Novel ultrasound capsule endoscopy for gastrointestinal scanning: An animal study.

Background And Objectives: EUS is an important modality for diagnosis and assessment of gastrointestinal (GI) subepithelial lesions. However, EUS is invasive and operator-dependent and requires sedation in most cases. The newly developed ultrasound capsule endoscopy (USCE) system, with both white-light and ultrasound imaging modalities, is a minimally invasive method for superficial and submucosal imaging of the esophagus.

Orange-peel derived carbon-loaded low content ruthenium nanoparticles as ultra-high performance alkaline water HER electrocatalysts.

Carbon materials have a very wide range of applications in the field of electrocatalysis, both as catalyst bodies and as excellent supports for catalysts. In this work, we obtained a graphitic-like orange-peel derived carbon (OPC) material through pre-carbonization and KOH activation strategies using discarded orange-peel as a raw material. OPC has good graphitization characteristics and a few-layer structure, making it very suitable as a support for nanoparticle catalysts.

New US capsule endoscopy for superficial and submucosal imaging of the esophagus: the first-in-human study.

Background And Aims: EUS is essential in diagnosing and staging of esophageal subepithelial lesions and tumors. However, EUS is invasive, relies on highly trained endoscopists, and typically requires sedation. The newly developed US capsule endoscopy (USCE), which incorporates both white-light and US imaging modalities into a tethered capsule, is a minimally invasive method for obtaining superficial and submucosal information of the esophagus.

5G-based remote magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy for examination of the stomach and small bowel.

Background And Aims: Remote endoscopy can improve diagnostic efficiency of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases for patients in remote areas. A novel remote magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (MCE) system based on a 5G network was developed for real-time remote GI examinations. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of the 5G-based remote MCE for examination of the stomach and small bowel.

New Diagnostic Model for the Differentiation of Diabetic Nephropathy From Non-Diabetic Nephropathy in Chinese Patients.

Background: The disease pathology for diabetes mellitus patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be diabetic nephropathy (DN), non-diabetic renal disease (NDRD), or DN combined with NDRD. Considering that the prognosis and treatment of DN and NDRD differ, their differential diagnosis is of significance. Renal pathological biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing DN and NDRD.

Predictive Capabilities of Three Widely Used Pathology Classification Systems and a Simplified Classification (Beijing Classification) in Primary IgA Nephropathy.

Background/aims: Several pathological classification systems were commonly used in clinical practice to predict the prognosis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). However, how prognostic value differs between these systems is unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the Lee grade, the Oxford classification, and the Haas classification and to find a simplified classification.

Immune response pattern varies with the natural history of chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B is a highly heterogeneous disease that can be divided into four phases: Immune tolerant (IT), immune active (IA), inactive carrier (IC) and hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg)-negative hepatitis (ENEG).

Aim: To investigate the immune status of natural killer (NK) and T cells in different phases of chronic hepatitis B.

Methods: The frequency, phenotype and function of circulating NK cells, as well as nonantigen-specific and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific T cell responses were detected by flow cytometry in healthy and HBV-infected subjects.

Detachable string magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy for complete viewing of the esophagus and stomach.

Background: Esophageal capsule endoscopy is reported to be insufficiently accurate to replace esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) because the passage of the capsule through the esophagus is passive and precludes a thorough investigation. We developed a modified capsule endoscopy technique, called detachable string magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (DS-MCE), and performed a pilot study to assess the feasibility and safety of this novel technique.

Methods: 4 healthy volunteers and 21 patients with suspected esophageal disease first underwent DS-MCE followed by EGD within 1 week.

Magnetic Steering of Capsule Endoscopy Improves Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy Completion Rate.

Background: Capsule endoscopy is currently available as a noninvasive and effective diagnostic modality to identify small bowel abnormalities, with a completion rate to the cecum between 75.1 and 95.6%.

Repetitive Position Change Improves Gastric Cleanliness for Magnetically Controlled Capsule Gastroscopy.

Background And Aims: Good gastric preparation is essential for magnetically controlled capsule gastroscopy (MCCG) examination. This study aims to determine if repetitive position change after dimethicone premedication could further improve gastric cleanliness for MCCG.

Methods: Consecutive patients referred for MCCG in our center from May 7 to May 31, 2018 were prospectively enrolled and randomized to undergo repetitive position change for 15 min (position change group) or not (conventional group) after ingesting dimethicone.

Automatic Delineation of the Clinical Target Volume in Rectal Cancer for Radiation Therapy using Three-dimensional Fully Convolutional Neural Networks.

Accurate, robust, and fast delineation of the clinical target volume (CTV) for the use in radiotherapy of rectal cancer (RC) is highly sought-after. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have proven themselves very effective in various segmentation tasks on medical images. Despite this, their application in CTV delineation is not yet fully explored.

