Fludarabine and cytarabine versus high-dose cytarabine in consolidation treatment of t(8; 21) acute myeloid leukemia: A prospective, randomized study.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with t(8;21) aberration often have favorable outcomes, however, relapse still occurs in 30-40% patients, with only 50-60% of patients with t(8;21) AML cured with regimens containing high-dose cytarabine (HD-Ara-C). To evaluate the effects of fludarabine and cytarabine (FA) consolidation therapy for t(8;21) AML patients, a prospective randomized study was performed. A total of 45 patients with t(8;21) AML after achieving complete remission (CR) were randomly assigned to receive four course consolidation with FA (n = 23) or HD-Ara-C (n = 22).

Dose response and time course of manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for visual pathway tracing in vivo.

Axonal tracing is useful for detecting optic nerve injury and regeneration, but many commonly used methods cannot be used to observe axoplasmic flow and synaptic transmission in vivo. Manganese (Mn(2+))-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) can be used for in vivo longitudinal tracing of the visual pathway. Here, we explored the dose response and time course of an intravitreal injection of MnCl2 for tracing the visual pathway in rabbits in vivo using MEMRI.

Visualizing complex processes using a cognitive-mapping tool to support the learning of clinical reasoning.

Background: Practical experience with clinical cases has played an important role in supporting the learning of clinical reasoning. However, learning through practical experience involves complex processes difficult to be captured by students. This study aimed to examine the effects of a computer-based cognitive-mapping approach that helps students to externalize the reasoning process and the knowledge underlying the reasoning process when they work with clinical cases.

Effect of atorvastatin on resolution of chronic subdural hematoma: a prospective observational study [RETRACTED].

OBJECTIVE Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is prevalent in the aged population and is commonly treated with bur hole drainage. This treatment, however, can lead to various surgical complications. Atorvastatin may cure CSDH via its antiinflammatory and proangiogenesis effects, but not all patients treated with this medication can avoid surgery.

Atorvastatin May Attenuate Recurrence of Chronic Subdural Hematoma.

Objective: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common form of intracranial hemorrhage with a substantial recurrence rate. Atorvastatin may reduce CSDH via its anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenesis effects, but its effectiveness for preventing recurrent CSDH has never been explored. We hypothesized that atorvastatin is effective in reducing recurrence of CSDH after surgery and identified determining factors predictive of hematoma recurrence.

PR1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes are relatively frequent in umbilical cord blood and can be effectively expanded to target myeloid leukemia.

Background Aims: PR1 is an HLA-A2 restricted leukemia-associated antigen derived from neutrophil elastase and proteinase 3, both of which are normally stored in the azurophil granules of myeloid cells but overexpressed in myeloid leukemic cells. PR1-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes (PR1-CTLs) have activity against primary myeloid leukemia in vitro and in vivo and thus could have great potential in the setting of adoptive cellular therapy (ACT). Adult peripheral blood-derived PR1-CTLs are infrequent but preferentially lyse myeloid leukemia cells.

Prevalence, awareness, and treatment of anemia in Chinese patients with nondialysis chronic kidney disease: First multicenter, cross-sectional study.

This was the first multicenter, cross-sectional survey to assess the prevalence of anemia, patient awareness, and treatment status in China. Data of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD; age, 18-75 years; both out- and inpatients) from 25 hospitals in Shanghai, seeking medical treatment at the nephrology department, were collected between July 1, 2012 and August 31, 2012. The prevalence, awareness, and treatment of anemia in patients with nondialysis CKD (ND-CKD) were assessed.

Relationship between glycated albumin and glycated hemoglobin according to glucose tolerance status: A multicenter study.

Aims: To determine the relationship between glycated albumin (GA) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and to explore the association of glycated albumin/glycated hemoglobin (GA/HbA1c) ratio with glucose indices in Chinese subjects with varying glucose tolerance status.

Methods: This hospital-based, cross-sectional study involved 953 participants without known diabetes from 11 centers in China. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was used to identify three groups of subjects: normal glucose regulation (n=194), impaired glucose regulation (n=303) and newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes group (n=456).

