A meta-analysis of effectiveness of mobile health interventions on health-related outcomes in patients with heart failure.

AIMS: To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of mobile health (mHealth) interventions on medication adherence in patients with heart failure. METHODS: The literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library databases, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database and China Scientific Journal Database (VIP). The retrieval period was from the establishment of the database to May 2023. The included studies were trials to explore the effectiveness of mHealth interventions on medication adherence in patients with heart failure. Cochrane collaboration's tool was used for assessing risk of bias in randomized controlled trials. Stata 17.0 software was used to conduct data analysis. Continuous data were expressed as standard mean differences, and dichotomous data were expressed as relative risks with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: A total of 13 studies and 2534 participants were included. One study was rated as Grade A, and the other 12 studies were Grade B. The results of meta-analysis indicate that mHealth interventions are effective in improving medication adherence [relative risk (RR) = 1.26, 95% CI 1.10-1.44, P < 0.05 and standard mean difference = 0.80, 95% CI 0.44-1.15, P < 0.05], and reducing readmission rates (RR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.53-0.76, P < 0.05) and mortality (RR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.43-0.94, P < 0.05) of patients with heart failure. CONCLUSION: mHealth interventions are beneficial to improve medication adherence in patients with heart failure, and could effectively reduce the readmission rates and mortality of patients in the studies. There is a need to continuously improve the professional abilities of intervention personnel, carry out teamwork, and extend intervention and follow-up time. Convenient, fast and low-cost mobile medical devices should be adopted to reduce the cost of medical treatment. Scientific and reasonable intervention content will be formulated according to evidence-based guidelines and theoretical basis to enhance patients' ability at self-management and understanding of heart failure knowledge.

Development of a diagnostic nomogram for alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma based on serological biomarkers.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Serum biomarkers play an important role in the early diagnosis and prognosis of HCC. Because a certain percentage of HCC patients are negative for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), the diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC is essential to improve the detection rate of HCC. AIM: To establish an effective model for diagnosing AFP-negative HCC based on serum tumour biomarkers. METHODS: A total of 180 HCC patients were enrolled in this study. The expression levels of GP73, des-γ-carboxyprothrombin (DCP), CK18-M65, and CK18-M30 were detected by a fully automated chemiluminescence analyser. The variables were selected by logistic regression analysis. Several models were constructed using stepwise backward logistic regression. The performance of the models was compared using the C statistic, integrated discrimination improvement, net reclassification improvement, and calibration curves. The clinical utility of the nomogram was assessed using decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS: The results showed that the expression levels of GP73, DCP, CK18-M65, and CK18-M30 were significantly greater in AFP-negative HCC patients than in healthy controls (P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that GP73, DCP, and CK18-M65 were independent factors for diagnosing AFP-negative HCC. By comparing the diagnostic performance of multiple models, we included GP73 and CK18-M65 as the model variables, and the model had good discrimination ability (area under the curve = 0.946) and good goodness of fit. The DCA curves indicated the good clinical utility of the nomogram. CONCLUSION: Our study identified GP73 and CK18-M65 as serum biomarkers with certain application value in the diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC. The diagnostic nomogram based on CK18-M65 combined with GP73 demonstrated good performance and effectively identified high-risk groups of patients with HCC.

A bibliometric analysis of indocyanine green (ICG) in hepatobiliary surgery from 2008 to 2021.

Hundreds of scientific documents have reported on the application of indocyanine green (ICG) in hepatobiliary surgery in the past 13 years, but few bibliometric studies have been conducted. This study aimed to identify the situations of authors, countries/regions, institutions, journals, and hot topics in this field. The overall status and prospects of the current research in this field can be elucidated by bibliometric analysis. Publications from 2008 to 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection. The search terms included "liver," "hepatic," "gallbladder," "bile duct," "surgery," "hepatectomy," "ICG," "indocyanine green," and related synonyms. The full records of the search results were exported in text, and the cooperation network and hot topics were evaluated and visualized using CiteSpace software. The number of publications increased between 2008 and 2021. A total of 1527 publications were included in the results, and the frequency of citations was 30,742. The largest proportion of the publications emanated from Japan, and the majority of the papers were published by Kokudo. Tian Jie contributed the largest number of papers in China. Research was relatively concentrated among one country/region. The latest hotspots, "preservation" and "resistance", frequently occurred. Cooperation between authors, countries, and institutions needs to be strengthened for high-quality research. Recent studies have focused on hepatectomy, bile duct resection, liver transplantation, and tumors in this field. Future research may focus on other aspects, such as liver preservation and resistance.

