we theoretically proved that quasi-periodic orbits exist on two-or three-torus near a double Hopf bifurcation point, which will break down after slight perturbation, leaving the system a strange attractor.

The impairment of immunity characterized by T cell exhaustion is the main cause of death in patients with sepsis after the acute phase. Although PD-1 blockade is highly touted as a promising treatment for improving prognosis, the role of PD-1 plays in sepsis and particularly its different roles in different periods are still very limited. A recent study revealed LAG3 can resist the therapeutic effect of PD-1 blockade in tumor, which inspired us to understand their role in sepsis. We enrolled 26 patients with acute sepsis from 422 candidates using strict inclusion criteria. Follow-up analysis revealed that the expression levels of PD-1 were rapidly increased in the early stage of sepsis but did not change significantly as infection continued ( P < 0.05). However, the expression of LAG3 was contrary to that of PD-1. Compared with LAG3 or PD-1 single-positive T cells, T cells coexpressing LAG3 and PD-1 were significantly exhausted ( P < 0.05). The proportion of coexpressing T cells was negatively correlated with the total number of lymphocytes ( r = −0.653, P = 0.0003) and positively correlated with the SOFA score ( r = 0.712, P < 0.0001). In addition, the higher the proportion of coexpressing T cells was, the longer the hospital stay and the higher the mortality. These results showed that LAG3 and PD-1 had a potential synergistic effect in regulating the gradual exhaustion of T cells in sepsis, which seriously affected the clinical prognosis of patients. Therefore, LAG3 and PD-1 double-positive T cells are an important indicator for immunity detection and prognostic evaluation. In the future, precision therapy may pay more attention to the different expression patterns of these two molecules.

Background and ObjectivesWe hypothesized that continuous right thoracic paravertebral block, following bolus initiation, decreases opioid consumption after right-lobe hepatectomy in patients receiving patient-controlled intravenous analgesia with sufentanil.MethodsPatients undergoing right-lobe hepatectomy with a right thoracic paravertebral catheter placed at T7 30 minutes before surgery were randomly assigned to receive through this catheter either a 10-mL bolus of 0.2% ropivacaine before emergence, followed by a continuous infusion of 6 mL/h for 24 hours (PVB group), or saline at the same scheme of administration (control group). All patients were started on patient-controlled intravenous analgesia with sufentanil in the postanesthesia care unit. The primary outcome measure was total sufentanil consumption during the first 24 postoperative hours. P = 0.05 was considered as significant. For the multiple comparisons of data at 5 different time points, the P value for the 0.05 level of significance was adjusted to 0.01.ResultsSixty-six patients were assessed for eligibility, and a PVB catheter was successfully placed for 48 patients. Data were analyzed on 22 patients in group PVB and 22 patients in the control group. The cumulative sufentanil consumption in the PVB group (54.3 ± 12.1 μg) at 24 postoperative hours was more than 20% less than that of the control group (68.1 ± 9.9 μg) (P < 0.001). There was also a significant difference in pain scores (numerical rating scale) between groups, where the PVB group had lower scores than did the control group at rest and with coughing for the first 24 hours (P < 0.001).ConclusionsContinuous right thoracic paravertebral block, following bolus initiation, has an opioid-sparing effect on sufentanil patient-controlled intravenous analgesia for right-lobe hepatectomy patients and reduces numerical rating scale pain scores at rest and with coughing in the first 24 postoperative hours.

We investigate a diffusive predator-prey model by incorporating the fear effect into prey population, since the fear of predators could visibly reduce the reproduction of prey. By introducing the mature delay as bifurcation parameter, we find this makes the predator-prey system more complicated and usually induces Hopf and Hopf-Hopf bifurcations. The formulas determining the properties of Hopf and Hopf-Hopf bifurcations by computing the normal form on the center manifold are given. Near the Hopf-Hopf bifurcation point we give the detailed bifurcation set by investigating the universal unfoldings. Moreover, we show the existence of quasi-periodic orbits on three-torus near a Hopf-Hopf bifurcation point, leading to a strange attractor when further varying the parameter. We also find the existence of Bautin bifurcation numerically, then simulate the coexistence of stable constant stationary solution and periodic solution near this Bautin bifurcation point.

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In this paper, the dynamics of a modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey system with two delays and diffusion is considered. By calculating stability switching curves, the stability of positive equilibrium and the existence of Hopf bifurcation and double Hopf bifurcation are investigated on the parametric plane of two delays. Taking two time delays as bifurcation parameters, the normal form on the center manifold near the double Hopf bifurcation point is derived, and the unfoldings near the critical points are given. Finally, we obtain the complex dynamics near the double Hopf bifurcation point, including the existence of quasi-periodic solutions on a 2-torus, quasi-periodic solutions on a 3-torus, and strange attractors.Diffusive predator-prey models with delays have been investigated widely, and the delay induced Hopf bifurcation analysis has been well studied. However, the study about bifurcation analysis of predator-prey models with two simultaneously varying delays has not been well established. Neither the Hopf bifurcation theorem with two parameters nor the derivation process of normal form for two delays induced double Hopf bifurcation has been proposed in literatures. In this paper, we investigate a diffusive Leslie-Gower model with two delays, and carry out Hopf and double Hopf bifurcation analysis of the model. Applying the method of studying characteristic equation with two delays, we get the stability switching curves and the crossing direction, after which we give the Hopf bifurcation theorem in two-parameter plane for the first time. Under some condition, the intersections of two stability switching curves are double Hopf bifurcation points. To figure out the dynamics near the double Hopf bifurcation point, we calculate the normal form on the center manifold. The derivation process of normal form we use in this paper can be extended to other models with two delays, one delay, or without delay.