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Purpose/aim of the study: Posterior circulation stroke (PCS) accounts for 20% of ischemic stroke, and vertebrobasilar stenosis is an important cause of PCS. Notably, not all patients with artery stenosis progress to ischemic stroke, and one of the important reason is that collateral circulation construction plays important protection role in this process. Clinical presentation: Here, we present the case of a 71-year-old male who presented with lightheadedness and three episodes of loss of consciousness after bilateral subclavian artery stenting. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) demonstrated severe stenosis of the left vertebral artery, and the bilateral subclavian artery was kept open. The patient was then given the left vertebral artery stenting in an effort to resolve the vascular stenosis. As expected, he achieved a complete remission after stenting. However, 6 months later the patient suffered from loss of consciousness again. Repeat DSA confirmed restenosis of the left vertebral artery, and revealed a collateral flow to the left vertebral artery which fed by external carotid collateral branches. Then DSA was performed after 12 months, and another collateral circulation involving thyrocervical trunk was also found supplying flow to the left vertebral artery. In this process, the frequency of loss of consciousness gradually decreased as the collateral circulation construction. Conclusion: Through this case, we observe the whole process of the collateral circulation construction. Moreover, this case serves as a testament to the variability and complexity of vertebrobasilar arteriopathies, suggesting promotion of collateral flow offers the opportunity for outcome improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Several lines of evidence suggest that estrogen receptor alpha (ER-α) gene polymorphism may influence the development of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the results are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to explore using a meta-analysis whether rs2234693 (ER-α PvuII T/C) polymorphism confers significant susceptibility to OA.Methods and Results: A systematic search of all relevant studies published through 17 August 2014 was conducted using the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane database, Current Controlled Trials, Clinicaltrials.gov, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, CBMdisc, CNKI and Google Scholar. All statistical analyses were done with Review Manager 5.1.4. Twelve articles involving 15 studies were included in the final meta-analysis, which contained 6417 OA cases and 8605 controls. Overall, no significant association was found between the rs2234693 polymorphism and OA risk when all studies were pooled into the meta-analysis (for C allele vs. T allele: OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.94-1.04, p = 0.63; for C/C vs. T/T: OR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.87-1.08, p = 0.53; for C/C vs. T/C + T/T: OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.88-1.06, p = 0.43; for C/C + T/C vs. T/T: OR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.89-1.14, p = 0.94). In the subgroup analysis, significant association was found between the rs2234693 polymorphism and the OA risk in the knee osteoarthritis (KOA) group (for C/C + T/C vs. T/T: OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.02-1.29, p = 0.02).Conclusions: The present meta-analysis suggests that the rs2234693 polymorphism is associated with an increased KOA risk. Additional well designed genome-wide association studies are required to confirm the result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-[alpha]) gene (-238 G/A [rs361525] and -308 G/A [rs1800629]) polymorphisms have been extensively studied in relation to various diseases, several epidemiologic studies have been performed to investigate the associations of TNF-[alpha] gene polymorphisms with pneumoconiosis; however, the results of these studies were not entirely consistent. In an effort to clarify earlier inconclusive results, we performed this meta-analysis of case-control genetic association studies. Methods: We identified eligible studies by searching the relevant databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CBMdisc, CNKI, and Google Scholar, until February 15, 2013. Additionally, hand searching of the references of identified articles were performed. Heterogeneity and publication bias across studies were determined and the meta-analysis was performed by Stata 11.0. Results: Fourteen articles involving 20 studies were included in the final meta-analysis, covering a total of 1935 pneumoconiosis cases and 3753 controls. The results showed evidence for significant association between TNF-[alpha] gene -308 G/A polymorphism and pneumoconiosis risk, suggesting that TNF-[alpha] gene -308 A allele may be a risk factor for pneumoconiosis (for A allele vs. G allele: OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.10-1.81, p = 0.01; for A/A + G/A vs. G/G: OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.21-1.91, p < 0.01). For TNF-[alpha] gene -238 G/A polymorphism, no significant association was found between this genetic variation and pneumoconiosis risk. Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicates that TNF-[alpha] gene -308 G/A polymorphism is associated with an increased pneumoconiosis risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dicyanamido-bridged polymeric complex formulated as [NaCu2(dca)2(salpn)2]n (1) (dca = dicyanamide anion, H2salpn = N, N'-bis (salicylaldehyde)propylenediimine Schiff base) has been synthesized and characterized systematically. The complex 1 forms the single end-to-end ([image omitted]-) dicyanamido-bridged one dimensional (1D) infinite chain, and the sodium cations ligated by the dca ion ligands display a 1D zigzag chain array, where the diverse coordination fashions of salpn ligand have been observed. The cyclic voltammogram of 1 demonstrates the Cu(II)/Cu(I) and Cu(I)/ Cu(0) reduction couples. The magnetic susceptibility investigation for 1 indicates the presence of very weak antiferromagnetic coupling between Cu(II) cations through the -O-Na-O- bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]