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Intestinal dysbiosis is implicated in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). However, the evidence of gut microbiome changes in SLE is limited, and the association of changed gut microbiome with the activity of SLE, as well as its functional relevance with SLE still remains unknown. Here, we sequenced 16S rRNA amplicon on fecal samples from 40 SLE patients (19 active patients, 21 remissive patients), 20 disease controls (Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients), and 22 healthy controls (HCs), and investigated the association of functional categories with taxonomic composition by Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt). We demonstrated SLE patients, particularly the active patients, had significant dysbiosis in gut microbiota with reduced bacterial diversity and biased community constitutions. Amongst the disordered microbiota, the genera Streptococcus, Campylobacter, Veillonella, the species anginosus and dispar, were positively correlated with lupus activity, while the genus Bifidobacterium was negatively associated with the disease activity. PICRUSt analysis showed metabolic pathways were different between SLE and HCs, and also between active and remissive SLE patients. Moreover, we revealed that a random forest model could distinguish SLE from RA and HCs (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.792), and another random forest model could well predict the activity of SLE patients (AUC = 0.811). In summary, SLE patients, especially the active patients, show an apparent dysbiosis in gut microbiota and its related metabolic pathways. Amongst the disordered microflora, four genera and two species are associated with lupus activity. Furthermore, the random forest models are able to diagnose SLE and predict disease activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of the current meta.analysis was to assess the arterial spin labeling. (ASL) perfusion imaging measurement of cerebral blood flow. (CBF) in patients with brain tumors, and assessing preoperative tumor grade in brain. Materials and Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China BioMedicine (CBM), CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were chosen to evaluate the associations between ASL and brain cancer. Two reviewers separately evaluated the quality of the included trials. Standardized mean difference (SMD) at 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was also calculated. Results: Finally, 475 patients were enrolled into this meta-analysis from 12 eligible studies and were selected for statistical analysis. Results showed that relative tumor blood flow (rTBF) and relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in high-grade brain cancer patients were faster than those in low-grade brain cancer patients. Subgroup analysis stratified by country implied that ASL may be the main prediction of increased rTBF in high-grade brain cancer patients among USA, Korea and China; and rCBF was faster in high-grade brain cancer using ASL in USA and China. Further reference by tissue-stratified analysis revealed a positive association of rTBF with high-grade brain cancer by utilization of ASL in all the experimental subgroups, while rCBF was only correlated in white subgroups. Conclusion: These results showed that rTBF and rCBF were faster in high-grade brain cancer patients, suggesting that ASL may provide suitable measurement for the differential diagnosis of tumor grade in brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay discusses the use of the CH3D hydrodynamic model developed by the U.S. Navy in predicting oil spill trajectories in Navy ports in San Diego Bay, California and Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The model simulates water currents, tides and wind inflows from surrounding watersheds in three-dimensional (3D) display grid maps. A comparison of the CH3D model with the General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment (GNOME) is offered.

Describes the demographic characteristics of persons receiving eye-care from ophthalmologists and other physicians and patterns of use of eye care services and physician contact among different population groups. Use of the 1990 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data; Study methods and results; Information on diagnostic codes.

Identifies the location of barriers to treatment for glaucoma and cataract among African-American Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. Prevalence of racial differences in treatment of eye diseases; Limitations in the access of eye care system; Percentage of the Black beneficiaries surgically treated for cataract.

Background. It is unclear whether ethnic disparity of the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) exists among native Chinese and American ethnicities. Methods. A stratified multistage clustered screening for CKD performed in Beijing in 2006 was compared with data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999–2006 (participants aged ≥20 years, 13 626 Chinese, 9006 whites, 3447 African Americans, 4626 Hispanics). Serum creatinine from Beijing and NHANES were calibrated at the Cleveland Clinic Laboratory. The re-expressed abbreviated MDRD equation for Americans and its modified form for Chinese were used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Subjects with eGFR 17 mg/g for males or >25 mg/g for females. CKD was diagnosed if CRI or albuminuria was present. Results. Compared with American whites, African Americans and Hispanics, Chinese had a lower prevalence of adjusted albuminuria (12.10%, 16.33% and 14.16% versus 9.27%), CRI (9.46%, 5.18% and 3.11% versus 1.38%) and CKD (19.03%, 19.00% and 15.99% versus 10.25%). Moreover, Chinese hold the lowest risk of albuminuria when exposed to diabetes; the risk of CRI among Chinese when exposed to diabetes or hypertension was lower than that among African Americans, but similar to that among whites and Hispanics. Conclusions. The CKD prevalence was significantly different among native Chinese and American ethnicities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]