Chemokine CCL27 is a novel plasma biomarker for identification the nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients from the Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen-specific IgA seropositive population.

Background: To investigate the predictive value of chemokine CCL27 for identifying early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients within a population seropositive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen-specific IgA (VCA-IgA).

Methods: CCL27 in plasma samples from 104 NPC patients, 112 VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors, and 140 VCA-IgA-negative normal subjects was measured by ELISA. Expression of CCL27 in nasopharyngeal tissue from 20 VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors and 20 NPC patients was examined by immunohistochemical staining.

[Establishment of nomogram model to predict peritoneal metastasis in colon cancer patients without distant metastasis by preoperative imaging examination].

Objective: To establish a nomogram model to predict the peritoneal metastasis in colon cancer patients without distant metastasis by preoperative imaging examination.

Methods: Clinicopathological data of colon cancer patients without distant metastasis by preoperative imaging examination who underwent surgery in our department between January 2000 and December 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Predictors of peritoneal carcinomatosis were analyzed by univariate and Logistic multivariate analyses.

Global health inequalities and the need for solidarity: a view from the Global South.

Although the world has experienced remarkable progress in health care since the last half of the 20th century, global health inequalities still persist. In some poor countries life expectancy is between 37-40 years lower than in rich countries; furthermore, maternal and infant mortality is high and there is lack of access to basic preventive and life-saving medicines, as well a high prevalence of neglected diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Moreover, globalization has made the world more connected than before such that health challenges today are no longer limited within national or regional boundaries, making all persons equally vulnerable.

Prognostic significance of neoadjuvant rectal score in locally advanced rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and construction of a prediction model.

Aim: To evaluate the prognostic significance of neoadjuvant rectal (NAR) score after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), and to develop a nomogram predicting disease-free survival (DFS).

Method: A total of 522 LARC patients undergoing nCRT and surgery were included. NAR scores were calculated using the equation [5pN-3(cT-pT) + 12]^2/9.

The Effect of Armed Conflict on the Utilization of Maternal Health Services in Uganda: A Population-based Study.

Introduction: Maternal mortality rates can be adversely affected by armed conflict, implying a greater level of vulnerability among women, and is often linked to the lack of or limited access to maternal healthcare during conflict. Previous research in Uganda has shown that armed conflict negatively impacts women's utilization of maternal healthcare services for a multitude of reasons at the individual, health-system and political levels.

Methods: This study compared aggregated Demographic and Health Surveys data from 13 districts in Northern Uganda, a conflict-affected region, with data from the rest of the country, for the use of maternal healthcare services for the years 1988, 1995, 2000, 2006 and 2011, using statistical analyses and logistic regression.

A new parameter-rich structure-aware mechanistic model for amino acid substitution during evolution.

Improvements in the description of amino acid substitution are required to develop better pseudo-energy-based protein structure-aware models for use in phylogenetic studies. These models are used to characterize the probabilities of amino acid substitution and enable better simulation of protein sequences over a phylogeny. A better characterization of amino acid substitution probabilities in turn enables numerous downstream applications, like detecting positive selection, ancestral sequence reconstruction, and evolutionarily-motivated protein engineering.

FOXF1 Defines the Core-Regulatory Circuitry in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor.

The cellular context that integrates upstream signaling and downstream nuclear response dictates the oncogenic behavior and shapes treatment responses in distinct cancer types. Here, we uncover that in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), the forkhead family member FOXF1 directly controls the transcription of two master regulators, and , both required for GIST precursor-interstitial cells of Cajal lineage specification and GIST tumorigenesis. Further, FOXF1 colocalizes with ETV1 at enhancers and functions as a pioneer factor that regulates the ETV1-dependent GIST lineage-specific transcriptome through modulation of the local chromatin context, including chromatin accessibility, enhancer maintenance, and ETV1 binding.

Aberrant Activation of a Gastrointestinal Transcriptional Circuit in Prostate Cancer Mediates Castration Resistance.

Prostate cancer exhibits a lineage-specific dependence on androgen signaling. Castration resistance involves reactivation of androgen signaling or activation of alternative lineage programs to bypass androgen requirement. We describe an aberrant gastrointestinal-lineage transcriptome expressed in ∼5% of primary prostate cancer that is characterized by abbreviated response to androgen-deprivation therapy and in ∼30% of castration-resistant prostate cancer.

[Discovery, anatomy and clinical significance of the mesorectal finish line of total mesorectal excision].

Objective: To investigate the surgical endpoint of separation of mesorectum during total mesorectal excision (TME), suggesting the concept of "terminal line", in order to perform above separation better for middle-low rectal cancer.

Methods: Gross anatomy of mesorectum endpoint from 81 surgical specimens of low anterior resection (LAR, 5 to 6 cm of distance from low margin of cancer to anal edge) and 71 surgical specimens of abdominal perineal resection(APR, <5 cm of distance from low margin of cancer to anal edge) was observed. Clinicopathological, magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) morphological and operative video data of 108 low rectal cancer patients undergoing TME at Department of Colorectal Surgery of Affiliated Union Hospital of Fujian Medical University between March 2016 and March 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.

High HIV prevalence predicts less HIV stigma: a cross-national investigation.

Despite substantial global efforts to reduce HIV-related stigma, stigma and discrimination remain widespread and are among the most poorly understood aspects of the epidemic. However, there has been little research on whether HIV stigma in a country is associated with HIV prevalence. This article offers a socioecological perspective for understanding HIV stigma in a context of HIV prevalence.

Impact of Body Mass Index on Surgical and Oncological Outcomes in Laparoscopic Total Mesorectal Excision for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer after Neoadjuvant 5-Fluorouracil-Based Chemoradiotherapy.

