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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide and poses a great threat to global health. COVID-19 has also an unneglected effect on migraine patients. Migraine attack frequency is one of the migraine characteristics, and its impact during COVID-19 needs further research. We aimed to evaluate whether migraine attack frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic differed from pre-COVID-19 attack frequency and explore possible influencing factors during the pandemic. Method: This prospective cohort study enrolled 187 migraine patients from the Department of Neurology of West China Hospital from October 2019 to December 2019. After the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 157 patients were included. We collected demographic data, clinical characteristics, and epidemiological contact information and followed up on March 2020. Then, paired-samples T-tests, logistic regression and interaction tests were used to analyze the data. Result: We found that the migraine attack frequency was 2.47 ± 1.12 before and 3.54 ± 1.79 during COVID-19 (P #60;0.0001). Then, we divided patients into two groups based on the difference in migraine attack frequency between the COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19 periods and employed logistic regression analysis. In the logistic regression analysis, divorced status (OR = 6.53, P = 0.0453), good sleep pre-COVID-19 and poor sleep during COVID-19 (OR = 3.11, P = 0.0432) had independent effects on migraine attack frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found no interaction in poor sleep during COVID-19 between various subgroups. Conclusion: We found that migraineurs’ headache attacks were more frequent during COVID-19 than pre-COVID-19 and that increased migraine attack frequency was independently related to divorced status and poor sleep during COVID-19.

Background: Statin therapy has been shown to be effective in the prevention of ischemic stroke. In addition, recent studies have suggested that prior statin therapy could lower the initial stroke severity and improve stroke functional outcomes in the event of stroke. It was speculated that prestroke statin use may enhance collateral circulation and result in favorable functional outcomes. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the association of prestroke statin use with leptomeningeal collaterals and to determine the association of prestroke statin use with stroke severity and functional outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients. Methods: We prospectively and consecutively enrolled 239 acute ischemic stroke patients with acute infarction due to occlusion of the middle cerebral artery within 24 h in the neurology department of West China Hospital from May 2011 to April 2017. Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) imaging was performed for all patients to detect middle cerebral artery thrombus; regional leptomeningeal collateral score (rLMCS) was used to assess the degree of collateral circulation; the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to measure stroke severity at admission; the modified Rankin scale (mRS) was used to measure outcome at 90 days; and premorbid medications were recorded. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results: Overall, 239 patients met the inclusion criteria. Fifty-four patients used statins, and 185 did not use statins before stroke onset. Prestroke statin use was independently associated with good collateral circulation (rLMCS > 10) (odds ratio [OR], 4.786; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.195–19.171; P = 0.027). Prestroke statin use was not independently associated with lower stroke severity (NIHSS score≤14) (OR, 1.955; 95% CI, 0.657–5.816; p = 0.228), but prestroke statin use was independently associated with favorable outcome (mRS score≤2) (OR, 3.868; 95% CI, 1.325–11.289; P = 0.013). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that prestroke statin use was associated with good leptomeningeal collaterals and clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients presenting with occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. However, clinical studies should be conducted to verify this claim.

The benefit of endovascular treatment (EVT) for patients with intracranial atherosclerosis–related large vessel occlusion (ICAS-LVO) in posterior circulation stroke (PCS) is inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to estimate the effect of ICAS-LVO in PCS treated by EVT. A systematic review was completed, tracking studies from their date of inception until February 2020. Clinical studies which compared outcomes after EVT for ICAS-LVO and non–ICAS-LVO in PCS were included. Data were synthesized and interpreted from meta-analysis. A total of 688 patients (352 ICAS-LVO and 336 non–ICAS-LVO) in the eight studies were included. The successful reperfusion rate (odds ratio [OR], 0.58; 95% confidence intervals [95% CIs], 0.37–0.93; P = 0.02) was lower in PCS with ICAS-LVO than non–ICAS-LVO. And for other clinical outcomes, there were no differences between both groups. Moreover, there were no statistical differences of any clinical outcome among subgroups stratified by nations and target vessel occlusion location. With respect to patients’ characteristics, age (mean difference [MD], −2.75; 95% CI, −4.62–−0.88; P = 0.004), pc-Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (MD, −0.49; 95% CI, −0.94–−0.05; P = 0.03), distributions of sex (male) (OR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.53–3.56; P P = 0.02), hypertension (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.32–3.22; P = 0.002), coronary artery disease (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.11–0.66; P = 0.004) and general anesthesia (OR, 2.89; 95% CI, 1.54–5.45; P = 0.001) were statistically different between both groups. In conclusion, more targeted assessments are warranted for patients with ICAS-LVO–related PCS during clinical strategies, and the benefit of EVT for PCS with ICAS-LVO deserves further research.

