Chromogranin A: A Valuable Serum Diagnostic Marker for Non-Insulinoma Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Pancreas in a Chinese Population.

BACKGROUND Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (P-NETs) are uncommon neoplasms, with few studies to date assessing serum biomarkers for the diagnosis of P-NETs. This study assessed the ability of serum chromogranin A (CgA) concentrations to distinguish P-NETs from other pancreatic lesions in a Chinese population and to determine the histological grades of P-NETs. MATERIAL AND METHODS This prospective study enrolled 165 patients, including 73 with proven P-NETs, 60 with malignant tumors of the pancreas, and 32 with benign lesions of the pancreas.

The values of AHCY and CBS promoter methylation on the diagnosis of cerebral infarction in Chinese Han population.

Background: The goal of our study is to investigate whether the methylation levels of AHCY and CBS promoters are related to the risk of cerebral infarction by detecting the methylation level of AHCY and CBS genes.

Methods: We extracted peripheral venous blood from 152 patients with cerebral infarction and 152 gender- and age-matched healthy controls, and determined methylation levels of AHCY and CBS promoters using quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. We used the percentage of methylation reference (PMR) to indicate gene methylation level.

Dynamics of the Salivary Microbiome During Different Phases of Crohn's Disease.

Crohn's disease is a chronic disorder that typically affects the gastrointestinal tract. The increased incidence in the recent years, especially in Asian countries, prompts for performing studies and gain newer insights into the etiology and pathogenesis of the disease. Among other causative factors, gut microbiome and its cross-talk with the salivary microbiome is a known factor that has a plausible role in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease.

First Report of Damping-off on Sedum plumbizincicola Caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG 2-1 in China.

Sedum plumbizincicola X.H. Guo et S.

Comparison of indirect pulp treatment and iRoot BP Plus pulpotomy in primary teeth with extremely deep caries: a prospective randomized trial.

Objectives: The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to compare the 24-month success rates of indirect pulp treatment (IPT) and iRoot BP Plus pulpotomy of primary molars with extremely deep caries.

Materials And Methods: Generally healthy children aged 3-7 years requiring general anesthesia for treating primary molars with extremely deep caries or reversible pulpitis were recruited. Patients with systemic disease, mental health problems, or manifestations of irreversible pulpitis were excluded.

Complete nucleotide sequence of a novel partitivirus infecting the plant-pathogenic fungus Phomopsis vexans.

Here, we report the molecular characterization of a novel partitivirus from Phomopsis vexans strain PvHZ002, a plant-pathogenic fungus infecting eggplant. The virus was designated "Phomopsis vexans partitivirus 1" (PvPV1). PvPV1 contains two dsRNA segments, dsRNA1 and dsRNA2, which are 1,662 bp and 1,628 bp long, respectively.

First Report of Fusarium xylarioides Causing Root and Stem Rot on Aloe vera in China.

Aloe vera (L.) Burm f. is a perennial herb belonging to the family liliaceae.

Molecular Interaction and Orientation of HOCl on Aqueous and Ice Surfaces.

The interaction and orientation of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) on the ice surface has been of great interest as it has important implications to ozone depletion. As HOCl interacts with the ice surface, previous classical molecular dynamics simulations suggest its OH moiety orients to the outside of the ice surface, whereas the quantum calculations performed at 0 K indicate its Cl atom is exposed. To resolve this contradiction, herein, Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations are adopted, and the results suggest that at ambient temperature, the interaction between HOCl with interfacial water is dominated by the robust H-bond of (HOCl)H-O(HO).

Unraveling nucleation pathway in methane clathrate formation.

Methane clathrates are widespread on the ocean floor of the Earth. A better understanding of methane clathrate formation has important implications for natural-gas exploitation, storage, and transportation. A key step toward understanding clathrate formation is hydrate nucleation, which has been suggested to involve multiple evolution pathways.

Surfactant-assisted doctor-blading-printed FAPbBr films for efficient semitransparent perovskite solar cells.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells have generated wide interest due to the rapid development of their photovoltaic conversion efficiencies. However, the majority of the reported devices have been fabricated via spin coating with a device area of < 1 cm. In this study, we fabricated a wide-bandgap formamidinium lead bromide (FAPbBr) film using a cost-effective, high-yielding doctor-blade-coating process.

High-Performance Cyanate Ester Resins with Interpenetration Networks for 3D Printing.

As the 3D printing technology is getting more and more popular and useful, demands for materials for 3D printing have increased significantly. Cyanate ester (CE) resin possesses the characteristics of high heat distortion temperature and high glass transition temperature, outstanding mechanical properties, low dielectric constant, and excellent water uptake. However, CE resin has not been widely used in 3D printing of UV curing because it is difficult for photopolymerizable groups to graft onto the chains of CE resin.

Infliximab for Crohn's Disease Patients with Perianal Fistulas: Better Image, Better Life.

BACKGROUND Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) experience physical impairments, poor quality of life and negative body image. These factors are exacerbated in CD patients with active perianal fistulas. MATERIAL AND METHODS Baseline characteristics were compared in retrospectively enrolled CD patients with and without active perianal fistulas.

MAP3K2 augments Th1 cell differentiation via IL-18 to promote T cell-mediated colitis.

T cell-mediated immunity in the intestine is stringently controlled to ensure proper immunity against pathogenic microbes and to prevent autoimmunity, a known cause of inflammatory bowel disease. However, precisely how T cells regulate intestine immunity remains to be fully understood. In this study, we found that mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 2 (MAP3K2) is required for the CD4 T cell-mediated inflammation in the intestine.

Efficacy and safety of adalimumab in Chinese patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease: results from a randomized trial.

