Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide and the leading cause of death in Asian and African countries. Aberrant accumulation of lncRNAs is one of the major causes of tumorigenesis in HCC. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) is identified as an oncogene in multiple types of tumors. However, the role of SNHG16 in HCC is poorly understood. Herein, we show that SNHG16 is up-regulated and associated with poor prognosis in HCC. We also demonstrate that SNHG16 interacts with miR-302a-3p and decreases its expression. Moreover, our results indicate that SNHG16/miR-302a-3p axis regulates expression of the FGF19 in liver cancer cells. Finally, we investigated the biological function of SNHG16 in HCC and showed that SNHG16 promotes liver cancer cell proliferation via the SNHG16/ miR-302a-3p/FGF19 axis. Collectively, these data suggest that SNHG16 might be a predictive biomarker and a potential therapeutic target in liver cancer.

Introduction Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has spread worldwide, and it has reached to more than 14.5 million cases. Although Hubei province is the epicenter of China, little is known about epidemiological and clinical features of COVID‐19 in other areas in Hubei province around Wuhan. In addition, the virological data, particularly the factors associated with viral shedding of COVID‐19 has not been well described. Objective To describe the epidemiological and clinical features of patients with COVID‐19 in Tianmen city, and identify risk factors associated with prolonged viral shedding of COVID‐19. Methods Inpatients with COVID‐19 admitted before February 9, 2020 were included. Characteristics were compared between patients with early and late viral RNA shedding. Multivariate cox regression model was used to investigate variables associated with prolonged viral shedding. Results One hundred and eighty‐three patients were included. About 8.2% patients were categorized as critical degree of severity. All patients received antiviral therapy, with arbidol and interferon being the commonest. About 38.3% and 16.9% patients were treated with corticosteroid and immunoglobulin, respectively. Time from onset to admission (HR = 0.829, P < 0.001), and administration of corticosteroid (HR = 0.496, P = 0.002), arbidol (HR = 2.605, P = 0.008) and oseltamivir (HR = 0.416, P < 0.001) were independently associated with duration of viral shedding. Conclusion Symptoms of patients from Tianmen are relatively mild. Treatment should be started as early as possible, but corticosteroid and oseltamivir should be initiated with caution. In addition, clinical trials on arbidol should be conducted to demonstrate its effectiveness.

Background Brain abscess due to the Nocardia genus is rarely reported and it is usually found in immunocompromised patients. Treatment of Nocardia brain abscess is troublesome and requires consideration of the severity of the underlying systemic disease. The difficulties in identifying the bacterium and the frequent delay in initiating adequate therapy often influence the prognosis of patients. Case presentation Here, we report a rare case of brain abscess caused by Nocardia farcinica. The patient’s medical history was complicated: he was hospitalized several times, but no pathogens were found. At last, bacteria were found in the culture of brain abscess puncture fluid; the colony was identified as Nocardia farcinica by mass spectrometry. Targeted antibiotic treatment was implemented, brain abscess tended to alleviate, but the patient eventually developed fungal pneumonia and died of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Conclusion Brain abscess caused by Nocardia farcinica can appear in non-immunocompromised individuals. Early diagnosis, reasonable surgical intervention, and targeted antibiotic treatment are critical for Nocardia brain abscess treatment. In the treatment of Nocardia brain abscess, attention should paid be to the changes in patients’ immunity and infection with other pathogens, especially fungi, avoided.

Rickettsia is the pathogen of Q fever, Brucella ovis is the pathogen of brucellosis, and both of them are Gram-negative bacteria which are parasitic in cells. The mixed infection of rickettsia and Brucella ovis is rarely reported in clinic. Early diagnosis and treatment are of great significance to the treatment and prognosis of brucellosis and Q fever. Here, we report a case of co-infection Rickettsia burneti and Brucella melitensis. The patient is a 49-year-old sheepherder, who was hospitalized with left forearm trauma. Three days after admission, the patient developed fever of 39.0°C, accompanied by sweating, fatigue, poor appetite and headache. Indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) was used to detect Rickettsia burneti IgM. After 72 hours of blood culture incubation, bacterial growth was detected in aerobic bottles, Gram-negative bacilli were found in culture medium smear, the colony was identified as Brucella melitensis by mass spectrometry. Patients were treated with doxycycline (100 mg bid, po) and rifampicin (600 mg qd, po) for 4 weeks. After treatment, the symptoms disappeared quickly, and there was no sign of recurrence or chronic infection. Q fever and Brucella may exist in high-risk practitioners, so we should routinely detect these two pathogens to prevent missed diagnosis.

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Background: Brain abscess due to the Nocardia genus is rarely reported and it is usually found in immunocompromised patients. Treatment of Nocardia brain abscess is troublesome and requires consideration of the severity of the underlying systemic disease. The difficulties in identifying the bacterium and the frequent delay in initiating adequate therapy often influence the prognosis of patients.Case presentation: Here, we report a rare case of brain abscess caused by Nocardia farcinica. The patient’s medical history was complicated, he was hospitalized for several times, but no pathogens were found. At last, bacterial was found in culture of brain abscess puncture fluid, the colony was identified as Nocardia farcinica by mass spectrometry. Targeted antibiotic treatment was implemented, brain abscess tended to alleviate, but the patient eventually developed fungal pneumonia and died of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Conclusion: brain abscess caused by Nocardia farcinica can be appear in non-immunocompromised individuals. Early diagnosis, reasonable surgical intervention, and targeted antibiotic treatment are critical for Nocardia brain abscess treatment. In the treatment of Nocardia brain abscess, we should pay attention to the changes of patients' immunity and avoid infection with other pathogens, especially fungi.

Background Brain abscess due to the Nocardia genus is rarely reported that usually found in immunocompromised patients. Treatment of Nocardia brain abscess is troublesome and requires consideration of the severity of the underlying systemic disease, the difficulties in identifying the bacterium and the frequent delay in initiating adequate therapy. Case Presentation Here, we report a rare case of brain abscess caused by Nocardia farcinica. The patient’s medical history was complicated, bacterial was found in culture of brain abscess puncture fluid, the colony was identified as Nocardia farcinica by mass spectrometry. Targeted antibiotic treatment was implemented, brain abscess tended to alleviate, but the patient eventually developed fungal pneumonia and died of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Conclusion Early diagnosis, reasonable surgical intervention, and targeted antibiotic treatment are critical for Nocardia brain abscess treatment. Any delay in diagnosis and appropriate therapy can have adverseconsequences.

BackgroundMucor infection cannot be ignored in patients with pulmonary shadowing with cavitation .This paper reports a case of mucormycosis during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei Province, China. Case PresentationA anesthesiology doctor was initially diagnosed as COVID-19 due to changes in lung imaging. Later Lichtheimia ramose was found by Metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) in the Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).After adjusting amphotericin B for anti-infective treatment, the patient's infection lesions were shranked and the symptoms were significantly relieved. ConclusionThe diagnosis of invasive fungal infections is very difficult, mNGS can make an accurate pathogenic diagnosis of invasive fungal diseases for the clinic and provide a basis for clinical treatment.