Stroke Care in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College during the COVID-19 Outbreak.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic disease globally. The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College has adopted telestroke to make stroke care accessible in remote areas. During the period January 2020 to March 2020, there was no COVID-19 case reported in our stroke center. A significant reduction of stroke admission was observed between the ischemic stroke group (235 vs. 588 cases) and the intracerebral hemorrhage group (136 vs. 150 cases) when compared with the same period last year (p < 0.001). The mean door-to-needle time (DNT) and door-to-puncture time (DPT) was 62 and 124 min, respectively. Compared to the same period last year, a significant change was observed in DNT (62 ± 12 vs. 47 ± 8 min, p = 0.019) but not in DPT (124 ± 58 vs. 135 ± 23 min, p = 0.682). A total of 46 telestroke consultations were received from network hospitals. Telestroke management in the central hospital was performed on 17 patients. Of them, 3 (17.6%) patients had brain hernia and died in hospital and 8 (47.1%) patients were able to ambulation at discharge and had a modified Rankin Scale of 0-2 at 3 months. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted stroke care significantly in our hospital, including prehospital and in-hospital settings, resulting in a significant drop in acute ischemic stroke admissions and a delay in DNT. The construction of a telestroke network enabled us to extend health-care resources and make stroke care accessible in remote areas. Stroke education and public awareness should be reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Competing Endogenous RNA Network Reveals Novel Potential lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA Biomarkers in the Prognosis of Human Colon Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence indicated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have a wide range of biological functions and may play significant roles in tumorigenesis and progression. However, the understanding of its functions and related competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) networks is much less than that of protein-coding genes, particularly in colon adenocarcinoma. METHODS: We comprehensively analyzed the sequencing data of protein-coding and noncoding RNAs in colon adenocarcinoma patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Next, we constructed colon adenocarcinoma-specific ceRNA network and evaluated the effect of these RNAs on overall survival (OS) for colon adenocarcinoma patients. RESULTS: Totally, 1138 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs), 245 microRNAs (DEmiRNAs), and 2081 mRNAs (DEmRNAs) were identified using a threshold of |log2FoldChange| >2.0 and adjusted P-value < 0.01. Subsequently, a colon adenocarcinoma-specific ceRNA network was successfully established with133 DElncRNAs, 29 DEmiRNAs, and 55 DEmRNAs. Among ceRNA network, seven DElncRNAs (AL590483.1, AP004609.1, ARHGEF26-AS1, HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR), ITCH-IT1, KCNQ1OT1, and LINC00491), four DEmiRNAs (hsa-mir-143, hsa-mir-183, hsa-mir-216a, and hsa-mir-424), and six DEmRNAs (FJX1, TPM2, ULBP2, PDCD4, PLAU, and SERPINE1) significantly correlated with OS (all P-value < 0.05). Notably, several interactions were highlighted in the ceRNA network, such as "KCNQ1OT1-hsa-mir-183-PDCD4", "KCNQ1OT1-hsa-mir-424-TPM2", "HOTAIR-hsa-mir-143-SERPINE1", and "ARHGEF26-AS1-hsa-mir-143-SERPINE1". CONCLUSIONS: These findings reveal several molecules might be novel important prognostic factors and potential treatment targets for colon adenocarcinoma. In addition, these observations contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of lncRNA-related ceRNA network and provide novel strategies for subsequent functional studies of lncRNAs in colon adenocarcinoma.

Severity and incidence of complications assessed by the Clavien-Dindo classification following robotic and laparoscopic gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer: a retrospective and propensity score-matched study.

