Use of the Scissor-Type Knife During the Peroral Endoscopy Myotomy Procedure for the Treatment of Achalasia.

Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is one of the first-line treatment modalities along with pneumatic dilation and Heller myotomy for patients with achalasia. Endoscopists, especially trainees during the learning phase, commonly face difficulty in tissue plane dissection and selective myotomy while working near the esophagogastric junction, with increased risks of inadvertent injury, unexpected bleeding, and inadequate myotomy. To minimize the technical difficulty and improve the safety of POEM, we describe a protocol for using a scissor-type knife for the main steps of POEM, including mucosal incision, submucosal tunneling, myotomy, and hemostasis.

Cost-efficient snare-assisted peroral endoscopic myotomy in comparison of conventional endoscopic knife for treatment of achalasia: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: To date, the ideal endoscopic knife for peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) with good performance and cost-effectiveness is still under investigation. The present study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of snare-assisted POEM, compared with the conventional endoscopic knife approach.

Methods: From May 2017 to December 2018, patients with achalasia presenting for POEM without previous endoscopic or surgical therapy were prospectively recruited in this randomized controlled trial.

Mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicine Bushenantai granules in promoting angiogenesis at the maternal-fetal interface of recurrent spontaneous abortion mice.

Objective: To assess the effects of Bushenantai (BSAT) granule() on angiogenesis-related factors [E2, P, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)] at the maternal-fetal interface of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) mice, and to evaluate the role of BSAT in promoting angiogenesis at the maternal-fetal interface by influencing the expression of sex hormones, and VEGF.

Methods: A mouse model with normal pregnancy and another with Clark's classic RSA were established. The RSA mice were randomly assigned to six groups: normal, model, progesterone, high-doseBSAT granule (BSAT-H), medium-dose-BSAT granule (BSAT-M), and low-dose-BSAT granule (BSAT-L) (n = 10 for each group).

Multistep microsatellite mutation leading to father-child mismatch of FGA locus in a case of non-exclusion parentage.

A non-exclusion paternity case with a mismatch in the autosomal short tandem repeats (STR) locus FGA is reported. The genotypes of the suspected father, the mother and the questioned child in FGA locus were 18/25, 20/26 and 20/22, respectively. Examination of 38 autosomal STR loci revealed no mismatches, and the paternity index is up to 1.

Association of CYP3A4*18B and CYP3A5*3 polymorphism with cyclosporine-related liver injury in Chinese renal transplant recipients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between CYP3A4*18B and CYP3A5*3 polymorphism and cyclosporine-related liver injuries in Chinese renal transplant recipients.

Methods: We genotyped 339 renal transplant recipients treated with a triple immunosuppressive regimen including cyclosporine for CYP3A4*18B and CYP3A5*3 polymorphism using the polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism assay.

Results: The incidence of liver injury in the study population was 36.

Wind tunnel tests for wind pressure distribution on gable roof buildings.

Gable roof buildings are widely used in industrial buildings. Based on wind tunnel tests with rigid models, wind pressure distributions on gable roof buildings with different aspect ratios were measured simultaneously. Some characteristics of the measured wind pressure field on the surfaces of the models were analyzed, including mean wind pressure, fluctuating wind pressure, peak negative wind pressure, and characteristics of proper orthogonal decomposition results of the measured wind pressure field.

[Effect of miR-542-3p on carcinogenesis induced by anti-benzo(a) pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide].

Objective: To explore the effect of miR-542-3p in malignant transformation of human bronchial epithelial cells (16HBE) induced by anti-benzo(a)pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (anti-BPDE).

Methods: The relative expression level of mature miR-542-3p in transformed cells (16HBE-T) and untransformed control cells (16HBE-N) was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). miRNA mimic was transiently transfected into 16HBE-T to change the expression level of miR-542-3p, and then the influenced changes of cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and soft agar colony formation rate and the migration of transfected cells were analyzed.