Background LncRNA was known to be closely associated with the progression of human tumors. The role of lncRNA LIFR-AS1 in the pathogenesis and progression of gastric tumor is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of LIFR-AS1 and the underlying mechanism in the pathogenesis and progression of gastric cancer. Methods QRT-PCR was used to evaluate the expression of LIFR-AS1, miR-29a-3p and COL1A2 in gastric tumor tissues and cells. Western blotting was used to evaluate the protein expression of COL1A2 in gastric tumor cells. CCK-8 assay, transwell assay and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the roles of LIFR-AS1, miR-29a-3p and COL1A2 in cell proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis. The relationship among LIFR-AS1, miR-29a-3p and COL1A2 was assessed by bioinformatics analyses and luciferase reporter assay. Results The expression levels of LIFR-AS1 were significantly increased in gastric tumor tissues and cells, while the expression levels of miR-29a-3p were decreased. The expression of miR-29a-3p was negatively correlated with the expression of LIFR-AS1 in gastric cancer tumor tissues. Knocking down of LIFR-AS1 inhibited proliferation, invasion and migration of gastric tumor cells, and induced apoptosis of gastric tumor cells. Bioinformatics analyses and integrated experiments revealed that LIFR-AS1 elevated the expression of COL1A2 through sponging miR-29a-3p, which further resulted in the progression of gastric tumor. Conclusion LIFR-AS1 plays an important role as a competing endogenous RNA in gastric tumor pathogenesis and may be a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of gastric tumor.

Background Test anxiety has been widely found in medical students. Emotion regulation and psychological resilience have been identified as key factors contributing to anxiety. However, studies on relationships were limited. This study investigated the links between psychological resilience, emotion regulation, and test anxiety in addition to exploring the differences about socio-demographic factors. Methods A sample of 1266 medical students was selected through cross-sectional survey from a medical university in China during 2019. Data were obtained by network technique using designed questionnaire, which assesses the level of test anxiety, emotion regulation and psychological resilience, respectively. Results Medical students experienced test anxiety at different levels, 33.7% of these were seriously. It revealed significant effects of the gender and academic performance on test anxiety. Results of logistic regression indicated that test anxiety was significantly associated with emotion regulation and psychological resilience (p < 0.01). Psychological resilience played a mediating role on the relationship between emotion regulation and test anxiety. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of psychological resilience and emotion regulation in understanding how psychological resilience relates to test anxiety in medical students. Resilience-training intervention may be developed to support students encountering anxiety during the exam.

Progressive liver fibrosis may result in cirrhosis, portal hypertension and increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. We performed a meta-analysis to compare liver fibrosis staging in chronic liver disease patients using 2-D shear wave elastography (2-D SWE) and point shear wave elastography (pSWE). The PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were searched until May 31, 2020 for studies evaluating the diagnostic performance of 2-D SWE and pSWE in assessing liver fibrosis. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, diagnostic odds ratios and area under receiver operating characteristic curve were estimated using the bivariate random effects model. As a result, 71 studies with 11,345 patients were included in the analysis. The pooled sensitivities of 2-D SWE and pSWE significantly differed for the detection of significant fibrosis (F 2; 0.84 vs. 0.76, p < 0.001) and advanced fibrosis (F 3; 0.90 vs. 0.83, p = 0.003), but not for detection of cirrhosis (F = 4; 0.89 vs. 0.85, p = 0.090). The pooled specificities of 2-D SWE and pSWE did not significantly differ for detection of F 2 (0.81 vs. 0.79, p = 0.753), F 3 (0.87 vs. 0.83, p = 0.163) or F = 4 (0.87 vs. 0.84, p = 0.294). Both 2-D SWE and pSWE have high sensitivity and specificity for detecting each stage of liver fibrosis. Two-dimensional SWE has higher sensitivity than pSWE for detection of significant fibrosis and advanced fibrosis.

BackgroundAssociating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) can induce a stronger regenerative ability than traditional 2-stage hepatectomy (TSH). ALPPS has become popular for achieving fast hypertrophy in patients with an insufficient future liver remnant (FLR). However, ALPPS is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Partial ALPPS is a variation that may decrease the morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to perform a meta-analysis comparing outcomes of ALLPS and partial ALLPS.MethodsPubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies comparing partial ALPPS and complete ALPPS up to April 2019. Included studies were assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Weighted mean difference (WMD)/standard mean difference (SMD) and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to compare FLR, time interval between stages, postoperative complications, and mortality between partial and complete ALPPS.ResultsFour studies including 124 patients were included. FLR hypertrophy of partial ALPPS was comparable to complete ALPPS (p = 0.09). The time interval between stages was not different between the 2 procedures (p = 0.57). The postoperative complications rate of partial ALPPS was significantly lower than that of complete ALPPS (OR = 0.38; p = 0.03). The mortality rate of partial ALLPS (4.9%) was lower than that of complete ALLPS (18.9%), but the difference was not significant (OR = 0.37; p = 0.12).ConclusionsPartial ALLPS is associated with similar FLR hypertrophy and time interval between stages as complete ALLPS, and a lower complication rate. Further studies are needed to examine patient selection and outcomes of the 2 procedures.

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