Background: People with migraine experience cognitive decline more often than healthy controls, resulting in a significant functional impact. Early identifying influencing factors that contribute to cognitive decline in migraineurs is crucial for timely intervention. Although migraine may onset early in childhood and early onset migraine is related to significant disability, there is no research investigating the association between the age of migraine onset and migraineurs’ cognitive decline. Therefore we aim to explore possible factors that correlate to the cognitive function of migraineurs, especially focus on age of migraine onset. Methods: 531 patients with migraine were included. Data on demographics and headache-related characteristics were collected and evaluated using face-to-face interviews and questionnaires. We used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale to assess cognitive function. In addition, we analyzed independent correlations between cognitive decline and the age of migraine onset in patients with migraine. And all patients completed the Headache Impact Test-6 to evaluate their quality of life. Results: Migraineurs with cognitive decline showed significant differences from those without in age (OR=1.26, P Conclusion: Our findings suggest that younger age of migraine onset is independently related to migraineurs’ cognitive decline, and migraine accompanying anxiety symptoms significantly related to decreased quality of life in migraineurs.

BackgroundPsychological distress is highly prevalent among migraineurs during public health emergencies. The coronavirus disease 2019 (nCOV-2019) has created mass panic in China due to its highly contagious by contact and aerosols and lack of effective treatment. However, the emotion status of migraineurs stayed unclear during the nCOV-2019 outbreak.ObjectiveTo understand psychological distress of migraineurs by comparing with common population and identify potential high-risk factors of severe psychological distress among migraine patients.MethodWe enrolled the migraineurs treated at the department of Neurology of West China Hospital and healthy controls with age- and sex-matched to migraineurs. Data on clinicodemographics and psychological distress in the month of February 2020 (during in the nCOV-2019 outbreak in China) were collected. We used the Kessler 6-item (K-6) scale to assess psychological distress. Potential risk factors of severe psychological distress were identified using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.ResultsThe 144 migraineurs and 150 controls were included in the study. Migraineurs showed significantly higher K-6 scores than controls (P P = 0.001) and 1.589 (95% 1.117–2.26,P = 0.01).ConclusionDuring public health outbreaks, healthcare professionals should focus not only on controlling and reducing migraine attack but also on mental health of migraineurs, especially those with high frequency migraine attack.

Background: High-dose statins are recommended as preventive drugs in guidelines for patients with ischaemic stroke undergoing thrombectomy. Not only in clinical practice but also based on large-scale studies, low-dose statins have been widely used and demonstrated to be efficient in Asian populations. However, it remains unknown whether low-dose statin is related to the prognosis of patients with thrombectomy. Can low-dose statins reduce the risk of bleeding at the same time?Methods: We prospectively collected data from patients with acute ischaemic stroke undergoing intra-arterial thrombectomy. Efficacy outcomes were National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score improvement at 7 days after admission and a favourable functional outcome (FFO) at 90 days. Safety outcomes were rates of in-hospital haemorrhage events and death within 2 years. Results: We included 256 patients in this study. Compared with the control group, the low-dose statin group had a higher NIHSS improvement rate at 7 days, a higher FFO rate at 90 days and a lower death rate within 2 years. The low-dose statin group had a lower percentage of gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Statin use was significantly related to an improved NIHSS score (p=0.028, OR=1.773) at 7 days and FFO (PConclusion: In Asian acute ischaemic stroke patients with intra-arterial thrombectomy, low-dose statin use was significantly related to NIHSS improvement at 7 days, FFO at 90 days and decreased death rates within 2 years.

