Search

Background: Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is a method of blood purification, which is widely used in the treatment of critical diseases as a means of multiple organ function protection and life support therapy. However, because of the serious condition of ICU (intensive care unit) patients, CRRT needs to be carried out continuously, but the treatment is interrupted ahead of time as a result of various conditions, which not only affects the treatment effect but also increases the patient cost., Aims: To evaluate intervention measures to improve the filter life of CRRT in critically ill patients, and also to identify which interventions are considered 'promising interventions'., Study Design: This is a systematic review. Seven databases were searched using terms related to the concepts of 'continuous renal replacement therapy' and 'filter life', from the establishment of the database to 31 December 2023. The quality of the methodology included in the study was assessed using standard evaluation tools developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP), and pre-established criteria were used to identify 'promising interventions'., Results: A total of 28 studies were included, of which 7 were rated 'strong' in terms of design and methodological quality, and the others were 'medium'. The most commonly identified interventions to extend the life of CRRT filters include the use of sodium citrate anticoagulation, the choice of CVVHD or CVVHDF or pre-diluted CVVH for CRRT and the use of personalized sodium citrate anticoagulant regimens to reduce the incidence of filter clotting. The intervention measures of 14 studies were statistically significant, while the other 14 studies were not statistically significant. Interventions in nine studies were identified as 'promising interventions' because they were published within 10 years, with a medium or strong methodological quality rating, significant positive results and a strong evidence base., Conclusion: In the promising interventions study, citrate anticoagulation and CVVHD or CVVHDF models were recommended to significantly prolong filter life. However, more high-quality studies are needed to identify interventions that can prolong the life of CRRT filters in critically ill patients, thereby supplementing the literature in this field. The existing studies lack blinding and have limited quality. Future studies should be carried out with the goal of 'best evidence', and the interventions should be more universal and clinically practical., Relevance to Clinical Practice: This study uses the method of systematic review to scientifically and rigorously provide some suggestions for extending the life of CRRT filters in critically ill patients, such as 'By implementing personalized citrate anticoagulation protocols, the incidence of CRRT filter life shortening due to coagulation can be reduced', which can reduce the cost of patients and improve the quality of treatment to a certain extent in clinical practice., (© 2024 British Association of Critical Care Nurses.)