Akkermansia muciniphila isolated from forest musk deer ameliorates diarrhea in mice via modification of gut microbiota.

BACKGROUND: The forest musk deer, a rare fauna species found in China, is famous for its musk secretion which is used in selected Traditional Chinese medicines. However, over-hunting has led to musk deer becoming an endangered species, and their survival is also greatly challenged by various high incidence and high mortality respiratory and intestinal diseases such as septic pneumonia and enteritis. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that Akkermannia muciniphila (AKK) is a promising probiotic, and we wondered whether AKK could be used as a food additive in animal breeding programmes to help prevent intestinal diseases. METHODS: We isolated one AKK strain from musk deer feces (AKK-D) using an improved enrichment medium combined with real-time PCR. After confirmation by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, a series of in vitro tests was conducted to evaluate the probiotic effects of AKK-D by assessing its reproductive capability, simulated gastrointestinal fluid tolerance, acid and bile salt resistance, self-aggregation ability, hydrophobicity, antibiotic sensitivity, hemolysis, harmful metabolite production, biofilm formation ability, and bacterial adhesion to gastrointestinal mucosa. RESULTS: The AKK-D strain has a probiotic function similar to that of the standard strain in humans (AKK-H). An in vivo study found that AKK-D significantly ameliorated symptoms in the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)-induced murine diarrhea model. AKK-D improved organ damage, inhibited inflammatory responses, and improved intestinal barrier permeability. Additionally, AKK-D promoted the reconstitution and maintenance of the homeostasis of gut microflora, as indicated by the fact that AKK-D-treated mice showed a decrease in Bacteroidetes and an increase in the proportion of other beneficial bacteria like Muribaculaceae, Muribaculum, and unclassified f_Lachnospiaceae compared with the diarrhea model mice. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our data show that this novel AKK-D strain might be a potential probiotic for use in musk deer breeding, although further extensive systematic research is still needed.

Small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel contributes to stress induced endothelial dysfunctions.

Patients with Takotsubo syndrome displayed endothelial dysfunction, but underlying mechanisms have not been fully clarified. This study aimed to explore molecular signalling responsible for catecholamine excess induced endothelial dysfunction. Human cardiac microvascular endothelial cells were challenged by epinephrine to mimic catecholamine excess. Patch clamp, FACS, ELISA, PCR, and immunostaining were employed for the study. Epinephrine (Epi) enhanced small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel current (ISK1-3) through activating α1 adrenoceptor. Phenylephrine enhanced edothelin-1 (ET-1) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and the effects involved contribution of ISK1-3. H2O2 enhanced ISK1-3 and ET-1 production. Enhancing ISK1-3 caused a hyperpolarization, which increases ROS and ET-1 production. BAPTA partially reduced phenylephrine-induced enhancement of ET-1 and ROS, suggesting that α1 receptor activation can enhance ROS/ET-1 generation in both calcium-dependent and calcium-independent ways. The study demonstrates that high concentration catecholamine can activate SK1-3 channels through α1 receptor-ROS signalling and increase ET-1 production, facilitating vasoconstriction.

Complexity decline of hippocampal CA1 circuit model due to cholinergic deficiency associated with Alzheimer's disease.

A hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is cholinergic system dysfunction, directly affecting the hippocampal neurons. Previous experiments have demonstrated that reduced complexity is one significant effect of AD on electroencephalography (EEG). Motivated by these, this study explores reduced EEG complexity of cholinergic deficiency in AD by neurocomputation. We first construct a new hippocampal CA1 circuit model with cholinergic action. M-current IM and calcium-activated potassium current IAHP are newly introduced in the model to describe cholinergic input from the medial septum. Then, by enhancing IM and IAHP to mimic cholinergic deficiency, how cholinergic deficiency influences the model complexity is investigated by sample entropy (SampEn) and approximate entropy (ApEn). Numerical results show a more severe cholinergic deficit with lower model complexity. Furthermore, we conclude that the decline of SampEn and ApEn is due to the greatly diminished excitability of model neurons. These suggest that decreased neuronal excitability due to cholinergic impairment may contribute to reduced EEG complexity in AD. Subsequently, statistical analysis between simulated AD patients and normal control (NC) groups demonstrates that SampEn and auto-mutual-information (AMI) decrease rates significantly differ. Compared to NC, AD patients have a lower SampEn and a less negative AMI decline rate. These imply a low rate of new-generation information in AD brains with cholinergic deficits. Interestingly, the statistical correlation between SampEn and AMI is analyzed, and they have a large negative Pearson correlation coefficient. Thus, AMI reduction rates may be a complementary tool for complex analysis. Our modeling and complex analysis are expected to provide a deeper understanding of the reduced EEG complexity resulting from cholinergic deficiency.

