Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for Chronic Insomnia at High Altitude: A Prospective, Randomized, Open-Label, Parallel-Group Trial.

Background: Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) has been proposed to be effective for treating chronic insomnia at high altitudes.

Methods: Patients suffering from chronic insomnia at high altitude were randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to either the hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment group or the control group for a 10-day procedure. The primary outcome was insomnia status, which was assessed via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).

Histone acetylation activated-IGF2BP3 regulates cyclin D1 mRNA stability to drive cell cycle transition and tumor progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) is an oncofetal protein, is strongly associated with tumor initiation and progression due to its upregulation. However, the regulatory mechanisms driving IGF2BP3 upregulation and its contribution to the development and progression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that IGF2BP3 is re-expressed in HCC mouse models, with elevated levels correlating with a poor prognosis in patients with HCC.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography combined with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy for the removal of large gallbladder stones: a pilot study.

Background: Endoscopic gallbladder-preserving cholecystolithotomy (EGPC) has become an alternative option for treating cholecystolithiasis. However, developing a new method of EGPC in which the gallbladder wall is not damaged remains a challenge. This study introduced a new EGPC method called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) combined with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), which preserves the integrity of the gallbladder wall in the treatment of cholecystolithiasis complicated with choledocholithiasis.

Metformin Inhibits the Progression of Pancreatic Cancer Through Regulating miR-378a-3p/VEGFA/RGC-32 Axis.

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a major contributor to global cancer-related mortality. While the inhibitory effect of metformin (Met) on PC has been reported, the underlying mechanism remains elusive.

Methods: We established BxPC-3 cell models with miR-378a-3p and VEGFA knockdown.

RGC-32 facilitates pancreatic cancer via activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Longitudinal studies have indicated the facilitating effect of RGC-32 during diverse disease progression including pancreatic cancer, yet the systematic and detailed effect of RGC-32 during pancreatic cancer is largely unknowable. For this purpose, we took advantage of the pancreatic cancer cell line (BXPC3) with RGC-32 expression and then modulated its expression by lentivirus-mediated knockdown (shRGC-32) and overexpression (pcDNA-RGC-32). To verify the effect of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in RGC-32-based tumorigenicity, we added the agonist CT99021 to the shRGC-32 BXPC3 cell line and pancreatic cancer mouse model.

Moderately severe acute pancreatitis after snake bite: a case report from Southern China.

Venomous snakebites are not rare worldwide, and this is also the situation in the mountainous regions of southern China, where they pose a serious health risk to the local population. Snake venom usually causes a variety of clinical symptoms, such as local pain and swelling, systemic coagulation system abnormalities, and shock, but rarely leads to acute pancreatitis. In this report, we presented a rare case of moderately severe acute pancreatitis caused by snake venom even after prompt antivenom treatment.

A comparative study on the application of different endoscopic diagnostic methods in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant bile duct strictures.

Objective: To compare the diagnostic value of cytobrush, ERCP-guided biopsy, SpyGlass direct visual impression and SpyGlass-guided biospy (SpyBite) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant bile duct strictures.

Methods: The data of 1,008 patients who were clinically diagnosed with indeterminate biliary strictures and underwent ERCP-guided biopsy, cytobrush, SpyGlass direct visual impression or SpyBite at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between January 2010 and December 2019 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. The final diagnose was determined by surgical pathological specimen or follow-up (Malignant stricture can be identified if the stricture showed malignant progression during one year of follow-up).

Proton pump inhibitor has no effect in the prevention of post-endoscopic sphincterotomy delayed bleeding: a prospective randomized controlled trial.

Background And Aims: Bleeding is one of the common adverse events of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which is mainly caused by endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST). At present, it remains unclear whether proton pump inhibitor (PPI) should be used to prevent post-EST bleeding. Therefore, we performed a randomized controlled trial to investigate whether PPI is effective in the prevention of post-EST delayed bleeding.

Machine learning models identify ferroptosis-related genes as potential diagnostic biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex, and multifactorial neurodegenerative disease. Previous studies have revealed that oxidative stress, synaptic toxicity, autophagy, and neuroinflammation play crucial roles in the progress of AD, however, its pathogenesis is still unclear. Recent researches have indicated that ferroptosis, an iron-dependent programmed cell death, might be involved in the pathogenesis of AD.

