Delivering occupational therapy hand assessment and treatment sessions via telehealth.

Introduction Telehealth offers a solution to assist delivery of occupational therapy (OT) services for hand therapy in rural and remote locations. However, there is currently no evidence to validate this service model. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of clinical decisions made during hand therapy sessions conducted via telehealth compared to a traditional clinical model (TCM) assessment, and explore patient and clinician satisfaction.

Effect of heme oxygenase-1 on the protection of ischemia reperfusion injury of bile duct in rats after liver transplantation.

Objective: To investigate the effect of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) on the ischemic reperfusion injury (IRI) of bile duct in rat models after liver transplantation.

Methods: 320 SD rats were equally and randomly divided into 5 groups, which were group A receiving injection of 3×10/pfu/ml adenovirus (adv), group B with donor receiving Adv-HO-1 and recipient receiving Adv-HO-1-siRNA, group C with donor and recipient both receiving Adv-HO-1, group D with donor receiving Adv-HO-1-siRNA and recipient receiving Adv-HO-1, and group E with donor and recipient both receiving Adv-HO-1-siRNA at 24h before liver transplantation. Donor liver was stored in UW liquid at 4°C followed by measuring HO-1 level by western blot before transplantation.

Remission assessment of rheumatoid arthritis in daily practice in China: a cross-sectional observational study.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the remission rate and describe the current use of medication in a large cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under routine clinical care in China. RA patients were recruited from 40 large teaching hospitals nationwide in China. Data regarding RA disease activity, medication treatment, and adverse events were recorded using a standardized clinical data questionnaire.

Serum hepatitis B core antibody as a biomarker of hepatic inflammation in chronic hepatitis B patients with normal alanine aminotransferase.

Our previous studies unexpectedly indicated that the level of serum hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) was positively correlated with the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. The aim of this study was to determine whether anti-HBc could serve as a potential biomarker for the detection of liver inflammation in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, especially in patients with normal ALT levels. Serum anti-HBc levels were quantified in 655 treatment-naïve CHB patients, including 45 patients who underwent two liver biopsies (baseline phase and the 78 weeks of antiviral-treatment).

Understanding perspectives on major system change: A comparative case study of public engagement and the implementation of urgent and emergency care system reconfiguration.

Objectives: Major changes have been made to how emergency care services are configured in several regions in the Republic of Ireland. This study investigated the hypothesis that engagement activities undertaken prior to these changes influenced stakeholder perspectives on the proposed changes and impacted on the success of implementation.

Methods: A comparative case-study approach was used to explore the changes in three regions.

Self-Neglect: Development and Evaluation of a Self-Neglect (SN-37) Measurement Instrument.

Self-neglect (SN) is a global phenomenon, largely hidden, poorly defined, and a serious public health issue. It can be intentional or unintentional and depends on the individual's capacity. Creating a safe living environment for self-neglecting adults can present complex ethical challenges.

A combination of serum iron, ferritin and transferrin predicts outcome in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

Association of a high-serum ferritin with poor outcome showed that iron might play a detrimental role in the brain after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Here, we investigated changes in serum iron, ferritin, transferrin (Tf) and ceruloplasmin (CP) in patients with ICH (n = 100) at day 1 (admission), 3, 7, 14 and 21 and those in control subjects (n = 75). The hematoma and edema volumes were also determined in ICH-patients on admission and at day 3.

Selected Cytokines Serve as Potential Biomarkers for Predicting Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients With Normal to Mildly Elevated Aminotransferases.

Previous studies of small cohorts have implicated several circulating cytokines with progression of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, to date there have been no reliable biomarkers for assessing histological liver damage in CHB patients with normal or mildly elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between circulating cytokines and histological liver damage in a large cohort.

Outcomes of transient ischemic attack in maintenance dialysis patients and those with chronic kidney disease.

Background: In-hospital outcomes of transient ischemic attack (TIA) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring maintenance dialysis are largely unknown. We evaluated TIA-related in-hospital outcomes in these patients using a national database.

Methods: Our study is observational in nature.

Protection of dopamine neurons by vibration training and up-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in a MPTP mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

It is unknown whether the longer duration of vibration training (VT) has a beneficial effect on Parkinson's disease (PD). And also, the mechanisms underlying the reported sensorimotor-improvement in PD induced by short-duration of VT has not been determined. Here, we investigated the effects of longer duration (4 weeks) of low amplitude vibration (LAV) training on the numbers of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra by immunostaining and the levels of dopamine (DA) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the striatum by HPLC and ELISA in the chronic MPTP lesion mouse.

The characteristic expression of B7-H3 and B7-H4 in liver biopsies from patients with HBV-related acute-on-chronic liver failure.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major public health problem, and HBV-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) has an extremely poor prognosis due to a lack of effective treatments. B7-H3 and B7-H4 are two novel members of the B7 superfamily that are actively involved in regulating the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. However, the intrahepatic expression of both members in HBV-ACLF patients has yet to be described.