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Breast masses are one of the distinctive signs for diagnosing breast cancer, and ultrasound is widely used for screening as a non-invasive and effective method for breast examination. In this study, we used the Mendeley and BUSI datasets, comprising 250 images (100 benign, 150 malignant) and 780 images (133 normal, 487 benign, 210 malignant), respectively. The datasets were split into 80% for training and 20% for validation. The accurate measurement and characterization of different breast tumors play a crucial role in guiding clinical decision-making. The area and shape of the different breast tumors detected are critical for clinicians to make accurate diagnostic decisions. In this study, a deep learning method for mass segmentation in breast ultrasound images is proposed, which uses densely connected U-net with attention gates (AGs) as well as channel attention modules and scale attention modules for accurate breast tumor segmentation.The densely connected network is employed in the encoding stage to enhance the network's feature extraction capabilities. Three attention modules are integrated in the decoding stage to better capture the most relevant features. After validation on the Mendeley and BUSI datasets, the experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves a Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) of 0.8764 and 0.8313, respectively, outperforming other deep learning approaches. The source code is located at github.com/zhanghaoCV/plos-one., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Although current studies have identified sleep disorders as an independent risk factor for suicide, the relationship between sleep disorders and suicide risk has not been well established. This study explored whether anxiety and depressive symptoms are used as mediators to participate in the impact of sleep quality on suicide risk., Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. We administered a psychological questionnaire to the participants, using a combination of self-assessment and psychiatrist assessment.Sleep quality, suicide risk, level of anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed by PSQI, NGASR, SAS and SDS.The study subjects were 391 hospitalized COVID-19 patients from Wuhan hospitals. We used model 6 in the PROCESS (version 3.5) plug-in of SPSS software to conduct mediation test with sleep quality as the independent variable, suicide risk as the dependent variable, level of anxiety and depressive symptoms as intermediate variables., Results: The severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms and the risk of suicide in the sleep disorder group (63.15 ± 13.71, 59.85 ± 13.38, 6.52 ± 3.67) were higher than those in the non-sleep disorder group (49.83 ± 13.14, 44.87 ± 10.19, 2.87 ± 3.26) (P < 0.001). The mediation model works well, The total indirect effect was 0.22 (95%CI = [0.17, 0.28]), and the direct effect was 0.16 (95%CI = [0.08, 0.24])., Limitations: This study used a self-assessment scale., Conclusions: Anxiety and depressive symptoms played a chain mediating role between sleep quality and suicide risk., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: Hospital admission for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) during early childhood is a global public health concern. Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent during pregnancy and infancy. Evidence indicates that vitamin D supplementation prevents ARIs., Objectives: To determine whether vitamin D deficiency at birth is associated with ARI hospitalisations during infancy., Methods: We performed a nested case-control study in children aged 0-12 months. Cases had ≥1 ARI hospitalisation and 4 controls were individually matched to each case. Newborn 25(OH)D concentration was measured on dried blood spots using two-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Hospital admissions were measured using health care records. Median serum 25(OH)D concentration in cases and controls was compared, and covariates of ARI hospitalisation during infancy were assessed using conditional logistic regression analysis., Results: Six per cent of the cohort (n = 384) had an ARI hospitalisation during infancy, and 1536 controls were matched to cases. Median DBS [25(OH)D] was lower among ARI cases than controls (46 nmol/l vs. 61 nmol/L). Median 25(OH)D levels were lower for those hospitalised ≥2 times (47, IQR 36, 58) vs. those hospitalised once (52, IQR 42, 62) vs. the controls and also lower for those who stayed in the hospital for ≥3 days (45, IQR 36, 54) vs 1-2 days (48, IQR 38, 59) compared to the controls. After adjustment for season of birth and covariates describing demographic, antenatal, perinatal, and infant characteristics, DBS 25(OH)D concentration (<50 nmol/L) at birth was associated with increased odds of ARI hospitalisation during infancy (odds ratio 2.20, 95% confidence interval 1.48, 2.91)., Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency at birth is associated with increased odds of ARI hospitalisations in infants. The findings have implications for a developed country like New Zealand where vitamin D supplementation is not routinely recommended and the burden of ARI hospitalisation in young children is high., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of air purifier therapy for patients with allergic asthma., Methods: Thirty-eight subjects were categorized under two groups namely treatment group and control group. All subjects were under 18 years of age and they had been clinically diagnosed with allergic asthma. The treatment group used high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifiers for six consecutive months, and the control group did not use the air filters. Particulate matter (PM) data and dust samples (from bedding and a static point) were collected from the subjects' bedrooms before they started using the air purifiers and each month thereafter. Simultaneously, the subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire for the Asthma Control Test (ACT) or Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT). Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) tests were performed at the start and end of the study. The concentrations of Der p1 and Der f1 were measured in the dust samples., Results: (1) After utilizing the air purifier, the concentrations of house dust mite (HDM) allergens (Der p1+ Der f1) in the dust samples decreased. In addition, the PM indoor/outdoor values significantly decreased. (2) The ACT and C-ACT scores in the treatment group maintained a steady significant upward trend. (3) At the end of the study, the FENO levels in both groups were lower, although the differences were not significant., Conclusions: It is witnessed that HEPA air purifiers can decrease indoor HDM allergen and PM levels and improve the quality of life for allergic asthma patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare no direct, indirect, or personal interest.

