Changes of filial responsibility norms under public long-term care insurance in China.

Aim: The public long-term care insurance (LTCI) scheme offers a potential solution to growing long-term care needs. This study investigated its effects on perceived filial responsibility norms and evaluated the heterogeneity of these effects.

Methods: Using data from the 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 waves of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, we focused on 10 042 older adults aged 60 and above living in communities.

Timing of nodal metastasis in patients with eyelid sebaceous carcinoma and implications for surveillance and survival.

Background/aims: Sebaceous carcinoma (SC) is a rare cancer with periocular predilection. Studies focused on patterns and timing of nodal metastasis are scarce.Our aim is to report patterns of regional nodal metastasis in patients with eyelid SC, including results of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).

Pathways to Sustainable Health Care Development: Study on the Carbon Reduction Potential of Telemedicine in China.

Background: Carbon emissions are a global concern due to their significant greenhouse effect. The health care sector's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be controlled. Telemedicine in China continued to grow between 2020 and 2022, offering a promising solution for reducing carbon emissions in the country's health sector.

Detection Rate and Concordance of 4D-MDCT, US, and Tc99m MIBI Imaging in the Detection of Ectopic and Intrathyroidal Parathyroid Adenomas.

Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism is often caused by parathyroid adenomas (PAs), which can be ectopic (EPAs) or intrathyroidal (ITPAs). Accurate localization is crucial for effective surgical intervention. This study aimed to determine the detection rate of four-dimensional multidetector computed tomography (4D-MDCT), ultrasonography (US), and technetium 99 m sestamibi scintigraphy (MIBI) in detecting EPAs and ITPAs.

Diagnostic Yield of Routine Metastatic Work-Up in Patients with Conjunctival Melanoma.

Background: Conjunctival melanoma (CM) is a rare and potentially aggressive malignancy of the ocular surface with high rates of local recurrence and metastasis. The objective of this report was to evaluate the yield of diagnostic staging tests in patients with conjunctival melanoma.

Methods: 81 consecutive patients with invasive conjunctival melanoma treated by the senior author over the course of 23 years were included.

Association between bisphenol A exposure and adiposity measures in children.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that has adverse effects on human health and may cause childhood obesity. Nevertheless, the association between BPA exposure and adiposity measures in children remains controversial, especially in young children. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 208 randomly selected children 4 to 6 years old attending preschools in Guangzhou, China.

Systematic Analysis of the Chemical Components of Gentiana urnula Harry Sm Using SIRIUS and Liquid Chromatography High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

Rationale: Gentiana urnula Harry Sm is a frequently utilized traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with applications in the treatment of a range of ailments including jaundice, gastrointestinal ulcers, and influenza. Despite its widespread uses, there is a lack of comprehensive researches on the chemical composition.

Methods: This study integrated SIRIUS, quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR), and liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) to identify the compounds in Gentiana urnula Harry Sm.

STYX Interacts with FBXW7 to Promote AML Proliferation via Inhibiting the Ubiquitination of CCNE1.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a challenging hematologic malignancy with a poor prognosis. STYX, a catalytically inactive phosphatase, is overexpressed in various cancers and has been shown to promote cellular proliferation. However, its clinical relevance and impact on AML cell behavior remain poorly understood.

Reassessing estrogen receptor expression thresholds for breast cancer prognosis in HER2-negative patients using shape restricted modeling.

We used a novel shape-restricted Cox model to determine the desirable ER expression cutoff to predict breast cancer prognoses. Our model treats ER as a continuous variable using a flexible monotone-shaped Cox regression to assess its association with survival outcomes holistically. The study included 3055 patients with stage II/III HER2-negative breast cancer.

Safety of PD-L1 inhibitors versus PD-1 inhibitors in the treatment of lung cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: To explore the safety of PD-L1 inhibitors vs. PD-1 inhibitors in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Research Design And Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to 20 December 2023.

Generative artificial intelligence enables the generation of bone scintigraphy images and improves generalization of deep learning models in data-constrained environments.

Purpose: Advancements of deep learning in medical imaging are often constrained by the limited availability of large, annotated datasets, resulting in underperforming models when deployed under real-world conditions. This study investigated a generative artificial intelligence (AI) approach to create synthetic medical images taking the example of bone scintigraphy scans, to increase the data diversity of small-scale datasets for more effective model training and improved generalization.

Methods: We trained a generative model on Tc-bone scintigraphy scans from 9,170 patients in one center to generate high-quality and fully anonymized annotated scans of patients representing two distinct disease patterns: abnormal uptake indicative of (i) bone metastases and (ii) cardiac uptake indicative of cardiac amyloidosis.

Real-time motion trajectory training and prediction using reservoir computing for intelligent sensing equipment.

