Systemic inflammatory index as a predictive marker for the severity of coronary artery disease in individuals with chronic kidney disease.

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between the inflammatory intensity, as indicated by the systemic inflammatory index (SII), and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: A total of 280 CKD patients who underwent coronary angiography were enrolled. CAD was evaluated using the Gensini score (GS).

[Clinical observation on acupuncture for symptom burden in gastric cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy after gastrectomy].

Objective: To observe the efficacy of acupuncture on symptom burden in patients with gastric cancer during adjuvant chemotherapy after gastrectomy.

Methods: A total of 58 patients were randomized into a high-dose acupuncture group (19 cases, 5 cases dropped off), a low-dose acupuncture group (20 cases, 6 cases dropped off) and a control group (19 cases, 2 cases dropped off). Conventional chemotherapy and antiemetic treatment were adopted in the control group.

Preparation of rigid polyurethane foam from lignopolyol obtained through mild oxypropylation.

Lignin, one of the main components of lignocellulose, can be used as an alternative to chemical polyols in the production of polyurethane because of its abundant phenolic and alcohol hydroxyls. Traditionally, lignin is directly applied in the preparation of polyurethane; however, modified lignin has been proved to be superior, especially that obtained by the oxypropylation reaction. Therefore, lignopolyol obtained by mild and efficient oxypropylation was utilized in the production of rigid polyurethane foam in this study.

Acupuncture for Quality of Life in Gastric Cancer Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Context: Patients with gastric cancer experience health-related quality of life (HRQOL) decline during adjuvant chemotherapy following gastrectomy.

Objectives: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the preliminary effect and feasibility of electro-acupuncture (EA) for HRQOL and symptom burden in these patients.

Methods: In this open-label, multicenter, parallel controlled trial, gastric cancer patients who planned to receive adjuvant chemotherapy were randomly assigned to receive high-dose EA (seven times each chemotherapy cycle for three cycles), low-dose EA (three times each chemotherapy cycle), or usual care only.

Schizandrin B attenuates hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in H9c2 cells by activating the AMPK/Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Schizandrin B exhibits prominent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and plays an important role in ameliorating myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, the underlying protective mechanisms remain to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to explore the cardioprotective effects of schizandrin B against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced H9c2 cell injury, focusing on the role of the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway in this process.

Pitavastatin Combined with Ezetimibe Treatment was an Effective Approach to Non-IRA Lesion of ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients with Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Objective: ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) patients with the multivessel disease have distinctive plaque characteristics in non-IRA lesions. Intensive statin therapy was a potential approach to treat STEMI patients with the non-IRA disease. However, there is still poor evidence about the therapeutic effect.

CT-based radiomics scores predict response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and survival in patients with gastric cancer.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a promising treatment option for potential resectable gastric cancer, but patients' responses vary. We aimed to develop and validate a radiomics score (rad_score) to predict treatment response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to investigate its efficacy in survival stratification.

Methods: A total of 106 patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before gastrectomy were included (training cohort: n = 74; validation cohort: n = 32).

Hispidulin mediates apoptosis in human renal cell carcinoma by inducing ceramide accumulation.

Hispidulin, a polyphenolic flavonoid extracted from the traditional Chinese medicinal plant S involucrata, exhibits anti-tumor effects in a wide array of human cancer cells, mainly through growth inhibition, apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest. However, its precise anticancer mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms that contribute to hispidulin-induced apoptosis of human clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) lines Caki-2 and ACHN.

Systemic immune-inflammation index for predicting prognosis of colorectal cancer.

Aim: To investigate the clinical significance of preoperative systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1383 cases with CRC was performed following radical surgery. SII was calculated with the formula SII = (P × N)/L, where P, N, and L refer to peripheral platelet, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts, respectively.

Hispidulin suppresses tumor growth and metastasis in renal cell carcinoma by modulating ceramide-sphingosine 1-phosphate rheostat.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) rheostat is considered as a key signal that determines cell fate. This study aimed to report that hispidulin, a polyphenolic flavonoid, exerted anti-growth and anti-metastasis effects against renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by modulating the balance of ceramide-S1P. studies showed that hispidulin could effectively inhibit cell proliferation, cell migration, cell invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and promote cell apoptosis in Caki-2 and A498 cell lines.

Up-regulation of long non-coding RNA XLOC_010235 regulates epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition to promote metastasis by associating with Snail1 in gastric cancer.

We previously performed long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression microarray analyses to identify novel indicators for gastric cancer (GC) metastasis and prognosis in which we identified lncRNA XLOC_010235 (XLOC) as a candidate RNA. However, XLOC_010235 molecular mechanism of action remains unclear. Gain and loss of function approaches were used to investigate the biological role of XLOC in vitro.

Targeting CRMP-4 by lentivirus-mediated RNA interference inhibits SW480 cell proliferation and colorectal cancer growth.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression level of collapsin response mediator protein 4 (CRMP-4) in human colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue and to evauluate its impact on SW480 cell proliferation, in addition to tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model. Clinical CRC tissue samples were collected to detect the CRMP-4 protein expression levels using western blot and immunohistochemistry analyses. A specific small interfering RNA sequence targeting the CRMP-4 gene () was constructed and transfected into an SW480 cell line using a lentivirus vector to obtain a stable cell line with low expression of CRMP-4.