Hypertension is a kind of chronic cardiovascular system disease caused by a series of factors and carriers dysfunction, which belongs to the category of Tibetan medicine &quot;Chalong disease&quot;, and has a high rate of disability and mortality. Zuomua Decoction is a classical Tibetan medicine for Chalong disease, but its mechanism is not clear. Therefore, in this paper we explored the multi-components, multi-targets and multi-channels mechanism of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. First of all, the chemical components of Zuomua Decoction were obtained in the retrieval of traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database(TCMSP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) and Wanfang database. The potential targets of Zuomua Decoction were predicted by BATMAN-TCM database, and the targets of hypertension were obtained by using DisGeNET database. The intersection of these two targets set was taken to obtain the potential targets of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension, and then the chemical compositions-targets network was constructed. Secondly, the intersection targets were imported into STRING database to obtain the interaction relationship of intersection targets, and the protein interaction network of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension was constructed in Cytoscape. Topological, GO, and KEGG enrichment analysis were used to construct the key targets-signal pathways-biological processes network diagram and explore the mechanism of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension. Finally, the key targets were selected to construct the pharmacodynamic identification models to verify the effect mode of Zomua Decoction in treating hypertension. The results showed that there were 61 chemical components and 90 potential targets in the compounds-targets network. We obtained 21 key targets, 154 signal pathways, and 382 biological processes in topological, GO, and KEGG enrichment analysis of the protein interaction network, and in the comprehensive analysis, it was found that Zuomua Decoction could reduce blood pressure by regulating renin angiotension aldosterone system, balancing the concentration of intracellular calcium and sodium ions and regulating vasoconstriction and relaxation. ACE, AGTR1, and ADRB2 were used as the carriers for molecular docking study on the components of Zuoma Decoction, and the results showed that the chemical components of Zuomua Decoction had a good binding activity with key targets. The purpose of this study is to provide ideas for the in-depth study of Zuoma Decoction in the treatment of hypertension, and provide scientific basis for its clinical rational application.

Syringa pinnatifolia is an endemic species of Syringa in Oleaceae family in China, mainly distributed in Helan Mountain, which is located between Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. Its peeled roots, stems and thick twigs have been used as Mongolian folk medicine, called &quot;Shan-chen-xiang&quot; in Chinese, for the treatment of coronary heart diseases, angina pectoris and other cardiopulmonary diseases. Modern researches showed that S. pinnatifolia mainly contains lignans, sesquiterpenoids, and volatile oils, and displays anti-myocardial ischemia, sedation, analgesia, antibacterial and other effects. In the past five years, many groups have made new progress on the study of chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of S. pinnatifolia. On the basis of the previous review by our group, this paper summarizes the advances which is beneficial to the development, research and clinical application of S. pinnatifolia, particularly Shan-chen-xiang.

Objectives : The aims of this study were to investigate the differences of fasciculations detected by muscle ultrasonography (MUS) among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), patients with ALS mimics and healthy controls, and to propose a simplified MUS fasciculation score for the diagnosis of ALS. Methods : We included 16 patients with ALS (ALS group), 10 patients with ALS mimics (disease-control group), and 10 healthy adults (healthy control group). Subjects underwent MUS in 11 muscles, including the tongue, and bilateral upper trapezius, biceps brachii, abductor pollicis brevis, rectus femoris, and tibialis anterior. Results : The number of muscles with fasciculations per person was more in the ALS group (6.44 ± 2.56) than in the disease-control group (1.20 ± 1.87, P = 0.001) and healthy control group (0.50 ± 1.08, P < 0.001). Fasciculations in 3 of 11 muscles could predict the ALS diagnosis with high sensitivity (88.2%) and specificity (94.7%). Conclusions : Fasciculations detected by MUS can be a simple and useful diagnostic tool for ALS.

