Effect of weekend versus weekday admission on the mortality of acute ischemic stroke patients in China: an analysis of data from the Chinese acute ischemic stroke treatment outcome registry.

Background: Due to disparities in medical resources in rural and urban areas as well as in different geographic regions in China, the effect of weekend versus weekday admission on the outcomes of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients is unknown. Our aim was to investigate whether the outcomes of AIS patients differ according to the day of admission in China.

Methods: The data were extracted from the Chinese Acute Ischemic Stroke Treatment Outcome Registry (CASTOR), a multicenter prospective study database of patients diagnosed with AIS.

Perioperative Protocol of Ankle Fracture and Distal Radius Fracture Based on Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Program: A Multicenter Prospective Clinical Controlled study.

Background: The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program is aimed to shorten patients' recovery process and improve clinical outcomes. This study aimed to compare the outcomes between the ERAS program and the traditional pathway among patients with ankle fracture and distal radius fracture.

Methods: This is a multicenter prospective clinical controlled study consisting of 323 consecutive adults with ankle fracture from 12 centers and 323 consecutive adults with distal radial fracture from 13 centers scheduled for open reduction and internal fixation between January 2017 and December 2018.

Regional Differences in Hospital Costs of Acute Ischemic Stroke in China: Analysis of Data From the Chinese Acute Ischemic Stroke Treatment Outcome Registry.

Studies on the regional differences in hospital costs of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) are scarce in China. We aimed to explore the regional differences in hospital costs and identify the determinants of hospital costs in each region. Data were collected from the Chinese Acute Ischemic Stroke Treatment Outcome Registry (CASTOR), a multicenter prospective study on patients diagnosed with AIS and hospitalized from 2015 to 2017.

Integrating Unified Medical Language System and Kleinberg's Burst Detection Algorithm into Research Topics of Medications for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Background: The treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has long been a challenge because the symptoms of PTSD are multifaceted. PTSD is primarily treated with psychotherapy and medication, or a combination of psychotherapy and medication. The present study was designed to analyze the literature on medications for PTSD and explore high-frequency common drugs and low-frequency burst drugs by burst detection algorithm combined with Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) and provide references for developing new drugs for PTSD.

Treatment of Blood Blister-like Aneurysms with Stent-Assisted Coiling: A Retrospective Multicenter Study.

Objective: To clarify safety and efficacy of stent-assisted coiling for treatment of blood blister-like aneurysm (BBA) in a multicenter experience.

Methods: A total of 212 consecutive cases (213 BBAs) treated with stent-assisted coiling were retrospectively reviewed and included in the final analysis. Outcomes including complete occlusion, recurrence, perioperative morbidity and mortality, and overall good neurologic outcome during follow-up were analyzed.

Association between greenhouse working exposure and bronchial asthma: A pilot, cross-sectional survey of 5,420 greenhouse farmers from northeast China.

Long-term exposure to greenhouse environments exposes greenhouse workers to inhalation of antigens that can cause respiratory diseases. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and potential risk factors for bronchial asthma among the Chinese greenhouse workers based on questionnaire and spirometry data. This was an observational cross-sectional study, performed via stratified-cluster-random sampling.

Association between H19 SNP rs217727 and lung cancer risk in a Chinese population: a case control study.

Background: H19 was the first long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) to be confirmed. Recently, studies have suggested that H19 may participate in lung cancer (LC) development and progression. This study assessed whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in H19 are associated with the risk of LC in a Chinese population.

Osthole enhances antitumor activity and irradiation sensitivity of cervical cancer cells by suppressing ATM/NF‑κB signaling.

Osthole (7‑methoxy‑8‑isopentenoxycoumarin) is an O‑methylated coumarin, originally extracted from Chinese herbal medicine. It has been demonstrated that osthole has antitumor effects in various cancer cells in vitro. The present study assessed the effects of osthole on the regulation of cervical cancer cell viability, apoptosis, and radiation sensitization.

Role of γδ T cells in exacerbated airway inflammation during reinfection of neonatally primed mice in adulthood.

Age at primary infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a crucial factor in determining the outcome of reinfection. However, how neonatal RSV infection affects the immune system and renders the host more susceptible to reinfection in later life is poorly understood. In the present study, by using BALB/c mice that were first infected with RSV as neonates, the role of γδ T cells in the development of airway inflammation during reinfection in adulthood was investigated.

Macrophages produce IL-33 by activating MAPK signaling pathway during RSV infection.

It has been reported that RSV infection can enhance IL-33 production in lung macrophages. However, little is known about specific signaling pathways for activation of macrophages during RSV infection. In the present study, by using real-time RT-PCR as well as western blot assay, it became clear that RSV infection can enhance not only the expression of mRNAs for MAPK molecules (including p38, JNK1/2, and ERK1/2), but also the levels of MAPK proteins in lung macrophages as well as RAW264.

Natural helper cells are associated with the exacerbated airway inflammation seen during RSV reinfection of neonatally primed mice.

Infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in neonatal mice causes more aggressive airway disease when the mice are reinfected with the same virus as adults. However, the underlying mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon are not entirely defined. Natural helper (NH) cells are considered a key factor for virus-induced or exacerbated airway inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness by producing type 2 cytokines.

Excisional keratectomy combined with focal cryotherapy and amniotic membrane inlay for recalcitrant filamentary fungal keratitis: A retrospective comparative clinical data analysis.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of a novel surgical intervention, excisional keratectomy combined with focal cryotherapy and amniotic membrane inlay (EKCAI), for the treatment of recalcitrant filamentary fungal keratitis. A retrospective analysis was performed of patients who underwent excisional keratectomy combined with conjunctival flap inlay (EKCFI), EKCAI or therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (TPK) from January 2006 to January 2011. Recalcitrance was determined as being unresponsive to standard medical antifungal therapy for at ≥1 week.