Identification of differentially expressed signatures of long non-coding RNAs associated with different metastatic potentials in gastric cancer.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is known for its lymph node metastasis and outstanding morbidity and mortality. Thus, improvement in the current knowledge regarding the molecular mechanism of GC is urgently needed to discover novel biomarkers involved in its progression and prognosis. Several long, non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in gastric tumorigenesis and metastasis.

Novel immunological and nutritional-based prognostic index for gastric cancer.

Aim: To assess the prognostic significance of immunological and nutritional-based indices, including the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio in gastric cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 632 gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy between 1998 and 2008. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were calculated to compare the predictive ability of the indices, together with estimating the sensitivity, specificity and agreement rate.

Efficacy and complications of polyethylene glycols for treatment of constipation in children: a meta-analysis.

Constipation is a common childhood complaint. In 90% to 95% of children, constipation is functional, which means that there is no objective evidence of an underlying pathological condition. Polyethylene glycol (PEG or macrogol) solution is an osmotic laxative agent that is absorbed in only trace amounts from the gastrointestinal tract and routinely used to treat chronic constipation in adults.

Clinicopathological features and trend changes of gastric carcinoma in Southern China.

Aim: To investigate the clinicopathological features of gastric carcinoma in southern China and disease trends changes over the last 18 years.

Methods: We designed a retrospective study in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the first affiliated hospital, Sun Yat-sen University. A total of 2100 adult patients with definitely diagnosed, histologically proven gastric carcinomas treated with radical gastrectomy from 1994 to 2013 were examined retrospectively.

Unusual calcifying fibrous tumor in the fallopian tube: review and discussion of the differential diagnosis.

Calcifying fibrous tumor (CFT) is a rare benign soft tissue tumor of unknown etiology and extremely rare in female reproductive system. We present a case of unusual CFT in the ampulla of fallopian tube occurring in a middle-aged female patient with multiple uterine leiomyomas. A hysterectomy was performed on a 48-year-old woman for uterine leiomyomas.

[Effect of postoperative early enteral nutrition on the recovery of humoral immune function in patients with colorectal carcinoma undergoing elective resection].

Objective: To investigate the effect of postoperative early oral feeding on humoral immune function and clinical outcome in colorectal cancer patients.

Methods: Seventy patients with colorectal carcinoma requiring elective colorectal resection were prospectively enrolled and randomized into two groups: early oral feeding group(n=35) and conventional oral feeding group(n=35). The patients in early oral feeding group were started on oral feeding within 12 hours after operation, while patients in conventional group were started on oral feeding after the postoperative first passage of flatus.

[Clinicopathological features and prognosis of young patients with gastric cancer].

Objective: To summarize the clinicopathological characteristics and analyze the prognostic factors of young patients with gastric cancer.

Methods: A total of 99 patients with the age less than or equal to 40 were admitted in The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from August 2001 to December 2009. Their clinicopathological and follow-up data were compared with middle-aged and elderly patients with the age more than 40.

[Prognostic significance of admission N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in predicting angiographic no-reflow phenomenon during percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute myocardial infarction].

Objective: To determine the relationship between N-terminal pro-brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and angiographic no-reflow phenomenon in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: The data of 106 consecutive AMI patients undergoing primary PCl were collected and analyzed retrospectively. NT-proBNP was obtained pre-PCI at admission.

Insular variation of the craniodental morphology in the Siberian weasel Mustela sibirica.

We compared craniodental morphology among 5 populations of the Siberian weasel Mustela sibirica including 2 insular ones (Tsushima and Taiwan). Skulls of the insular individuals tended to be smaller than those of continental ones. Shape differences were also detected, but not so pronounced.

[High-dose tirofiban in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention].

Objective: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of high-dose tirofiban in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (ASTEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: A total of 104 consecutive ASTEMI patients undergoing primary PCI were enrolled from January 2010 to February 2011. They were randomized into the high-dose tirofiban group (n = 52) and the normal-dose tirofiban group (n = 52).

[High maintenance dose of clopidogrel improves long-term clinical outcomes in patients with elective percutaneous coronary intervention].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a 300 mg loading dose of clopidogrel followed by 150 mg as maintenance dose in patients with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: A total of 108 consecutive patients undergoing elective PCI were recruited from our hospital from July 2007 to July 2008. A 300 mg loading dose was administered prior to PCI.

Tumor-associated macrophages promote angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis of gastric cancer.

Background And Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate whether and how macrophages recruited to tumor microenvironments (tumor-associated macrophages, TAMs) were involved in angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis of gastric cancer (GC).

Methods: TAMs, microvessel density (MVD), and lymphatic vessel density (LVD) in 115 cases of GC tissue were assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of CD68, CD34, and D2-40, respectively. Preoperative blood samples from 43 patients were obtained to detect serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF-C.