Wattsgunter5505
inical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk in RA warrants further studies.Enterohepatic Helicobacter (EHH) species have been increasingly associated with acute gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel disease and hepatobiliary diseases in humans. However, their host range and transmission routes are poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the presence of EHH in healthy dogs using both cultivation-dependent and -independent methods. Three hundred and ninety faecal samples from domestic dogs without gastrointestinal symptoms were analysed between June 2018 and July 2019 in Valdivia (South of Chile). Samples were inoculated on selective medium and in parallel were filtrated over an antibiotic-free blood agar. Both media were incubated in a microaerobic atmosphere at 37°C for 7 days. Colonies were identified by PCR and phylogenetic analysis. A subset of 50 samples (half of them positive for EHH by cultivation and the remaining half negative) was analysed by PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) for direct detection. Cultivation method detected EHH in 15.4% (60/390) of the samples, being the most prevalent species H. canis (5.8%, 23/390) and H. canicola (5.1%, 20/390), followed by H. bilis (3.6%, 14/390) and 'H. winghamensis' (1.3%, 5/390). In contrast, PCR-DGGE method detected Helicobacter DNA in almost all (96%, 48/50) tested samples. On the other hand, the method used also allowed to isolate other Campylobacterales, in fact 44.3% (173/390) of the samples were positive for Campylobacter upsaliensis (43.3%, 169/390) followed by C. jejuni (2.0%, 8/390). Moreover, two strains that presented Campylobacter-like morphology were finally identified as Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens. Our results indicate that healthy domestic dogs commonly carry EHH and other Campylobacter species. However, further studies are needed to determine whether and how these Helicobacter and Campylobacter species can be transmitted to humans.
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) systems into medical imaging is advancing the practice and patient care. It is thought to further revolutionise the entire field in the near future. This study explored Ghanaian radiographers' perspectives on the integration of AI into medical imaging.
A cross-sectional online survey of registered Ghanaian radiographers was conducted within a 3-month period (February-April, 2020). The survey sought information relating to demography, general perspectives on AI and implementation issues. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analyses.
A response rate of 64.5% (151/234) was achieved. Majority of the respondents (n=122, 80.8%) agreed that AI technology is the future of medical imaging. A good number of them (n=131, 87.4%) indicated that AI would have an overall positive impact on medical imaging practice. However, some expressed fears about AI-related errors (n=126, 83.4%), while others expressed concerns relating to job security (n=35, 23 in Ghana. These findings are likely comparable to most low resource countries and we suggest more education to promote credibility of AI in practice.
Currently, there are no randomized trials on the effect of antiangiogenic therapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The following study investigated the efficacy and safety ofanlotinib in patients with advanced ESCC who were previously treated with chemotherapy.
This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase 2 trial (NCT02649361) was conducted in 13 Chinese hospitals. Eligible patients were adults with histologically confirmed recurrent or metastatic ESCC who were previously treated with chemotherapy, and were randomly assigned (21) to receive oral anlotinib 12mg or placebo on days 1-14 (repeated every 21days). The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).
One hundred and sixty-five patients were randomly assigned to the anlotinib (n=110) or the placebo (n=55) arm. Median PFS was 3.02months (95% CI 2.63-3.65) in the anlotinib group and 1.41months (95% CI 1.38-1.41) in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0.46 [95% CI 0.32-0.66]; p<0.001). The most common treatment-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4 were hypertension (17 [16%] patients), decreased appetite (6 [6%] patients), and hyponatremia (4 [4%] patients) in the anlotinib group and decreased appetite (2 [4%] patients) in the placebo group. Three (3%) deaths in the anlotinib group were considered as drug related, while there were no treatment-related deaths in the placebo group.
The use of anlotinib in previously treated, recurrent, or metastatic ESCC patients significantly improved PFS compared with placebo. Our findings suggest that antiangiogenesis might be an important therapeutic target in advanced ESCC.
Study of Anlotinib in Patients With Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ALTER1102), NCT02649361.
Study of Anlotinib in Patients With Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ALTER1102), NCT02649361.Dickkopf-related protein 4 (DKK4) is a member of the dickkopf family and an inhibitor of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway. This review surveyed the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), copy number variations (CNVs), hypermethylation, regulation mechanism, correlation with clinicopathological parameters and chemotherapeutic resistance of DKK4. The signal pathways involved in DKK4 mainly include Wnt/β-catenin pathway and Wnt-JNK pathway independent β-catenin. read more DKK4 expression was upregulated in Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC), Colorectal Cancer, Gastric Cancer (GC), Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (EOC), while downregulated in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). DKK4 is not only involved in tumour growth, invasion, migration and chemotherapy resistance, but also in osteoblastogenesis and secondary hair or meibomian gland formation. DKK4 has also been linked to schizophrenia.Dissolving microneedles (DMN) supplemented with therapeutic molecules have been developed to enhance transdermal delivery efficiency of topically applied drugs in a minimally invasive manner. However, the dose of the drugs in DMN system is limited owing to the low solubility of drug. In fact, although triamcinolone acetonide (TA) is one of the most widely prescribed drugs for relieving atopic dermatitis (AD), its poor dissolving nature makes it difficult to design and fabricate DMN containing therapeutic dosage of TA. In this study, TA suspension is introduced to encapsulate therapeutic dosage of TA. Sonication and composition optimization of polymers is key to fabricate high dose TA-DMN to induce particle size reduction and dispersion stability of suspension, respectively. After confirming the physical performance of TA-DMN using the selected formulation in vitro, the anti-inflammatory effects of TA-DMN are evaluated in vivo using a mouse model affected with skin inflammation to mimic AD in humans. Herein, high-dose TA-DMN is presented as a candidate agent for relieving AD and, furthermore, for wide application in the treatment of skin inflammatory diseases in which high-dose steroid drugs are required.