J Natl Med Assoc
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The indelible impacts on our nation from the Coronavirus pandemic along with high fatality rates that disproportionately burden racial and ethnic minorities necessitate long-term coordinated federal, state and local action to improve critical determinants of population health, specifically important health and public health infrastructures as well as emergency and disaster preparedness systems. While our purview as the new pandemic epicenter should be a sufficient driver, coordinated health professionals bringing thoughtful attention to our historical context may be warranted. Prompting our advocacy should be the reality that our collective ability to rebound from such crises may ultimately hinge on protecting and equipping our most vulnerable racial-ethnic minority groups and any susceptible individuals within those populations. ⋯ Nevertheless, we remain supportive allies of all organizations concerned with communities who suffer the weight of this pandemic and any future world health disasters. What is additionally needed is a thoughtful unification of efforts and a commitment to sustained progress with measurable results for as long as the need exists and certainly for the foreseeable future. Let us as humane clinicians and public health professionals capture this moment of challenge and follow through on this urgent call to action.
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Meta Analysis
Aberrant Expression of Gastric Carcinoma High Expressed Transcript 1 is a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker in Human Cancer.
Gastric carcinoma high expressed transcript 1 (GHET1), a long noncoding RNA (LncRNA), has been reported to be involved in tumor genesis and cancer progression. High GHET1 expression is correlated with a poor prognosis in cancer. In this meta-analysis, we investigated the association between GHET1 and lymph node metastasis, differentiation, vascular invasion and so on in human cancer. ⋯ GHET1 may serve as a potential clinical biomarker and poor survival and high-risk recurrence in cancers.
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Lupus nephritis (LN) is a common complication of systemic lupus erythematosus that presents a high risk of end-stage renal disease. However, the molecular mechanisms of LN remain unclear. The lack of understanding hinders the development of specific targeted therapy for this progressive disease. ⋯ our studies provided new insight into the molecular pathogenesis of LN. The OAS family may play an important role in LN and act as a novel molecular candidate for the further study of LN.
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Cervical cancer, a preventable cancer, has disproportionately affected African American women. To better understand the burden of cervical cancer, we assessed incidence and mortality rates and analyzed trends among non-Hispanic (NH) African American and White women in the US from 1999 to 2015. ⋯ NH African American women had significantly higher cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates than NH Whites. Even as incidence and mortality trends declined significantly, older NH African Americans had three times the rate of cervical cancer than NH Whites. Prevention and treatment programs need to be enhanced for African Americans as failure to do so may widen cancer disparities.