Deletion of a single-copy DAAM1 gene in congenital heart defect: a case report.

Background: With an increasing incidence of congenital heart defects (CHDs) in recent years, genotype-phenotype correlation and array-based methods have contributed to the genome-wide analysis and understanding of genetic variations in the CHD population. Here, we report a copy number deletion of chromosomal 14q23.1 in a female fetus with complex congenital heart defects.

The osteogenic study of tissue engineering bone with BMP2 and BMP7 gene-modified rat adipose-derived stem cell.

To evaluate the feasibility and advantages of constructing a novel tissue engineering bone, using β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and rat adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), modified with BMP2 and BMP7 by lentivirus. In the present study, ADSCs transfected with Lv-BMP2 and Lv-BMP7, alone or together, were seeded on β-TCP scaffold and cultured in vitro. Based on the results of DNA assay, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, alizarin red staining and osteogenic marker genes expression analysis, the BMP2 and BMP7 genes cotransfection group exhibited a higher degree of osteogenic differentiation in vitro.

The 9L(LUC)/Wistar rat glioma model is not suitable for immunotherapy.

The availability of a well-characterized animal brain tumor model will play an important role in identifying treatments for human brain tumors. Wistar rats bearing 9L glioma cells can develop solid, well-circumcised tumors, and may be a useful animal model for the evaluation of various therapeutic approaches for gliosarcomas. In this study, the 9L/Wistar rat glioma model was produced by intracerebral implantation of 9L(LUC) glioma cells syngenic to Fischer 344 (F344) rats.

Recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor hydrogel promotes healing of deep partial thickness burn wounds.

Objective: To assess the effects of recombinant human granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) hydrogel on the healing of deep partial thickness burn wounds.

Methods: Ninety three wounds of 65 burn patients who suffered from a deep partial thickness burn of <5% TBSA and could not heal over 3 weeks were included in this study. The patients were randomly assigned to use rhGM-CSF hydrogel (GC group, n=32) or hydrogel without rhGM-CSF (control group, n=33).

Effects of pulsed electromagnetic field frequencies on the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different frequencies of pulsed electromagnetic fields on the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. Third-generation human mesenchymal stem cells were irradiated with different frequencies of pulsed electromagnetic fields, including 5, 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 Hz, with a field intensity of 1.1 mT, for 30 minutes per day for 21 days.

Microsatellite analysis in multistage carcinogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from Chongqing in Southern China.

In order to characterize the molecular events in the carcinogenesis of esophageal cancer and to identify biomarkers for the early detection of the disease, matched precancerous and cancerous tissues resected from 34 esophageal cancer patients in Chongqing of southern China were compared for the extent of loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Sixteen microsatellite markers on nine chromosome regions were used for the PCR-based LOH analysis. The overall frequency of LOH at the 16 microsatellite loci was significantly increased as the pathological status of the resection specimens changed from low-grade dysplasia (LGD) to high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (P < 0.

Barrett's esophagus: progression to adenocarcinoma and markers.

The following on progression to adenocarcinoma and markers of Barrett's esophagus includes commentariess on the expression of claudin 4 in Barrett's adenocarcinoma; the role of acid and bile salts; the role of insulin-like growth factor; the value of reactive oxygen species; the importance of abnormal methylation; genetic alterations in stromal cells and genomic changes in the epithelial cells; the value of confocal laser endomicroscopy for the subsurface analysis of the mucosa; indications for statins as adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent; the sequence of molecular events in malignant progression in Barrett's mucosa; and the value of the macroscopic markers and of p53 mutations.

The expression and distribution of immunomodulatory proteins B7-H1, B7-DC, B7-H3, and B7-H4 in rheumatoid synovium.

CD28/B7 signals have been shown to have the capacity to regulate T cell activation and participate in regulating the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the expression and anatomical distribution of some members of the B7 superfamily including B7-H1, B7-DC, B7-H3 and B7-H4 in RA synovium is still unclear. We analyzed the expression of these molecules in synovial tissues from RA patients.

Painful locking of the knee due to bucket handle tear of mediopatellar plica.

A case of swelling and anterior painful knee due to tear of mediopatellar plica is reported. The patient also felt clunk of the patellofemoral joint and knee locking. Under arthroscopic examination, a thick and fibrous plica was found medial to patellar, and a bucket tear along the plica from medial patellar retinaculum to infrapatellar fat pad.

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt pathway protects cardiomyocytes from ischaemic and hypoxic apoptosis via mitochondrial function.

1. After a severe burn, a marked decrease in myocardial blood flow results in ischaemic and hypoxic injury, which subsequently leads to apoptosis or necrosis. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K)/Akt is an important intracellular signal transduction molecule that regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, glucose metabolism and migration.