Gaardewebb9013

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of cytokine-induced killer (CIK)/dendritic cell combined with CIK (DC-CIK) cell therapy in advanced gastrointestinal cancer (GIC). METHODS The PubMed, Cochrane library, and Embase were searched to conduct a meta-analysis of clinical controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CIK/DC-CIK cell therapy in advanced GIC. The pooled risk ratios (RRs) or weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. RESULTS A total of nine studies with 1113 patients were identified. The overall survival (RR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.41-2.40, Pheterogeneity = 0.654, I2 = 0%), progression-free survival (RR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.52-2.60, Pheterogeneity = 0.727, I2 = 0%), and quality of life (WMD = 16.09, 95% CI = 1.66-30.52, Pheterogeneity  less then  0.001, I2 = 98.8%) were significantly improved in patients who received chemotherapy combined with CIK/DC-CIK cells, and no severe adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION This meta-analysis suggested that the combination of CIK/DC-CIK immunotherapy and chemotherapy was safe and applicable for patients with advanced GIC. It is a feasible choice to prolong survival and improve quality of life.BACKGROUND Since the inception of newborn screening programs in China in the 1990s, pregnancy among patients with inherited, metabolic disorders has become more common. This study explores the management and outcomes of planned, full-term pregnancies in patients with phenylketonuria (PKU). METHOD Married patients with PKU from 2012 to 2017 were enrolled to receive prenatal counseling and regular health assessments. Study-related assessments included the timing of Phe-restricted diets, maternal weight gain, gestational age, pregnancy complications, and blood Phe concentrations (both pre-conception and during pregnancy), obstetrical data, and offspring outcomes(e.g. anthropomorphic measurements and developmental quotients [DQs]). RESULTS A total of six offspring were successfully delivered. The mean ± SD (range) age of the mother at delivery was 26.3 ± 4.7 (range 21.1-32.5) years. The mean duration of Phe control before pregnancy was 5.5 ± 1.3(range 3.1-6.5) months. During pregnancy, the proportion of blood Phe concentrations within the clinically-recommended target range (120-360 μmol/L) ranged from 63.2-83.5%. Low birth weight ( less then  2500 g) offspring occurred in two women who experienced suboptimal metabolic control. In addition, offspring DQ was related to the proportion of blood Phe levels per trimester that were within the recommended range (r = 0.886, p = 0.016). this website CONCLUSION This is the first report of women in China with PKU who successfully gave birth to clinically healthy babies. Infant outcomes were related to maternal blood Phe management prior to and during pregnancy. In maternal PKU patients with poor compliance to dietary treatment, sapropterin dihydrochloride (6R-BH4) may be an option to improve the management of blood Phe levels.BACKGROUND Therapy targeted to the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) is used in combination with cytotoxic therapy in treatment of HER2+ breast cancer. Trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets HER2, has been shown pre-clinically to induce vascular changes that can increase delivery of chemotherapy. To quantify the role of immune modulation in treatment-induced vascular changes, this study identifies temporal changes in myeloid cell infiltration with corresponding vascular alterations in a preclinical model of HER2+ breast cancer following trastuzumab treatment. METHODS HER2+ tumor-bearing mice (N = 46) were treated with trastuzumab or saline. After extraction, half of each tumor was analyzed by immunophenotyping using flow cytometry. The other half was quantified by immunohistochemistry to characterize macrophage infiltration (F4/80), vascularity (CD31 and α-SMA), proliferation (Ki67) and cellularity (H&E). Additional mice (N = 10) were used to quantify differences in tumor cytokinestions and warrant further assessment for potential clinical translation.BACKGROUND Childbirth in Australia occurs predominantly in a biomedical context, with 97% of births occurring in hospital. A small percentage of women choose to birth outside the system - that is, to have a midwife attended homebirth with risk factors, or a freebirth, where the birth at home is intentionally unattended by any health professional. METHOD This study used a Grounded Theory methodology. Data from 13 women choosing homebirth and 15 choosing freebirth were collected between 2010 and 2014 and analysed over this time. RESULTS The core category was 'wanting the best and safest,' which describes what motivated the women to birth outside the system. The basic social process, which explains the journey women took as they pursued the best and safest, was 'finding a better way'. Women who gave birth outside the system in Australia had the countercultural belief that their knowledge about what was best and safest had greater authority than the socially accepted experts in maternity care. The women did not believe the rhetoric about the safety of hospitals and considered a biomedical approach towards birth to be the riskier birth option compared to giving birth outside the system. Previous birth experiences taught the women that hospital care was emotionally unsafe and that there was a possibility of further trauma if they returned to hospital. Giving birth outside the system presented the women with what they believed to be the opportunity to experience the best and safest circumstances for themselves and their babies. CONCLUSION Shortfalls in the Australian maternity care system is the major contributing factor to women's choice to give birth outside the system. Systematic improvements should prioritise humanising maternity care and the expansion of birth options which prioritise midwifery-led care for women of all risk.BACKGROUND Due to the advent of SNP array technology, a genome-wide analysis of genetic differences between populations and breeds has become possible at a previously unattainable level. The Wright's fixation index (Fst) and the principal component analysis (PCA) are widely used methods in animal genetics studies. In paper we compared the power of these methods, their complementing each other and which of them is the most powerful. RESULTS Comparative analysis of the power Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Fst were carried out to reveal genetic differences between herds of Holsteinized cows. Totally, 803 BovineSNP50 genotypes of cows from 13 herds were used in current study. Obtained Fst values were in the range of 0.002-0.012 (mean 0.0049) while for rare SNPs with MAF 0.0001-0.005 they were even smaller in the range of 0.001-0.01 (mean 0.0027). Genetic relatedness of the cows in the herds was the cause of such small Fst values. The contribution of rare alleles with MAF 0.0001-0.01 to the Fst values was much less than common alleles and this effect depends on linkage disequilibrium (LD).