IP3R1/GRP75/VDAC1 complex mediates endoplasmic reticulum stress-mitochondrial oxidative stress in diabetic atrial remodeling.

Rationale: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are important mechanisms of atrial remodeling, predisposing to the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes especially their interactions have not been fully elucidated.

Objective: To explore the potential role of ER stress-mitochondrial oxidative stress in atrial remodeling and AF induction in diabetes.

Cardiac abnormalities after induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and connexin43 expression.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is responsible for protein synthesis and calcium storage. ER stress, reflected by protein unfolding and calcium handling abnormalities, has been studied as a pathogenic factor in cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of ER stress on mechanical and electrophysiological functions in the heart and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol improves atrial electrical remodeling in diabetic rats by inhibiting CaMKII/NCX signaling.

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia which is associated with higher risk of stroke, heart failure and all-cause mortality. Abnormal Ca handling in diabetes mellitus (DM) can cause delayed depolarization involved with increased NCX activity. Complicated mechanisms are involved in atrial remodeling, of which CaMKII may be a key node signal.

Blood glucose concentration prediction based on kernel canonical correlation analysis with particle swarm optimization and error compensation.

Background And Objective: Blood glucose levels in humans change over time. Continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS), can constantly monitor the change of blood glucose concentration. Given the historical data of blood glucose, predicting the trend of blood glucose in a short term is important for diabetes.

Excessive Supraventricular Ectopic Activity and Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Purpose Of Review: Excessive supraventricular ectopic activity (ESVEA), in the form of frequent premature atrial contractions (PACs) and runs of PACs, is commonly observed in clinical practice and is frequently considered to be benign. Yet, recent studies have demonstrated a link between ESVEA and adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the association between ESVEA and the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), stroke, and mortality.

Downregulation of CLDN6 inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via regulating EGFR/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Accumulating evidence showed that the claudin-6 (CLDN6) expression was abnormal in many cancers, while its expression and biological functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear. The present study demonstrated that CLDN6 was upregulated in HCC tissues compared with tumour-adjacent tissues. CLDN6 silencing was significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2 cells.

Gene association detection via local linear regression method.

The development of next-generation sequencing technology has provided us with great convenience in genetic association studies and many effective analysis methods were proposed continuously. However, population stratification is still a major issue in current genetic association studies. Many existing methods have been developed to remove the bias due to population stratification for common variant association studies, but such methods may be not effective for rare variant, which will lead to power reduction.

Effects of swimming on pain and inflammatory factors in rats with lumbar disc herniation.

The aim of the present study was to identify the effect of swimming on nerve root pain in rats with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). A total of 72 male Sprague Dawley rats (215±15 g) were randomly divided into three groups (n=24/group): The sham operation, model and exercise intervention groups, with the latter undergoing 4 weeks of swimming training. On days 0, 7, 14 and 28 following surgery, the changes in the post-limb mechanical claw threshold, the phospholipase A2 (PLA2), interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α mRNA expression levels, the secretory PLA2 (sPLA2) expression, the IL-6 and TNF-α content, the nuclear factor (NF)-κBp65 protein expression level in the nucleus pulposus, and the apoptotic rate of the nucleus pulposus cells were detected.

P-Wave Indices and Risk of Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Purpose: Atrial cardiomyopathy is associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke. P-wave terminal force in lead V, P-wave duration, and maximum P-wave area are electrocardiographic parameters that have been used to assess left atrial abnormalities related to developing atrial fibrillation. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine their values for predicting ischemic stroke risk.

Extractions of oil from Descurainia sophia seed using supercritical CO2, chemical compositions by GC-MS and evaluation of the anti-tussive, expectorant and anti-asthmatic activities.

Descurainia sophia is widely distributed in China and is one of the most troublesome annual weeds. It has diverse medicinal usage. D.

Two new alkaloids from Corydalis humosa.

Two new alkaloids, named 1,1-dimethyl-6-methoxy-7-hydroxyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (1) and (1R)-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-7-hydroxyl-8-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (2), together with 11 known compounds (3-13), were isolated from the tubers of Corydalis humosa. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of their spectroscopic and chemical evidence.