Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks fourth in global cancer mortality, accounting for 8.2% of all cancer deaths. Early detection of HCC has a significant impact on clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify blood-based biomarkers which are HCC-specific. Methods: Comprehensive gene expression raw data of purified RNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was downloaded from GEO and was then analyzed. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in HCC were screened and the method of weighted gene co-expression network analysis was applied to identify candidate blood-based biomarkers associated with HCC. Results: Three modules closely related to HCC were screened using WGCNA. Nuclear localization signal (NLS)-bearing protein import into nucleus biological process was the most significant enriched physiological process identified by MCODE, and 3 genes (DICER1, GMPS and NCOR1) were selected as biomarkers. Conclusion: In our study, three novel blood-based HCC-specific diagnostic biomarkers for human hepatocellular carcinoma were identified. These findings may contribute to the non-invasive detection of early HCC patients.

There was an outbreak of Dengue fever on September 5, 2019, in Hainan Province, which has not been endemic for 28 years. We aim to describe the clinical and epidemiological features of the 2019 outbreak in Hainan Province and identify the cause. All type 1 Dengue fever cases that occurred in this outbreak of Hainan exhibited mild clinical symptoms. The epidemiological investigations indicate that the outbreak might originate from workers in the Xiuying area, Haikou City, form a concentrated outbreak, and then spread out. Bayesian phylogenies results and epidemiological data were used to infer a likely series of events for the dengue virus’s potential spread and trace the possible sources. The strains’ sequences were close to a sequence from the nearby Guangdong province, supporting the hypothesis that the dengue virus was imported from Guangdong province and then spread across Hainan province. Furthermore, it is interesting that two other strains didn’t group with this cluster, suggesting that additional introduction pathways might exist. The study indicated that the dengue fever epidemic presented two important modes in Hainan. Firstly, epidemics prevalence was caused by imported cases, and then endogenous epidemics broke out in the natural epidemic focus.

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Burkholderia pseudomallei HNBP001, an epidemic strain isolated from a melioidosis patient with pneumonia in Hainan, China.

Research on the gut microbiota, which involves a large and complex microbial community, is an important part of infectious disease control. In China, few studies have been reported on the diversity of the gut microbiota of wild marmots. To obtain full details of the gut microbiota, including bacteria, fungi, viruses and archaea, in wild marmots, we have sequenced metagenomes from five sample-sites feces on the Hulun Buir Grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. We have created a comprehensive database of bacterial, fungal, viral, and archaeal genomes and aligned metagenomic sequences (determined based on marmot fecal samples) against the database. We delineated the detailed and distinct gut microbiota structures of marmots. A total of 5,891 bacteria, 233 viruses, 236 fungi, and 217 archaea were found. The dominant bacterial phyla were Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinomycetes. The viral families were Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Herpesviridae and Podoviridae. The dominant fungi phyla were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Blastocladiomycota. The dominant archaea were Biobacteria, Omoarchaea, Nanoarchaea, and Microbacteria. Furthermore, the gut microbiota was affected by host species and environment, and environment was the most important factor. There were 36,989 glycoside hydrolase genes in the microbiota, with 365 genes homologous to genes encoding β-glucosidase, cellulase, and cellulose β-1,4-cellobiosidase. Additionally, antibiotic resistance genes such as macB, bcrA, and msbA were abundant. To sum up, the gut microbiota of marmot had population diversity and functional diversity, which provides a basis for further research on the regulatory effects of the gut microbiota on the host. In addition, metagenomics revealed that the gut microbiota of marmots can degrade cellulose and hemicellulose.