Cardioprotective effects of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata combined with Zingiberis Rhizoma on doxorubicin-induced chronic heart failure in rats and potential mechanisms.

Background: The combined use of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (ALRP) and Zingiberis Rhizoma (ZR) are classic compatibilities in China for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as increasing myocardial contractility, anti-arrhythmia, reducing myocardial oxygen consumption, and dilating organ blood vessels, etc, thereby exerting anti-heart failure (HF) effects in traditional Chinese herbal medicine. However, comprehensive approaches for understanding the therapeutic effects and mechanisms underlying chronic heart failure (CHF) from the perspective of energy metabolism have not been pursued.

Aim: This research was aimed to investigate the effectiveness and potential mechanism of ALRP combined with ZR (1:1) on doxorubicin (DOX)-induced CHF in rats based on an integrated approach that combines network pharmacology analyses and molecular biology.

SET domain containing 1B gene is mutated in primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumors (PHNETs) are extremely rare NETs originating from the liver. These tumors are associated with heterogeneous prognosis, and few treatment targets for PHNETs have been identified. Because the major genetic alterations in PHNET are still largely unknown, we performed whole-exome sequencing of 22 paired tissues from PHNET patients and identified 22 recurring mutations of somatic genes involved in the following activities: epigenetic modification (BPTF, MECP2 and WDR5), cell cycle (TP53, ATM, MED12, DIDO1 and ATAD5) and neural development (UBR4, MEN1, GLUL and GIGYF2).

International consensus statement on robotic hepatectomy surgery in 2018.

The robotic surgical system has been applied in liver surgery. However, controversies concerns exist regarding a variety of factors including the safety, feasibility, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of robotic surgery. To promote the development of robotic hepatectomy, this study aimed to evaluate the current status of robotic hepatectomy and provide sixty experts' consensus and recommendations to promote its development.

PCSK9 positively correlates with plasma sdLDL in community-dwelling population but not in diabetic participants after confounder adjustment.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between plasma proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) and small dense low-density lipoprptein (sdLDL) in diabetic and non-diabetic participants in a community-dwelling cohort.The plasma levels of PCSK9 and sdLDL were detected in 1766 participants (median age: 61.40 years; 733 males vs 1033 females; 383 diabetic vs 1383 non-diabetic patients) from the Pingguoyuan community of Beijing, China.

Investigation on correlations of serum IL-26 with diagnosis and staging of gastric cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the correlations of interleukin-26 (IL-26) with the diagnosis and pathological stage of gastric cancer by comparing the serum IL-26 levels in patients with different pathological stages of gastric cancer.

Methods: A total of 302 patients with gastric cancer hospitalized in Chinese PLA General Hospital from April 2015 to October 2017 were selected and divided into 4 groups according to the seventh edition of the staging guidance for gastric cancer of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), including stage I (n=75), stage II (n=73), stage III (n=125) and stage IV (n=29). Meanwhile, patients with benign stomach diseases admitted to the hospital during the same period were enrolled as controls (n=100).

New incompatible pair of TCM: Epimedii Folium combined with Psoraleae Fructus induces idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity under immunological stress conditions.

Epimedii Folium (EF) combined with Psoraleae Fructus (PF) is a common modern preparation, but liver injury caused by Chinese patent medicine preparations containing EF and PF has been frequently reported in recent years. Zhuangguguanjiewan pills (ZGW), which contain EF and PF, could induce immune idiosyncratic liver injury according to clinical case reports and a nonhepatotoxic dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) model. This present study evaluated the liver injury induced by EF or PF alone or in combination and investigated the related mechanism by using the LPS model.

[Short-term effectiveness of revision total knee arthroplasty with porous-coated metaphyseal Sleeve and MBT implant].

Objective: To evaluate short-term effectiveness of revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with porous-coated metaphyseal Sleeve and MBT implant.

Methods: A clinical data of 23 patients (24 knees) who underwent revision TKA by using porous-coated metaphyseal Sleeve combined with MBT implant between March 2015 and April 2017 was retrospectively analyzed. There were 8 males (8 knees) and 15 females (16 knees).

Preoperative Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy With Simultaneous Integrated Boost for Locally Advanced Distal Rectal Cancer.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of a combined preoperative regimen consisting of volumetric modulated arc therapy-simultaneous integrated boost and capecitabine chemotherapy for distal rectal cancer. A total of 26 patients with locally advanced distal rectal cancer were enrolled from March 2015 to May 2016. The radiation dose fractionation was 58.

Prevalence of the entecavir-resistance-inducing mutation rtA186T in a large cohort of Chinese hepatitis B virus patients.

This study aimed to clarify whether rtA186T and rtI163V substitutions of hepatitis B virus (HBV) contributed to entecavir (ETV) resistance. A total of 22,009 Chinese patients with chronic HBV infection who received resistance testing at Beijing 302 Hospital from 2007 to 2016 were enrolled. Among them, 6170 patients had been treated with ETV.

Association between the concurrence of pre-existing chronic liver disease and worse prognosis in patients with an herb- thunb. induced liver injury: a case-control study from a specialised liver disease center in China.

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the association between the concurrence of pre-existing chronic liver diseases (CLD) and worse prognosis in patients with HILI.

Design: A case-control study.

Setting: Tertiary hospital specialising in liver diseases in China.

Establishment of a Large Animal Model for Eustachian Tube Functional Study in Miniature Pigs.

This study was performed to investigate whether miniature pigs are a suitable animal model for studies of the Eustachian tube (ET). Sixteen Chinese experimental miniature pigs were used in this investigation. Ten animals were used for anatomical and morphometric analyses to obtain qualitative and quantitative information regarding the ET.