Microsurgical treatment of large and giant paraclinoid carotid aneurysms using a revised endovascular suction decompression technique with Invatec Mo.Ma device.

Endovascular retrograde suction decompression (RSD) with balloon occlusion of the internal carotid artery is helpful to facilitate clipping large and giant paraclinoid carotid aneurysms. The authors reported a revised endovascular technique without internal carotid access using Mo.Ma device and analyzed its feasibility.

A randomized, double-blind, multicenter Phase II study comparing the efficacy and safety of oral nemonoxacin with oral levofloxacin in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia.

Background/purpose: To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of nemonoxacin with levofloxacin in treating community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a Phase II clinical trial.

Methods: One hundred ninety-two patients with CAP were randomized to receive oral nemonoxacin (500 mg or 750 mg) or levofloxacin (500 mg) once daily for 7-10 days. Clinical and bacteriological responses were determined at the test of cure (TOC) visit in the full analysis set (FAS).

The Effect of Irreversible Electroporation on the Femur: Experimental Study in a Rabbit Model.

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a novel ablation method that has been tested in humans with lung, prostate, kidney, liver, lymph node and presacral cancers. As a new non-thermal treatment, the use of IRE to ablate tumors in the musculoskeletal system might reduce the incidence of fractures. We aimed to determine the ablation threshold of cortical bone and to evaluate the medium- and long-term healing process and mechanical properties of the femur in a rabbit model post-IRE ablation.

Blueberry anthocyanins ameliorate radiation-induced lung injury through the protein kinase RNA-activated pathway.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of blueberry anthocyanins (BA) on radiation-induced lung injury and investigate the mechanism of action. Seven days after BA(20 and 80 mg/kg/d)administration, 6 weeks old male Sprague-Dawley rats rats were irradiated by LEKTA precise linear accelerator at a single dose of 20 Gy only once. and the rats were continuously treated with BA for 4 weeks.

Association between DNA hypomethylation at IL13 gene and allergic rhinitis in house dust mite-sensitized subjects.

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a complex disease, in which gene-environment interactions contribute to its pathogenesis. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation play an important role in the regulation of gene function. As IL13, a pleiotropic cytokine, may be important in conferring susceptibility to AR, the aim of the present work was to assess the relationship between a CpG island methylation status at the upstream of IL13 gene and house dust mite (HDM)-sensitized AR in Han Chinese subjects.

Ginsenoside metabolite compound K enhances the efficacy of cisplatin in lung cancer cells.

Objective: To evaluate the potential of ginsenoside metabolite compound K (CK) in enhancing the anti-tumor effects of cisplatin against lung cancer cells, including cell proliferation and apoptosis, and the underlying mechanism.

Methods: Western blotting and p53 reporter assay were used to assess p53 expression and activity. MTT assay and TUNEL staining were employed to investigate the drug effects on cell growth and apoptosis, respectively.

Pancreatic cancer: diagnosis and treatments.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, with exceptionally high mortality. Despite the relatively low incidence rate (10th), it is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in most developed countries. To improve the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and strengthen the standardized comprehensive treatment are still the main focus of pancreatic cancer research.

A novel medical image protection scheme using a 3-dimensional chaotic system.

Recently, great concerns have been raised regarding the issue of medical image protection due to the increasing demand for telemedicine services, especially the teleradiology service. To meet this challenge, a novel chaos-based approach is suggested in this paper. To address the security and efficiency problems encountered by many existing permutation-diffusion type image ciphers, the new scheme utilizes a single 3D chaotic system, Chen's chaotic system, for both permutation and diffusion.

Rosiglitazone amplifies the sensitivity of docetaxel and reduces the expression of CD44v6.

Breast cancer seriously impairs physical and mental health in females. Currently, with further investigation into drugs, a number of new pharmacological effects have been found that offer new methods for clinical application in the treatment of breast cancer. As a widely used antidiabetic drug, rosiglitazone (Ros) has become well known for its anticancer effects, mediated by the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and downregulated expression of the associated invasion gene.

Oral sustained-release suspension based on a novel taste-masked and mucoadhesive carrier-ion-exchange fiber.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of ion-exchange fiber ZB-1 as a novel carrier in oral taste-masked mucoadhesive sustained-release suspensions. Propranolol (PPN) hydrochloride was selected as a model drug with good water solubility, short half life and bitter taste. The PPN-fiber complexes (PF) were prepared by a batch process and coated with Eudragit(®) RS100.

Current developments, problems and solutions in the non-surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is a common malignant neoplasm of the pancreas with an increasing incidence, a low early diagnostic rate and a fairly poor prognosis. To date, the only curative therapy for pancreatic cancer is surgical resection, but only about 20% patients have this option at the time of diagnosis and the mean 5-year survival rate after resection is only 10%-25%. Therefore, developing new treatments to improve the survival rate has practical significance for patients with this disease.

Endovascular treatment for dural arteriovenous fistula at the foramen magnum: report of five consecutive patients and experience with balloon-augmented transarterial Onyx injection.

Background: Foramen magnum dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVF) with perimedullary venous drainage represent a small minority of intracranial DAVF, and only a number of small series with limited cases have been reported. The purpose of this retrospective study is to summarize experience of transarterial Onyx embolisation in the treatment of these lesions, with emphasis on the balloon-augmented technique.

Methods: Five consecutive patients with DAVF at the foramen magnum were treated by transarterial embolisation using the Onyx system.