Numerical evaluation of the efficacy of small-caliber colonoscopes in reducing patient pain during a colonoscopy.

Patient pain caused by a colonoscope is one of the main complications in completing a colonoscopy. Currently, randomized controlled trial (RCT) is one of the most used methods to evaluate the efficacy of small-caliber (SC) colonoscopes in reducing patient pain during a colonoscopy, compared with a standard colonoscope (SDC). However, many disturbing factors, including endoscopists' skills, characteristics of patients and new technical features of the colonoscope (passive bending and high force transmission shaft), limit the reliability and generalizability of each finding in current RCTs.

Nested-PCR assay for detection of Schistosoma japonicum infection in domestic animals.

Background: Schistosomiasis japonica is a common zoonosis. Domestic animals are the primary source of infection and play an important role in disease transmission. The prevalence and infectivity of this disease in domestic animals in China have significantly decreased and, for this reason, diagnostics with a higher sensitivity have become increasingly necessary.

Pretreatment Tumor Thickness as a Predictor of Pathologic Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy for Stage II/III Rectal Adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: To evaluate pretreatment tumor thickness in predicting pathologic complete response (pCR) of stage II/III rectal adenocarcinoma to neoadjuvant chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy [CRT]).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 185 patients who were diagnosed with stage II or III rectal adenocarcinoma from January 2011 to July 2013 and treated with neoadjuvant intensity-modulated radiation therapy (45 Gy in 1.8-Gy fractions to pelvis and 50 Gy in 2-Gy fractions to rectal tumor as an integrated boost) or 3 dimensionally conformal radiation therapy (45 Gy in 1.

Preparation of desiccation-resistant aquatic-living Nostoc flagelliforme (Cyanophyceae) for potential ecological application.

Nostoc flagelliforme is a terrestrial edible cyanobacterium that grows in arid and semi-arid steppes. The continued over-exploitation in the last century has led to a sharp decline of this resource and a severe deterioration of the steppe ecology. Liquid-cultured N.