Background And Aims: Efficacy of adalimumab in Crohn's disease (CD) has not been shown in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adalimumab in Chinese patients with CD.

Methods: This 26-week, multicenter, phase III study evaluated patients with moderately to severely active CD and elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (⩾3 mg/l) who were naïve to anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy.

Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children in Chinese Adolescents.

The present research introduced the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C) to China and evaluated its structure and psychometric properties in Chinese adolescent samples. The PSWQ-C is a 14-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure the generality, excessiveness, and uncontrollability aspects of pathological worries in children and adolescents. Factor analysis results suggested that the three reverse-scored items represented one or more unknown factors rather than worry; thus, they were discarded and the remaining 11 positively worded items formed the Chinese version of the PSWQ-C (CH-PSWQ-C).

Interface modification effect on the performance of CsFAPbIBr perovskite solar cells fabricated by evaporation/spray-coating method.

In this study, high quality CsFAPbIBr perovskite thin films were successfully fabricated by an evaporation/spray-coating hybrid deposition method. In this method, CsI and PbI were first deposited via thermal evaporation, and then FAI/FABr mixed solution was sprayed on the CsI/PbI substrate to form the CsFAPbIBr film. As confirmed by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, a perovskite film with full surface coverage and small surface roughness was obtained.

Applying Machine Learning Models to Predict Medication Nonadherence in Crohn's Disease Maintenance Therapy.

Objective: Medication adherence is crucial in the management of Crohn's disease (CD), and yet the adherence remains low. This study aimed to develop machine learning models that can help predict CD patients of nonadherence to azathioprine (AZA), and thus assist caregivers to streamline the intervention process.

Methods: This single-centered, cross-sectional study recruited 446 CD patients who have been prescribed AZA between Sep 2005 and Sep 2018.

A novel mycovirus isolated from the plant-pathogenic fungus Alternaria dianthicola.

Here, we describe the molecular characterization of a novel mycovirus isolated from a phytopathogenic fungus, Alternaria dianthicola, which we have named "Alternaria dianthicola dsRNA virus 1" (AdRV1). AdRV1 has a genome of 3,014 bp that contains two non-overlapping open reading frames (ORF1 and 2) coding for a hypothetical protein and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), respectively. Based on the RdRp, AdRV1 is phylogenetically related to some unclassified dsRNA mycoviruses, including Alternaria longipes dsRNA virus 1, and shows a distant relationship to members of the family Partitiviridae.

Endoscopic management of stricturing Crohn's disease.

The natural history of Crohn's disease (CD) usually begins with primary intestinal inflammation, which progresses gradually to stricturing lesions. Stricture is a complicated, intractable but very common clinical problem in the management of CD. Difficulties remain in treating stricturing CD because of the limited efficacy of drug therapy and relapse of stricturing lesions cannot be completely avoided by surgery.

Small-molecule activating SIRT6 elicits therapeutic effects and synergistically promotes anti-tumor activity of vitamin D in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the leading cause of cancer death; however, targets with broad anti-CRC effects are limited. Sirtuin6 (SIRT6) is a conserved nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent deacetylase that is widely pathologically downregulated in CRC, but its pharmacological effect in CRC remains undefined due to the lack of small-molecule SIRT6 activators. We searched for a compound activating SIRT6 and investigated its anti-CRC effect in various models.

Patterns of endoscopy during COVID-19 pandemic: a global survey of interventional inflammatory bowel disease practice.

Background/aims: Performance of diagnostic or therapeutic endoscopic procedures in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients can be challenging during a viral pandemic; the main concerns being the safety and protection of patients and health care providers (HCP). The aim of this study is to identify endoscopic practice patterns and outcomes of IBD and coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a worldwide survey of HCP.

Methods: The 20-item survey questionnaire was sent to physician members of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Special Interest Group in Interventional IBD, Chinese IBD Society Endoscopy Interest Group, and the China Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.

Epidemiology of traumatic brain injury-associated epilepsy in western China: An analysis of multicenter data.

Objectives: This study aims to explore the probability of developing posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) in the following 8 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI), the risk factors associated with PTE and its cumulative prevalence.

Methods: This is a retrospective follow-up study of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) discharged from the West China Hospital between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2017, Chengdu Shang Jin Nan Fu Hospital and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital from January 1, 2013 to March 1, 2015. We used forward stepwise method to build the final multivariate cox proportional hazard regression model to obtain estimates of hazard ratio (HR) of PTE and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

New Insights into the Stability of Anhydrous 2-Imidazolium Fluoride and its High Dissolution Capability toward a Strongly Hydrogen-Bonded Compound.

Fluorides have been widely applied in pharmaceutical, medicinal, and materials science as well as in fine chemical manufacturing. The performance of fluorides, however, can be markedly affected by the water content. One previous study (Maiti, A.

The Diagnostic Yields and Safety of Double-Balloon Enteroscopy in Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding and Incomplete Small Bowel Obstruction: Comparison between the Adults and Elderly.

Background: Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is widely used worldwide. However, comparisons between the diagnostic yields in adults and the elderly remain scarce.

Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic yields and safety of DBE between adults and elderly with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and incomplete small bowel obstruction.

Patients' Educational Program Could Improve Azathioprine Adherence in Crohn's Disease Maintenance Therapy.

Aim: To determine the risk factors of nonadherence to azathioprine (AZA) maintenance therapy for Crohn's disease (CD) and to evaluate the influence of patients' educational program on adherence to AZA maintenance therapy.

Methods: Patients receiving AZA as maintenance therapy for CD were enrolled. Demographic data, clinical data, and usage information were collected.