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Arsenic-contaminated well water has been shown to increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Because of involving S-adenosylmethionine, homocysteine may modify the risk by interfering with the biomethylation of ingested arsenic. In this study, we assessed the effect of plasma homocysteine level and urinary monomethylarsonic acid (MMA(V)) on the risk of atherosclerosis associated with arsenic. In total, 163 patients with carotid atherosclerosis and 163 controls were studied. Lifetime cumulative arsenic exposure from well water for study subjects was measured as index of arsenic exposure. Homocysteine level was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Proportion of MMA(V) (MMA%) was calculated by dividing with total arsenic species in urine, including arsenite, arsenate, MMA(V), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA(V)). Results of multiple linear regression analysis show a positive correlation of plasma homocysteine levels to the cumulative arsenic exposure after controlling for atherosclerosis status and nutritional factors (P0.05). This correlation, however, did not change substantially the effect of arsenic exposure on the risk of atherosclerosis as analyzed in a subsequent logistic regression model. Logistic regression analyses also show that elevated plasma homocysteine levels did not confer an independent risk for developing atherosclerosis in the study population. However, the risk of having atherosclerosis was increased to 5.4-fold (95% CI, 2.0-15.0) for the study subjects with high MMA% (or =16.5%) and high homocysteine levels (or =12.7 micromol/l) as compared to those with low MMA% (9.9%) and low homocysteine levels (12.7 micromol/l). Elevated homocysteinemia may exacerbate the formation of atherosclerosis related to arsenic exposure in individuals with high levels of MMA% in urine.

Etiology and pathogenesis are the causes and mechanisms of disease development and change. The unification and innovation of cancer pathogenesis is the key to the breakthrough of Chinese medicine. According to the related theory in Neijing, cancer in different parts of the body could be classified based on the five elements. Chinese mainland is divided into five parts: east, south, west, north and central section. Based on the annual data of China Cancer Center, we analyzed the data of 72 cancer registries covering 32 provinces and autonomous regions for consecutive 5 years. The results showed that the total incidence of the five regions in the mainland of China was statistically significant (F = 8.561, P < 0.01); the east was the highest, the west was the lowest, and the south, middle and north were in the middle level. The incidence of tumors in different parts of the human body was statistically significant (F = 523.382, P < 0.01). The incidence rate from high to low was lung, spleen, kidney, liver and heart. The heat is too much in China's eastern and the southern, and Qi is not too enough in the northwest. Five-Qi was imbalance. The pathogenesis of cancer is due to the two aspects, deficiency of five Zang-organs and abnormal seasonal climates. The viscera weakness for a long period and abnormal seasonal climates causes the body Yin and Yang disharmony, resulting in five zang organs dysfunction.

Aim: Cardiac and renal diseases are common disorders that frequently coexist. We tested the hypothesis that the levels of circulating endothelial-derived apoptotic microparticles (EDA-MPs; CD31＋CD42b−AN−V＋) and platelet-derived apoptotic microparticles (PDA-MPs; CD31＋CD42b＋AN−V＋) are useful biomarkers for predicting the presence of cardiorenal disease (CRD).Methods: A total of 68 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and angina pectoris (CKD-AP) undergoing cardiac catheterization were prospectively enrolled into group 1, 10 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) without CKD were enrolled into group 2 (CAD＋CKD−) and 10 patients without CAD and CKD were enrolled into group 3 (CAD−CKD−).Results: The serum creatinine levels were significantly higher, whereas the estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) were significantly lower, in group 1 than in the other two groups (all p＜0.02). The circulating levels of EDA-MPs and PDA-MPs did not differ between the patients with and without CKD (all p＞0.2). However, the circulating levels of EDA-MPs and PDA-MPs were significantly higher in group 2 than in groups 1 and 3 (all p＜0.03). In addition, differences were noted in the circulating EDA-MP and PDA-MP levels between groups 1 and 3, although without statistical significance (all p＞0.09). Meanwhile, among the CKD patients, the subgroup analysis showed that the levels of MPs were significantly higher in those with CAD than in those without (all p=0.001), while a multivariate analysis demonstrated that CAD was the only factor independently predictive of high levels of circulating EDA-MPs and PDA-MPs (p=0.033).Conclusions: The link with increased circulating levels of MPs is more consistent in patients with CAD than in those with CKD.