Development of a nomogram for predicting liver transplantation prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: At present, liver transplantation (LT) is one of the best treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Accurately predicting the survival status after LT can significantly improve the survival rate after LT, and ensure the best way to make rational use of liver organs. AIM: To develop a model for predicting prognosis after LT in patients with HCC. METHODS: Clinical data and follow-up information of 160 patients with HCC who underwent LT were collected and evaluated. The expression levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin, Golgi protein 73, cytokeratin-18 epitopes M30 and M65 were measured using a fully automated chemiluminescence analyzer. The best cutoff value of biomarkers was determined using the Youden index. Cox regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors. A forest model was constructed using the random forest method. We evaluated the accuracy of the nomogram using the area under the curve, using the calibration curve to assess consistency. A decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to evaluate the clinical utility of the nomograms. RESULTS: The total tumor diameter (TTD), vascular invasion (VI), AFP, and cytokeratin-18 epitopes M30 (CK18-M30) were identified as important risk factors for outcome after LT. The nomogram had a higher predictive accuracy than the Milan, University of California, San Francisco, and Hangzhou criteria. The calibration curve analyses indicated a good fit. The survival and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of high-risk groups were significantly lower than those of low- and middle-risk groups (P < 0.001). The DCA shows that the model has better clinical practicability. CONCLUSION: The study developed a predictive nomogram based on TTD, VI, AFP, and CK18-M30 that could accurately predict overall survival and RFS after LT. It can screen for patients with better postoperative prognosis, and improve long-term survival for LT patients.

Cholecystohepatic shunt pathway reduces secondary bile acid accumulation to enhance natural killer T cell-mediated anti-hepatocellular carcinoma immunity.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The impact of cholecystectomy, which blocks the cholecystohepatic shunt pathway (CHSP), on the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear. Hepatic secondary bile acids (BAs) inhibit natural killer T (NKT) cell-mediated immunity against HCC, and the regulation of homeostasis of hepatic secondary BAs is controlled by the CHSP. However, the influence of CHSP on NKT cell-mediated immunity against HCC remains unclear. METHODS: The clinical data of hospitalized patients undergoing HCC resection were collected. Meanwhile, an in situ HCC mouse model was established, and the CHSP was augmented using oleanolic acid (OA). RESULTS: After 1:1 propensity score matching, Cox regression analysis revealed that cholecystectomy was an independent risk factor for HCC recurrence after hepatectomy (P = 0.027, hazard ratio: 1.599, 95% confidence interval: 1.055-2.422). Experimentally, when OA enhanced CHSP, a significant decrease was observed in the accumulation of secondary BAs in the livers of mice. Additionally, a significant increase was observed in the levels of C-X-C ligand 16 and interferon γ in the serum and tumor tissues. Further, the percentage of C-X-C receptor 6 (+) NKT cells in the tumor tissues increased significantly, and the growth of liver tumors was inhibited. CONCLUSIONS: This clinical study revealed that cholecystectomy promoted the recurrence after radical hepatectomy in patients with HCC. Preserving the normal-functioning gallbladder as much as possible during surgery may be beneficial to the patient's prognosis. Further investigation into the mechanism revealed that CHSP enhanced NKT cell-mediated immunity against HCC by reducing the hepatic accumulation of secondary BAs.

Biomimetic design of platelet-rich plasma controlled release bacterial cellulose/hydroxyapatite composite hydrogel for bone tissue engineering.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) hydrogel is renowned in the field of tissue engineering for its high biocompatibility, excellent mechanical strength, and eco-friendliness. Herein, we present a biomimetic mineralization method for preparing BC/hydroxyapatite (HAP) composite hydrogel scaffolds with different mineralization time and ion concentration of the mineralized solution. Spherical HAP reinforcement enhanced bone mineralization, thereby imparting increased bioactivity to BC matrix materials. Subsequently, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was introduced into the scaffold. The PRP-loaded hydrogel enhanced the release of growth factors, which promoted cell adhesion, growth, and bone healing. After 3 weeks of MC3T3-E1 cell-induced osteogenesis, PRP positively affected cell differentiation in BC/HAP@PRP scaffolds. Overall, these scaffolds exhibited excellent biocompatibility, mineralized nodule formation, and controlled release in vitro, demonstrating great potential for application in bone tissue repair.