Preserved nutritional status in acute ischemic stroke patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) undergoing endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is important but lacks an effective evaluation method. We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of objective nutritional indexes (ONIs) in LVO patients after EVT that were validated by studies in patients with other vascular diseases receiving intervention therapy and to develop a functional prediction nomogram for better stroke management.LVO patients undergoing EVT from 2016 to 2020 were retrospectively enrolled and randomly classified into training and validation cohorts at a ratio of 7:3. The ONIs, including the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score, Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), and Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), were calculated. A stepwise logistic regression model for 3-month poor functional outcome based on the smallest Akaike information criterion was employed to develop the nomogram, and the nomogram's determination and clinical use were tested by area under the curve (AUC), calibration plots, and decision curve analysis and compared with three earlier prognostic models. A total of 418 patients were enrolled. The CONUT independently related and increased the risk of 3-month poor functional outcome with an OR of 1.387 (95% CI: 1.133-1.698, p = 0.002). A nomogram including CONUT and other seven factors (AIC = 274.568) was developed. The AUC of the nomogram was 0.847 (95% CI: 0.799-0.894) and 0.836 (95% CI: 0.755-0.916) in the training and validation cohort, respectively, with better predictive performance and clinical utility than previous models.The CONUT independently related to the poor functional outcome, and the newly established nomogram reliably predicted the functional outcome in LVO patients after EVT.

Background The diagnosis of neurosyphilis is challenging due to the requirement of a lumbar puncture and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) laboratory tests. Therefore, a convenient diagnostic nomogram for neurosyphilis is warranted. This study aimed to construct diagnostic models for diagnosing neurosyphilis. Methods This cross-sectional study included data of two patient cohorts from Western China Hospital of Sichuan University between September 2015 and April 2021 and Shangjin Hospital between September 2019 and April 2021 as the development cohort and the external validation cohort, respectively. A diagnostic model using logistic regression analysis was constructed to readily provide the probability of diagnosis at point of care and presented as a nomogram. The clinical usefulness of the diagnostic models was assessed using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and Harrell concordance (Harrell C) index for discrimination and calibration plots for accuracy, which adopted bootstrap resampling 500 times. Results One hundred forty-eight and 67 patients were included in the development and validation cohorts, respectively. Of those, 131 were diagnosed as having reactive neurosyphilis under the criteria of positive results in both CSF treponemal and non-treponemal tests. In the development cohort, male, psychiatric behaviour disorders, and serum toluidine red unheated serum test were selected as diagnostic indicators applying a stepwise procedure in multivariable logistic model. The model reached 80% specificity, 79% sensitivity, and 0·85 area under the curves (AUC) (95% confidence interval, 0·76–0·91). In the validation cohorts, the Harrell C index for the diagnostic possibility of reactive neurosyphilis was 0·71. Conclusions A convenient model using gender, presence of psychiatric behaviour disorders, and serum TRUST titre was developed and validated to indicate diagnostic results in patients suspected of neurosyphilis. Checking the model value of factors on nomogram is a feasible way to assist clinicians and primary health servers in updating patients’ medical charts and making a quantitatively informed decision on neurosyphilis diagnosis. Trial registration This research was retrospectively registered in the Ethics committee on biomedical research, West China Hospital of Sichuan University. The research registration and committee’s reference number was 1163 in 2020 approval.