Background: Very-long-chain SFAs (VLSFAs) have recently gained considerable attention as having beneficial effects on health and aging., Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the associations of plasma phospholipid VLSFAs [arachidic acid (20:0), behenic acid (22:0), tricosanoic acid (23:0), and lignoceric acid (24:0)] with 20-y cognitive decline in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) participants. Furthermore, this study compared the associations of plasma phospholipid VLSFAs with 5 common groups of fatty acids [i.e., total SFAs, total MUFAs, total ω-3 (n-3) PUFAs, total marine-derived ω-3 PUFAs, total ω-6 PUFAs]., Methods: This study used a cohort study design of 3229 ARIC participants enrolled at the Minnesota field center. Fatty acids were measured at visit 1 (1987-1989); and cognition was assessed at visits 2 (1990-1992), 4 (1996-1998), and 5 (2011-2013) using 3 tests: the Delayed Word Recall Test (DWRT), the Digit-Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), and the Word Fluency Test (WFT)., Results: Higher proportions of plasma phospholipid total VLSFAs and each individual VLSFA were associated with less decline in WFT, a test of verbal fluency. For example, 1 SD higher in total VLSFAs at baseline was associated with 0.057 SD (95% CI: 0.018, 0.096, P = 0.004) less cognitive decline over 20 y as measured by WFT score. None of the 5 common fatty acid groups were associated with change in WFT, but a higher proportion of plasma phospholipid total MUFAs was associated with greater decline in DWRT; higher total ω-6 PUFAs with less decline in DWRT; and higher total ω-3 and total marine-derived ω-3 PUFAs with less decline in DSST., Conclusions: This study suggests that higher proportions of plasma phospholipid VLSFAs in midlife may be associated with less 20-y cognitive decline., (Copyright © The Author(s) on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition 2020.)

Background: Recent studies highlighted the protective benefits of a Chinese herb extract from polygonum cuspidatum, trans-polydatin, on cardiac disease. We investigated the therapeutic effect of trans-polydatin on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury and the underlying mechanisms related to the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and RhoA kinase (ROCK) pathway., Methods and Results: Experiments were performed on neonatal rats' ventricular myocytes that were subjected to hypoxia-reoxygenation (simulated IR, SIR) and on adult mice which were subjected to left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion for 45 min followed by a one-week reperfusion. trans-Polydatin significantly increased cell viability and reduced apoptosis in SIR cardiomyocytes. It was also observed to reduce the infarct size and increase the cardiac function in IR mice. trans-Polydatin decreased the expression of angiotensin and inhibited the activities of renin and angiotensin-converting enzyme. Furthermore, trans-polydatin inhibited ROCK activity, especially the angiotensin I receptor-activated ROCK pathway., Conclusions: trans-Polydatin exerts a cardio-protection against myocardial IR injury likely through inhibiting both RAS and the downstream ROCK pathway.

Aim: To evaluate diagnostic yields of capsule endoscopy (CE) and/or single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) in patients with suspected small bowel diseases., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 700 patients with suspected small bowel diseases from September 2010 to March 2016. CE, SBE, or SBE with prior CE was performed in 401, 353, and 47 patients, respectively. Data from clinical and endoscopy records were collected for analysis. Indications, procedure times, diagnostic yields, and complications were summarized and evaluated., Results: The overall diagnostic yield for the CE group was 57.6%. The diagnostic yield of CE in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) was significantly greater than that in patients with no bleeding (70.5% vs 43.8%, P < 0.01). The overall diagnostic yield of SBE was 69.7%. There was no difference in the diagnostic yield of SBE between patients with OGIB and those with no bleeding (72.5% vs 68.9%, P = 0.534). Forty-seven patients underwent CE prior to SBE. Among them, the diagnostic yield of SBE with positive findings on prior CE was 93.3%. In addition, SBE detected two cases with superficial ulcer and erosive lesions in the small bowel, which were missed by CE. However, one case with lymphoma and two with Crohn's disease were not confirmed by SBE. The rate of capsule retention was 2.0%. There were no significant complications during or after SBE examinations., Conclusion: SBE is a safe and effective technique for diagnosing small bowel diseases. SBE with prior CE seemed to improve the diagnostic yield of small bowel diseases., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.

