Chenghays3561

Aim The aim of this study was to identify whether metabolite biomarker candidates for pancreatic cancer (PC) could aid detection of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN), recognized as high-risk factors for PC. Materials & methods The 12 metabolite biomarker candidates, which were found to be useful to detect PC in our previous study, were evaluated for plasma samples from patients with PC (n = 44) or IPMN (n = 24) or healthy volunteers (n = 46). Results Regarding the performance of individual biomarkers of PC and PC high-risk IPMN, lysine exhibited the best performance (sensitivity 67.8%; specificity 86.9%). The multiple logistic regression analysis-based detection model displayed high sensitivity and specificity values of 92.5 and 90.6%, respectively. Conclusion Metabolite biomarker candidates for PC are useful for detecting high-risk IPMN, which can progress to PC.Aim The prognostic and predictive value of Elevated Microsatellite Alterations at Selected Tetranucleotide (EMAST) has been reported in colorectal cancer (CRC). The prevalence of EMAST in CRC varied across the literature. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of EMAST in CRC. Materials & methods Three international databases including PubMed, ISI and Scopus were searched to identify related articles that described the frequency of EMAST. Results Analysis was performed on 16 eligible studies including 4922 patients. AR-42 among CRCs patients was 33% (95% CI 23-43%, I2 = 98%). Conclusion This study indicated that approximately a third of the CRC patients are diagnosed with EMAST, hereupon EMAST as a prognostic and predictive biomarker should be more studied clinically.Progress on glycosylation and tumor markers has not been extensively reported. #link# Glycosylation plays an important part in post-translational modification. Previous research on glycosylation-modified biomarkers has lagged behind due to insufficient understanding of glycosylation-related regulations. However, some new methods and ideas illustrated in recent research may provide new inspirations in the field. This article aims to review current advances in revealing relationship between tumors and abnormal N-glycosylation and discuss leading-edge applications of N-glycosylation in developing novel tumor biomarkers.

Hypertension guidelines do not recommend the time to administer blood pressure (BP)-lowering medications, despite multiple prospective clinical trials reporting both improved normalization of BP 24h patterning and reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) events when ingested at bedtime rather than upon awakening.

We review (i) circadian rhythm-dependent influences on the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of hypertension medications; (ii) reports of ingestion-time differences in PK and PD of such therapies; and (iii) (chrono)prevention of CVD morbidity and mortality achieved by the simple and low-cost bedtime hypertension chronotherapy strategy, i.e. scheduling at bedtime ≥1 conventional BP-lowering medications to target asleep BP control of ABPM-diagnosed true arterial hypertension patients.

Proper management of hypertension requires awareness of known ingestion-time differences in both the PK of individual BP-lowering medications and their combinations, which arise from circadian rhythms affeeduction of CVD morbidity and mortality when hypertension medications and their combinations are ingested at bedtime rather than upon waking.Purpose/Aim of the study To quantify the cost of performing an intravitreal injection (IVI) utilizing activity-based costing (ABC), which allocates a cost to each resource involved in a manufacturing process. Materials and Methods A prospective, observational cohort study was performed at an urban, multi-specialty ophthalmology practice affiliated with an academic institution. Fourteen patients scheduled for an IVI-only visit with a retina ophthalmologist were observed from clinic entry to exit to create a process map of time and resource utilization. Indirect costs were allocated with ABC and direct costs were estimated based on process map observations, internal accounting records, employee interviews, and nationally-reported metrics. The primary outcome measure was the cost of an IVI procedure in United States dollars. Secondary outcomes included operating income (cost subtracted from revenue) of an IVI and patient-centric time utilization for an IVI. Results The total cost of performing an IVI was $128.28; average direct material, direct labor, and overhead costs were $2.14, $97.88, and $28.26, respectively. Compared to the $104.40 reimbursement set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for Current Procedural Terminology code 67028, this results in a negative operating income of -$23.88 (-22.87%). The median clinic resource-utilizing time to complete an IVI was 3258 minutes (range [1924-12837]); the greatest bottleneck was physician-driven electronic health record documentation. Conclusions Our study provides an objective and accurate cost estimate of the IVI procedure and illustrates how ABC may be applied in a clinical context. Our findings suggest that IVIs may currently be undervalued by payors.

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy, safety, and duration of Remebot robot-assisted frameless brain biopsy with those of standard frame-based stereotactic biopsy.

A retrospective analysis of 66 patients undergoing stereotactic brain biopsy in our department from January 2015 to January 2019 was performed. We divided the patients into two groups the frame-based group (

 = 35) and the Remebot robot group (

 = 31). Data on clinical characteristics, total procedure length, overall discomfort, diagnostic yield, complications, and postoperative length of hospital stay were retrospectively reviewed and compared between these two groups.

No significant difference in diagnostic yield was detected in the two groups, with frame-based biopsy having a diagnostic yield of 91.4% and Remebot robot-assisted frameless brain biopsy having a diagnostic yield of 93.5%. The duration of the total procedure was 116.5 min for the frame-based biopsy and 80.1 min for the Remebot robot-assisted frameless brain biop patients than frame-based biopsy.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between neck pain and radiological findings in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients.