Aims: The association between an elevated serum neopterin level and the development of coronary artery complex lesions has been extensively assessed; however, the correlation between the serum neopterin level and the development of carotid artery stenosis has seldom been reported. This study tested whether this biomarker is increased in patients with severe carotid artery stenosis(≥70%) undergoing carotid artery(CA) stenting and investigated independent predictors of an increased circulating neopterin level. Methods: Fifty patients with severe CA stenosis(CAS) undergoing CA stenting were consecutively enrolled in this study from January 2009 through December 2011. The serum neopterin levels of age- and gender-matched acute ischemic stroke(AIS) patients(n=120) and control subjects(CS)(n=33) were also measured. A blood sample was prospectively collected from each patient in the catheterization room. Results: The serum levels of neopterin were significantly higher in the CAS patients than in the AIS patients or CS and significantly higher in the AIS patients than in the CS(all p＜0.001). An analysis of the variables of 170 patients(CAS＋AIS) demonstrated that age, a previous history of stroke and severe CAS were significantly correlated with an increased serum level of neopterin(all p＜0.005). A multivariate binary logistic regression analysis of the severe CAS patients(n=50) demonstrated that age and the creatinine level were independent predictors of a high neopterin level(neopterin level ≥16.52 ng/dL, i.e., according to the median value of neopterin)(all p＜0.05). Conclusions: The circulating neopterin levels are significantly higher in patients with severe CAS than in those with AIS. The presence of CAS, age and the creatinine level were significantly correlated with an increased serum neopterin level.

The presence of tissue harmonic generation during acoustic propagation is one major limitation in nonlinear detection of microbubble contrast agents. However, conventional solutions for suppression of tissue harmonic background are not directly applicable when dual-frequency (DF) waveform is utilize for transmit. In DF harmonic imaging, the second harmonic signal at second harmonic frequency (2f0) and the inter-modulation harmonic signal at fundamental frequency (f0) are simultaneously produced and both need to be suppressed for imaging of contrast agents. In this study, novel phase-coded pulse sequences are developed to accomplish DF harmonic suppression. The proposed three-pulse sequence can effectively remove the second-order harmonic signal by producing equidistant phases for cancellation in the sum of different firings. Therefore, the tissue background in DF harmonic imaging can be mostly suppressed. Experiments have been performed to validate the efficacy of the proposed sequence. It is shown that the sequence effectively suppresses the tissue harmonic signal at both f0 and 2f0 frequencies to improve CTR.

To observe the effects of small interfere RNA (siRNA) targeting the c-myc in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) on the growth of Hep-2 cells in vitro and in vivo.Hep-2 cells transfected with or without c-myc siRNA were treated with 5-Fu for 48 h. C-myc protein levels in Hep-2 cells were detected using the Western blot. The cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. Hep-2 cells were subcutaneously inoculated into the back of BALB/c nude mice to establish the implanted laryngeal squamous carcinoma model. PBS, c-myc siRNA, and 5-Fu, alone or in combinations were administered i.p. The mice were sacrificed after the treatments and the tumor masses were removed to determine the tumor volume and weight. The inhibitory rate was calculated. Expression of c-myc in tumor tissue was detected by immunocytochemistry and cell apoptosis was analyzed by terminal transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL).The protein levels of c-myc decreased after transfected with c-myc siRNA. C-myc siRNA-transfected cells showed an increase in the percentage of cells in the GO-G1 phase and a decrease in the percentage of cells in the S phase. When combined with 5-Fu, the results were improved. The tumor growth was faster in the control group and was significantly slower in the c-myc siRNA plus 5-Fu group than that in the c-myc siRNA group or 5-Fu group (P0.05). The tumor weight in the c-myc siRNA plus 5-Fu group was significantly smaller than that in the c-myc siRNA or 5-Fu group (P0.05). Immunohistochemistry showed that c-myc siRNA inhibited the expression of c-myc in tumor tissues in the c-myc siRNA group and c-myc siRNA plus 5-Fu group (P0.05). The number of apoptotic cells in the c-myc siRNA plus 5-Fu group was higher than those in the c-myc siRNA groups (P0.05).C-myc siRNA inhibits the expression of c-myc in Hep-2 cells and in the tumor tissues of nude mice. C-myc siRNA combined with 5-Fu inhibits the growth of implanted laryngeal squamous carcinoma and promotes cell apoptosis. C-myc could become a novel target for the treatment of laryngeal squamous carcinoma.