This study explored the protective effects of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress preconditioning induced by 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) or oxidized dithiothreitol (DTTox) on acrylonitrile (AN)-induced cytotocity in primary rat astrocytes. Cells were pretreated with 2-DG or DTTox for different times at various concentration. Next, astrocytes were treated with 2.5mM AN for an additional 12h. Cell viability and cytotoxicity were assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) were determined. Expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), phosphorylated-eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (p-eIF2α), microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3), P62, and Beclin1 were used to assess autophagy. In addition, 3-methyadenine (3-MA), an autophagy-specific inhibitor, was used to assess the role of autophagy in ER stress preconditioning-induced protection against AN cytotoxicity. The results showed that AN alone significantly decreased astrocytic viability and enhanced cytotoxicity. Compared to the AN-alone group, preconditioning with 2-DG or DTTox significantly increased cell viability and reduced cytotoxicity to indistinguishable levels. Decreased ROS generation and increased ΔΨm were also inherent to ER stress preconditioning with these compounds. Furthermore, autophagy was activated by both 2-DG and DTTox. Blockage of autophagy attenuated the protection afforded by 2-DG or DTTox preconditioning in AN-treated astrocytes. These results establish that ER stress preconditioning affords cellular protection against AN, and that activation of autophagy mediates the cytoprotection. Modulation of ER stress and resultant activation of autophagy may be a novel target for to ameliorate AN toxicity., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study was designed to examine the differential protection of pre- versus post-treatment with three different antioxidants, curcumin (CUR), Trolox, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), on acrylonitrile (AN)-induced cytotoxicity in primary rat astrocytes., Methods: Primary astrocyte cultures were treated with CUR, Trolox and NAC for 4h prior to, or following 24h treatment with AN (2.5mM). 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, lipid peroxidation, glutathione, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential were measured to evaluate protection associated with the three antioxidants. Knockdown of Nrf2 expression by liposome transfection with siRNA was used to confirm the role of Nrf2 activation in the protection associated with the three antioxidants., Results: Compared with AN treatment alone, pre-treatment with CUR at either concentration significantly increased cell viability and mitochondrial membrane potential, and reduced glutathione levels; lipid peroxidation and ROS production were significantly decreased as well. NAC also showed significant efficacy in attenuating AN-induced toxicity at higher concentration. However, pre-treatment with Trolox failed to ameliorate the AN-induced toxicity. When post-treatment with Trolox, this antioxidant led to significant protective effects at both concentrations, while CUR and NAC were efficacious only at the higher concentrations. Knockdown of Nrf2 only abolished the protective effects of CUR pre-treatment on AN-induced cytotoxicity, while the protective effects of NAC and Trolox pre-treatment groups showed no differences between the Nrf2-knockdown and non-knockdown treatments., Conclusions: The selected antioxidants exert differential cellular protection when administered prior or subsequent to AN-induced cytotoxic events in decreasing cellular viability, antioxidative capacity and mitochondrial function, enhanced cytotoxicity and ROS production. These results suggest that antioxidants should be carefully chosen for their efficacy in preventing or diminishing oxidative damage caused by AN. The differential effect of pre- and post-treatment may be attributed to activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We report a 51-year-old female patient with a solitary lymphangioma located in the upper splenic pole which was managed successfully with laparoscopic partial splenectomy. Surgery lasted 170 min and did not require blood transfusions. The patient recovered well post-operatively and was asymptomatic at the 3-mo follow-up. She had a normal platelet count and no recurrence on ultrasonography or computed tomography. Laparoscopic partial splenectomy is a safe, minimally invasive technique for the treatment of solitary splenic lymphangiomas in the splenic pole. We performed the procedure using the Habib(TM) 4X device. This laparoscopic bipolar radiofrequency device ensured a "bloodless" splenic parenchymal resection.