C7 genotype of the donor may predict early bacterial infection after liver transplantation.

Post-transplantation infection causes high mortality and remains a significant challenge. High clinical risk factors for bacterial infection in recipients are often found in critically ill patients. However, for some recipients, bacterial infections are inevitable.

Combined gemcitabine and S-1 chemotherapy for treating unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma: a randomized open-label clinical trial.

Although the combination of cisplatin and gemcitabine (GEM) is considered the standard first-line chemotherapy against unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HC), its efficacy is discouraging. The present randomized open-label clinical trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the GEM plus S-1 (GEM-S-1) combination against unresectable HC. Twenty-five patients per group were randomly assigned to receive GEM, S-1 or GEM-S-1.

MicroRNA-520g promotes epithelial ovarian cancer progression and chemoresistance via DAPK2 repression.

The lack of efficient tumor progression and chemoresistance indicators leads to high mortality in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients. Dysregulated miR-520g expression is involved in these processes in hepatic and colorectal cancers. In this study, we found that miR-520g expression gradually increased across normal, benign, borderline and EOC tissues.

Optimal combination of gemcitabine, sorafenib, and S-1 shows increased efficacy in treating cholangiocarcinoma in vitro and in vivo.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is one of the most difficult cancers to treat and lacks an established standard chemotherapy regimen. This study evaluated the effects of different combinations of gemcitabine, sorafenib, and S-1 on CCA cells to identify the optimal drug combination. A fractional factorial design method was applied in drug combination experiments to determine the optimal combination of these three drugs (gemcitabine=1.

Estrogen promotes fat mass and obesity-associated protein nuclear localization and enhances endometrial cancer cell proliferation via the mTOR signaling pathway.

Extensive exposure to estrogen is generally acknowledged as a risk factor for endometrial cancer. Given that the accumulation of adipocytes also contributes to the increased production of estrogen, in the present study, we evaluated the expression of the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene in endometrial tumor tissues and further explored the mechanism of how estrogen facilitates FTO nuclear localization and promotes endometrial cancer cell proliferation. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining assay was used to detect the FTO expression in endometrial tumor samples.

Elevated STMN1 promotes tumor growth and invasion in endometrial carcinoma.

Overexpression of stathmin (STMN1) is closely linked to tumor metastases and poor prognosis in endometrial carcinoma (EC). However, the underlying mechanism is little known. In the present study, we investigated the expression of STMN1 in EC.

Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in solid thyroid nodules with and without enhancement.

We aimed to investigate different enhancement patterns of solid thyroid nodules on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and then to evaluate the corresponding diagnostic performance in the differentiation of benign and malignant nodules with and without enhancement. 229 solid thyroid nodules in 196 patients who had undergone both conventional ultrasound and CEUS examinations were classified into enhancement and non-enhancement groups. Besides, different enhancement patterns in the enhancement group were characterised with five indicators including arrival time, mode of entrance, echo intensity, homogeneity, and washout time.

Diagnosis of an aneurysmal bone cyst of the cricoid cartilage: A case report.

An aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is a type of reactive reparative bone neoplasm that rarely occurs in the head and neck. To date, only a small number of cases have been previously reported. The present study reports the case of a 58-year-old male who presented with a tumor in the laryngeal cricoid cartilage, a rare position for a tumor, who subsequently underwent treatment by surgical resection.

Mouse Resistin (mRetn): cloning, expression and purification in Escherichia coli and the potential regulative effects on murine bone marrow hematopoiesis.

Background: Resistin (Retn) is a cytokine which has a controversial physiological role regarding its involvement with obesity and type II diabetes mellitus. Recently, murine Retn was found to be a possibly potential regulator of hematopoiesis in mice shown in the screening results of a set of gene chips which mapped the expression level of murine genes during regeneration of impaired bone marrow (BM) by 5-fluorouracil.

Results: Recombinant mice Retn was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using ion exchange chromatography.

Production of bioactive recombinant rat soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (rrsRAGE) in Pichia pastoris.

Soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), a natural inhibitor of RAGE, is considered to be a putative therapeutic molecule for a variety of diseases and a biomarker for certain conditions. To further study the function of sRAGE, recombinant rat sRAGE (rrsRAGE) was expressed and produced in a eukaryotic system. The open reading frame of rat sRAGE was cloned downstream of the methanol-inducible alcohol oxidase promoter of pPICZαA vector, and Pichia pastoris strain X-33 was used as the host strain.

LncRNA-ATB mediated E-cadherin repression promotes the progression of colon cancer and predicts poor prognosis.

Background: Long non-coding RNA-activated by TGF-β (lncRNA-ATB) promotes the invasion-metastasis cascade in hepatocellular carcinoma via downregulating E-cadherin (E-cad) and inducing epithelial-to- mesenchymal transition (EMT) and is clinically significant in human colon cancer. However, its molecular mechanisms in colon cancer progression remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the role of lncRNA-ATB and its clinical value in colon cancer.

SALL4 as an Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Drug Resistance Inducer through the Regulation of c-Myc in Endometrial Cancer.

SALL4 plays important roles in the development and progression of many cancers. However, the role and molecular mechanism of SALL4 in endometrial cancer remain elusive. In the present research, we have demonstrated that the expression of SALL4 was upregulated in endometrial cancer and correlated positively with tumor stage, metastases and poor survival of patients.

Effect of Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor on Prevention and Treatment of Invasive Fungal Disease in Recipients of Allogeneic Stem-Cell Transplantation: A Prospective Multicenter Randomized Phase IV Trial.

Purpose: For recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (alloHSCT), we hypothesized that prophylactic therapy during neutropenia with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) decreases invasive fungal disease (IFD).

Patients And Methods: We randomly assigned 206 patients undergoing alloHSCT to receive once-daily subcutaneous GM-CSF (5 to 7 μg/kg per day), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF; 5 to 7 μg/kg per day), or a combination of G-CSF and GM-CSF (2 to 3 μg/kg per day each). Treatment was started on day 5 after transplantation and was continued until the absolute neutrophil count was ≥ 1.

Effect of laminin-binding BDNF on induction of recurrent laryngeal nerve regeneration by miR-222 activation of mTOR signal pathway.

Background And Aim: Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury is a common severe complication in neck surgery, which can cause varying degrees of vocal fold paralysis and respiratory tract problems. In present study, the effects of laminin-binding brain derived neurotrophic factor (LBD-BDNF) on recurrent laryngeal nerve regeneration were explored and its possible mechanism was investigated.

Methods: LBD-BDNF or NAT-BDNF (BDNF without LBD binding) treatment was performed in laryngeal nerve injured rabbits for sixteen weeks.

Long non-coding RNA Fer-1-like protein 4 suppresses oncogenesis and exhibits prognostic value by associating with miR-106a-5p in colon cancer.

Novel long non-coding RNA Fer-1-like protein 4 (FER1L4) has been confirmed to play crucial regulatory roles in tumor progression. It exerts an impact on tumor suppression and functions as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by sponging miR-106a-5p in gastric cancer. However, its clinical significance in colon cancer is completely unknown.

Vitamin D supplements in chronic kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant public health problem and Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in CKD and might be associated with calcium and phosphate metabolism, cardiovascular disease, infections as well as the progress of kidney dysfunction. Emerging evidence implies that Vitamin D supplements may be of benefit to CKD. Based on existing laboratory and clinical evidence, this review intends to discuss the effectiveness of Vitamin D supplements and controversy in clinical practice.

EXPANDED CLINICAL SPECTRUM OF MULTIPLE EVANESCENT WHITE DOT SYNDROME WITH MULTIMODAL IMAGING.

Purpose: To evaluate and characterize multiple evanescent white dot syndrome abnormalities with modern multimodal imaging modalities.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, optical coherence tomography, enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography, short-wavelength autofluorescence, and near-infrared autofluorescence.

Results: Thirty-four multiple evanescent white dot syndrome patients with mean age of 28.