Clinical value of a new generation adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR-V) in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodule in low-dose chest CT.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of low-dose chest CT combined with the new generation adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR-V) algorithm in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodule.

Methods: 30 patients with pulmonary nodules underwent chest CT using Revolution CT. The patients were first scanned with standard-dose at a noise index (NI) of 14, and the images were reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm.

Effect of early enteral nutrition in elderly patients with hip fracture during the perioperative period.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the effects of early enteral nutrition (EN) in elderly patients with hip fracture.

Methods: The patients were classified into two groups (with and without EN). We compared the pre- and postoperative albumin (ALB) and inflammatory marker levels of each group and the time spent in bed and quality of life 3 months after surgery between the two groups.

The Clinical Effectiveness of Calcium Hydroxide in Root Canal Disinfection of Primary Teeth: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND The aim of this research was to systematically analyze the effectiveness of calcium hydroxide compared to formocresol (FC) and camphor phenol (CP) in root canal disinfection of primary teeth. MATERIAL AND METHODS The meta-analysis was based on the participants, interventions, control, outcome (PICO) study design principle and 16 randomized-controlled clinical trials published from January 2000 to August 2018. The data heterogeneity of each study was assessed by the Q-test.

Electroacupuncture Alleviated Referral Hindpaw Hyperalgesia via Suppressing Spinal Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) in TNBS-Induced Colitis Rats.

Although referred pain or hypersensitivity has been repeatedly reported in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients and experimental colitis rodents, little is known about the neural mechanisms. Spinal long-term potentiation (LTP) of nociceptive synaptic transmission plays a critical role in the development of somatic hyperalgesia in chronic pain conditions. Herein, we sought to determine whether spinal LTP contributes to the referral hyperalgesia in colitis rats and particularly whether electroacupuncture (EA) is effective to alleviate somatic hyperalgesia via suppressing spinal LTP.

The polymorphism of dopamine D2 receptor TaqIA gene is associated with brain response to drug cues in male heroin-dependent individuals during methadone maintenance treatment.

Background: Polymorphism of the dopamine D2 receptor TaqIA gene is related to reward response, relapse risks and effect of therapy for drug addiction. Whether the cue-induced craving and brain response was related to dopamine D2 receptor TaqIA gene is unknown.

Methods: Forty-nine male heroin-dependent individuals [31 with A1 allele of the TaqIA (A1+), 18 A2 allele carriers (A1-)] under methadone maintenance treatment and 20 healthy control subjects performed a heroin cue-reactivity task during functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Targeting P16INK4A in uterine serous carcinoma through inhibition of histone demethylation.

Uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is a subtype of endometrial cancer. Compared with endometrial endometroid carcinoma, the majority of USC cases are more aggressive. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (P16INK4A) is a canonical tumor suppressor that blocks cell cycle progression; however, P16INK4A is overexpressed in USC.

Use of a Conformational-Switching Mechanism to Modulate Exposed Polarity: Discovery of CCR2 Antagonist BMS-741672.

We encountered a dilemma in the course of studying a series of antagonists of the G-protein coupled receptor CC chemokine receptor-2 (CCR2): compounds with polar C3 side chains exhibited good ion channel selectivity but poor oral bioavailability, whereas compounds with lipophilic C3 side chains exhibited good oral bioavailability in preclinical species but poor ion channel selectivity. Attempts to solve this through the direct modulation of physicochemical properties failed. However, the installation of a protonation-dependent conformational switching mechanism resolved the problem because it enabled a highly selective and relatively polar molecule to access a small population of a conformer with lower polar surface area and higher membrane permeability.

Identification and Preclinical Pharmacology of ((1 R,3 S)-1-Amino-3-(( S)-6-(2-methoxyphenethyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl)cyclopentyl)methanol (BMS-986166): A Differentiated Sphingosine-1-phosphate Receptor 1 (S1P) Modulator Advanced into Clinical Trials.

Recently, our research group reported the identification of BMS-986104 (2) as a differentiated S1P receptor modulator. In comparison to fingolimod (1), a full agonist of S1P currently marketed for the treatment of relapse remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), 2 offers several potential advantages having demonstrated improved safety multiples in preclinical evaluations against undesired pulmonary and cardiovascular effects. In clinical trials, 2 was found to exhibit a pharmacokinetic half-life ( T) longer than that of 1, as well as a reduced formation of the phosphate metabolite that is required for activity against S1P.

Assessing drug cue-induced brain response in heroin dependents treated by methadone maintenance and protracted abstinence measures.

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and protracted abstinence (PA) are common methods of therapy in heroin addiction as both suppress the craving for drug use. However, the difference in patterns of brain function between two groups is unknown. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) based drug cue-reactivity task is a good tool to understand the change of brain function during a certain period of treatment.

Association of CCL11, CCL24 and CCL26 with primary biliary cholangitis.

Background: CCL11, CCL24 and CCL26 are potent chemokines for eosinophils. Since there has been no study reporting the association serum CCL11, CCL24 and CCL26 with fibrotic progression of PBC, the aim of this study is to explore the association.

Methods: One hundred and eight PBC patients, 52 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 50 healthy controls (HC) were recruited.

Assessing seizure liability using multi-electrode arrays (MEA).

The purpose of these studies was to develop ex vivo tissue-based and in vitro cell-based assays using multi-electrode array (MEA) technology to predict seizure liability at the early stage of preclinical studies. Embryonic rat hippocampal neurons and adult rat hippocampal slices were used in these studies. Spontaneous activity in cultured neurons and evoked field potentials in hippocampal brain slices were recorded using MEA technology.