BACKGROUND: Robot-assisted gastrectomy (RAG) has been increasingly used for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC), and many advantages over laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) have been reported. However, its postgastrectomy complications still under investigation and the results remain controversial. This study aimed to objectively assess the incidence and severity of complications following RAG vs. LAG using Clavien-Dindo (C-D) classification and to identify risk factors related to complications. METHODS: Five hundred and twenty-seven patients with AGC who underwent RAG or LAG between January 2016 and May 2018 were enrolled in this study. Complications were categorized according to the C-D classification. The complications following RAG and LAG were compared using one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) analysis and subgroup analyses. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors related to complications. RESULTS: RAG was performed in 251 patients (47.6%) and LAG in 276 patients (52.4%). Before PSM, the RAG group had a smaller tumour size (P = 0.004) and less patients with previous abdominal operation (P = 0.013). After PSM, a well-balanced cohort of 446 patients (223 in each group) was further analyzed. Of interest, the incidence of overall and severe complications (C-D grade ≥ IIIa) following the RAG group were significantly fewer than the LAG group (overall, 24.5% vs. 18.8%, P < 0.001; severe, 8.9% vs. 17.5%, P = 0.002). Subgroup analyses showed statistically significant difference were also observed in most stratified parameters. Multivariable analysis identified age ≥ 65 years, total gastrectomy, stage T3-T4a, stage II-III, and operation time ≥ 250 min as independent predictors of overall complications. Additionally, age ≥ 65 years, stage II-III, and operation time ≥ 250 min were confirmed as independent risk factors for severe complications. CONCLUSIONS: RAG with D2 lymphadenectomy is feasible and safe for the treatment of AGC in terms of the lower incidence and severity of complications.

Tunable terahertz wave-plate based on dual-frequency liquid crystal controlled by alternating electric field.

In this work, the optically anisotropic property of dual-frequency liquid crystals (DFLC) in terahertz (THz) regime has been experimentally investigated, which indicates that the refractive index and birefringence of DFLC can be continuously modulated by both the alternating frequency and intensity of the alternating electric field. This tunability originates from the rotation of DFLC molecules induced by alternating electric fields. The results show that by modulating the alternating frequency from 1 kHz to 100 kHz under 30 kV/m electric field, the 600 µm thickness DFLC cell can play as a tunable quarter-wave plate above 0.68 THz, or a half-wave plate above 1.33 THz. Besides, it can be viewed as a tunable THz phase shifter from 0 to π. Therefore, due to its novel tuning mechanism, DFLC will be of great significance in dynamic manipulating on THz phase and polarization.

Modulation of Gene Expression in Liver of Hibernating Asiatic Toads (Bufo gargarizans).

Hibernation is an effective energy conservation strategy that has been widely adopted by animals to cope with unpredictable environmental conditions. The liver, in particular, plays an important role in adaptive metabolic adjustment during hibernation. Mammalian studies have revealed that many genes involved in metabolism are differentially expressed during the hibernation period. However, the differentiation in global gene expression between active and torpid states in amphibians remains largely unknown. We analyzed gene expression in the liver of active and torpid Asiatic toads (Bufo gargarizans) using RNA-sequencing. In addition, we evaluated the differential expression of genes between females and males. A total of 1399 genes were identified as differentially expressed between active and torpid females. Of these, the expressions of 395 genes were significantly elevated in torpid females and involved genes responding to stresses, as well as contractile proteins. The expression of 1004 genes were significantly down-regulated in torpid females, most which were involved in metabolic depression and shifts in the energy utilization. Of the 715 differentially expressed genes between active and torpid males, 337 were up-regulated and 378 down-regulated. A total of 695 genes were differentially expressed between active females and males, of which 655 genes were significantly down-regulated in males. Similarly, 374 differentially expressed genes were identified between torpid females and males, with the expression of 252 genes (mostly contractile proteins) being significantly down-regulated in males. Our findings suggest that expression of many genes in the liver of B. gargarizans are down-regulated during hibernation. Furthermore, there are marked sex differences in the levels of gene expression, with females showing elevated levels of gene expression as compared to males, as well as more marked down-regulation of gene-expression in torpid males than females.

