Design of light/ROS cascade-responsive tumor-recognizing nanotheranostics for spatiotemporally controlled drug release in locoregional photo-chemotherapy.

Carrier-free nanotheranostics with high drug loading and no carrier-related toxicity are highly promising cancer therapy agents. However, the limited tumor accumulation and poorly controlled drug release of these nanotheranostics continue to be major challenges that restrict clinical applications. In this study, we develop a tumor-recognizing carrier-free nanotheranostic with light/reactive oxygen species (ROS) cascade-responsiveness for spatiotemporally selective photo-chemotherapy.

Serum omentin-1 level in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Backgroud: To evaluate the relationship between omentin-1 and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). BPH is the most common urological disease in elderly men worldwide. Lower serum omentin-1 levels were reported to be negatively associated with the incidence of inflammation, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome, which all play a role in the development of BPH.

Ursolic acid improves the bacterial community mapping of the intestinal tract in liver fibrosis mice.

Liver fibrosis often appears in chronic liver disease, with extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition as the main feature. Due to the presence of the liver-gut axis, the destruction of intestinal homeostasis is often accompanied by the development of liver fibrosis. The inconsistent ecological environment of different intestinal sites may lead to differences in the microbiota.

Publisher Correction: Evolutionary transcriptomics of metazoan biphasic life cycle supports a single intercalation origin of metazoan larvae.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition status of circulating tumor cells in breast cancer and its clinical relevance.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play a critical role in cancer metastasis, but their prevalence and significance remain unclear. This study attempted to track the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) status of CTCs in breast cancer patients and investigate their clinical relevance. In this study, the established negFACS-IF:E/M platform was applied to isolate rare CTCs and characterize their EMT status in breast cancer.

Long Noncoding RNA LINC00460 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression via Regulation of miR-342-3p/AGR2 Axis.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. LINC00460, a novel long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), was recently confirmed as an oncogene in various cancers. However, the biological function and underlying mechanism of LINC00460 in HCC is largely obscure.

Elevated hsa_circRNA_101015, hsa_circRNA_101211, and hsa_circRNA_103470 in the Human Blood: Novel Biomarkers to Early Diagnose Acute Pancreatitis.

Objective: To explore potential biomarkers to accurately diagnose patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) at early stage and to auxiliary clinicians implement the best treatment options.

Methods: We selected 3 patients with AP and 3 healthy controls for microarray analysis to obtain differentially expressed circular RNAs (circRNAs). To further verify the results of the microarray analysis, the six differentially expressed circRNAs were confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Assessing the Prognostic Performance of the Child-Pugh, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease, and Albumin-Bilirubin Scores in Patients with Decompensated Cirrhosis: A Large Asian Cohort from Gastroenterology Department.

Unlabelled: . Various methods, including the Child-Pugh score, the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, the MELD combined with serum sodium concentration (MELD-Na) score, the integrated MELD (iMELD) score, and the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score, have been widely used for predicting the survival of decompensated cirrhosis (DeCi) patients. In this study, we defined and compared the prognostic value of these scores to predict mortality in DeCi patients.

Development of a prognostic scoring model for predicting the survival of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: The number of elderly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is increasing, and precisely assessing of the prognosis of these patients is necessary. We developed a prognostic scoring model to predict survival in elderly HCC patients.

Methods: We extracted data from 4,076 patients ≥65 years old from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and randomly divided them into training and validation groups.

Enhanced piezoelectric and acoustic performances of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) films for hydroacoustic applications.

Concerning the study of flexible piezoelectric devices, both scholars and engineers propose that poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) shows more merits than oriented polyvinylidene fluoride (OPVDF) in terms of dielectric, piezoelectric, mechanic-electric, acoustic emission reception performances, etc. Thus, in this study, to clarify the differences between the two types of polymers on their ferroelectric and piezoelectric behaviors, we systematically investigated samples to analyze their molecular structures and phase structures, and to compare their dielectric properties and acoustic emission reception performances. It was found that the wedge effect of TrFE, P(VDF-TrFE), possesses higher regular β phase crystal grains, which are easier to order along the electric field and possess more ordered static charge distribution than that of OPVDF.

Neoadjuvant radiotherapy improves overall survival for T3/4N+M0 rectal cancer patients: a population-based study of 20300 patients.

Background: Neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT) has been shown to improve local control; however, whether it can improve overall survival (OS) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients remains controversial. We therefore aimed to examine the benefits of surgery alone, neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT), adjuvant RT, and surgery plus chemotherapy in stage II (T3/4N0M0) and III (any T and N + M0) on the OS of rectal cancer patients.

Methods: Date from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database diagnosed between 2004 and 2016 were used.

Screening and functional studies of long noncoding RNA in subjects with prediabetes.

Background: In recent years, long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been found to play an important role in type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, research on the relationship between LncRNAs and prediabetes is still emerging.

Objectives: The study aim was to screen differently expressed LncRNAs and understand their localization and function in patients with prediabetes.

