RIRS with FV-UAS vs. ESWL for the management of 1-2 cm lower pole renal calculi in obese patients: a prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) combined with flexible vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath (FV-UAS) versus extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) for the management of 1-2 cm lower pole renal calculi (LPC) in obese patients.

Patients And Methods: This prospective, randomized study included 149 obese patients with 1-2 cm LPC. Patients were allocated into two groups: 76 patients underwent RIRS with FV-UAS, and 73 patients received ESWL.

Effectiveness of Tai Chi Yunshou motor imagery training for hemiplegic upper extremity motor function in poststroke patients: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Evidence concerning the effect of Tai Chi Yunshou motor imagery training (TCY-MIT) on upper extremity motor function (UE-MF) recovery in poststroke patients is lacking, and few studies have examined the neural mechanisms of MIT. The study was designed to assess the effectiveness of TCY-MIT and its possible neural mechanisms.

Methods/design: The study is an assessor-blinded, parallel, superiority, randomized clinical trial.

Effects of Training with a Brain-Computer Interface-Controlled Robot on Rehabilitation Outcome in Patients with Subacute Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Stroke is always associated with a difficult functional recovery process. A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a technology which provides a direct connection between the human brain and external devices. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether training with a BCI-controlled robot can improve functions in patients with subacute stroke.

Transcranial pulse current stimulation improves the locomotor function in a rat model of stroke.

Previous studies have shown that transcranial pulse current stimulation (tPCS) can increase cerebral neural plasticity and improve patients' locomotor function. However, the precise mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. In the present study, rat models of stroke established by occlusion of the right cerebral middle artery were subjected to tPCS, 20 minutes per day for 7 successive days.

Effectiveness of theta and gamma electroacupuncture for post-stroke patients on working memory and electrophysiology: study protocol for a double-center, randomized, patient- and assessor-blinded, sham-controlled, parallel, clinical trial.

Background: Practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine have suggested that electroacupuncture (EA) could improve post-stroke cognitive impairment, based on the clinical evidence. This study protocol is aimed at showing the effectiveness of theta and gamma EA for post-stroke patients on working memory (WM) and electrophysiology.

Methods: After assessing their eligibility, 66 patients with stroke will be enrolled from two Chinese medicine hospitals and randomly divided into theta frequency EA group, gamma frequency EA group, and sham-EA group according to the ratio of 1:1:1.

Autophagy-Related Beclin 1 and Head and Neck Cancers.

Beclin 1, a positive regulator of autophagy, behaves as a double-edged sword in tumorigenesis. Beclin 1 contributes to tumor suppression by removing defective or damaged organelles and other cellular components; however, its activity can also stimulate cancer initiation and progression. In head and neck cancer, Beclin 1 overexpression promotes autophagy, which limits DNA damage and chromosomal instability and increases necrosis and inflammation by impacting apoptotic and autophagic pathways.

CGRP Reduces Apoptosis of DRG Cells Induced by High-Glucose Oxidative Stress Injury through PI3K/AKT Induction of Heme Oxygenase-1 and Nrf-2 Expression.

Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, which are sensitive to oxidative stress due to their anatomical and structural characteristics, play a complex role in the initiation and progression of diabetic bladder neuropathy. We investigated the hypothesis that the antioxidant and antiapoptotic effects of CGRP may be partly related to the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1, via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway, thus reducing apoptosis and oxidative stress responses. This study shows that CGRP activates the PI3K/AKT pathway, thereby inducing increased expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 and resulting in the decrease of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels and reduced neuronal apoptosis.

Aphasia rehabilitation based on mirror neuron theory: a randomized-block-design study of neuropsychology and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

When watching someone performs an action, mirror neurons are activated in a way that is very similar to the activation that occurs when actually performing that action. Previous single-sample case studies indicate that hand-action observation training may lead to activation and remodeling of mirror neuron systems, which include important language centers, and may improve language function in aphasia patients. In this randomized-block-design experiment, we recruited 24 aphasia patients from, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, China.

Caffeine improves bladder function in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Aims: To examine the protective effects of caffeine in rats with diabetes mellitus (DM) by using urodynamics.

Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 24) were divided into four groups: control group, DM group, DM + caffeine (5 mg/kg/day), and DM + caffeine (10 mg/kg/day). DM was induced by streptozotocin (STZ).

Curcumin ameliorates cisplatin-induced cystopathy via activating NRF2 pathway.

Objectives: The present work evaluated preventive effect of curcumin on cisplatin-induced bladder cystopathy.

Methods: Fifteen female rats were divided into (i) Control group administered with physiological saline solution for 5 days; (ii) Cis-P group injected with cisplatin (6 mg/kg); and (iii) Cis-Cur group given cisplatin (6 mg/kg) with curcumin for 5 consecutive days. The function of bladder was measured by means of urodynamic analysis.

The diagnostic role of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

The aim of the present study was to assess the role of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in hypopharyngeal carcinoma. A total of 40 hypopharyngeal carcinoma tissues and 15 benign lesion tissues were retrospectively analyzed. DWI, and T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed.

Inability of PET/CT to identify a primary sinonasal inverted papilloma with squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with a submandibular lymph node metastasis: A case report.

The present study describes the first reported case of a sinonasal inverted papilloma (IP) with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) that presented as a cancer of unknown primary in the English-language literature. In July 2010, a 66-year old male presented with a 6-month history of a painless, progressive mass in the right submandibular region. Physical examination revealed a 3×4-cm smooth, non-tender mass and subsequently, excision of the right submandibular gland was performed.

[Effects of different host plants on the cold-resistant substances in overwintering larvae of Carposina sasakii Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae)].

To evaluate the influence of different host plants including apple, wild jujube, jujube, pear and hawthorn on the cold-tolerance substances in overwintering larvae of the peach fruit moth Carposina sasakii Matsumura, we measured the larvae super-cooling capacity, the water content (W), total fat content (TFC), total protein content (TPC) and total glycogen content (TGC) in the body. Results showed that the mean super-cooling point (SCPs) and freezing point (FPs) of overwintering larvae from the 5 host plant fruits differed significantly, ranging from -15.53 to -8.

[Resistance mechanisms and cross-resistance of phoxim-resistant Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande population].

To understand the resistance risks of Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande against phoxim, this paper studied the resistance mechanisms of phoxim-resistant F. occidentalis population against phoxim and the cross-resistance of the population against other insecticides. The phoxim-resistant population had medium level cross-resistance to chlorpyrifos, lambda-cyhalothrin, and methomyl, low level cross-resistance to chlorfenapyr, imidacloprid, emamectin-benzoate, and spinosad, but no cross-resistance to acetamiprid and abamectin.