Aim: To determine the correlation between invasiveness, migration and prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and expression of the B-cell-specific Moloney leukemia virus insert site 1 (Bmi-1) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1)., Methods: Eighty previously untreated patients who underwent surgical excision of ESCC were included. The expression of Bmi-1 and PAI-1 was examined immunohistochemically in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary tissue specimens. The relationships between the expression of Bmi-1 and PAI-1, the clinicopathologic features of ESCC, and the survival rate of ESCC patients were also discussed. The correlation between Bmi-1 and PAI-1 protein expression in ESCC was analyzed. The relationship between Bmi-1 and PAI-1 expression and ESCC prognosis was evaluated using a Cox regression model and Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis., Results: The rates of positive Bmi-1 and PAI-1 expression in ESCC were higher than those in normal esophageal tissue (P < 0.05). The expression of Bmi-1 and PAI-1 was correlated with depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05), but not with patient age, tumor size or nationality (P > 0.05). The expression of Bmi-1 was positively correlated with that of PAI-1 (P < 0.05). The 10-year overall survival rate for all patients was 20% (16/80). Univariate Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with high expression of esophageal PAI-1 and Bmi-1 had lower survival, however, the difference was not statistically significant. Cox multivariate analysis showed that PAI-1 and Bmi-1 were not independent factors for survival rate, while the depth of tumor invasion and metastasis were independent factors affecting patient survival., Conclusion: The expression of Bmi-1 and PAI-1 plays a role in ESCC progression, and may be used as a prognostic marker in ESCC.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to study the effect of oxygen-driven nebulization (ODN) at different oxygen flows on heart rate, respiratory rate, SpO2, SaO2, PaO2, PaCO2 and pH of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients., Methods: According to random number table, 9 AECOPD patients were randomly divided into 3 groups, numbered A, B and C and treated with ODN. Oxygen flow of groups A, B and C was 4-5, 6-7 and 8-9 L/min, respectively. Heart rate, respiratory rate, SpO2, SaO2, PaO2, PaCO2 and pH were recorded before ODN and 30 minutes after ODN. Statistical differences of data before or after ODN were analyzed by analysis of variance and F-test, whereas data before and after ODN were tested by paired t test., Results: There was no significant difference of heart rate, respiratory rate, SpO2, PaO2, PaCO2, SaO2 and pH among 3 groups before ODN or after ODN. The heart rate was increased in all groups after ODN. But significant increase was only present in groups A and C but not in group B. SaO2 was significantly increased in group C after ODN but no statistical difference was observed between before and after ODN in groups A and B. There was no significant change in respiratory rate, SpO2, PaO2, PaCO2, SaO2 and pH between before and after ODN in all groups., Conclusions: Optimal oxygen flow in ODN-treating AECOPD patients may be 6-7 L/min.

Purpose: Steroid hormones, particularly androgens, play a major role in prostatic carcinogenesis. Personal history of severe acne, a surrogate for higher androgen activity, has been associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer (PCa), and one recent study indicated that severe teenage acne was a novel risk factor for melanoma. These findings suggest a possible relationship between PCa and risk of melanoma. We prospectively evaluated this association among US men., Methods: A total of 42,372 participants in the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study (HPFS; 1986 to 2010) were included. Biennially self-reported PCa diagnosis was confirmed using pathology reports. Diagnosis of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) was self-reported biennially, and diagnosis of melanoma was pathologically confirmed. We sought to confirm the association in 18,603 participants from the Physicians' Health Study (PHS; 1982 to 1998)., Results: We identified 539 melanomas in the HPFS. Personal history of PCa was associated with an increased risk of melanoma (multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.83; 95% CI, 1.32 to 2.54). Although we also detected a marginally increased risk of NMSC associated with PCa (HR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.995 to 1.16), the difference in the magnitude of the association between melanoma and NMSC was significant (P for heterogeneity = .002). We did not find an altered risk of melanoma associated with personal history of other cancers. The association between PCa and risk of incident melanoma was confirmed in the PHS (HR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.12 to 4.21)., Conclusion: Personal history of PCa is associated with an increased risk of melanoma, which may not be entirely a result of greater medical scrutiny.

