Albumin-bilirubin score in non-malignant liver and other diseases.

The albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score is derived from albumin and bilirubin levels. Currently, the ALBI score is widely used in various clinical settings. A recent article in the summarized the application of the ALBI score in various non-malignant liver diseases.

Machine learning in predicting postoperative complications in Crohn's disease.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of unknown origin that can cause significant disability and morbidity with its progression. Due to the unique nature of CD, surgery is often necessary for many patients during their lifetime, and the incidence of postoperative complications is high, which can affect the prognosis of patients. Therefore, it is essential to identify and manage postoperative complications.

Complete chloroplast genome of W.T.Wang (Ranunculaceae).

W.T. Wang 1980 is an important traditional medicinal plant used for the treatment of cardiac diseases.

[Impact of high temperature on sperm function: An update].

Spermatogenesis and sperm maturation are closely related to temperature and require a temperature slightly lower than the normal body temperature. Therefore, high temperature is an important external factor affecting sperm function, and the studies on the underlying mechanisms are of great significance for the treatment of male infertility, improvement of in vitro sperm preservation and further elucidation of spermatogenesis and sperm maturation. It is known currently that the influence of high temperature on sperm involves genetic material, morphology, survival rate, motility and fertility, most of which have been found in various species and may be attributed to the conserved common process or common substances in spermatogenesis and maturation.

Diagnostic Utility of Interferon-Gamma Release Assay in Tuberculous Lymphadenitis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of T-SPOT.TB for tuberculous lymphadenitis. Suspected tuberculous lymphadenitis patients between September 2010 and September 2018 who had both peripheral blood T-SPOT.

Resveratrol Rescues Tau-Induced Cognitive Deficits and Neuropathology in a Mouse Model of Tauopathy.

Background: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles assembled by the microtubuleassociated protein tau. Increasing evidence demonstrated that tau pathology played an important role in AD progression. Resveratrol (RSV) has previously proved to exert neuroprotective effect against AD by inhibiting Aβ generation and Aβ-induced neurocytotoxicity, while its effect on tau pathology is still unknown.

Resveratrol alleviates motor and cognitive deficits and neuropathology in the A53T α-synuclein mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by Lewy pathology and progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Lewy pathology mainly consists of abnormal aggregates of α-synuclein, which play a pivotal role in PD pathophysiology. However, the complexity of PD leads to clinical challenges, and there are still no treatments to halt or slow the neurodegenerative process.

[Values of Different Laboratory Diagnostic Approaches for Tuberculous Peritonitis].

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of different laboratory approaches for tuberculous peritonitis(TP).Methods The clinical data of patients with suspected TP who were mainly manifested as ascites in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2014 to June 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Ascites samples were tested with different diagnostic approaches,including acid fast stain,culture for mycobacterium,real-time polymerase chain reaction for identifying DNA of mycobacterium tuberculosis,and T-cell spot of tuberculosis test(T-SPOT.

Whole-genome resequencing reveals candidate mutations for pig prolificacy.

Changes in pig fertility have occurred as a result of domestication, but are not understood at the level of genetic variation. To identify variations potentially responsible for prolificacy, we sequenced the genomes of the highly prolific Taihu pig breed and four control breeds. Genes involved in embryogenesis and morphogenesis were targeted in the Taihu pig, consistent with the morphological differences observed between the Taihu pig and others during pregnancy.

Spaceflight-Induced Intracranial Hypertension and Visual Impairment: Pathophysiology and Countermeasures.

Visual impairment intracranial pressure (VIIP) syndrome is considered an unexplained major risk for future long-duration spaceflight. NASA recently redefined this syndrome as Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS). Evidence thus reviewed supports that chronic, mildly elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) in space (as opposed to more variable ICP with posture and activity on Earth) is largely accounted for by loss of hydrostatic pressures and altered hemodynamics in the intracranial circulation and the cerebrospinal fluid system.

Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics of Patients with Nontuberculous Mycobacterium Bloodstream Infection in a Tertiary Referral Hospital in Beijing, China.

Background: Nontuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) bloodstream infection (BSI) is relatively rare. We aimed in this study to evaluate the clinical characteristics, laboratory evaluation, and outcomes of patients with NTM BSI.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of inpatients with NTM BSI at our institution between January 2008 and January 2015 and recorded clinical parameters including age, gender, underlying disease, clinical manifestation, organs involved with NTM disease, species of NTM, laboratory data, treatment and outcome of these patients.

Systems specificity in responsiveness to intermittent artificial gravity during simulated microgravity in rats.

It has been shown that the minimum gravity exposure requirements vary greatly among different physiological systems. A preliminary comparison between two extremes, vessels vs. bones, shows that not only the mechanostat at the tissue level differs greatly, but also the bone loss during weightlessness may also involve calcium deposition-resorption changes.

Clinical and Laboratory Diagnosis of Intestinal Tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a worldwide problem. Intestinal TB (ITB) constitutes a major public health problem in developing countries and has been associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to characterize the clinical, radiological, endoscopic, and pathological features of ITB and to define the strategy for establishing the diagnosis.

