Association of ADAMTS-5 gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility to knee osteoarthritis in a Chinese Han population.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent type of arthritis and the main reason for progressive disability in middle-aged and older people. Studies of candidate genes may provide a novel insight and treatment strategy for knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between KOA susceptibility and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the ADAMTS-5 gene.

Preparation of nano-sized multi-vesicular vesicles (MVVs) and its application in co-delivery of doxorubicin and curcumin.

Multi-vesicular vesicles (MVVs) offer structural advantages in terms of drug encapsulation and physiological stability. In this study, we address the challenge of preparing small-sized MVVs for drug delivery. The nano-sized MVVs (∼120 nm) loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and curcumin (CUR) (DOX/CUR@MVVs) were successfully prepared using a glass bead combined with a thin film dispersion method.

Efficacy and Safety of the TYK2/JAK1 Inhibitor Brepocitinib for Active Psoriatic Arthritis: A Phase IIb Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Brepocitinib is a TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor in development for the treatment of several immunologic diseases. The efficacy and safety of oral brepocitinib were assessed in participants with moderately-to-severely active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) for up to 52 weeks.

Methods: In this placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, phase IIb study, participants were randomized to receive 10 mg, 30 mg, or 60 mg of brepocitinib once daily or placebo, advancing to 30 mg or 60 mg of brepocitinib once daily at week 16.

An Acid-Sensitive Nanofiber Conjugate Based on a Short Aromatic Peptide for Targeted Delivery of Doxorubicin in Liver Cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to construct a DOX conjugate with liver tumor targeting and acid sensitivity based on a short aromatic peptide FFYEE, which could amplify the tumor inhibition efficacy of DOX and alleviate tissue toxicity.

Methods: A novel DOX-peptide conjugate, D-gal-FFYEE-hyd-DOX, was constructed by linking DOX to the side chain of FFYEE with acid-sensitive hydrazone bond and by modifying the C-terminal of peptide with α-D-galactosamine (D-gal) as targeting ligand. The structure of D-gal-FFYEE-hyd-DOX was characterized by mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy (IR), and UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis).

Glass Refraction Distortion Object Detection via Abstract Features.

Glass reflection and refraction lead to missing and distorted object feature data, affecting the accuracy of object detection. In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposed a glass refraction distortion object detection via abstract features. The number of parameters of the algorithm is reduced by introducing skip connections and expansion modules with different expansion rates.

Measuring the Influence of Legally Recognized Partnerships on the Health and Well-Being of Same-Sex Couples: Utility of the California Health Interview Survey.

Purpose: This study explored the utility of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) to compare health-related outcomes among gay men, lesbians, and heterosexuals who reported being in a legally recognized partnership.

Methods: We regressed sexual identity and marriage/legally recognized partnership status on seven different outcomes related to health insurance coverage, medical services access and use, and general health and well-being using CHIS data collected between 2009 and 2013.

Results: There were 1432 respondents who identified as gay, lesbian, or homosexual, and 67,746 who identified as heterosexual.

Quality of well-being outcomes in the National Emphysema Treatment Trial.

Background: Surgical and medical treatments for emphysema may affect both quality and quantity of life. The purpose of this article is to report outcomes from the National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) using an index that combines quality and quantity of life.

Methods: This was a prospective randomized clinical trial.

Long-term follow-up of high-risk patients in the National Emphysema Treatment Trial.

Background: The National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT) was a randomized clinical trial designed to compare lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) with maximal medical care for patients with severe emphysema. The trial was halted early for a subgroup of patients with severe lung disease. We report longer term follow-up for this high-risk subgroup.

A latent model to detect multiple clusters of varying sizes.

This article develops a latent model and likelihood-based inference to detect temporal clustering of events. The model mimics typical processes generating the observed data. We apply model selection techniques to determine the number of clusters, and develop likelihood inference and a Monte Carlo expectation-maximization algorithm to estimate model parameters, detect clusters, and identify cluster locations.

Comparisons between ITT and treatment emergent adverse event analyses.

Different from the use of intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis for efficacy evaluation, many pharmaceutical companies currently use treatment emergent (TE) analysis for adverse event (AE) safety analysis. In the TE analysis, study period and AEs occurring after a pre-specified post-treatment window will not be included. One consideration for using the TE AE analysis is that including substantial off-drug period and events in the analysis may dilute the power for detecting safety signals especially if after discontinuation residual treatment effect diminishes quickly.

Impact of baseline ECG collection on the planning, analysis and interpretation of 'thorough' QT trials.

The current guidelines, ICH E14, for the evaluation of non-antiarrhythmic compounds require a 'thorough' QT study (TQT) conducted during clinical development (ICH Guidance for Industry E14, 2005). Owing to the regulatory choice of margin (10 ms), the TQT studies must be conducted to rigorous standards to ensure that variability is minimized. Some of the key sources of variation can be controlled by use of randomization, crossover design, standardization of electrocardiogram (ECG) recording conditions and collection of replicate ECGs at each time point.