Qianggan Ruanjian Pill ameliorates liver fibrosis through regulation of the TGF-β1/Smad and PI3K/AKT signalling pathways.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Liver fibrosis is a critical pathological process in the progression of chronic liver injury, ultimately resulting in cirrhosis, for which currently available therapeutic interventions remain inadequate. Among these, the Qianggan Ruanjian Pill (QGRJP) has emerged as a clinically experienced formula with notable therapeutic efficacy against liver fibrosis. However, the precise underlying mechanisms require further investigation.

A multicenter survey on the current status of chronic cough and its impact on quality of life in Guangdong, China.

Background: Chronic cough is a troublesome clinical problem with long-term impacts at the patient level. However, the burden of chronic cough in China is largely unknown. Thus, we performed a multicenter cross-sectional survey on the current status of chronic cough and its impact on quality of life in Guangdong, south China.

Clinical characteristics of patients with chronic cough in Guangdong, China: a multicenter descriptive study.

Background: The clinical characteristics of patients with chronic cough are reported only in single-center survey in China, being significantly different from that in western countries. Here, we performed a multicenter study to describe the clinical characteristics of chronic cough patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational survey was conducted in thirteen tertiary hospitals of Guangdong, South China.

P-Gp and TOPO II Expression and Their Clinical Significance in Colon Cancer.

Objective: Analysis of P-Gp and TOPO II expression levels and their clinical significance in colon cancer.

Methods: A total of 300 cases of paraffin embedded specimens of primary colon cancer were collected from the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University. The levels of P-Gp and TOPO II expression in colon cancer tissues were detected by the two-step En Vison.

Morbidity burden of respiratory diseases attributable to ambient temperature: a case study in a subtropical city in China.

Background: There are significant associations between ambient temperature and respiratory disease mortality. However, few studies have assessed the morbidity burdens of various respiratory diseases that are attributable to different temperature ranges in subtropical regions.

Methods: Daily outpatient visits, weather variables, and air pollution data were collected from January 2013 to August 2017 in a hospital in Dongguan city.

Clinical Features of Patients with Bronchiectasis with Comorbid Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in China.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of bronchiectasis with comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is rising, which causes extremely high risk of exacerbation and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the differences in clinicopathological manifestations, immune function, and inflammation in bronchiectasis patients with comorbid COPD vs. patients who only have COPD.

Ambient carbon monoxide and increased risk of daily hospital outpatient visits for respiratory diseases in Dongguan, China.

Background: The toxicity of high-concentration carbon monoxide (CO) on human health has previously been documented. However, the epidemiological evidence on the association between acute exposure to ambient CO and respiratory diseases is relatively lacking and controversial.

Objectives: To examine the short-term association between ambient CO and hospital outpatient visits for respiratory diseases in Dongguan, China.

Ambient fine and coarse particulate matter pollution and respiratory morbidity in Dongguan, China.

We estimated the short-term effects of particulate matter (PM) pollution with aerodynamic diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM) and between 2.5 and 10 μm (PM) on hospital outpatient visits due to overall and specific respiratory diseases, as well as the associated morbidity burden in Dongguan, a subtropical city in South China.

Aspirin Resistance in healthy drug-naive men versus women (from the Heredity and Phenotype Intervention Heart Study).

This study was designed to determine the factors that contribute to interindividual variation in the antiplatelet effects of aspirin. We measured platelet response to aspirin in 745 (400 men and 345 women) drug-naive asymptomatic subjects of the Heredity and Phenotype Intervention (HAPI) Heart Study. Whole blood platelet aggregometry was performed to assess response to arachidonic acid, adenosine diphosphate, and collagen at baseline and after 14 days of aspirin 81 mg/day.

Identification of novel candidate genes for type 2 diabetes from a genome-wide association scan in the Old Order Amish: evidence for replication from diabetes-related quantitative traits and from independent populations.

Objective: We sought to identify type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes through a genome-wide association scan (GWAS) in the Amish.

Research Design And Methods: DNA from 124 type 2 diabetic case subjects and 295 control subjects with normal glucose tolerance were genotyped on the Affymetrix 100K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. A total of 82,485 SNPs were tested for association with type 2 diabetes.