Study on carotid artery stenosis after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objective: This study investigated carotid artery stenosis (CAS) and associated risk factors in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) post-radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: The observation group comprised 86 reexamined patients with NPC, divided into Group 1 and Group 2 based on post-radiotherapy duration, alongside 34 newly diagnosed patients with NPC (Group 0). Carotid artery ultrasonography and chi-square analysis were performed.

Acute manipulation of Drd1 neurons in the prefrontal cortex bidirectionally regulates anxiety and depression-like behaviors.

Background Context: The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been implicated in modulating anxiety and depression. Manipulation of Drd1 neurons in the mPFC resulted in variable neuronal activity and, consequently, strikingly different behaviors. The acute regulation of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors by Drd1 neurons, a major neuronal subtype in the mPFC, has not yet been investigated.

Nomogram incorporating preoperative MRI-VASARI features for differentiating intracranial extraventricular ependymoma from glioblastoma.

Background: Intracranial extraventricular ependymoma (IEE) and glioblastoma (GBM) may have similar imaging findings but different prognosis. This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Visually AcceSAble Rembrandt Images (VASARI) features for preoperatively differentiating IEE from GBM.

Methods: The clinical data and the MRI-VASARI features of patients with confirmed IEE (n=114) and confirmed GBM (n=258) in a multicenter cohort were retrospectively analyzed.

Magnetic resonance imaging findings of intracranial extraventricular ependymoma: A retrospective multi-center cohort study of 114 cases.

Background: Intracranial extraventricular ependymoma (IEE) is an ependymoma located in the brain parenchyma outside the ventricles. IEE has overlapping clinical and imaging characteristics with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) but different treatment strategy and prognosis. Therefore, an accurate preoperative diagnosis is necessary for optimizing therapy for IEE.

Effects of gene silencing of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 combined with rosmarinic acid on tumor immune microenvironment in H22 tumor-bearing mice.

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a natural polyphenolic compound with several pharmacological activities, including immunomodulation and anti-tumor effect. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1), the rate-limiting enzyme that metabolizes tryptophan into kynurenine, is an important negative immune regulator. This study aimed to explore the effect of combined action of IDO1 gene silencing and RA on tumor immune microenvironment.

Assessment of the relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism and blood lipid profile: reliable or not?

Background: The relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and blood lipid metabolism is controversial. This study is intended to evaluate the relationship between SCH and blood lipid profiles using well defined diagnostic criteria.

Methods: Data from 11,512 physical examinees in our hospital who had finished two tests with an interval of at least 3 months were analyzed, including 685 cases of SCH as stipulated in this study.

Retrospective analysis of the relationship between bone mineral density and body composition in a health check-up Chinese population.

Purpose: This study was designed to explore the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition indicators in Chinese adults (≥50 years) in order to provide a scientific basis for optimal bone health management.

Method: Individuals ≥50 years old who received physical examinations and routine check-ups at the Health Management Research Institute of PLA General Hospital from September 2014 through March 2022 were included as research subjects in this study. Basic clinical and demographic information were recorded for all subjects, along with smoking and drinking status, height and body weight.

The absence of B cells disrupts splenic and myocardial Treg homeostasis in coxsackievirus B3-induced myocarditis.

Although B cells are essential for humoral immunity and show noteworthy immunomodulatory activity through antibody-independent functions, the role of B cells in regulating Treg cell responses remains controversial. Tregs (CD4+CD25+Foxp3+) are considered to play an immunoprotective role in viral myocarditis (VMC) by controlling autoimmune effector T cells. Here, we proved that B-cell knockout can not only lead to significant reductions in Tregs in the spleen, blood, and heart of VMC mice but also decrease the activation and immune function of splenic Tregs, which was reversed by adoptive transfer of B cells; the transcription levels of TGF-β and Foxp3 in the myocardium were also significantly reduced.

Prognostic Value of Combined Preoperative Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Prognostic Nutritional Index in Patients With Stage II-III Colon Cancer.