The study groups comprised 257 AS and 50 normal patients. Of the AS patients, 91 had axial neck pain (group 1) and 166 did not (group 2). Full-length radiographs of the spine in the anteroposterior and lateral planes were taken. Radiographic parameters such as the chin brow vertical angle (CBVA), McGregor slope (McGS), slope of the Line of Sight (SLS), C2 slope, C2-C7 lordosis (CL), C2-C7 sagittal vertical axis (C2-C7 SVA), and T1 slope were measured. Statistical analysis was performed.

The AS and normal patients were found to have significantly different CBVA, McGS, C2 slope, C2-C7 SVA, and T1 slope. However, no significant difference was observed for SLS and CL. Between groups 1 and 2, there were significant differences in the McGS, CL, and T1 slope. However, no significant difference between these two groups was observed for CBVA, SLS, C2 slope, and C2-C7 SVA. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify statistically significant predictors of neck pain in AS patients and it revealed that the T1 slope and McGS were two such predictors. The T1 slope showed superior discriminatory power to McGS and CL in the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

This study shows that a high T1 slope and McGS are independent radiological predictors of neck pain in AS. Further well-designed studies would be necessary to substantiate our results.

This study shows that a high T1 slope and McGS are independent radiological predictors of neck pain in AS. Further well-designed studies would be necessary to substantiate our results.Recently, we established an adeno-associated virus (AAV9) capsid-promoter interaction that directly determined cell-specific gene expression across two synthetic promoters, Cbh and CBA, in the rat striatum. These studies not only expand this capsid-promoter interaction to include another promoter in the rat striatum but also establish AAV capsid-promoter interactions in the nonhuman primate brain. When AAV serotype 9 (AAV9) vectors were injected into the rat striatum, the minimal synthetic promoter JetI drove green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene expression predominantly in oligodendrocytes. However, similar to our previous findings, the insertion of six alanines into VP1/VP2 of the AAV9 capsid (AAV9AU) significantly shifted JetI-driven GFP gene expression to neurons. In addition, previous retrograde tracing studies in the nonhuman primate brain also revealed the existence of a capsid-promoter interaction. When rAAV2-Retro vectors were infused into the frontal eye field (FEF) of rhesus macaques, local gene expression was prominent using either the hybrid chicken beta actin (CAG) or human synapsin (hSyn) promoters. However, only the CAG promoter, not the hSyn promoter, led to gene expression in the ipsilateral claustrum and contralateral FEF. Conversely, infusion of rAAV2-retro-hSyn vectors, but not rAAV2-retro-CAG, into the macaque superior colliculus led to differential and selective retrograde gene expression in cerebellotectal afferent cells. Clearly, this differential promoter/capsid expression profile could not be attributed to promoter inactivation from retrograde transport of the rAAV2-Retro vector. In summary, we document the potential for AAV capsid/promoter interactions to impact cell-specific gene expression across species, experimental manipulations, and engineered capsids, independent of capsid permissivity.Cancer is a global epidemic disease responsible for over ten millions death worldwide. The early diagnosis and the precise treatment with reduced adverse reactions are the main goal worldwide. link2 In this study, we produced, characterized and evaluated (in vitro) in three different cancer cell lines (protaste, breast and melanoma) a radioactive gold nanocluster (R-AuNC) (198Au25(Capt)18). The pharmacokinetics as the influence in the ABC transporter (MRP1 Efflux Transporter Protein) was also evaluated. The results showed that R-AuNC (198Au25(Capt)18) are capable to kill the cancer cells lines of protaste, breast and melanoma. The pharmacokinetics showed a fast clearance and great volume of distribution, confirming the use of R-AuNC as nanomedicine for cancer treatment. Finally, the ABC transporter assay corroborated that the R-AuNC (198Au25(Capt)18) has no risk of being pumped out of cells by this efflux transporter. The results validate the use of gold nanoparticles as therapeutic nanomedicine for cancer treatment.

There is no clear consensus for the criteria for closed treatment of metacarpal neck fractures. link3 Our objective was to determine whether closed reduction of pediatric fifth metacarpal neck fractures results in a clinically meaningful improvement in radiographic angulation.

We performed a retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients with fifth metacarpal neck fractures treated with closed reduction. Radiographs were examined for sagittal fracture angulation measured post-reduction, 2 to 14 days post-reduction, and 21 to 35 days post-reduction. We compared the angulation for open versus closed physes, initial fracture angulation greater than or less than 50°, and immobilization in extension versus intrinsic-plus position.

Fifty-four subjects were included with an average age of 14.8 years at the time of injury and a mean initial fracture angulation of 42.7°. The improvement in fracture angulation was 8.3° (90% confidence interval [CI], 5.9-10.7) on post-reduction radiographs, 8.5° (90% CI, 6.1-10.9) at 2 to 14 days post-reduction, and 4.