Risk Prediction Models for Post-Stroke Dementia.

A strong association exists between stroke and dementia with both diseases linked to ageing. Survival rates from stroke are improving which would equate to an ever-expanding population of patients at risk of future dementia. Early or timelier identification of dementia has become a priority in many countries, including the UK.

[Impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio on the prognosis of patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer].

Objective: To investigate the impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR) on the prognosis of patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer (LACRC).

Methods: Clinicopathological data of 684 patients with stage II(-III( CRC undergoing radical resection at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital from January 2008 to December 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. NLR was calculated from neutrophil and lymphocyte counts on routine blood tests prior to surgery.

Prostaglandin E receptor subtype 4 regulates lipid droplet size and mitochondrial activity in murine subcutaneous white adipose tissue.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether genetic ablation of prostaglandin E receptor subtype 4 (EP4) affects white adipose tissue (WAT) remodeling mediated by β-adrenergic stimulation. The selective β-adrenergic agonist, CL316243 (1 mg/kg/d, i.p.

Effect of Fontan geometry on exercise haemodynamics and its potential implications.

Objective: Exercise intolerance afflicts Fontan patients with total cavopulmonary connections (TCPCs) causing a reduction in quality of life. Optimising TCPC design is hypothesised to have a beneficial effect on exercise capacity. This study investigates relationships between TCPC geometries and exercise haemodynamics and performance.

The global contribution of energy consumption by product exports from China.

This paper presents a model to analyze the mechanism of the global contribution of energy usage by product exports. The theoretical analysis is based on the perspective that contribution estimates should be in relatively smaller sectors in which the production characteristics could be considered, such as the productivity distribution for each sector. Then, we constructed a method to measure the global contribution of energy usage.

Signaling pathways regulating blood-tissue barriers - Lesson from the testis.

Signaling pathways that regulate blood-tissue barriers are important for studying the biology of various blood-tissue barriers. This information, if deciphered and better understood, will provide better therapeutic management of diseases particularly in organs that are sealed by the corresponding blood-tissue barriers from systemic circulation, such as the brain and the testis. These barriers block the access of antibiotics and/or chemotherapeutical agents across the corresponding barriers.

The value of European exchange programs for early career family doctors.

The Hippokrates Exchange programme (HEP) is designed to give early career General Practitioners (Associates in Training (AITs)/First5s) first-hand experience into concepts of a primary healthcare system outside of their host country. The aim is to improve GP knowledge and skills, inspire professional development and promote a global approach to primary care. Although an increasing number are taking up this opportunity, their views and experiences of international exchanges are not well described.

Exploring dementia management attitudes in primary care: a key informant survey to primary care physicians in 25 European countries.

Background: Strategies for the involvement of primary care in the management of patients with presumed or diagnosed dementia are heterogeneous across Europe. We wanted to explore attitudes of primary care physicians (PCPs) when managing dementia: (i) the most popular cognitive tests, (ii) who had the right to initiate or continue cholinesterase inhibitor or memantine treatment, and (iii) the relationship between the permissiveness of these rules/guidelines and PCP's approach in the dementia investigations and assessment.

Methods: Key informant survey.

Development and validation of nomograms for predicting survival in patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: This study aimed to develop nomograms for predicting survival in patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

Results: On multivariate analyses of the derivation set, the nomograms for OS and CSS shared common significant prognostic factors: age, first-degree relative cancer history, differentiation grade, vessels/nerves invasion, TNM stage, CEA, CA19-9 and PNI. The nomograms displayed good accuracy in predicting OS and CSS, with C-indexes of 0.

Comparing the tensile strength of square and reversing half-hitch alternating post knots.

Background: Square knots are the gold standard in hand-tie wound closure, but are difficult to reproduce in deep cavities, inadvertently resulting in slipknots. The reversing half-hitch alternating post (RHAP) knot has been suggested as an alternative owing to its nonslip nature and reproducibility in limited spaces. We explored whether the RHAP knot is noninferior to the square knot by assessing tensile strength.