Objective: To investigate the effect of dexamethasone on the expression levels of P-selectin protein in multiple organs of rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP)., Methods: Rats were randomly divided into sham-operated, model control, and dexamethasone-treated groups. At 3, 6, and 12 h after operation, the expression levels of P-selectin protein in one-third of the rats in each group were observed., Results: In the treated group, the expression levels of P-selectin protein in the pancreas head (at 6 h), lung (at 12 h), liver (at 3 h), and spleen (at 6 and 12 h) were significantly lower than those in the model control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the products of the staining intensity and positive rate of P-selectin protein in liver (at 3 h), lung (at 6 and 12 h), and spleen (at 12 h) in the treated group were significantly lower than those in the model control group (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Dexamethasone can inhibit P-selectin protein expression in multiple organs of SAP rats.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of universal salt iodization (USI) for the control of IDD in Hebei province since it was implemented in 1995, identify the problems currently encountered in the implementation of USI and provide practical proposals for addressing these problems., Methods: Probability proportionate to size sampling (PPS) was employed in the surveillance of IDD, for which a total of 1200 school children aged 8-10 years were randomly selected from 30 counties around the whole province during each IDD survey. The iodine content of salt was determined quantitatively with the titration method. The iodine content of urinary samples was measured by the method of ammonium persulfate oxidation., Results: The coverage of iodized salt increased from 65.0% in 1995 to 98.0% in 1999, then decreased to 88.1% in 2005 which was below the national standard of 90%. The median urinary iodine of children aged 8-10 years varied between 160.1 microg/L and 307.4 microg/L, which was above the national standard. The proportion of urinary samples with iodine content above 300 microg/L was over 30% in 2005, implying exorbitant iodine nutrition among the children. The goiter rate (TGR) among children aged 8-10 years dropped from 11.8% in 1995 to 2.7% in 2005, indicating that the spread of endemic goiter was under control., Conclusion: Preliminary elimination of IDD was achieved by USI in Hebei province. Nevertheless, some problems still existed in USI such as non-iodized salt competition, over iodization and un-standardized iodization. In order to address these problems, the management and supervision of salt market needs to be strengthened to prevent non-iodized salt from reaching households; updating equipment and modifying techniques are also necessary to ensure the quality of iodized salt; to clarify the causes of excessive urinary iodine content, the various sources of iodine from the diet need to be investigated in the future.

Background: To investigate the effects of Baicalin and Octreotide on inflammatory mediators and pancreatic acinar cells apoptosis of rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP)., Methods: SD rats were randomly divided into sham operated group (I group), model control group (II group), Baicalin treated group (III group) and Octreotide treated group (IV group). Each group was also divided into subgroup of 3, 6 and 12 h (n = 15). The mortality rate, ascites/body weight ratio as well as the level of endotoxin, NO and ET-1 in blood were measured. The pathological severity score of pancreas, apoptotic indexes, and expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins in each group were investigated., Results: The survival rate of III and IV group has a significant difference compared with II group (P(12 h) < 0.05). The ascites volume, contents of inflammatory mediators in blood and pathological severity score of pancreas of III and IV group declined at different degrees compared to II group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 or P < 0.001). Apoptotic index in III group was significantly higher than that in II group at 3 and 6 h (P(3, 6 h) < 0.05). Apoptotic index in IV group was significantly higher than that in II group at pancreatic tail at 6 h (P(6 h) < 0.05). Expression level of Bax in III group was significantly higher than that in II group (pancreatic head P(3 h,6 h) < 0.01, pancreatic tail P(3 h) < 0.001)., Conclusions: Compared with Octreotide in the treatment of SAP, the protective mechanisms of Baicalin include reducing the excessive inflammatory mediators' release, inducing the pancreatic acinar cells apoptosis.

Object: The authors' aim in conducting this study was to investigate retrospectively the prognostic significance of angiogenic features in optic pathway/hypothalamic gliomas (OPHGs) in children., Methods: Patients were identified in whom a diagnosis of OPHG was made using pathological analysis at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children between 1985 and 2002. Tumor specimens were reviewed for diagnostic accuracy and adequacy of the specimen. Sections were immunostained with factor VIII to assess microvessel density (MVD). A ratio of alpha-smooth muscle actin to factor VIII immunostaining was calculated to arrive at a vascular maturity index (VMI). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptor (VEGFR) immunostaining were performed to evaluate angiogenic factors. In addition, the MIB-1 labeling index (LI) was used to assess proliferation. These factors were evaluated with respect to progression-free survival (PFS). Forty-one of 60 patients originally identified had adequate samples and follow up for inclusion in the study. Of these, eight patients had coexisting neurofibromatosis Type 1. Twenty-eight patients experienced tumor progression after the initial treatment (surgery with or without adjuvant treatment). Thirty-eight patients are still alive. A high MVD (> 21 vessels/1.2 mm2) was associated with a significantly higher rate of progression compared with a low MVD (< 21 vessels/1.2 mm2; p = 0.017). Microvessel density was also predictive of reduced PFS on multivariate analysis stratified for extent of resection (p = 0.04), and VMI as well as intensity and distribution of VEGF and VEGFR staining and the MIB-1 LI were not significantly associated with PFS., Conclusions: These findings suggest that MVD is the best current predictor of PFS in incompletely resected OPHGs. This information highlights the importance of angiogenesis in regard to low-grade gliomas.

