Abstract Yak is the livestock on which people live in plateau areas, but its fecundity is low. Follicular development plays a decisive role in yak reproductive performance. As an important regulatory factor, the expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) in yak follicular development and its regulatory mechanism remains unclear. To explore the differentially expressed lncRNAs between healthy and atretic follicular in yaks. We used RNA-seq to construct lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA expression profiles in yak atretic and healthy follicles, and the RNA sequence results were identified by qPCR. In addition, the correlation of lncRNA and targeted mRNA was also analyzed by Starbase software. Moreover, lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA networks were constructed by Cytoscape software, and the network was verified by dual-luciferase analysis. A total of 682 novel lncRNAs, 259 bta-miRNAs, and 1704 mRNAs were identified as differentially expressed between healthy and atretic follicles. Among them, 135 mRNAs were positively correlated with lncRNA expression and 97 were negatively correlated, which may be involved in the yak follicular development. In addition, pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed lncRNA host genes by Kyoto Genome Encyclopedia (KEGG) showed that host genes were mainly involved in hormone secretion, granulosa cell apoptosis, and follicular development. In conclusion, we identified a series of novel lncRNAs, constructed the lncRNA ceRNA regulatory network, and provided comprehensive resources for exploring the role of lncRNAs in yak ovarian follicular development.

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to analyze the relations of heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) and brain-type fatty acid-binding protein (B-FABP) with postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five patients who underwent spinal surgery were enrolled in this study. According to whether patients had POCD within 5 days after surgery, the participants were divided into POCD group and non-POCD group. Before surgery and 6 h after surgery, the serum H-FABP and B-FABP contents were detected. RESULTS: There were 33 (26.4%) patients in POCD group, and 92 (73.60%) patients in non-POCD group. After surgery, the serum H-FABP and B-FABP contents in POCD group were significantly higher than those before surgery, respectively (p<0.05), and those in non-POCD group were significantly lower than those before surgery, respectively (p<0.05). After surgery, the serum H-FABP and B-FABP contents in POCD group were significantly higher than those in non-POCD group, respectively (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The serum H-FABP and B-FABP contents are positively related to the occurrence of POCD in elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery.

Abstract Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the main subtype of non-small cell lung cancer with a poor survival prognosis. In our study, gene expression, DNA methylation, and clinicopathological data of primary LUAD were utilized to identify potential prognostic markers for LUAD, which were recruited from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Univariate regression analysis showed that there were 21 methylation-associated DEGs related to overall survival (OS), including 9 down- and 12 up-regulated genes. The 12 up-regulated genes with hypomethylation may be risky genes, whereas the other 9 down-regulated genes with hypermethylation might be protective genes. By using the Step-wise multivariate Cox analysis, a methylation-associated 6-gene (consisting of CCL20, F2, GNPNAT1, NT5E, B3GALT2, and VSIG2) prognostic signature was constructed and the risk score based on this gene signature classified patients into high- or low-risk groups. Patients of the high-risk group had shorter OS than those of the low-risk group in both the training and validation cohort. Multivariate Cox analysis and the stratified analysis revealed that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor for LUAD patients. The methylation-associated gene signature may serve as a prognostic factor for LUAD patients and the represent hypermethylated or hypomethylated genes might be potential targets for LUAD therapy.