Epigallocatechin-3-gallate ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute thymus involution in mice via AMPK/Sirt1 pathway.

The thymus, a site to culture the naïve T lymphocytes, is susceptible to atrophy or involution due to aging, inflammation, and oxidation. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been proven to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor activity. Here, we investigate the effects of EGCG on thymic involution induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an endotoxin derived from Gram-negative bacteria.

Associations between the use of red yeast rice preparations and adverse health outcomes: An umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Red yeast rice (RYR), a natural lipid-lowering agent, is widely used in clinical practice. However, the existing meta-analyses concerning the safety of RYR preparations have yielded inconsistent results, and the credibility of the evidence has not been quantified.

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the existing evidence and offer a comprehensive understanding of the associations between the use of RYR preparations and various adverse health outcomes.

Healthy Lifestyle and Quality of Life in Post-Operative Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Five-Month Observational Study.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important indicator of treatment effectiveness. An unhealthy lifestyle can have a negative impact on quality of life. This study aimed to investigate changes in health-related lifestyle over time after surgery for colorectal cancer and their impact on HRQOL.

Establishment and comparison of piecewise linear regression models to measure thyroid volume by 2D and 3D ultrasound.

Objective: Compared thyroid volumes measured by 2-D and 3-D US with those of resected specimens and proposed new models to improve measurement accuracy.

Methods: This study included 80 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy. One 2D_model and one 3D_model were developed using piecewise linear regression analysis.

Metformin ameliorates thymus degeneration of mice by regulating mitochondrial function.

As the main lymphoid organ, the thymus degenerates with age. The loss of thymic epithelial cells is mainly related to thymus degeneration and reduced T cells development. As an insulin sensitizer, metformin is a first-line drug for the treatment of diabetes and has been shown to prolong the lifespan of mice, but the mechanism is still unclear.

Influence of albumin and physical activity on postoperative recovery in patients with colorectal cancer: An observational study.

Purpose: The study explores the influences of nutrition-related factors (albumin, hemoglobin, and obesity) and lifestyles (physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, smoking, and drinking) on the length of hospital stay in postoperative colorectal cancer patients.

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of 106 preoperative colorectal cancer patients was recruited from a medical center in Taiwan.

Combination of high-frequency ultrasound and virtual touch tissue imaging and quantification improve the diagnostic efficiency for mild carpal tunnel syndrome.

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment symptom in the peripheral nerves. High-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) is widely used in the diagnosis of CTS. Virtual Touch Tissue Imaging and Quantification (VTIQ), which provides more information about the hardness of organization, is used to diagnose CTS.

Nomograms for predicting overall survival and cancer-specific survival in young patients with pancreatic cancer in the US based on the SEER database.

Background: The incidence of young patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) is on the rise, and there is a lack of models that could effectively predict their prognosis. The purpose of this study was to construct nomograms for predicting the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of young patients with PC.

Methods: PC patients younger than 50 years old from 2004 to 2015 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were selected and randomly divided into training set and validation set.

Proteomics insights into the effects of MSTN on muscle glucose and lipid metabolism in genetically edited cattle.

The molecular mechanism underlying myostatin (MSTN)-regulated metabolic cross-talk remains poorly understood. In this study, we performed comparative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses of gluteus muscle tissues from MSTN transgenic cattle using a shotgun-based tandem mass tag (TMT) 6-plex labeling method to explore the signaling pathway of MSTN in metabolic cross-talk and cellular metabolism during muscle development. A total of 72 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and 36 differentially expressed phosphoproteins (DEPPs) were identified in MSTN cattle compared to wild-type cattle.

Knockdown of protein kinase CK2 blocked gene expression mediated by brain-derived neurotrophic factor-induced serum response element.

One of the principal signaling pathway outcomes from brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the activation of antiapoptotic pathways. In addition to the role of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, BDNF activates protein kinase CK2 to mediate its neuroprotective effect. The inhibition of CK2 activity has been shown to induce apoptosis.

Betulinic acid impairs metastasis and reduces immunosuppressive cells in breast cancer models.

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer with considerable metastatic potential, explaining the need for new candidates that inhibit tumor metastasis. In our study, betulinic acid (BA), a kind of pentacyclic triterpenoid compound derived from birch trees, was evaluated for its anti-metastasis activity and . BA decreased the viability of three breast cancer cell lines and markedly impaired cell migration and invasion.

Noninvasive evaluation of gastric emptying and gastric wall thickness in SLE patients.

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the gastric emptying in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with gastrointestinal involvement using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography.

Methods: The gastric emptying times at 25% (T1), 50% (T2), and 75% (T3) of SLE patients with gastrointestinal involvement (n = 40) and healthy controls (n = 80) were evaluated and compared. In addition, the correlations among the gastric wall thickness, SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI), and upper gastrointestinal symptoms were calculated.

