Assessment of the re-entry tear index as a prognostic indicator for renal perfusion improvement after thoracic endovascular aortic repair in patients with acute and subacute Stanford type b aortic dissection with renal artery involvement.

Background: Aortic dissection is the most common acute aortic syndrome, and renal artery is the most common involved artery. The size and location of the re-entry tear directly affect the blood flow enhancement of the false lumen branch artery after surgery. In this study, the morphology and hemodynamics of the re-entry tear were comprehensively analyzed, and the location and size of the re-entry tear were quantitatively evaluated to calculate the re-entry tear index (RTI).

Noninvasive carotid ultrasound for predicting vulnerable plaques of the coronary artery based on optical coherence tomography images.

Background: The risk factors for coronary and carotid plaque development are consistent. Coronary plaque rupture is a major cause of adverse cardiovascular events. Ultrasound can evaluate vulnerable carotid plaques and provide information for predicting vulnerable coronary plaques identified by optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Clinical study of carotid superb microvascular imaging in evaluating the activity of Takayasu's arteritis.

Objective: The goal of this study is to use superb microvascular imaging (SMI) to observe neovascularization in the carotid vessel wall to identify potential Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) inflammation markers.

Methods: Bilateral carotid arteries from 96 patients with TAK were imaged by a Doppler ultrasound and SMI. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to document significant differences between the activity and inactivity stages of TAK and the factors closely related to its activity in the binary logistics regression equation.

Association between lipoprotein(a) and peripheral arterial disease in coronary artery bypass grafting patients.

Objective: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) affects a large population and is associated with various adverse clinical outcomes. Lipoprotein(a) has proatherogenic properties and is associated with PAD incidence and severity. The aim of this study is to explore the association between LP(a) and PAD in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients.

Smaller amygdala subnuclei volume in schizophrenia patients with violent behaviors.

To investigate the association between the volume of amygdala subnuclei and violent behaviors in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). In the present study, we recruited 40 SCZ patients with violent behaviors (VS), 26 SCZ patients without violent behaviors (NVS), and 28 matched healthy controls (HC) who completed T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Both the total amygdala and amygdala subnuclei volumes were estimated with FreeSurfer.

Integrative Pan-Cancer Analysis of KIF15 Reveals Its Diagnosis and Prognosis Value in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Background: KIF15 plays a vital role in many biological processes and has been reported to influence the occurrence and development of certain human cancers. However, there are few systematic evaluations on the role of KIF15 in human cancers, and the role of KIF15 in the diagnosis and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) also remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a pan-cancer analysis of KIF15 and evaluate its diagnostic and prognostic potential in NPC.

Effect of on sows' farrowing duration and reproductive performance, and weanling piglets' performance and IgG concentration.

We studied the effects of CNCM I-1079 (LSB) supplemented to lactating sows on reproductive traits and farrowing duration and to piglets from day 7 of life on post-weaning performance and IgG concentration. Ninety-six Landrace × Yorkshire sows started the trial 5 days before the expected farrowing date. Sows were distributed into 2 groups according to parity number and backfat thickness: control (CON: regular lactation diet) and LSB (CON + LSB at 2 × 10 colony forming units [CFU]/kg of feed).

APOE E4 is associated with hyperlipidemia and obesity in elderly schizophrenic patients.

Obesity is a critical issue in patients with schizophrenia, which is considered to be brought about by both environmental and genetic factors. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphisms might be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, however, the effect of APOE gene polymorphism on obesity has never been investigated in Chinese aging with schizophrenia. This cross-sectional study was to investigate the effect of obesity on cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in elderly participants with schizophrenia.

Volumetric Abnormalities in Violent Schizophrenia Patients on the General Psychiatric Ward.

Background: In recent years, neuroimaging has been used increasingly to explore the biological underpinnings of violence carried out by schizophrenia patients (SPs). Studies have focused mostly on patients with a history of carrying out severe physical assaults, or comorbid with substance abuse/personality disorder (SA/PD). As a result, participants were unrepresentative and the interpretation of brain-structure changes was confusing.

Usefulness of ultrasound in the management of aortic dissection.

Aortic dissection is an acute large vessel disease characterized by sudden onset, rapid disease progression and high mortality. Color doppler ultrasound analyzed the morphological and hemodynamic status of aortic branches before and after aortic dissection surgery, including carotid, subclavian, renal, celiac, superior mesenteric and iliac arteries. Transthoracic echocardiography, vascular ultrasound, transesophageal echocardiography, intravascular ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography are complementary to aortic multi-slice spiral computed tomography angiography for diagnosis, treatment and prognostic evaluation.

Effects of Omega-3 in the treatment of violent schizophrenia patients.

Objective: This study was designed to explore the relationship in between the daily consumption of fish oil (360mg DHA+540mg EPA), and reduction of symptoms and violent behavior among patients with schizophrenia.

Method: Fifty inpatients meeting ICD-10 criteria for schizophrenia and scoring more than four of Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) with antipsychotics treatment were randomly assigned to receive either fish oil (N=28) or a placebo (N=22) in a twelve week, double-blind supplementation trial. Assessments were performed at baseline and at weeks 4, 8 and 12.

Real-time tissue elastography for the detection of vulnerable carotid plaques in patients undergoing endarterectomy: a pilot study.

We examined the utility of ultrasonic real-time tissue elastography (RTE) and conventional B-mode ultrasound (US) in the detection of vulnerable carotid atherosclerotic plaques. This prospective study comprised 19 patients scheduled for carotid endarterectomy. Results obtained from pre-operative RTE and B-mode US and post-operative pathology were compared.

Discovery and identification of a novel Ligon lintless-like mutant (Lix) similar to the Ligon lintless (Li1) in allotetraploid cotton.

Mutants are a powerful resource for studying gene structure, function, and evolution. In this present study, a novel Ligon lintless-like mutant (Lix), that has short fibers and deformed leaves and stems, was isolated from the progeny of transgenic cottons. The Lix mutant is similar in morphology to the Ligon lintless (Li1) mutant.

Diagnostic value of serum human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in ovarian carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), a precursor of human epididymis protein, has been recently identified as a new promising serum biomarker for ovarian carcinoma. We performed a systematic review of studies that investigated the use of HE4 in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer in patients with pelvic or gynecological masses. We also evaluated the diagnostic performance of HE4 for differentiating between patients with benign gynecological disease and those with ovarian cancer.