Background With the advancement of sequencing technologies, a plethora of noncoding RNA (ncRNA) species have been widely discovered, including microRNAs (miRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and long ncRNAs (lncRNAs). However, the mechanism of these non-coding RNAs in diseases caused by enterovirus d68 (EV-D68) remains unclear. The goal of this research was to identify significantly altered circRNAs, lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs pathways in RD cells infected with EV-D68, analyze their target relationships, demonstrate the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network, and evaluate their biological functions. Methods The total RNAs were sequenced by high-throughput sequencing technology, and differentially expressed genes between control and infection groups were screened using bioinformatics method. We discovered the targeting relationship between three ncRNAs and mRNA using bioinformatics methods, and then built a ceRNA regulatory network centered on miRNA. The biological functions of differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) were discovered through GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. Create a protein interaction network (PPI) to seek for hub mRNAs and learn more about protein–protein interactions. The relative expression was verified using RT-qPCR. The effects of Fos and ARRDC3 on virus replication were confirmed using RT-qPCR, virus titer (TCID50/ml), Western blotting. Results 375 lncRNAs (154 upregulated and 221 downregulated), 33 circRNAs (32 upregulated and 1 downregulated), 96 miRNAs (49 upregulated and 47 downregulated), and 239 mRNAs (135 upregulated and 104 downregulated) were identified as differently in infected group compare to no-infected group. A single lncRNA or circRNA can be connected with numerous miRNAs, which subsequently coregulate additional mRNAs, according to the ceRNA regulatory network. The majority of DEmRNAs were shown to be connected to DNA binding, transcription regulation by RNA polymerase II, transcription factor, MAPK signaling pathways, Hippo signal pathway, and apoptosis pathway, according to GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The hub mRNAs with EGR1, Fos and Jun as the core were screened through PPI interaction network. We preliminarily demonstrated that the Fos and ARRDC3 genes can suppress EV-D68 viral replication in order to further verify the results of full transcriptome sequencing. Conclusion The results of whole transcriptome analysis after EV-D68 infection of RD cells were first reported in this study, and for the first time, a ceRNA regulation network containing miRNA at its center was established for the first time. The Fos and ARRDC3 genes were found to hinder viral in RD cells. This study establishes a novel insight host response during EV-D68 infection and further investigated potential drug targets.

Background: We aimed to investigate the impact of statin treatment in the acute phase on the risk and severity of post-stroke pneumonia because of the uncertain effects of statins on post-stroke pneumonia.Methods: Consecutive cases of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) between January 2014 and February 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Additionally, the association of statin treatment in the acute phase with the risk and severity of post-stroke pneumonia was estimated with logistic regression. We registered the present study in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR 2000032838).Results: Of the 1,258 enrolled patients, no significant difference was observed in post-stroke pneumonia risk between the two groups (with/without statin treatment in the acute phase) after propensity score matching (35.1 vs. 27.9%, p = 0.155). We did not find statin treatment in the acute phase to significantly increase the risk of post-stroke pneumonia both before and after matched analysis [odds ratio (OR) = 1.51, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.85–2.67, p = 0.157; OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 0.77–3.18, p = 0.213, respectively]. In the 271 patients with post-stroke pneumonia, no significant difference was found in its severity between two groups (19.6 vs. 19.4%, p = 0.964). No significant association was found between statin treatment and post-stroke pneumonia severity (OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.39–2.31, p = 0.918).Conclusions: There appeared to be no additional benefits of statin treatment in the acute phase for post-stroke pneumonia reduction among AIS patients.Clinical Trial Registration:http://www.chictr.org.cn, identifier: ChiCTR2000032838.

Early neurological deterioration (END) after endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is strongly associated with poor prognosis in patients with large vessel occlusion. The relationship between body temperature and END after EVT is unknown, which we aimed to investigate in this study.END was defined as an increase of four or more points on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score compared with the baseline assessment within 24 h. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models were used to assess the relationship between body temperature and END.Among 7741 consecutive patients with ischemic stroke, 406 patients with large vessel occlusion who underwent EVT were enrolled. In total, 88 (21.7%) patients developed END. Logistic regression showed that the maximum body temperature within 24 h (odds ratio [OR] = 1.97 per °C, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17-3.32, p = 0.010) was independently associated with END. This association was nonlinear and J shaped (p for nonlinearity = 0.010), and the risk of END increased when the maximum body temperature within 24 h was lower or higher than 37.0 °C. Fever burden is also independently associated with END (OR = 1.06 per °C × hour, 95% CI 1.01-1.11, p = 0.012). In addition, the timing of fever onset was independently associated with END, and the highest risk of END was associated with fever onset within 6 h after EVT (OR = 3.92, 95% CI 1.25-12.27, p = 0.019).In summary, there is a J-shaped association between the maximum body temperature within 24 h after EVT and END. Moreover, the risk of END differed according to the timing of fever onset.