Evaluation of gastric blood supply in diabetic patients with gastroparesis by contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Objective: Improvement in regional blood flow has been shown to ameliorate diabetic gastroparesis. We compared the gastric blood supply in patients with diabetes with gastroparesis with that in healthy subjects, by using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).

Methods: 30 healthy subjects and 40 patients with diabetic gastroparesis were enrolled.

Application of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography and ultrasonography scores in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To investigate diagnostic value of ultrasonography scores (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in evaluating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) activity.

Methods: 39 patients with RA were included and the metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, wrist, elbow and knee joints of them were examined by high frequency ultrasound. The severe joints and the related indexes (synovial thickness, synovial blood flow, joint effusion and bone erosion) were exposed.

Evaluation of gastric emptying in diabetic gastropathy by an ultrasonic whole stomach cylinder method.

In order to explore the accuracy of ultrasonic whole stomach cylinder measurement (UWSCM) in the evaluation of gastric emptying, we measured the gastric emptying times (ET) at 25% (T1), 50% (T2) and 75% (T3) of healthy subjects and patients with diabetic gastropathy by UWSCM and scintigraphy. The ET of patients were compared with their clinical symptom scores. We found that the ET measured by UWSCM showed no significant difference with scintigraphy (p > 0.

[Preliminary exploration on submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection for middle and lower esophagus submucosal tumors].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection (STER) in the treatment of middle and lower esophagus submucosal tumors (SMT) originating from muscularis propria (MP) layer.

Methods: A total number of 33 esophagus submucosal tumor (SMT) originating from MP layer underwent tumor resection by STER after endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and CT examination at Endoscopy Center, Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University from March 2012 to March 2013. There were 17 males and 16 females with an age range of (50 ± 10) years.

Expression of interleukin-22/STAT3 signaling pathway in ulcerative colitis and related carcinogenesis.

Aim: To investigate the expression of interleukin (IL)-22 and its related proteins in biopsy specimens from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and UC-related carcinogenesis.

Methods: Biopsy specimens were obtained from patients with inactive (n = 10), mild-to-moderately active (n = 30), severely active (n = 34), initial (n = 30), and chronic UC (n = 44), as well as UC patients with dysplasia (n = 10). Specimens from patients without colonic abnormalities (n = 20) served as controls.

8-Acetyl-4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromen-7-yl acetate.

In the title compound, C(14)H(12)O(5), the benzopyran-2-one ring system is approximately planar [maximum deviation = 0.018 (1) Å]; the mean plane is oriented at dihedral angles of 52.26 (11) and 72.

7-Hy-droxy-4-methyl-8-(3-methyl-benzo-yl)-2H-chromen-2-one ethanol monosolvate.

In the title compound, C(18)H(14)O(4)·C(2)H(6)O, the coumarin ring system is approximately planar with a maximum deviation of 0.037 (3) Å and is nearly perpendicular to the benzene ring, making a dihedral angle of 86.55 (9)°.

4-Carb-oxy-anilinium chloride.

In the title salt, C(7)H(8)NO(2) (+)·Cl(-), the cation and anion are linked by an O-H⋯Cl hydrogen bond. The three-dimensional crystal structure is stabilized by N-H⋯O and N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds.

Bis(1-methyl-1H-imidazole-κN)bis-[2-(naphthalen-1-yl)acetato-κO]copper(II) monohydrate.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [Cu(C(12)H(9)O(2))(2)(C(4)H(6)N(2))(2)]·H(2)O, the Cu(II) atom is coordinated by two 2-(naphthalen-1-yl)acetate anions and two 1-methyl-imidazole ligands, giving monomeric complexes with a square-planar coordination environment. Two complex mol-ecules and two water mol-ecules form a centrosymmetric ring system via O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

Bis-(2-methyl-1H-imidazole-κN)bis[2-(naphthalen-2-yl)acetato-κO]copper(II).

In the crystal structure of the title compound, [Cu(C(12)H(9)O(2))(2)(C(4)H(6)N(2))(2)], the Cu(II) cations are square-planar coordinated by two 1-naphthyl-acetate anions and two 2-methyl-imidazole ligands into discrete complexes that are located on centres of inversion. These complexes are linked into chains parallel to [010] by inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding between the N-H H atom of the 2-methyl-imidazole ligands and the carboxyl-ate O atoms that are not involved in metal coordination.

Hexaaqua-cobalt(II) bis-(5-acetyl-2-hy-droxy-benzoate) dihydrate.

In the title compound, [Co(H(2)O)(6)](C(9)H(7)O(4))(2)·2H(2)O, the Co(2+) cation lies on a twofold rotation axis and is coordinated by six water mol-ecules in a distorted octa-hedral geometry. In the 5-acetyl-2-hy-droxy-benzoate anion, the hy-droxy group links with the carboxyl-ate group via an intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bond and the acetyl group is twisted to the benzene ring at a dihedral angle of 16.99 (12)°.