Blood eosinophil count-guided corticosteroid therapy and as a prognostic biomarker of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and dyspnea, as well as an increase in the number of leukocytes in the airways, lungs, and pulmonary vessels. A 'One size fits all' approach to COPD patients with different clinical features may be considered outdated. The following are the two major objectives of this meta-analysis: the first is to determine if blood eosinophil counts (BEC) can serve as a prognostic biomarker of COPD outcomes, and the second is to determine which level of BEC is effective for inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment.

[Study on therapeutic mechanism of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata- Corni Fructus in sequelae of ischemic stroke based on network pharmacology technology].

In ischemic stroke sequela phase, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata-Corni Fructus drug pair has the effect in protecting damaged neurons, but its mechanism has not been clear. In this study, network pharmacology was used to predict the mechanism of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata-Corni Fructus in the treatment of ischemic stroke sequela. Through database search and literature retrie-val, 40 active ingredients of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata and Corni Fructus were obtained, and their targets were obtained through STITCH and TCMSP databases.

[Smoking cessation among rural populations in Beijing].

Objective: To survey the smoking cessation among rural populations in Beijing.

Methods: One natural village in Beijing suburb was sampled and all the 1901 villagers were surveyed by face-to-face interview to collect information on smoking status and smoking cessation. The potential factors related with smoking prevalence and smoking cessation were analzyed.

Drosophila miR-5 suppresses Hedgehog signaling by directly targeting Smoothened.

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling plays many important roles in developmental processes and cancers. Smoothened (Smo) is an important signal transducer in the Hh pathway, and its expression is tightly regulated by several different post-transcriptional mechanisms. However, whether microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in Smo regulation is still unclear.

[Exploration of vibration response imaging in evaluating airway resistance of asthmatics].

Objective: To explore the value of vibration response imaging (VRI) system in evaluating airway resistance of asthmatics.

Methods: The asthmatic group had 64 patients with a FEV1 of (56 +/- 18)% predicted before bronchodilator, and a FEV1 of (69 +/- 18)% predicted after bronchodilator. The control group had 20 patients with COPD with a FEV1 of (64 +/- 17)% predicted before bronchodilator, and a FEV1 of (66 +/- 19)% predicted after bronchodilator.