Evaluation of Altona Diagnostics RealStar Zika Virus Reverse Transcription-PCR Test Kit for Zika Virus PCR Testing.

With the emerging Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic, accessible real-time reverse transcription-PCR (rRT-PCR) assays are needed to streamline testing. The commercial Altona Diagnostics RealStar ZIKV rRT-PCR test kit (Altona PCR) has been approved for emergency use authorization by the U.S.

Ambu® AuraGain™ versus LMA Supreme™ Second Seal™: a randomised controlled trial comparing oropharyngeal leak pressures and gastric drain functionality in spontaneously breathing patients.

Newer second generation supraglottic airway devices may perform differently in vivo due to material and design modifications. We compared performance characteristics of the Ambu® AuraGain™ and LMA Supreme™ Second Seal™ in 100 spontaneously breathing anaesthetised patients in this randomised controlled study. We studied oropharyngeal leak pressures (OLP) (primary outcome) and secondarily, ease of insertion, success rates, haemodynamic response, time to insertion, and complications of usage.

The synthesis of amphiphilic pillar[5]arene functionalized reduced graphene oxide and its application as novel fluorescence sensing platform for the determination of acetaminophen.

A sensitive and selective fluorescence approach based on a competitive host-guest interaction between amphiphilic pillar[5]arene (amPA5) and signal probe (acridine orange, AO)/target molecule (acetaminophen, AP) was developed by using amPA5 functionalized reduced graphene oxide (amPA5-RGO) as a receptor. Due to the host-guest interaction, AO and AP molecules both can enter into the hydrophobic inner cavity of amPA5 that could form a complex of 1:1 guest-host with amPA5 according to the size of molecules and the cavity of amPA5, but the AP interacts more strongly with amPA5 than with AO, so it can detect AP by the host-guest competition. The low detection limit of 0.

Transport of germ cells across the seminiferous epithelium during spermatogenesis-the involvement of both actin- and microtubule-based cytoskeletons.

The transport of germ cells from the base of the seminiferous epithelium toward the luminal edge of the tubule lumen in the adluminal compartment during the epithelial cycle is an essential cellular event to support spermatogenesis. Thus, fully developed elongated spermatids (i.e.

Prognostic Value of the Combination of Preoperative Hemoglobin, Lymphocyte, Albumin, and Neutrophil in Patients with Locally Advanced Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND Systemic inflammatory response and nutritional status are important to the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the combination of preoperative hemoglobin, lymphocyte, albumin, and neutrophil (HLAN) in patients with locally advanced CRC (LACRC). MATERIAL AND METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis in 536 LACRC patients undergoing radical surgery.

Population-Based Study of Attitudes toward BRCA Genetic Testing among Orthodox Jewish Women.

Given the high prevalence (1 in 40) of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations among Ashkenazi Jews, population-based BRCA genetic testing in this ethnic subgroup may detect more mutation carriers. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among Orthodox Jewish women in New York City to assess breast cancer risk, genetic testing knowledge, self-efficacy, perceived breast cancer risk and worry, religious and cultural factors affecting medical decision-making. We used descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models to identify predictors of genetic testing intention/uptake.

Can time-averaged flow boundary conditions be used to meet the clinical timeline for Fontan surgical planning?

Cardiovascular simulations have great potential as a clinical tool for planning and evaluating patient-specific treatment strategies for those suffering from congenital heart diseases, specifically Fontan patients. However, several bottlenecks have delayed wider deployment of the simulations for clinical use; the main obstacle is simulation cost. Currently, time-averaged clinical flow measurements are utilized as numerical boundary conditions (BCs) in order to reduce the computational power and time needed to offer surgical planning within a clinical time frame.

Dumbbell-Mimicked Mediastinal Angiomatosis.