Research Article Product Composition Analysis and Process Research of Oligosaccharides Produced from Enzymatic Hydrolysis of High-Concentration Konjac Flour.

There is a huge variability in reducing sugars, viscosity, and composition of oligosaccharides in the hydrolyzed products of konjac flour with different concentrations. We analyzed the factors affecting reducing sugars, viscosity, and the average degree of polymerization (DP) during the preparation of oligosaccharides from konjac flour hydrolyzed by β-mannanase under the high-concentration solute hydrolysis model. Hydrolysate of konjac flour, using concentrations ranging from 50 to 200 g/L, was directly added into 20 U/mL of β-mannanase solution.

Second-look endoscopy-guided therapy under sedation prevents early rebleeding after variceal ligation for acute variceal bleeding.

Objectives: To investigate whether second-look endoscopy (SLE)-guided therapy could be used to prevent post-endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) early bleeding.

Methods: Consecutive cirrhotic patients with large esophageal varices (EV) receiving successful EVL for acute variceal bleeding (AVB) or secondary prophylaxis were enrolled. The patients were randomized into a SLE group and a non-SLE group (NSLE) 10 days after EVL.

Secukinumab Efficacy in Psoriatic Arthritis: Machine Learning and Meta-analysis of Four Phase 3 Trials.

Background: Using a machine learning approach, the study investigated if specific baseline characteristics could predict which psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients may gain additional benefit from a starting dose of secukinumab 300 mg over 150 mg. We also report results from individual patient efficacy meta-analysis (IPEM) in 2049 PsA patients from the FUTURE 2 to 5 studies to evaluate the efficacy of secukinumab 300 mg, 150 mg with and without loading regimen versus placebo at week 16 on achievement of several clinically relevant difficult-to-achieve (higher hurdle) endpoints.

Methods: Machine learning employed Bayesian elastic net to analyze baseline data of 2148 PsA patients investigating 275 predictors.

Quality Control of L. Based on High-Speed Countercurrent Chromatographic Fingerprinting.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)has played an important role in promoting the health of Chinese people. The TCM L. has been used in the treatment of various kinds of diseases including enuresis, vitiligo, and calvities.

Effect of PA3 on gut microbiota in an in vitro colonic simulation.

It has been reported that PA3 has an ability to absorb exogenous purines in the intestine to reduce a risk of gout and hyperuricemia. However, influences of this strain on gut microbiota and their metabolisms remain unclear. Herein, we aimed to investigate the effect of PA3 on microbiota composition and metabolisms.

Continuous synthesis of drug nanocrystals by solid hollow fiber cooling crystallization.

Size reduction of drug with poor water solubility to nanoscale is an effective way to help improve the efficacy of drug delivery to the human body. A solid hollow fiber cooling crystallization technique has been adopted to continuously produce griseofulvin drug nanoparticles under modest conditions with accurate controllability. In the solid hollow fiber cooling crystallization device, drug solution flowed through the bores of solid hollow fibers while the cooling liquid was circulated counter-currently in the shell side of the device to cool down the drug solution in the tube side.

miR-130a-3p inhibition protects against renal fibrosis in vitro via the TGF-β1/Smad pathway by targeting SnoN.

Background: Renal fibrosis, a common pathological outcome of chronic kidney disease (CKD), is characterized by extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation, damage to the tubular epithelium, and the proliferation and activation of fibroblasts. SnoN, a TGF-β1/Smad transcriptional co-suppressor, is downregulated in obstructive nephropathy. However, the relationship between miR-130a-3p and SnoN expression in the regulation of renal fibrosis is still unknown.

Fingerprint Analysis of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson by High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography.

Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson is a popular Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with a variety of bioactivities. However, there are some problems that have affected the development of Cnidium monnieri (L.

Safety and Efficacy of Intravenous Thrombolytic Therapy in Patients With Acute Posterior Circulation Stroke: A Single-Center Study.

Background And Purpose: The safety and efficacy of intravenous thrombolytic therapy (IVT) for posterior circulation stroke (PCS) in the real world are rarely studied. This study was designed to evaluate the prestroke and baseline characteristics, stroke sub-types, complications, and outcomes of PCS patients and compare them with anterior circulation stroke (ACS) after intravenous thrombolysis.

Methods: Data of consecutive patients with PCS and ACS treated with alteplase in a standard dose of 0.

Characteristics of antibiotic resistance: data from four different populations.

Aims: To describe the characteristics of () antibiotic resistance in clinical isolates from four populations.

Methods: In total, 1463 strains were examined for antibiotic resistance. Among these strains, 804 were isolated from treatment-naïve adults, 133 from previously treated adults, 100 from treatment-naïve children and 426 from a population who participated in a health survey (age ≥ 40 years).

MicroRNA-200c affects bladder cancer angiogenesis by regulating the Akt2/mTOR/HIF-1 axis.

Background: Bladder cancer is one of the most frequent urologic tumours in the world. MicroRNA-200c (miR-200c) has been considered a regulator of tumour angiogenesis. Akt2/mTOR was considered a regulator of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α).