Lessons to Learn About the Misdiagnosis of a Rare Case in China: Bart Syndrome or Carmi Syndrome?

Objective: We report a case of Carmi Syndrome in a neonate. Aim: To share our lessons in diagnosis of the case of Carmi Syndrome. Case Report: Carmi Syndrome is an extremely rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized the coexistence of pyloric atresia and junctional epidermolysis bullosa, and with aplasia cutis congenita in approximately 28% patients. In this case, a full-term male neonate was born to a G4P2+1L1 multipara through cesarean section delivery in hospital in a non-consanguineous marriage with 4000mL of II°meconium-stained amniotic fluid. He was found extensive skin loss over lower legs and other parts, with scattered blisters and bilateral microtia. Plain abdominal X-ray revealed a large gastric air bubble with no gas distally. The mother had an intrauterine fetal loss previously for reasons unknown. The dermatologist diagnosed the newborn with Bart Syndrome, while the pediatric surgeon diagnosed congenital pyloric atresia(CPA). The parents refused further treatment and the neonate passed away about 30 hours after birth. Outcome: The neonate passed away about 30 hours after birth. Conclusion: Lessons from this case:①.Rule out Carmi Syndrome in patients with PA, and differentiate Bart syndrome and Carmi Syndrome in patients with abnormal skin manifestations. ②. For rare and/or severe diseases, multidisciplinary teams(MDTs) should be establish. ③. Genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis are necessary prior to subsequent childbearings. ④.Termination of pregnancy might be contemplated if certain indicators are revealed.

Identification of crucial genes through WGCNA in the progression of gastric cancer.

Background: To explore the hub gene closely related to the progression of gastric cancer (GC), so as to provide a theoretical basis for revealing the therapeutic mechanism of GC. Methods: The gene expression profile and clinical data of GSE15459 in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were downloaded. The weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to screen the key modules related to GC progression. Survival analysis was used to assess the influence of hub genes on patients' outcomes. CIBERSORT analysis was used to predict the tissue infiltrating immune cells in patients. Immunohistochemical staining was conducted to further verify the expression of hub genes. Results: Through WGCNA, a total of 26 co-expression modules were constructed, in which salmon module and royalblue module had strong correlation with GC progression. The results of enrichment analysis showed that genes in the two modules were mainly involved in toll-like receptor signaling pathway, cholesterol metabolism and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. Six hub genes (C1QA, C1QB, C1QC, FCER1G, FPR3 and TYROBP) related to GC progression were screened. Survival analysis showed overall survival in the high expression group was significantly lower than that in the low expression group. CIBERSORT analysis revealed that immune characteristics difference between patients in early stage and advanced stage. Immunohistochemical results confirmed that C1QB, FCER1G, FPR3 and TYROBP were significantly associated with disease progression in GC. Conclusion: Our study identified that C1QB, FCER1G, FPR3 and TYROBP played important roles in the progression of GC, and their specific mechanisms are worth further study.

Isolation and identification of uric acid-dependent Aciduricibacillus chroicocephali gen. nov., sp. nov. from seagull feces and implications for hyperuricemia treatment.

Hyperuricemia has become the second most prevalent metabolic disease after diabetes, but the limitations of urate-lowering treatment (ULT) drugs and patient nonadherence make ULT far less successful. Thus, more ULT approaches urgently need to be explored. Uric acid-degrading bacteria have potential application value in ULT. In this study, we isolated 44XBT, a uric acid-degrading bacterium, from black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) feces. Using a polyphasic taxonomic approach, strain 44XBT was identified as a novel genus within the family Bacillaceae; subsequently, the name Aciduricibacillus chroicocephali was proposed. Strain 44XBT had a unique uric acid-dependent phenotype and utilized uric acid and allantoin as the sole carbon and nitrogen sources, but not common carbon sources or complex media. In the genome, multiple copies of genes involved in uric acid metabolic pathway (pucL, pucM, uraD, and allB) were found. Six copies of pucL (encoding urate oxidase) were detected. Of these, five pucL copies were in a tandem arrangement and shared 70.42%-99.70% amino acid identity. In vivo experiments revealed that 44XBT reduced serum uric acid levels and attenuated kidney damage in hyperuricemic mice through uric acid catalysis in the gut and gut microbiota remodeling. In conclusion, our findings discover a strain for studying bacterial uric acid metabolism and may provide valuable insights into ULT. IMPORTANCE: The increasing disease burden of hyperuricemia highlights the need for new therapeutic drugs and treatment strategies. Our study describes the developmental and application values of natural uric acid-degrading bacteria found in the gut of birds and broadened the source of bacteria with potential therapeutic value. Furthermore, the special physiology characteristics and genomic features of strain 44XBT are valuable for further study.