Angiomatosis is a nonneoplastic proliferative vascular lesion, which occurs mostly in diverse soft tissues. We observed a rare case of mediastinal angiomatosis with intraspinal invasion that mimicked a dumbbell tumor in a 63-year-old man with a history of prostate adenocarcinoma. A roentgenogram of the chest showed that the patient had left pleural effusion and a left paraspinal mass, computed tomography disclosed a low-density fusiform lesion over the left paraspinal region, and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a large posterior mediastinal tumor with T4 intraspinal invasion.

Cox-2 Inhibition Protects against Hypoxia/Reoxygenation-Induced Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis Akt-Dependent Enhancement of iNOS Expression.

The present study explored the potential causal link between ischemia-driven cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and enhanced apoptosis during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) by using H9C2 cardiomyocytes and primary rat cardiomyocytes subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R). The results showed that H/R resulted in higher COX-2 expression than that of controls, which was prevented by pretreatment with Helenalin (NFB specific inhibitor). Furthermore, pretreatment with NS398 (COX-2 specific inhibitor) significantly attenuated H/R-induced cell injury [lower lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage and enhanced cell viability] and apoptosis (higher Bcl2 expression and lower level of cleaved caspases-3 and TUNEL-positive cells) in cardiomyocytes.

Preoperative combined hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte and platelet levels predict survival in patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer.

More than 50% of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) are initially diagnosed with locally advanced CRC (LACRC), and half of those patients develop recurrence or metastasis after resection. Here, we investigated whether the novel index HALP, which is a combination of preoperative hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte and platelet levels, correlates with survival in LACRC patients. A total of 820 patients with LACRC from two independent hospitals were included in our study.

Endogenously produced nonclassical vitamin D hydroxy-metabolites act as "biased" agonists on VDR and inverse agonists on RORα and RORγ.

The classical pathway of vitamin D activation follows the sequence D3→25(OH)D3→1,25(OH)D3 with the final product acting on the receptor for vitamin D (VDR). An alternative pathway can be started by the action of CYP11A1 on the side chain of D3, primarily producing 20(OH)D3, 22(OH)D3, 20,23(OH)D3, 20,22(OH)D3 and 17,20,23(OH)D3. Some of these metabolites are hydroxylated by CYP27B1 at C1α, by CYP24A1 at C24 and C25, and by CYP27A1 at C25 and C26.

The influence of mild dysplasia at the surgical margin on the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance between different margin statuses and local recurrence rate in patients undergoing primary surgical treatment for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Five hundred and thirty-nine patients with T1-4N0M0 OSCC, who underwent surgery alone at a stomatology hospital in Nanjing, China during the years 2005-2014, were included. Tumour and margin status were assessed.

A Systematic Review of the Definitions of Vascular Cognitive Impairment, No Dementia in Cohort Studies.

Background/aims: No set operational criteria for vascular cognitive impairment, no dementia (VCI-ND) have yet been established. The aim of this study is to undertake a systematic review to compare definitions of VCI-ND that have been used in cohort studies.

Methods: Medline, PsycINFO and Embase were searched from inception to October 13, 2015.

Attitudes to diagnosis and management in dementia care: views of future general practitioners.

Considerable international governmental support is focused on the timely diagnosis of dementia and post-diagnostic care of people with dementia. Identifying those at high risk of dementia is one approach to timely diagnosis. General practitioners (GPs) are well-placed clinicians in the community to provide both pre- and post-diagnostic dementia care.

Pacemaker Use in New Zealand - Data From the New Zealand Implanted Cardiac Device Registry (ANZACS-QI 15).

Background: The New Zealand Cardiac Implanted Device Registry (Device) has recently been developed under the auspices of the New Zealand Branch of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. This study describes the initial Device registry cohort of patients receiving a new pacemaker, their indications for pacing and their perioperative complications.

Methods: The Device Registry was used to audit patients receiving a first pacemaker between 1 January 2014 and 1 June 2015.