Background For acute ischaemic stroke patients, it is uncertain whether intravenous thrombolysis combined with statins might increase the therapeutic effect. Additionally, using high-intensity statins after thrombolysis may increase the risk of bleeding in patients. Asian stroke patients often take low-dose statins. It is speculated that reducing the dose of statins may improve the risk of bleeding. Methods Data from consecutive acute ischaemic stroke patients with intravenous thrombolysis were prospectively collected. Efficacy outcomes included NIHSS (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale) score improvement at 7 days after admission and mRS (Modified Rankin Scale) improvement at 90 days. Safety outcomes included haemorrhage events (intracerebral haemorrhage and gastrointestinal haemorrhage) in the hospital and death events within 2 years. Results The study finally included 215 patients. The statin group had a higher percentage of NIHSS improvement at 7 days (p p p p = 0.003) in the hospital and a lower percentage of death events (p p p = 0.049) and gastrointestinal haemorrhage (OR = 0.023, p = 0.016), and a lower percentage of death events (OR = 0.072, p Conclusion For acute ischaemic stroke patients after intravenous thrombolysis, the use of low-dose statins was related to NIHSS improvement at 7 days and inversely related to haemorrhage events in the hospital and death events within 2 years, especially for moderate stroke or noncardioembolic stroke patients.

Background: Increased aortic stiffness has been found to be associated with cognitive function decline, but the evidence is still under debate. It is of great significance to elucidate the evidence in this debate to help make primary prevention decisions to slow cognitive decline in our routine clinical practice.Methods: Electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched to identify peer-reviewed articles published in English from January 1, 1986, to March 16, 2020, that reported the association between aortic stiffness and cognitive function. Studies that reported the association between aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and cognitive function, cognitive impairment, and dementia were included in the analysis.Results: Thirty-nine studies were included in the qualitative analysis, and 29 studies were included in the quantitative analysis. The aortic PWV was inversely associated with memory and processing speed in the cross-sectional analysis. In the longitudinal analysis, the high category of aortic PWV was 44% increased risk of cognitive impairment (OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.24–1.85) compared with low PWV, and the risk of cognitive impairment increased 3.9% (OR 1.039; 95% CI 1.005–1.073) per 1 m/s increase in aortic PWV. Besides, meta-regression analysis showed that age significantly increased the association between high aortic PWV and cognitive impairment risk.Conclusion: Aortic stiffness measured by aortic PWV was inversely associated with memory and processing speed and could be an independent predictor for cognitive impairment, especially for older individuals.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) bring about a range of psychological distress and symptom deterioration to headache patients especially to some migraineurs. Compared to migraineurs or normal control, medication overuse headache (MOH) patients are more likely to experience a worse psychological distress and poorer outcome in non-COVID-19 time. However, in COVID-19 pandemic, whether MOH patients would have greater physical and mental symptom deterioration or worse relief of headache symptoms and medications overuse remained unclear. We aim to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on MOH patients to guide for a better management in this study. Methods We enrolled MOH patients who were diagnosed and treated at headache clinic of West China Hospital. Information of the pre-pandemic 3 months period and COVID-19 pandemic period was collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to identify independent factors associated with changes in headache symptoms and drug withdrawal. Results Seventy-eight MOH patients were enrolled into the study ultimately. In comparison to pre-pandemic period, fewer MOH patients reported decreased headache days, intensity and days with acute medications per month during the pandemic. Available access to regular prophylactic medications was significantly associated with a reduction of at least 50% in headache days and decrease in headache intensity per month with respective odds ratios of 39.19 (95% CI 3.75–409.15, P = 0.002) and 10.13 (95% CI 2.33–44.12, P = 0.002). Following abrupt withdrawal and high educational level were both significant factors in decreasing headache intensity. Male sex was significantly associated with decrease in days with acute medication per month during the pandemic (odds ratios 4.78, 95%CI 1.44–15.87, P = 0.011). Conclusions Our findings reflect that MOH patients experienced a worse relief of headache symptoms and drug withdrawal during the pandemic. Available access to regular prophylactic medications was the significant independent factor for improvement of headache symptoms. Male sex was significantly associated with decreased days with acute medications per month.

