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Objective ghrelin is a protein that regulate appetite and energy balance in the human body, which is encoded by the ghrelin prepropeptide gene (GHRL). GHRL is linked with carcinogenesis and immune regulation. However, the correlation of GHRL to prognosis and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in gastric cancer remains unclear. Materials and methods In this study, we assessed the transcriptional expression, protein expression, prognosis, different clinicopathological features and co-expressed genes about GHRL, the correlation between GHRL and tumor infiltration immune cells in GC patients based on the data published in the following databases: TIMER, GEPIA, GEO, UALCAN, TISIDB, Kaplan–Meier Plotter and HPA databases. Results We found that GHRL expression in GC samples was lower than in normal samples. However, sample type, cancer stage, and worse survival were correlated to high GHRL expression. We also found that the expression of GHRL in dysplasia was significantly lower than that in CNAG and in GC. A total of 10 hub genes were identified from the co-expressed genes, including GHRH, GHSR, CCK, GPR39, MBOAT4, UCN, LEP, INS, GH1 and IGF1. High GHRL expression was connected with immunomodulators, chemokines, and infiltrating levels of B cells, CD8 + T cells, CD4 + T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells in GC. Conclusions GHRL is a prognostic biomarker for GC patients, and it is correlated with progression of precancerous lesions in GC. It might lead to poor prognosis by regulating tumor immune microenvironment. Studies are important to explore therapeutic targeting GHRL in the future.

AIM: To compare the results of visual acuity (VA) measured by Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart, 5 m Standard Logarithm Visual Acuity (5SL) chart, and 2.5 m Standard Logarithm Visual Acuity (2.5SL) chart in outpatients of age 12-80y. METHODS: Each patient (totally 2000 outpatients) had both eyes tested with ETDRS chart at 4 m, 5SL chart at 5 m, and 2.5SL chart at 2.5 m in random order. The VA values of outpatients were categorized by ages. VA values were expressed by logMAR recording method. RESULTS: The mean VA results of ETDRS charts, 5SL, and 2.5SL chart were 0.52±0.28, 0.50±0.30, and 0.46±0.28 logMAR, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the three eye charts in the whole group (P

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) plays a vital role in anti-To investigate the characteristics of heteroresistance inA total of 704 gastric biopsies were selected for 23S rRNA and gyrA gene sequencing, 470For the 699 biopsies that were positive for 23S rRNA gene, 98 (14.0%) showed a heteroresistance genotype, and a wild type (WT) combined with A2143G (86.7%) genotype was found in most samples. For the 694 biopsies that were positive for gyrA gene, 99 (14.3%) showed a heteroresistance genotype, and a WT combined with 87K (26.3%) or WT combined with 91N (23.2%) genotype was predominant. According to the E-test results, the resistance rates of heteroresistance genotype samples for clarithromycin and levofloxacin were 36.2% and 68.1%, respectively. When dividing the heteroresistance samples into different groups according to the sequencing profile peaks of the mutation position, the resistance rates were higher along with mutation peaks at the mutation position. In addition, patients infected with mutated or heteroresistant strains showed lower peptic ulcer detection rates than those infected with the WT strain (p0.05).Heteroresistance genotypes for clarithromycin and levofloxacin were not rare in

Xu Lin,1,* Pei Wang,1 Ding-Wei Liu,2 Yu-Wei Guo,1 Chun-Hui Xie,3 Bin Wang,1,* Rui Dong,4 Li-Xin Sun,1 Ming-Shan Wang,1 Yan-Lin Bi1 1Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Laboratory, Qingdao Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Anesthesiology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Anesthesiology, Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yan-Lin Bi; Ming-Shan WangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 186 6167 5610; +86 186 61675608Email yanlinbi68@sina.cn; wmsqingdao@163.comPurpose: Postoperative delirium (POD) is common in elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for gastric and colorectal malignancies. POD may be affected by different fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2). The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different FiO2 on POD.Patients and Methods: A randomized, double-blind controlled trial was performed in Qingdao Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Qingdao University. A total of 662 patients aged 65 to 85 years old underwent isolated laparoscopic radical gastrectomy, radical resection of colon cancer, or radical resection of rectal cancer only. A random number table method was used to divide the patients into two groups: 40% FiO2 (group A) and 80% FiO2 (group B). The primary endpoint was the incidence of POD, which was assessed by the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) twice daily during the first 7 postoperative days, and POD severity was measured by the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS). The secondary endpoints were the intraoperative regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2), Bispectral (BIS) index, invasive arterial blood pressure (IABP), oxygen saturation (SpO2), end-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure (PETCO2), the number of atelectasis cases and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores on days 1– 7 after surgery.Results: The incidence of POD was 19.37% (122/630), including 20.38% (64/314) in group A and 18.35% (58/316) in group B. No statistical significance was found in the incidence of POD between the two groups (P > 0.05); compared with group B, SpO2, rSO2 and PaO2 decreased at T2 to T4 time point (P < 0.01), and the incidence of postoperative atelectasis decreased (P < 0.05) in group A.Conclusion: The incidence of POD was not significantly affected by different FiO2 and the incidence of postoperative atelectasis was decreased at low FiO2.Keywords: intraoperative oxygen concentration, postoperative delirium, malignancy