WTAP-mediated m6A modification of lncRNA Snhg1 improves myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury via miR-361-5p/OPA1-dependent mitochondrial fusion.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is caused by reperfusion after ischemic heart disease. LncRNA Snhg1 regulates the progression of various diseases. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the frequent RNA modification and plays a critical role in MIRI. However, it is unclear whether lncRNA Snhg1 regulates MIRI progression and whether the lncRNA Snhg1 was modified by m6A methylation. METHODS: Mouse cardiomyocytes HL-1 cells were utilized to construct the hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury model. HL-1 cell viability was evaluated utilizing CCK-8 method. Cell apoptosis, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were quantitated utilizing flow cytometry. RNA immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase reporter assays were applied to measure the m6A methylation and the interactions between lncRNA Snhg1 and targeted miRNA or target miRNAs and its target gene. The I/R mouse model was constructed with adenovirus expressing lncRNA Snhg1. HE and TUNEL staining were used to evaluate myocardial tissue damage and apoptosis. RESULTS: LncRNA Snhg1 was down-regulated after H/R injury, and overexpressed lncRNA Snhg1 suppressed H/R-stimulated cell apoptosis, mitochondrial ROS level and polarization. Besides, lncRNA Snhg1 could target miR-361-5p, and miR-361-5p targeted OPA1. Overexpressed lncRNA Snhg1 suppressed H/R-stimulated cell apoptosis, mitochondrial ROS level and polarization though the miR-361-5p/OPA1 axis. Furthermore, WTAP induced lncRNA Snhg1 m6A modification in H/R-stimulated HL-1 cells. Moreover, enforced lncRNA Snhg1 repressed I/R-stimulated myocardial tissue damage and apoptosis and regulated the miR-361-5p and OPA1 levels. CONCLUSION: WTAP-mediated m6A modification of lncRNA Snhg1 regulated MIRI progression through modulating myocardial apoptosis, mitochondrial ROS production, and mitochondrial polarization via miR-361-5p/OPA1 axis, providing the evidence for lncRNA as the prospective target for alleviating MIRI progression.

Research on the Resource Recovery of Medium-Chain Fatty Acids from Municipal Sludge: Current State and Future Prospects.

The production of municipal sludge is steadily increasing in line with the production of sewage. A wealth of organic contaminants, including nutrients and energy, are present in municipal sludge. Anaerobic fermentation can be used to extract useful resources from sludge, producing hydrogen, methane, short-chain fatty acids, and, via further chain elongation, medium-chain fatty acids. By comparing the economic and use values of these retrieved resources, it is concluded that a high-value resource transformation of municipal sludge can be achieved via the production of medium-chain fatty acids using anaerobic fermentation, which is a hotspot for future research. In this study, the selection of the pretreatment method, the method of producing medium-chain fatty acids, the influence of the electron donor, and the technique used to enhance product synthesis in the anaerobic fermentation process are introduced in detail. The study outlines potential future research directions for medium-chain fatty acid production using municipal sludge. These acids could serve as a starting point for investigating other uses for municipal sludge.

Association of ADAMTS13 activity with cerebral deep medullary vein: A community-based cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate whether circulating ADAMTS13 activity can offer insights into the mechanism of pathophysiological changes in deep medullary veins (DMVs). Methods: This study was conducted on a community cohort of elderly individuals in Shanghai. Plasma von Willebrand factor (VWF) levels and ADAMTS13 activity were measured. A validated DMV score described the overall burden of DMV on the brain. Through ordinal regression models, we investigated the correlation between VWF levels, ADAMTS13 activity, and increasing severity of DMV score while adjusting for demographics and cardiovascular risk factors. Results: The study enrolled 262 subjects according to the inclusion criteria. The mean VWF level (1.35 ± 0.25) was higher in the DMV group than in the group without DMV (1.25 ± 0.30) (p = 0.025), and ADAMTS13 activity (83.76 ± 7.96) was relatively lower. After adjusting for age, sex, alcohol consumption, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes, reduced ADAMTS13 activity [ß = -7.78; 95 % CI (-10.21, -5.35) p < 0.01] was associated with DMV. Moreover, correlation analysis indicated that ADAMTS13 activity was negatively correlated with the DMV score (Kendall's tau-b = -0.53, p < 0.001). Discussion: In summary, there was an inverse correlation observed between ADAMTS13 activity and the DMV score, which may provide some clinical clues for exploring the potential pathogenesis of DMV.