IntroductionPrimary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke often fails due to poor adherence among patients to evidence-based prevention recommendations. The proper formatting of messages portraying CVD and stroke risks and interventional benefits may promote individuals’ perception and motivation, adherence to healthy plans and eventual success in achieving risk control. The main objective of this study is to determine whether risk and intervention communication strategies (gain-framed vs loss-framed and long-term vs short-term contexts) and potential interaction thereof have different effects on the optimisation of adherence to clinical preventive management for the endpoint of CVD risk reduction among subjects with at least one CVD risk factor.Methods and analysisThis trial is designed as a 2×2 factorial, observer-blinded multicentre randomised controlled study with four parallel groups. Trial participants are aged 45–80 years and have at least one CVD risk factor. Based on sample size calculations for primary outcome, we plan to enrol 15 000 participants. Data collection will occur at baseline, 6 months and 1 year after randomisation. The primary outcomes are changes in the estimated 10-year CVD risk, estimated lifetime CVD risk and estimated CVD-free life expectancy from baseline to the 1-year follow-up.Ethics and disseminationThis study received approval from the Ethical Committee of West China Hospital, Sichuan University and will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.Trial registration numberNCT04450888.

Background: For acute ischaemic stroke, intravenous thrombolysis combined with statins might increase the therapeutic effect; however, it is uncertain whether this is effective. Additionally, statins can increase the risk of intracerebral haemorrhage in ischaemic stroke patients, further raising doubts regarding the safety of this combination. Methods: Data from consecutive acute ischaemic stroke patients with intravenous thrombolysis were prospectively collected. Efficacy outcomes included NIHSS (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale) score improvement at 7 days after admission and mRS (Modified Rankin Scale) improvement at 90 days. Safety outcomes included haemorrhage events in the hospital and death events within 2 years. Results: The study finally included 222 patients. The statin group had a higher percentage of NIHSS improvement at 7 days (p percentage of a favourable functional outcome (FFO) (pConclusion: For Asian acute ischaemic stroke patients after intravenous thrombolysis, the use of low- and medium-dose statins was related to NIHSS improvement of moderate stroke patients at 7 days, with a reduced percentage of haemorrhage events in the hospital and a lower percentage of death events within 2 years, especially for moderate stroke or noncardioembolic stroke patients.

Background: The diagnosis of neurosyphilis (NS) is challenging due to the requirement of a lumbar puncture and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests. Methods: This cross-sectional study constructed diagnostic models for diagnosing NS with data gathered from the Western China Hospital of Sichuan University between September 2015 and April 2021 and Shangjin hospital between September 2019 and April 2021, which formed the development and validation cohorts, respectively. A logistic analysis was performed to predict reactive neurosyphilis diagnosis and was presented as a nomogram. Clinical usefulness of the diagnostic models was assessed using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and Harrell C index was used for discrimination and calibration plots for accuracy, adopting bootstrap resampling 500 times. Findings: Overall, 149 and 67 patients were included in development and validation cohorts, respectively. Of those, 131 were diagnosed as having reactive NS with positive results in CSF treponemal and non-treponemal tests. In the development cohort, male sex, psychiatric symptoms, and serum toluidine red unheated serum test were selected as diagnostic indicators. The model reached 80% specificity, 79% sensitivity , and 0·85 area under the curves (AUC) (95% CI, 0·76-0·91). In the validation cohorts, the Harrell C index for the diagnostic possibility of reactive NS was 0·71. Interpretation: Both the nomograms were convenient, could discriminate and calibrate well when applied to the validation cohorts, and aid in NS diagnosis. Funding: The National Key Research and Development Program of China (Nos. 2018YFC1311400, 2018YFC1311401) and Clinical Research Incubation Project of West China Hospital of Sichuan University (Grant 2018HXFH022). Declaration of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests. Ethical Approval: The ethics committee on biomedical research, West China Hospital of Sichuan University approved the study and waived informed consent from all subjects. The committee’s reference number was 1163 in 2020 approval.

Background: Statins are effective in improving the prognosis of stroke patients. In clinical practice, low-dose statins are often administered to stroke patients in Asian countries but their effects on the prognosis of recurrent ischemic stroke patients are still unclear. Methods: Data of consecutive recurrent ischemic stroke patients were prospectively collected. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) of admission and discharge and the modified Rankin scale (mRs) of 90 days after stroke onset were adopted to evaluate primary outcomes. Secondary outcomes included the subgroup analysis. Results: Among 219 patients (mean age 65.41 ± 11.58 years), 150 (68.5%) were male. The low-dose statin group had a higher percentage of milder stroke at admission ( p Conclusion: Low-dose statin pretreatment alleviated stroke severity and improved functional outcomes of recurrent stroke patients.