Aims: To evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on the surgical outcome of laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (laTME) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC, clinically staged as UICC stage II/III) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT).

Methods: 312 LARC patients undergoing laTME after nCRT were divided into nonobese (BMI < 25.0 kg/m, = 249) and obese (BMI ≥ 25.

The Mutual Effect of Marital Quality and Parenting Stress on Child and Parent Depressive Symptoms in Families of Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mutual relationships between dyadic level (i.e., marital quality and parenting stress) and individual level factors (i.

Deep-Inspiration Breath-Hold Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy to the Mediastinum for Lymphoma Patients: Setup Uncertainties and Margins.

Purpose: Patient setup for treating large target volumes can be challenging. In the present study, we measured the local uncertainties in the treatment of mediastinal lymphoma and investigated the need for region-specific planning target volume (PTV) margins.

Methods And Materials: The data from 30 patients who had undergone radiation therapy for mediastinal lymphoma were retrospectively analyzed.

Dose-related ethanol intake, Cx43 and Nav1.5 remodeling: Exploring insights of altered ventricular conduction and QRS fragmentation in excessive alcohol users.

Background: Chronic, excessive ethanol intake has been linked with various electrical instabilities, conduction disturbances, and even sudden cardiac death, but the underlying cause for the latter is insufficiently delineated.

Methods: We studied surface electrocardiography (ECG) in a community-dwelling cohort with moderate-to-heavy daily alcohol intake (grouped as >90g/day, ≤90g/day, and nonintake).

Results: Compared with nonintake, heavier alcohol users showed markedly widened QRS duration and higher prevalence of QRS fragmentation (64.

Changes of Atrial Natriuretic Peptides after Defibrillation Threshold Testing Predicted Future Ventricular Arrhythmia Event.

Background: We investigated the change of natriuretic peptides during defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing and its relationship with future ventricular arrhythmia (VA) events in patients implanted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

Methods: Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and c-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) were measured in 21 patients (mean age 61 ± 13 years; 67% male) undergoing ICD implantation. Blood samples of the patients were drawn at pre-implantation, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 24 hours after DFT testing.

Genetic Polymorphisms of Alcohol Metabolizing Enzymes and Alcohol Consumption are Associated With Asymptomatic Cardiac Remodeling and Subclinical Systolic Dysfunction in Large Community-Dwelling Asians.

Aims: Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with cardiac remodeling and cardiomyopathy. We examined the possible association of alcohol use, common Asian genetic variants in genes involved in alcohol metabolism, and cardiac structures/functions alterations.

Methods: A prospective, community-dwelling survey among individuals with available complete echocardiography examined the associations of alcohol use, cardiac structure/functions, and three common alcohol metabolizing genetic variants, including aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoform 2E1 (CYP2E1).

A nomogram predicting pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer: implications for organ preservation strategies.

Purpose: To determine predictors of pathological complete response (pCR) in locally advanced rectal cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), and develop a predictive nomogram.

Methods: A total of 522 locally advanced rectal cancer patients undergoing nCRT and curative resection between 2008 and 2014 were included. Uni- and multivariate analysis was performed to identify predictors of pCR.

Mobilizing Transit-Amplifying Cell-Derived Ectopic Progenitors Prevents Hair Loss from Chemotherapy or Radiation Therapy.

Genotoxicity-induced hair loss from chemotherapy and radiotherapy is often encountered in cancer treatment, and there is a lack of effective treatment. In growing hair follicles (HF), quiescent stem cells (SC) are maintained in the bulge region, and hair bulbs at the base contain rapidly dividing, yet genotoxicity-sensitive transit-amplifying cells (TAC) that maintain hair growth. How genotoxicity-induced HF injury is repaired remains unclear.

and polymorphisms are associated with clinical outcomes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients treated with R-CHOP.

The impact of pharmacogenetics on predicting survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains unclear. We tested 337 DLBCL patients treated with rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) for 9 single nucleotide polymorphisms from 6 genes (, , , and ). Patients who carried the rs1883112 GG genotype showed significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) ( = 0.

OncoKB: A Precision Oncology Knowledge Base.

Purpose: With prospective clinical sequencing of tumors emerging as a mainstay in cancer care, there is an urgent need for a clinical support tool that distills the clinical implications associated with specific mutation events into a standardized and easily interpretable format. To this end, we developed OncoKB, an expert-guided precision oncology knowledge base.

Methods: OncoKB annotates the biological and oncogenic effect and the prognostic and predictive significance of somatic molecular alterations.

Impact of body mass index on treatment outcome of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer.

Aim: To determine the effect of obesity, measured by body mass index (BMI), on tumor response and surgical outcome in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and radical surgery.

Method: LARC patients undergoing nCRT and radical surgery from 2008 to 2014 were included and divided into three groups: non-obese (BMI < 25.0 kg/m), obese I (BMI 25.

Effect of bispectral index-guided anesthesia on consumption of anesthetics and early postoperative cognitive dysfunction after liver transplantation: An observational study.

The objective of this study was to summarize the incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) after 7days following liver transplantation (LT), and to evaluate the effectiveness of bispectral index (BIS) guided anesthetic intervention in reducing POCD. Additional serum concentrations of S100β and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were detected during surgery to determine whether they were reliable predictors of POCD.Patients who underwent LT at Beijing YouAn Hospital Affiliated to Capital University of Medical Science from January 2014 to December 2015 were enrolled.

Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem.

Previous studies have shown that self-esteem is an important predictor of subjective well-being. However, the majority of research has focused on self-esteem at the individual and the collective level, but has mostly ignored self-esteem at the relational level. According to social identity theory, individuals can maintain and enhance self-esteem through personal traits (personal self-esteem, PSE), relationships with significant others (relational self-esteem, RSE), and relationships with larger groups (collective self-esteem, CSE).