Real-time moving target trajectory prediction is highly valuable in applications such as automatic driving, target tracking, and motion prediction. This paper examines the projection of three-dimensional random motion of an object in space onto a sensing plane as an illustrative example. Historical running trajectory data are used to train a reserve network.

Occurrence and enrichment mechanisms of groundwater hexavalent chromium in typical loess area of China.

Understanding the geochemical mechanisms governing hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in groundwater is essential for mitigating health risks. However, the processes driving Cr(VI) accumulation and migration in loess regions remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated the occurrence, release, and migration mechanisms of Cr(VI) across different groundwater environmental units (GEUs) in the south-central Loess Plateau, China.

Serum levels of total bile acids are associated with an increased risk of HCC in patients with cirrhosis.

Background: Previous studies have reported higher circulating bile acid levels in patients with HCC compared to healthy controls. However, the association between prediagnostic bile acid levels and HCC risk among patients with cirrhosis is unclear.

Methods: We measured total BA (TBA) concentration in serum samples collected from a prospective cohort of patients with cirrhosis who were followed until the development of HCC, death, or last study date.

Vulnerability of Global Pine Forestry's Carbon Sink to an Invasive Pathogen-Vector System.

The substantial contribution of northern forest growth to the global increase of biomass carbon stock is well documented. However, the ecological consequences of pest- and disease-related losses in these forests have not received comparable attention. This study highlights that pine species are major contributors to carbon stocks in Northern Hemisphere.

Sensitivity and Specificity of Chimerism Tests in Predicting Leukemia Relapse Using Increasing Mixed Chimerism.

Chimerism test was evaluated to predict leukemia relapse. Increasing mixed chimerism (IMC), defined as recipient increase ≥0.1% in peripheral blood total cell chimerism, was used as a surrogate of disease activity.

The Win Ratio Approach in Bayesian Monitoring for Two-Arm Phase II Clinical Trial Designs With Multiple Time-To-Event Endpoints.

To assess the preliminary therapeutic impact of a novel treatment, futility monitoring is commonly employed in Phase II clinical trials to facilitate informed decisions regarding the early termination of trials. Given the rapid evolution in cancer treatment development, particularly with new agents like immunotherapeutic agents, the focus has often shifted from objective response to time-to-event endpoints. In trials involving multiple time-to-event endpoints, existing monitoring designs typically select one as the primary endpoint or employ a composite endpoint as the time to the first occurrence of any event.

Hydrazone-linked covalent organic frameworks for fluorescence detection of Hg.

A hydrazone-linked COF (DvDf-C3XJ-COF) with hydrogen-bond reinforcement and abundant coordination sites was synthesized, exhibiting strong fluorescence and high sensitivity/selectivity for Hg detection, with a detection limit of 1.65 × 10 M. The fluorescence quenching for Hg is attributed to coordination interactions, which occur through a dynamic quenching process.

Acupuncture in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a meta-analysis and data mining.

Background: The efficacy and acupoint selection of acupuncture in treating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) remain controversial. This study aims to explore the specific efficacy and acupoint selection of acupuncture in treating CIPN through a meta-analysis and data mining.

Methods: Searching for clinical trials on acupuncture treatment for CIPN in 8 databases, evaluating its efficacy and safety through a meta-analysis, and exploring its acupoint selection through data mining.

LncRNA MALAT1 silencing represses CXCL12-induced proliferation, invasion, and homing behavior in multiple myeloma by inhibiting CXCR4.

Background: Long non-coding RNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) has been identified in multiple myeloma (MM); its influence on the homing behavior in MM cells is unclear. This study elucidates the impact and mechanism by which MALAT1 affects the homing behavior in MM cells.

Methods: Bone marrow was obtained from patients with MM.

Likelihood adaptively incorporated external aggregate information with uncertainty for survival data.

Population-based cancer registry databases are critical resources to bridge the information gap that results from a lack of sufficient statistical power from primary cohort data with small to moderate sample size. Although comprehensive data associated with tumor biomarkers often remain either unavailable or inconsistently measured in these registry databases, aggregate survival information sourced from these repositories has been well documented and publicly accessible. An appealing option is to integrate the aggregate survival information from the registry data with the primary cohort to enhance the evaluation of treatment impacts or prediction of survival outcomes across distinct tumor subtypes.

Bidirectional effects of morphine on pancreatic cancer progression via the p38/JNK pathway.

Cancer patients commonly use morphine to alleviate advanced pain. Studies have shown that morphine may influence and intervene in the malignancy of various cancers, but its role and effects on pancreatic cancer are less studied. This study aims to examine how morphine affects pancreatic cancer and its possible mechanisms.