A literature review was conducted on the effectiveness of activity schedules. Twenty three studies that a) were peer-reviewed, b) were experimental, c) implemented activity schedule as a primary intervention, d) incorporated multiple activities, and e) aimed to teach learners to self-manage individual schedules were included in the review. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of activity schedules for promoting independence and self-management skills for a broad range of individuals with intellectual disabilities. An increase in engagement and on-task behavior was the most frequently cited outcome, followed by independent task initiation or transition and self-scheduling. Failure to include social validity measures and caregivers as interventionists were discussed. A corpus of the reviewed studies supports applications of activity schedule in school and (group) home settings.

Classification problem is an important and complex problem in machine learning. Support vector machine (SVM) has recently emerged as a powerful technique for solving problems in classification, but its performance mainly depends on the parameters selection of it. Parameters selection for SVM is very complex in nature and quite hard to solve by conventional optimization techniques such as least Squares algorithm, for it has some limitations associated with overfitting, local optimum problems. So in this paper, Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is proposed to choose the parameters of support vector machine (SVM) automatically in Classification problem. This method has been applied in Iris classification problem, the results show that the proposed approach has a better generalization performance and is also more accurate and effective than LS-SVM.

This study aimed to investigate the adverse personal, family, peer and school situations encountered by adolescent students who had returned to school after being suspended. This was a large-scale study involving a representative population of Taiwanese adolescents. A total of 8,494 adolescent students in Southern Taiwan were recruited in the study and completed the questionnaires. The relationships between their experiences of suspension from school and adverse personal, family, peer, and school situations were examined. The results indicated that 178 (2.1%) participants had been suspended from school at some time. Compared with students who had never been suspended, those who had experienced suspension were more likely to report depression, low self-esteem, insomnia, alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, low family support, low family monitoring, high family conflict, habitual alcohol consumption, illicit drug use by family members, low rank and decreased satisfaction in their peer group, having peers with substance use and deviant behaviors, low connectedness to school, and poor academic achievement. These results indicate that adolescent students who have returned to school after suspension encounter numerous adverse situations. The psychological conditions and social contexts of these individuals need to be understood in depth, and intervention programs should be developed to help them to adjust when they return to school and to prevent school dropouts in the future.

The clinical data and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 14-3-3-gamma protein detection of eight adult HIV-negative cryptococcal meningitis (CM) cases were examined. The eight cases included six males and two females aged 35-70 years (mean = 49.8 years). The duration between the onset of CM symptoms and the first CSF study ranged from 1 to 60 days. Initial neuroimaging study was abnormal in 87.5% (7/8) of the cases. All the eight had positive initial and subsequent follow-up CSF 14-3-3-gamma protein detection. The densitometric values of CSF 14-3-3-gamma protein were not correlated with either the CSF white blood cell counts or the therapeutic results. The therapeutic results showed that three cases died and five survived. Significant neurologic deficits were shown in 60% (3/5) of the survivors. This study revealed that HIV-negative CM patients have elevated CSF 14-3-3-gamma protein levels, and that this level is not changed with a short-term treatment.

To determine the factors predictive of fatality in massive middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory infarction and outcome of decompressive hemicraniectomy, 62 patients who were retrospectively verified with first event massive MCA infarctions were enrolled in this study. Amongst them, 21 received decompressive hemicraniectomy during hospitalization. Clinical data between early and late hemicraniectomy groups were also compared. Significant deterioration occurred in 40 cases, 21 of whom received decompressive hemicraniectomy. The other 19 received conservative treatment. The mortality rate of these 40 cases between decompressive hemicraniectomy and conservative treatment was 29% (six of 21) and 42% (eight of 19), respectively. Factors that predicted fatalities in our massive MCA infarction patients with or without decompressive hemicraniectomy were total scores of baseline GCS at the time of admission, associated with coronary artery diseases, and significant deterioration during hospitalization. This study confirms the lifesaving procedure of hemicraniectomy that prevents death in patients deteriorating because of cerebral edema after infarction, although it may produce severe disability with an unacceptably poor quality of life in survival. Despite high mortality and morbidity, decompressive hemicraniectomy to prevent cerebral herniation when significant deterioration is demonstrated are essential for maximizing the potential for survival.