Leptomeningeal collateral flow (LMF) is associated with infarct area and clinical outcome for ischemic stroke patients. Although LMF can be detected by multiple imaging methods, but their diagnostic performance is uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic validity or reliability of noninvasive image methods in assessing LMF. Databases included PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Original observational cohort studies. Ischemic stroke patients. Different noninvasive image methods to assess LMF. Newcastle–Ottawa Scale to evaluate the quality of the studies; forest plot to show pooled results; I2 and Egger test to evaluate the heterogeneity and publication bias. Thirty of the 126 selected studies were eligible. For CT angiography, the interobserver agreement ranged from 0.494 to 0.93 and weighted kappa was 0.888; for patients receiving thrombolysis or endovascular treatment, 0.68 to 0.91; 0.494 to 0.89 for the 2-point system, 0.60 to 0.93 for the 3-point system, 0.68 to 0.87 for the system of >4 points; area under the curve (AUC) was 0.78. For perfusion computed tomography (CTP), the interobserver agreement ranged from 0.724 to 0.872; for patients receiving thrombolysis or endovascular treatment, 0.74 to 0.872; 0.724 for the 2-point system, 0.783 to 0.953 for the 3-point system; the intraobserver agreement was 0.884; AUC was 0.826. For MRI-fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), the interobserver agreement ranged from 0.58 to 0.86; for patients receiving thrombolysis or endovascular treatment, 0.75 to 0.86; 0.86 for the two-point system, 0.77 to 0.87 for the system of more than 5 points; AUC was 0.82. No pooled data of CTP and FLAIR. The difference cohort study had difference bias. The unpublished data were not included. CT angiography is a good tool for assessing LMF. CTP shows a good validity and reliability, but its diagnostic value needs more evidence. FLAIR is a good modality to assess LMF. These image methods had better validity and reliability to evaluate LMF of patients receiving thrombolysis or endovascular treatment than all ischemic stroke patients.

Performance and scalability are two issues that are becoming increasingly pressing as the resource description framework (RDF) datamodel is applied to real-world applications. Because neither vertical nor flat structures of RDF storage can handle frequent schema updates and meanwhile avoid possible long-chain joins, there is no clear winner between the two typical structures. In this paper, we propose an alternative open user schema. The open user schema consists of flat tables automatically extracted from RDF query streams. A query is divided into two parts and conquered on the flat tables in the open user schema and on the vertical table stored in a backend storage. At the core of this divide and conquer architecture with open user schema, an efficient isomorphic decision algorithm is introduced to guide a query to related flat tables in the open user schema. Our proposal in essence departs from existing methods in that it can accommodate schema updates without possible long-chain joins. We implement our approach and provide empirical evaluations to demonstrate both the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach in evaluating complex RDF queries.

We revisit the classic k-median problem in continuous distributed model. The rapid advance in electronic miniaturization, wireless communication and position technologies makes a significant contribution to pervasive applications of continuous distributed model. Data sets acquired in continuous distributed model are automatically and continuously updated, or even distributed over a wide area in typical cases. The sequence of k-median at each time stamp in the continuous distributed model forms a k-median series, which is called continuous k-median. Our main idea is to transform continuous k-median problem to continuous k-median query, which applies a selection operation on continuous k-median. Because the result of this selection is a subset of k-median series, time and communication efficiency in the continuous distributed model can be achieved. The continuous k-median query provides an insightful structure of data sets along time dimension and widely applied in various cases such as location-based services, sensor network monitor, and etc. In this paper, the time-efficiency of continuous k-median query in a central paradigm is first studied where an efficient indicator function is designed to suppress unnecessary re-evaluations. Then, communication-efficiency of continuous k-median query is addressed in a distributed paradigm where a geometric approach is applied to suppress unnecessary communications between nodes. Our approach to continuous k-median query distinguishes itself in two aspects. First, the indicator function is built on the aggregation distribution of data sets instead of prevailing safe region of individuals and time-efficiency can therefore be achieved. Second, a geometric approach is explored so that a single local node can trigger a re-valuation and therefore communication-efficiency can be obtained. Experiments are done to empirically demonstrate the time and communication efficiency of our approach on various data sets.