Overcoming interferon (IFN)-γ resistance ameliorates transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-mediated lung fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition and bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.

Abnormal activation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β is a common cause of fibroblast activation and fibrosis. In bleomycin (BLM)-induced lung fibrosis, the marked expression of phospho-Src homology-2 domain-containing phosphatase (SHP) 2, phospho-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3, and suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 3 was highly associated with pulmonary parenchymal lesions and collagen deposition. Human pulmonary fibroblasts differentiated into myofibroblasts exhibited activation of SHP2, SOCS3, protein inhibitor of activated STAT1, STAT3, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10.

Early versus delayed surgery after short-course radiotherapy for rectal cancer: A network meta-analysis of randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: To evaluate the optimal timing of surgery after short-course radiation therapy and to compare the efficacy of short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) and long-course radiotherapy (LCRT) in patients with rectal cancer, a systematic review with network analysis was conducted.

Methods: A systematic literature search of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, and MEDLINE (PubMed) was conducted to identify papers published before June 4, 2018, without language or publication date restrictions. The use of surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) within a network meta-analysis framework provided a numerical presentation of the overall ranking, thus providing a ranking of treatment options from which patients can choose from.

The applications of big data in molecular diagnostics.

: Big Data technologies instilled an informational perspective to our understanding of the world. However, fundamental issues such as the management and storage of data can create privacy concerns. Heterogeneous types of data pose challenges in reproducibility and standardization.

Bladder injury mimicking acute renal failure after cesarean section: a diagnostic challenge and minimally invasive management.

The reported incidence of bladder injury after cesarean section ranges from 0.14% to 0.94%.

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy: Comparison of lateral transperitoneal and lateral retroperitoneal approaches.

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy has become the method of choice of removal of most of adrenal lesions. This study investigated and compared the results of 2 different approaches of laparoscopic adrenalectomy, through retrospective review of 40 patients. Within this study period between 1995 and 2004, there were 20 lateral retroperitoneal and 20 lateral transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomies performed.