Characterization of crystal structure and key residues of Aspergillus fumigatus nucleoside diphosphate kinase.

Aspergillus fumigatus is a major pathogen of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis with high mortality rate. The nucleoside diphosphate kinase of A. fumigatus, AfNDK (also called SwoH) is essential for its viability, however, its structural characteristic was unknown.

CKIP-1 limits foam cell formation and inhibits atherosclerosis by promoting degradation of Oct-1 by REGγ.

Atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Macrophages uptake modified lipoproteins and transform into foam cells, triggering an inflammatory response and thereby promoting plaque formation. Here we show that casein kinase 2-interacting protein-1 (CKIP-1) is a suppressor of foam cell formation and atherosclerosis.

Chinese guidelines on the management of ascites and its related complications in cirrhosis.

The Chinese Society of Hepatology developed the current guidelines for the Management of Ascites and Its Related Complications in Cirrhosis based on the published evidences and the panelists' consensus. The guidelines provided recommendations for the diagnosis and management of cirrhotic ascites emphasizing a step-wise approach with the first-, second-, and third-line therapy. For refractory ascites, vasoconstrictors and albumin are recommended for splanchnic vasodilation and selective vasopressin (V2) receptor antagonists for moderate-to-severe hyponatremia.

[Application of dexmedetomidine in radiofrequency ablation of liver tumor].

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine as a basic analgesic sedative for patients with radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors. A total of 443 liver cancer patients underwent percutaneous radiofrequency ablation in the 302 Hospital of PLA from January 2015 to December 2016 were retrospectively studied. The experimental group was dexmedetomidine group, with a total of 165 cases.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric identification and antifungal susceptibility analysis of Candida species isolated from patients with invasive yeast infections in five university hospitals.

In this multicenter study, we compared the performance of the Bruker Biotyper MS system and VITEK 2 YST systems for invasive yeast identification, investigated the distribution of isolated species, and evaluated the antifungal susceptibility profiles of Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, and Candida tropicalis. In cases of discrepant results lack of identification with either method, molecular identification techniques were employed. We tested 216 clinical isolates, and concordance between the two methods was observed for 192/216 isolates (88.

Comparison of the long-term efficacy of tenofovir and entecavir in nucleos(t)ide analogue-naïve HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B: A large, multicentre, randomized controlled trials.

Objective: We conducted this study to compare the efficacy and safety of entecavir and tenofovir in the treatment of treatment-naïve HBV e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) for 144 weeks.

Methods: A total of 320 treatment-naïve HBeAg-positive CHB patients who received randomly a single regimen of either entecavir capsule (ETV) (n = 160) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate capsule (TDF) (n = 160) for 144 weeks were consecutively enrolled from 14 tertiary hospitals or university hospitals in China between January 2012 and December 2014.

Results: Two groups showed no difference in baseline characteristics.

A 6-Year-Old Child With Citrin Deficiency and Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

We report the case of a 6-year-old boy with citrin deficiency and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosed by using imaging. He exhibited intrahepatic cholestasis 2 days after his birth and was misdiagnosed with inspissated bile syndrome at that time. The symptoms of jaundice spontaneously resolved when he was 5 months old.

[Different phenotypes in patients with chronic sinusitis with bilateral nasal polyps].

To investigate the clinical features of patients with chronic sinusitis with bilateral nasal polyps. The data of 134 patients with chronic sinusitis with bilateral nasal polyps were analyzed, retrospectively. Based on the results of the histopathological examination, patients were divided into eosinophilic chronic sinusitis with bilateral nasal polyps(ECRSwBNP) group and noneosinophilic chronic sinusitis with bilateral nasal polyps(nonECRSwBNP) group.

Decreased long intergenic noncoding RNA P7 predicts unfavorable prognosis and promotes tumor proliferation via the modulation of the STAT1-MAPK pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common neoplasm and is a leading cause of cancer-related death. Despite advances in the diagnosis and management of HCC, its prognosis remain unfavorable. Accumulating evidence has shown that long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) play central roles in the development of HCC.

Exosomal microRNAs as potential biomarkers for cancer cell migration and prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patient-derived cell models.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide, and current treatments exhibit limited efficacy against advanced HCC. The majority of cancer-related deaths are caused by metastasis from the primary tumor, which indicates the importance of identifying clinical biomarkers for predicting metastasis and indicating prognosis. Patient-derived cells (PDCs) may be effective models for biomarker identification.

[HBsAg loss with Pegylated-interferon alfa-2a in hepatitis B patients with partial response to nucleos(t)-ide analog: new switch study].

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss is seldom achieved with nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy in chronic hepatitis B patients but may be enhanced by switching to finite pegylated-interferon (Peg-IFN) alfa-2a. We assessed HBsAg loss with 48- and 96-week Peg-IFN alfa-2a in chronic hepatitis B patients with partial response to a previous NA. Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients who achieved HBeAg loss and hepatitis B virus DNA < 200 IU/mL with previous adefovir, lamivudine or entecavir treatment were randomized 1:1 to receive Peg-IFN alfa-2a for 48 ( = 153) or 96 weeks ( = 150).

IL-34 promotes foam cell formation by enhancing CD36 expression through p38 MAPK pathway.

Atherosclerosis is characterized as a chronic inflammatory disease and macrophage-derived foam cells play a central role during the pathologic processes. A newly discovered cytokine interleukin-34 (IL-34) is closely associated with various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Expression of IL-34 in obesity, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus nephritis and coronary artery diseases (CAD) are significantly elevated.