Statin is one kind of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) inhibitor and meanwhile the most widely used medication prescribed for cardiovascular disease and dyslipidemia. Fluvastatin is believed to be safe in the elderly, renal insufficiency, heart failure and thosewho accepted renal or heart transplantation [1– 5].Warfarin is applied inpatientswith atrialfibrillation (Af), arterial or venous thromboembolism. The combined use of statin and warfarin is common, one study had demonstrated statistic meaningful data suggested statin on preventing Af [6]. However, the interaction between these two drugs had only been discussed in very few papers [7]. The drug–drug interactions need to be explored to provide a better drug safety. An 81-year-old Asian female receiving routine follow-up visit to monitor warfarin therapy was admitted to the hospital because of her right leg hematomawith an international normalized ratio (INR) value greater than 5. She had been treated with 2.5 mg of warfarin daily since 2009 due to episodes of ischemic bowel. Her INR value had been stable and slightly below the treatment range (2.0–3.0) ever since thewarfarin treatment started before the INR increase. Two weeks earlier her lipidlowering therapy had been started with fluvastatin 80 mg daily for dyslipidemia. Upon hospitalization, warfarin and fluvastatin were discontinued immediately with vitamin K administered for the coagulopathy. The hematomawas alleviating and nomore comorbidity was detected. The likelihood ofwarfarin-induced INR increase following fluvastatin administrationwasprobable byNaranjo probability scale [8]. The worldwide Af was about 5–10% in prevalence [9], and which is about 0.7–1.4% in Taiwan [10]. The aggressive anticoagulation with warfarin in patients reaching the criteria of high risk group classified International Journal of Cardiology 155 (2012) 167–173

This paper describes the physical properties of the (Ni(2))(3+) mixed-valence unit that is an excellent conductivity-enhanced tool for metal string complexes.

Background Obesity is an important cardiovascular risk factor. This study tested the effect of obesity reduction on preserving left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and attenuating inflammation, oxidative stress and LV remodeling in obese mice. Methods and results Eight-week-old C57BL/6 J mice (n=24) were equally divided into control (fed a control diet for 22 weeks), obesity (high-fat diet, 22 weeks), and obese reduction (OR) (high-fat diet, 14 weeks; then control diet, 8 weeks). Animals were sacrificed at post 22-week high-fat diet and the LV myocardium collected. Heart weight, body weight, abdominal-fat weight, total cholesterol level and fasting blood glucose were higher in obesity than in control and OR (all p Conclusion Impaired LVEF, enhanced LV remodeling, inflammation, fibrosis, oxidative stress and apoptosis were reversed by reduction in mouse obesity.

Immiscible liquid-liquid interfaces provide unique double phase regions for the design and construction of nanoscale materials. Here, we reported Ag(I)-directed growth of metal-organic complex nanocrystals by using AgNO3 as a connector in the aqueous solution and bidentate ligand of 1,4-bis(9-O-dihydroquininyl)anthraquinone [(DHQ)2AQN] and its enantiomer of (DHQD)2AQN in the chloroform solutions as linkers. The Ag-(DHQ)2AQN and Ag-(DHQD)2AQN complex nanocrystals were formed at the liquid-liquid interfaces and characterized by using UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as by using scanning electron microscopy. Screw-like nanocrystals were formed at the initial 30 min after the interfacial coordination reaction started, then they grew into nanorods after several days, and finally became cubic microcrystals after 2 weeks. The pure ligand showed two emission bands centered at about 363 and 522 nm in the methanol solution, the second one of which was quenched and shifted to about 470 nm in the Ag-complex nanocrystals. Two couples of reversible redox waves were recorded for the Ag-complex nanocrystals; one centered at about -0.25 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) was designated to one electron transfer process of Ag - (DHQ)2AQN and Ag - (DHQ)2AQN+, and the other one centered at about 0.2 V was designated to one electron transfer process of Ag - (DHQ)2AQN and Ag+ - (DHQ)2AQN.