A chromosome-level genome assembly of the forestry pest Coronaproctus castanopsis.

As an important forestry pest, Coronaproctus castanopsis (Monophlebidae) has caused serious damage to the globally valuable Gutianshan ecosystem, China. In this study, we assembled the first chromosome-level genome of the female specimen of C. castanopsis by merging BGI reads, HiFi long reads and Hi-C data. The assembled genome size is 700.81 Mb, with a scaffold N50 size of 273.84 Mb and a contig N50 size of 12.37 Mb. Hi-C scaffolding assigned 98.32% (689.03 Mb) of C. Castanopsis genome to three chromosomes. The BUSCO analysis (n = 1,367) showed a completeness of 91.2%, comprising 89.2% of single-copy BUSCOs and 2.0% of multicopy BUSCOs. The mapping ratio of BGI, second-generation RNA, third-generation RNA and HiFi reads are 97.84%, 96.15%, 97.96%, and 99.33%, respectively. We also identified 64.97% (455.3 Mb) repetitive elements, 1,373 non-coding RNAs and 10,542 protein-coding genes. This study assembled a high-quality genome of C. castanopsis, which accumulated valuable molecular data for scale insects.

Utility of diffusion-weighted imaging in differentiating malignant from benign thyroid nodules with magnetic resonance imaging and pathologic correlation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in differentiating malignant from benign thyroid nodules. METHODS: The prospective study included 111 consecutive patients with solitary thyroid nodules (23 malignant and 88 benign nodules) who underwent DWI. The DWI signal and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the nodules were determined and correlated with the histopathologic findings. RESULTS: The majority (65%) of malignant thyroid nodules showed slightly hyperintense, and the majority (69%) of benign nodules were hyperintense on DWI (P < 0.01). The ADC values were lower in the thyroid cancer than in the adenoma and nodular goiter (P < 0.05). When the b factor was 500 s/mm, an ADC value of 1.704 × 10 mm/s can be threshold differentiating malignant from benign nodules, with 92% sensitivity, 88% specificity, and 87% accuracy. The higher cell density and more severe desmoplastic response were the causes of the lower ADC value of thyroid cancer. CONCLUSION: Diffusion-weighted imaging can be a promising noninvasive imaging to discriminate malignant from benign nodules.

Vaccination coverage survey of children aged 1-3 years in Beijing, China, 2005-2021.

BACKGROUND: The routine immunization program for children is a primary strategy and a core part of vaccination. Achieving and maintaining high level of vaccination coverage are important to reduce morbidity and mortality caused by vaccine-preventable diseases. In Beijing, annual coverage surveys have been conducted since 2005. It is necessary and possible to assess the level and trend of routine vaccination coverage of children in Beijing as well as the disruption of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and provide the reference for the further improve the vaccination coverage. METHODS: The data of 61,521 children aged 1-3 years in the vaccination coverage surveys during 2005-2021 were analyzed by Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze the data and the difference of vaccination coverage within the time period. RESULTS: More than 99 % of participants had immunization cards and electronic immunization records. The concordance rate of both records were also over 99 %. During 2011-2019, the rates of on-time and in-time vaccination of each routine vaccine reached 96 % or more and increased significantly (all P values <0.05), compared with that of 2005-2010. All rates of the investigated vaccine, except for Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) and the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine (HepB), decreased in 2020-2021 significantly (all P values <0.05). For the causes of failing to vaccinate on time, delayed vaccination accounted for 47.82 %. The top two vaccines to be missed were the first dose of hepatitis A vaccine and the 4th dose of diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccine, accounting for 21.41 % and 20.79 %, respectively. The main reason for zero-dose/drop-out vaccination was "Guardians regarded the immunization service time as inappropriate", accounting for 72.27 %. CONCLUSION: The coverage level and service quality of routine immunization in Beijing were relatively high. However, as influenced by COVID-19 epidemics, both on-time and in-time vaccination rates decreased significantly, except for BCG and HepB. Under the background of COVID-19 pandemic, the keys to maintain high level of vaccination coverage include flexible immunization service time to ensure the guardians bringing their children for vaccination timely, and more attention from providers to the doses after children's first birthday.