[Application of BIG-Annotator in the genome sequencing data functional annotation and genetic diagnosis].

The next generation sequencing (NGS) technology has been playing important roles in genetic diagnosis of diseases in recent years, and serving as a technological basis of precision medicine. In analyzing NGS data, the variant annotation is an important step. In this study, we developed a computationally efficient software (BIG-Annotator) to perform functional annotation for whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Modulation of hepatic lipidome by rhodioloside in high-fat diet fed apolipoprotein E knockout mice.

Background: Rhodioloside is a glucoside of tyrosol isolated from Rhodiola rosea. However, its regulating effect on hepatic dyslipidemia of atherogenic mice has rarely been studied.

Purpose: The specific aims of current study included to clarify lipidomic perturbation in liver tissues of apolipoprotein E deficient (apoE) mice fed with high-fat diet, and to examine the effects of rhodioloside against atherosclerosis and dyslipidemia.

Tumor-immune profiling of murine syngeneic tumor models as a framework to guide mechanistic studies and predict therapy response in distinct tumor microenvironments.

Mouse syngeneic tumor models are widely used tools to demonstrate activity of novel anti-cancer immunotherapies. Despite their widespread use, a comprehensive view of their tumor-immune compositions and their relevance to human tumors has only begun to emerge. We propose each model possesses a unique tumor-immune infiltrate profile that can be probed with immunotherapies to inform on anti-tumor mechanisms and treatment strategies in human tumors with similar profiles.

Clinical Effectiveness of Er: YAG Lasers Adjunct to Scaling and Root Planing in Non-Surgical Treatment of Chronic Periodontitis: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND Er: YAG lasers (ERLs) show suitable characteristics for scaling and root planing, but previous studies have drawn conflicting conclusions. This meta-analysis aimed to systematically appraise the available evidence concerning the effectiveness of ERLs as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) for non-surgical periodontal treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ERLs+SRP with SRP alone for the treatment of chronic periodontitis were searched in 9 electronic biomedical databases up to January 2018.

International Multisite Study of Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes for Drug Proarrhythmic Potential Assessment.

To assess the utility of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) as an in vitro proarrhythmia model, we evaluated the concentration dependence and sources of variability of electrophysiologic responses to 28 drugs linked to low, intermediate, and high torsades de pointes (TdP) risk categories using two commercial cell lines and standardized protocols in a blinded multisite study using multielectrode array or voltage-sensing optical approaches. Logistical and ordinal linear regression models were constructed using drug responses as predictors and TdP risk categories as outcomes. Three of seven predictors (drug-induced arrhythmia-like events and prolongation of repolarization at either maximum tested or maximal clinical exposures) categorized drugs with reasonable accuracy (area under the curve values of receiver operator curves ∼0.

Chinese multidisciplinary expert consensus: Guidelines on percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy.

Biopsy has been used to diagnose thoracic diseases for more than a century. Percutaneous needle biopsy plays a crucial role in the diagnosis, staging, and treatment planning for tumors in the lungs, thoracic wall, hilum, and mediastinum. With the continuous improvement in imaging techniques, the range of clinical applications for percutaneous needle biopsy is also expanding.

Long noncoding RNA MALAT1 acts as a competing endogenous RNA to regulate Amadori-glycated albumin-induced MCP-1 expression in retinal microglia by a microRNA-124-dependent mechanism.

Objective: To determine whether the long noncoding RNA MALAT1 may be involved in the inflammatory effect of Amadori-glycated albumin (AGA) in retinal microglia via a microRNA-124 (miR-124)-dependent mechanism.

Methods: Diabetes mellitus was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) injection. The expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in the retinas of rats was determined using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

From focal pulmonary pure ground-glass opacity nodule detected by low-dose computed tomography into invasive lung adenocarcinoma: A growth pattern analysis in the elderly.

Background: Elderly patients are under-represented in studies of pure ground-glass opacity (pGGO) nodules; thus, this study analyzed the growth pattern and clinical outcomes of pGGO nodules in the elderly in order to help make treatment decisions.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients aged over 60 years with screening-detected and pathologically confirmed growing focal pGGO nodules.

Results: During the study period, 858 subjects had undergone at least three low-dose computed tomography scans in our center.

The efficacy and safety of olaparib in the treatment of cancers: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Purpose: PARP inhibition is an exciting new anticancer strategy. As the first PARP inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced -mutated ovarian cancer, olaparib has proven to be effective in the treatment of several solid tumors. We performed a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of olaparib in cancer patients.

Characterization and function of GSK3β from Litopenaeus vannamei in WSSV infection.

GSK3β, a serine/threonine protein kinase, is a crucial regulator in several signaling pathway and plays a vital role in multiple cellular processes including cell proliferation, growth, apoptosis and immune response. In this study, a GSK3β homolog from L. vannamei, designed as LvGSK3β, was characterized.

Transfection of crayfish hematopoietic tissue cells.

Transfection is a powerful tool useful for studying gene function. Establishing transfection methods that enable highly efficient DNA uptake has become increasingly important. The crayfish hematopoietic tissue (Hpt) cell cultures have been proven to be suitable for studies on immunity and cell differentiation in crustaceans including shrimps, but no efficient gene transfer and expression method is available for these cells.