Objective: To study the association between Zinc transporter genes ZIP11 rs11077654 polymorphism with bladder cancer risk in Chinese Han Population. Methods: A total of 307 unrelated Chinese Han descent, including 139 bladder cancer patients as bladder cancer group and 168 healthy people as healthy control group were studied. The ZIP11 rs11077654 loci was analyzed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and its relationship with bladder cancer was analyzed. Results: There were three kinds of genotypes in ZIP11 gene rs11077654 loci (CC, CA and AA). Our analysis presented that the CA genotype was not associated with bladder cancer risk when the CC genotype may be served as reference (OR, 1.355; 95% CI, 0.750–2.451; p = 0.313). We combined CA and AA genotypes as a dominant genetic model. There was no significant association with bladder cancer risk as well in the combined group (OR, 1.333; 95% CI, 0.758–2.343; p = 0.317). There was no significant association observed between the CA/AA genotypes and low-grade (OR, 0.900; 95% CI, 0.411–1.973; p = 0.793) or high-grade bladder cancer (OR, 0.675; 95% CI, 0.349–1.308; p = 0.243), and nor between the CA/AA genotypes and NMIBC (OR, 0.636; 95% CI, 0.334–1.213; p = 0.167) or MIBC (OR, 1.100; 95% CI, 0.478–2.531; p = 0.823). Conclusion: The rs11077654 of ZIP11 gene was not associated with bladder cancer in Chinese Han Population. Keywords: Zinc transporter, Single nucleotide polymorphisms, Bladder cancer

Precipitation is useful information for assessing vital water resources, agriculture, ecosystems and hydrology. Data-driven model predictions using deep learning algorithms are promising for these purposes. Echo state network (ESN) and Deep Echo state network (DeepESN), referred to as Reservoir Computing (RC), are effective and speedy algorithms to process a large amount of data. In this study, we used the ESN and the DeepESN algorithms to analyze the meteorological hourly data from 2002 to 2014 at the Tainan Observatory in the southern Taiwan. The results show that the correlation coefficient by using the DeepESN was better than that by using the ESN and commercial neuronal network algorithms (Back-propagation network (BPN) and support vector regression (SVR), MATLAB, The MathWorks co.), and the accuracy of predicted rainfall by using the DeepESN can be significantly improved compared with those by using ESN, the BPN and the SVR. In sum, the DeepESN is a trustworthy and good method to predict rainfall; it could be applied to global climate forecasts which need high-volume data processing.

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of open supracondylar osteotomy of the femoral condyle for the treatment of valgus knee osteoarthritis.From April 2008 to June 2015, 21 patients with valgus knee osteoarthritis underwent an open wedge femoral supracondylar osteotomy using the distal femur dissection plates combined with autologous iliac bone graft for the bone defect. There were 8 males (8 knees) and 13 females (15 knees), ranging in age from 30 to 54 years old, with a mean age of 41.2 years old. All the patients had valgus deformity and knee joint pain in the lateral compartment. The average tibiofemoral angle was (162.0±2.6)° which was measured on the image of preoperative lower extremity weight-bearing X-ray. Clinical outcomes were comprehensively assessed according to the bone healing time, postoperative complications, progress of knee osteoarthritis after operation, the Hospital for Special Surgery rating system (HSS), and tibiofemoral angle before and after operation.All 21 patients were followed up, the valgus deformity of knee joint was corrected in all patients after operation. No obvious delayed union or nonunion were found, and no serious complications were found. The HSS knee score was improved from the preoperative 57.3±3.1 to the final follow-up time 88.6±2.7. Tibiofemoral angle was improved to the postoperative(176.0±1.4)°.Open wedge femoral supracondylar osteotomy has a clear surgical approach, and it is easy to control the bone mass of osteotomy and can effectively correct the valgus deformity and improve the function of knee joint using this method. It is an effective method for the treatment of valgus knee osteoarthritis in young and middle-aged patients.