Impact of magnetic steering on gastric transit time of a capsule endoscopy (with video).

Backgrounds And Aims: Delayed gastric transit of the capsule may lead to incomplete small bowel examination, reducing the diagnostic yield. Thus, this study was designed to determine if magnetic steering could enhance capsule gastric emptying and mucosal visualization within the duodenum.

Methods: The intervention group comprised 100 patients undergoing magnetic-controlled capsule endoscopy between May to September 2017 in whom magnetic control was used to assist transpyloric passage of the capsule and duodenal inspection.

Screening for gastric cancer with magnetically controlled capsule gastroscopy in asymptomatic individuals.

Background And Aims: Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In some Asian countries, screening EGD has greatly improved the survival rate. However, patients' discomfort and the need for sedation may limit adherence to screening programs.

Abelmoschus manihot - a traditional Chinese medicine versus losartan potassium for treating IgA nephropathy: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is one of the most common primary glomerular diseases worldwide, but effective therapy remains limited and many patients progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Only angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I)/angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARB) show a high level of evidence (1B level) of being of value in the treatment for IgAN according to the 2012 Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines. However, traditional Chinese medicine has raised attention in kidney disease research.

Efficacy and safety of Flos Abelmoschus manihot (Malvaceae) on type 2 diabetic nephropathy: A systematic review.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Flos Abelmoschus manihot (Malvaceae) on type 2 diabetic nephropathy (DN).

Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed/MEDLINE, Excerpta Medical Database, Chinese electronic literature databases, and the references of relevant articles were searched in March 2012 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported the effects of Flos A. manihot on type 2 DN patients with overt but subnephrotic-range proteinuria (500-3,500 mg/24 h).

Lack of associations of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism with risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer: a pooled analysis of case-control studies.

This meta-analysis was conducted to examine whether the genotype status of Val158Met polymorphism in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is associated with endometrial and ovarian cancer risk. Eligible studies were identified by searching several databases for relevant reports published before January 1, 2014. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) were appropriately derived from fixed-effects or random-effects models.

Validation of a differential diagnostic model of diabetic nephropathy and non-diabetic renal diseases and the establishment of a new diagnostic model.

Background: The aims of the present study were to validate the differential diagnostic model of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and non-diabetic renal diseases (NDRD) established in 2003 and to establish a new diagnostic model suitable for the current clinical characteristics of DN.

Methods: We examined 200 patients with Type 2 diabetes who underwent kidney biopsy from 2004 to 2012. The 2003 differential diagnostic model based on the data collected from 1993 to 2003 was evaluated by the diagnostic test and changes in the clinical differentiation parameters of DN and NDRD were analyzed.

Incidence and risk of severe neutropenia in advanced cancer patients treated with cetuximab: a meta-analysis.

Background And Aim: Neutropenia is a serious adverse event for patients who are treated with cetuximab, an inhibitor of endothelial growth factor receptor. However, there is no consistent result of the relationship between cetuximab and neutropenia in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of published RCTs to assess the overall risk of neutropenia associated with cetuximab.

Meta-analysis of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F in the immunosuppressive treatment of IgA nephropathy.

Objective: Numerous Chinese patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) have benefited from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) from two decades ago. However, to date there is no systematic evaluation of this remedy for IgAN.

Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of all eligible randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to assess the effect of TwHF on IgAN for the first time.

Alpha-tomatine inactivates PI3K/Akt and ERK signaling pathways in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells: effect on metastasis.

This study first investigates the anti-metastatic effect of alpha-tomatine in the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line: A549. In this study, we first noted alpha-tomatine inhibited A549 cells invasion and migration by wound-healing assay and Boyden chamber assay. The data also showed alpha-tomatine could inhibit phosphorylation of Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), which is involved in the up-regulating matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) or urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), whereas it did not affect phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38.

[Expression of survivin and NF-kappaB in peripheral T-cell lymphoma and its significance].

This study was aimed to explore the expression of survivin and NF-kappaB in the peripheral T-cell lymphoma and its significance. Immunohistochemistry method was used to detect the expressions of survivin and NF-kappaB in 26 cases of lymphosarcoma. 30 cases of benign reactive lymphohistiocytosis were selected as control tor analysis.

[Protective effects of beta-asarone on cultured rat cortical neurons damage induced by glutamate].

Objective: To study the protective effects of beta-asarone on cultured rat cortical neurons damage induced by glutamate.

Methods: The protective effects of beta-asarone on cultured rat cortical neurons after glutamate intoxication were observed with morphology, extent of damage, livability, Intracellular calcium concentration and apoptosis ratio.

Results: Morphological changes, LDH leakage and intracellular calcium concentration increasing, cell survival decreasing were observed in cultured rat cortical neurons exposured to glutamate; 7.