Efficacy and safety of first-line chemotherapies for patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal disease, often diagnosed at an advanced stage. Systemic chemotherapy is the primary treatment, but direct comparisons of different regimens are limited. This study conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the efficacy and safety of various chemotherapy regimens, with the unique advantage of only including Phase III randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: NMA was conducted regarding the searched phase III RCTs by comparing overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and adverse events (AEs) of different chemotherapy protocols. Results: The analysis included 24 studies with 11470 patients across 25 treatment modalities. Among the chemotherapy regimens evaluated, FOLFIRINOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) demonstrated the highest OS and PFS, with a risk ratio (logHR) of 4.5 (95 % confidence interval 4.32-4.68) compared to gemcitabine monotherapy. The PEFG regimen (cisplatin, epirubicin, 5-fluorouracil, and gemcitabine) exhibited the highest ORR, with an odds ratio (OR) of 6.67 (2.08-20) compared to gemcitabine monotherapy. Notably, gemcitabine plus sorafenib was associated with the lowest hematological toxicity, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.1 (0.02-0.48). Conclusion: Combination therapies may offer greater benefits but also cause more toxic effects. However, combinations with targeted agents seem to have fewer adverse reactions.

Microsphere-Enhanced Fluorescence-Lightened Solid-Phase Hybridization Assay: The Strategy to Highly Selective Detection of Micro Ribonucleic Acids.

The detection of low-abundance microribonucleic acid (miRNA) frequently adopted nucleic acid sequence-based amplification detection, which was found to have poor selectivity for the nonspecific amplification of template-dependent ligation in enzyme-mediated cascade reactions. Here, a highly selective detection of miRNAs was developed that combined microsphere-enhanced fluorescence (MSEF) and solid-phase base-paired hybridization. The target miRNA could be accurately and quantitatively identified through the solid-phase hybridization assay on the surface of an optical microsphere, while the detected fluorescence signal could be physically amplified by MSEF. Hereinto, the optical microsphere acted as the fluorescence amplifier and whose surface supplied the space to carry out base-paired hybridization to recognize the target miRNA via the immobilized capture DNA sequence. The detected fluorescence signal of the single-base mismatched miRNA-21 sequence was just around 12% of that of the target miRNA-21 sequence in the measurement of model miRNA-21, while the limit of detection of miRNA-21 could be 1.0 fM. The developed detection of miRNA on an optical microsphere was demonstrated to be an excellent physically amplified method to selectively and sensitively detect the target miRNA and magnificently avoid the nonspecific amplification and false-positive results, which is expected to have wide applications in pathematology, pharmacology, clinic diagnosis, and on-site screening fields as well.

A dynamic computational model of the parallel circuit on the basal ganglia-cortex associated with Parkinson's disease dementia.

The cognitive impairment will gradually appear over time in Parkinson's patients, which is closely related to the basal ganglia-cortex network. This network contains two parallel circuits mediated by putamen and caudate nucleus, respectively. Based on the biophysical mean-field model, we construct a dynamic computational model of the parallel circuit in the basal ganglia-cortex network associated with Parkinson's disease dementia. The simulated results show that the decrease of power ratio in the prefrontal cortex is mainly caused by dopamine depletion in the caudate nucleus and is less related to that in the putamen, which indicates Parkinson's disease dementia may be caused by a lesion of the caudate nucleus rather than putamen. Furthermore, the underlying dynamic mechanism behind the decrease of power ratio is investigated by bifurcation analysis, which demonstrates that the decrease of power ratio is due to the change of brain discharge pattern from the limit cycle mode to the point attractor mode. More importantly, the spatiotemporal course of dopamine depletion in Parkinson's disease patients is well simulated, which states that with the loss of dopaminergic neurons projecting to the striatum, motor dysfunction of Parkinson's disease is first observed, whereas cognitive impairment occurs after a period of onset of motor dysfunction. These results are helpful to understand the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment and provide insights into the treatment of Parkinson's disease dementia.