Objective: To investigate the effect of PPARgamma1 gene overexpression on caveolin-1 mRNA and protein expressions in a murine macrophage cell line Raw264.7., Methods: Replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus expression vector of PPARgamma1 was constructed using the AdEasy system. Raw264.7 cells were randomly treated as follows: P group (PPARgamma1 gene overexpression), T group (Troglitazone 40 micromol/L in DMSO), PT group (PPARgamma1 gene overexpression and Troglitazone) and control group. Changes of PPARgamma1 and caveolin-1 at mRNA and protein levels were investigated., Results: Caveolin-1 expression can be detected by RT-PCR in Raw264.7, by immunocytochemistry method in cell and nuclear membrane but not by immunoblotting at protein level. Caveolin-1 expression at mRNA and protein levels in Raw264.7 were significantly higher in P, T and PT groups compared to control group and the expression was also significantly higher in PT group than that in P group and T group (P < 0.05). PPARgamma expression was significantly increased in PT group and P group where remained unchanged in T group compared to control group., Conclusion: PPARgamma1 overexpression can upregulate caveolin-1 expression in macrophages. Troglitazone upregulated caveolin-1 expression in the absence of increased PPARgamma1 expressions at mRNA and protein levels.

Objective: To investigate the roles of mouse erythroid differentiation and denucleation factor (MEDDF), a novel factor cloned in our laboratory recently, in erythroid terminal differentiation., Methods: Mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells were transfected with eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA-MEDDF. Then we investigated the changes on characteristics of cell growth by analyzing cells growth rate, mitotic index and colony-forming rate in semi-solid medium. The expressions of c-myc and beta-globin genes were analysed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR., Results: MEL cells transfected with pcDNA-MEDDF showed significant lower growth rate, mitotic index, and colony-forming rate in semi-solid medium (P<0.01). The percentage of benzidine-positive cells was 32.8% after transfection. The expression of beta-globin in cells transfected with pcDNA-MEDDF was 3.43 times higher than that of control (MEL transfected with blank vector, pcDNA3.1), and the expression of c-myc decreased by 66.3%., Conclusions: MEDDF can induce differentiation of MEL cell and suppress its malignancy.

Equine FSH (eFSH) and eCG are members of the glycoprotein hormone family. These proteins are heterodimeric, composed of noncovalently associated alpha and beta subunits. We have previously reported that recombinant eCG has potent LH- and FSH-like activities and that the oligosaccharide at Asn(56) of the alpha subunit plays an indispensable role in expressing LH- but not FSH-like activity. In the present study, we cloned eFSH beta subunit cDNA and expressed wild-type recombinant eFSH and a partially deglycosylated mutant FSH (eFSH alpha56/beta) to investigate the biological role of the oligosaccharide at Asn(56) in FSH activity. The wild-type eFSH and eCG stimulated estradiol production in a dose-dependent manner in the primary cultures of rat granulosa cells, indicating that these equine gonadotropins have FSH activity. Partially deglycosylated eCG (eCG alpha56/beta) also stimulated estradiol production, confirming that the FSH-like activity of eCG is resistant to the removal of the N-linked oligosaccharide. Partially deglycosylated eFSH (eFSH alpha56/beta), however, did not show any FSH activity, indicating that the oligosaccharide at Asn(56) was necessary for eFSH. Thus, FSH-like activities of two gonadotropins, eCG and eFSH, are evoked through the distinct molecular mechanisms regarding the biological role of oligosaccharide at Asn(56) of the alpha subunit.