Diagnostic Value of T-cell Interferon-γ Release Assays on Synovial Fluid for Articular Tuberculosis: A Pilot Study.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health challenge. Articular TB is an important form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, and its diagnosis is difficult because of the low sensitivity of traditional methods. The aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic value of T-SPOT.

Identification of Laying-Related SNP Markers in Geese Using RAD Sequencing.

Laying performance is an important economical trait of goose production. As laying performance is of low heritability, it is of significance to develop a marker-assisted selection (MAS) strategy for this trait. Definition of sequence variation related to the target trait is a prerequisite of quantitating MAS, but little is presently known about the goose genome, which greatly hinders the identification of genetic markers for the laying traits of geese.

[Study on seeds after-ripening regulation and key techniques for seedling of Pulsatilla cernua].

Objective: The seeds of Pulsatilla cernua were used as tested materials for screening and establishing the main factors with different levels to control fast development of seed embryonic and seedlings of Pulsatilla cernua.

Methods: The main factors with different levels for development of seed embryonic and seedlings of Pulsatilla cernua were investigated through repeated experiments with multifactorial and cross.

Results: The method for development of seedlings and seeds germination of Pulsatilla cernua were to soak the seeds in the mixed solutions with 2.

Mechanics and composition of middle cerebral arteries from simulated microgravity rats with and without 1-h/d -Gx gravitation.

Background: To elucidate further from the biomechanical aspect whether microgravity-induced cerebral vascular mal-adaptation might be a contributing factor to postflight orthostatic intolerance and the underlying mechanism accounting for the potential effectiveness of intermittent artificial gravity (IAG) in preventing this adverse effect.

Methodology/principal Findings: Middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) were isolated from 28-day SUS (tail-suspended, head-down tilt rats to simulate microgravity effect), S+D (SUS plus 1-h/d -Gx gravitation by normal standing to simulate IAG), and CON (control) rats. Vascular myogenic reactivity and circumferential stress-strain and axial force-pressure relationships and overall stiffness were examined using pressure arteriography and calculated.

Histone H2B monoubiquitination is involved in regulating the dynamics of microtubules during the defense response to Verticillium dahliae toxins in Arabidopsis.

Histone H2B monoubiquitination (H2Bub) is being recognized as a regulatory mechanism that controls a range of cellular processes in plants, but the molecular mechanisms of H2Bub that are involved in responses to biotic stress are largely unknown. In this study, we used wild-type and H2Bub loss-of-function mutations of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to elucidate which of its mechanisms are involved in the regulation of the plant's defense response to Verticillium dahliae (Vd) toxins. We demonstrate that the depolymerization of the cortical microtubules (MTs) was different in the wild type and the mutants in the response to Vd toxins.

Intraocular/Intracranial pressure mismatch hypothesis for visual impairment syndrome in space.

Visual impairment intracranial pressure syndrome (VIIP) is considered a major risk for future human spaceflight. Loss of hydrostatic pressure gradients in vascular and cerebrospinal fluid systems due to the removal of gravity associated with subsequent intracranial and intraocular fluid shifts and the resulting intraocular/intracranial pressure mismatch might be important etiology factors causingVIIP syndrome. Acclimation changes in the ocular and cerebral circulation and the two fluid systems during chronic microgravity exposure and their underlying mechanisms need further elucidation.

Development of anodic titania nanotubes for application in high sensitivity amperometric glucose and uric acid biosensors.

The purpose of this study was to develop novel nanoscale biosensors using titania nanotubes (TNTs) made by anodization. Titania nanotubes were produced on pure titanium sheets by anodization at room temperature. In this research, the electrolyte composition ethylene glycol 250 mL/NH4F 1.

Serum HBV DNA level at week 12 is superior to viral response at week 24 in predicting long-term treatment outcome of telbivudine for chronic hepatitis B patients.

Background: Telbivudine, one of the five nucleos(t)ide antiviral drugs, was reported to be superior to lamivudine in a better biochemical, virological, and histological response for treatment-naive patients in the GLOBE trial. The aim of this study was to determine the antiviral potency, viral resistance, and the signifcance of early response for long-term telbivudine treatment.

Methods: We recruited 161 patients of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) on telbivudine between January 2009 and September 2011 in Macau, China.

A prospective longitudinal study evaluating a T-cell-based assay for latent tuberculosis infection in health-care workers in a general hospital in Beijing.

Background: The health-care workers (HCWs) are at high risk of acquiring infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The objectives of this study were to compare the performance of the T-SPOT.TB and tuberculin skin test (TST) for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), evaluate diagnostic concordance and risk factors for LTBI, and observe the progression to active tuberculosis (TB) disease among HCWs in a general hospital in Beijing.

Region-specific vascular remodeling and its prevention by artificial gravity in weightless environment.

Evidence from recent ground and spaceflight studies with animals and humans supports the notion that microgravity-induced vascular remodeling contributes to postflight orthostatic intolerance. In the vascular beds of lower body, such as in splanchnic and lower limb circulation, resistance vessels would undergo hypotrophy and decrement in myogenic tone and vasoreactivity. Thus, despite the concurrent sympathetic activation, the increase in peripheral vascular resistance would still be compromised while astronauts were re-exposed to Earth's 1-G gravity, since ~75 % of the total vascular conductance lies below the heart.