Tumor status can affect patient prognosis. Prognostic nutritional index (PNI), as a nutritional indicator, is closely related to the prognosis of cancer. However, few studies have examined the combined prognostic value of CEA and PNI in patients.

Clinical value of NT-proBNP measurements in assessing patients in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Background: N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide precursor (NT-proBNP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are mainly produced and secreted in the heart. In 2008, the European Heart Association recommended that serum BNP/NT-proBNP levels should be included in one of the diagnostic criteria of heart failure. Serum NT-proBNP is more stable than BNP, and the detection results are less affected by objective factors, so it is widely used.

An enhanced method for nucleic acid detection with CRISPR-Cas12a using phosphorothioate modified primers and optimized gold-nanopaticle strip.

CRISPR-Cas12a system has been shown promising for nucleic acid diagnostics due to its rapid, portable and accurate features. However, cleavage of the amplicons and primers by the - and -activity of Cas12a hinders the attempts to integrate the amplification and detection into a single reaction. Through phosphorothioate modification of primers, we realized onepot detection with high sensitivity using plasmids of SARS-CoV-2, HPV16 and HPV18.

Effects of rosmarinic acid on immunoregulatory activity and hepatocellular carcinoma cell apoptosis in tumor-bearing mice.

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a natural polyphenolic compound that exists in many medicinal species of and . The previous studies have revealed that RA had therapeutic effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the -xenograft models by inhibiting the inflammatory cytokines and NF-κB p65 pathway in the tumor microenvironment. However, its molecular mechanisms of immunoregulation and pro-apoptotic effect in HCC have not been fully explored.

[Efficacy and safety of low dose sublingual nifedipine dripping pills (5 mg) in the acute treatment of moderate and severe hypertension: a randomized, double-blind, positive-drug parallel-controlled, multi-center clinical study].

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of low dose sublingual nifedipine dripping pills (5 mg) in treating moderate and severe hypertension in comparison with normal dose (10 mg) of sublingual nifedipine dripping pills. This study was designed as a randomized, double-blind, positive drug parallel controlled, multi-center, non-inferiority clinical trial. Patients with moderate and severe hypertension were enrolled by 14 clinical trial centers, randomly divided into the trial group (sublingual 5 mg nifedipine dripping pills) and the control group (sublingual 10 mg nifedipine dripping pills).

[A multi-center cross-sectional survey of medicine application in patients with osteoarthritis in China].

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics, the medicine application and to evaluate the disease activity in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) in China.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Totally 1 066 cases of OA from 40 hospitals in China from April to October 2017 were retrospectively enrolled.

Genetic polymorphisms -137 (rs187238) and -607 (rs1946518) in the interleukin-18 promoter may not be associated with development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

This study meta-analyzed the literature on possible association of polymorphisms -137 (rs187238) and -607 (rs1946518) in the interleukin-18 (IL-18) promoter with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The analysis included 8 case-control studies on the -137 polymorphism (1,318 cases, 2,254 controls) and 7 case-control studies on the -607 polymorphism (1,262 cases, 1,696 controls). None of the five genetic models suggested a significant association between the -137 polymorphism and HCC risk: allelic model, OR 0.

Effect of activated autologous platelet-rich plasma on proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells in vitro.

To investigate whether activated autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) can promote proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) in vitro. hASCs were isolated from lipo-aspirates, and characterized by specific cell markers and multilineage differentiation capacity after culturing to the 3(rd) passage. PRP was collected and activated from human peripheral blood of the same patient.

Relationship between onset of peptic ulcer and meteorological factors.

Aim: To discuss the relationship between onset of peptic ulcer (PU) and meteorological factors (MFs).

Methods: A total of 24,252 patients were found with active PU in 104,121 samples of gastroscopic examination from 17 hospitals in Nanning from 1992 to 1997. The detectable rate of PU (DRPU) was calculated every month, every ten days and every five days.