Bis[µ3-2-(pyridin-3-yl)acetato-κ3 O:O:O']bis-[µ2-2-(pyridin-3-yl)acetato-κ2 O:O']bis-[chlorido-(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N')dysprosium(III)].

The title DyIII complex, [Dy2(C7H6NO2)4Cl2(C12H8N2)2] or [Dy2(µ 3-PAA)4(Cl)2(phen)2] (PAA = 3-pyridyl-acetate, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), obtained by reaction of Dy(ClO4)3, 3-pyridyl-acetic acid ligands and 1,10-phenanthroline, exhibits a dinuclear structure. Adjacent binuclear dimers are further connected via face-to-face π-π stacking inter-actions resulting in supra-molecular chains along the c-axis direction.

Attenuation of cartilage pathogenesis in osteoarthritis by blocking the phosphorylation of tyrosine kinase Fyn to ß-catenin, AZD0530.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of AZD0530 on the progression of knee OA after blocking ß-catenin phosphorylation and then dormancy of the Wnt/ß pathway by tyrosine kinase Fyn. METHODS: The levels of Fyn, ß-catenin, p-ß-catenin (Tyr142), the chondrocyte positive marker Aggrecan, and the chondrocyte negative marker MMP13 were observed in human knee tibial plateau chondrocytes in vivo and in vitro. Different doses of AZD0530 were used to treat chondrocytes of the human OA tibial plateau chondrocytes in vitro, and the degree of chondrocyte degeneration was observed. Different doses of AZD0530 were intraarticularly injected into OA rats to observe the degree of tibial plateau cartilage degeneration. RESULTS: When OA occurred in human knee, the levels of tyrosine kinase Fyn,ß-catenin and p-ß-catenin (Tyr142) in chondrocytes increased significantly.The level of Aggrecan decreased and MMP13 increased in chondrocytes. The levels of ß-catenin, p-ß-catenin (Tyr142) and MMP13 in chondrocytes decreased, while the level of Aggrecan increased after AZD0530 was used to intervene chondrocytes in vitro, which was positively correlated with the dose of AZD0530. Intra-articular injection of AZD0530 obviously attenuated the degeneration of articular cartilage, which was positively correlated with the dose of AZD0530. CONCLUSION: The level of Fyn in chondrocytes of human knee tibial plateau increased significantly when OA occurred. AZD0530 can inhibit tyrosine kinase Fyn from ß-catenin phosphorylation, a key Wnt/ß pathway protein, and then inhibit Wnt/ß pathway levels in chondrocytes. This finding also suggests that disruption of the Wnt/ß pathway with AZD0530 provides chondral protection in rat posttraumatic OA.

China rheumatoid arthritis registry of patients with Chinese medicine (CERTAIN): Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of the first 11,764 enrollees.

BACKGROUND: Chinese medicine (CM) has become a popular interventional treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, limited knowledge about general characteristics and long-term clinical outcomes hampers the development of CM for RA. PURPOSE: The main objectives of the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) were to describe the population of RA patients receiving CM treatment in multiple centers in China using different variables and compare these findings with internationally reported data. STUDY DESIGN: The CERTAIN is a prospective, multicenter, observational disease registry. METHODS: Adult RA patients who fulfilled the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/ European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria for RA and received CM treatment were recruited into the CERTAIN by rheumatologists from 145 hospitals across 30 provinces in China. Data on demographics, disease characteristics, comorbidities, treatments, and adverse events, with a 2-year follow-up, were collected and documented using a predefined protocol. RESULTS: In the 2 years since the study began in September 2019, 11,764 patients have been enrolled (enrolment is ongoing), and 13.10% of participants have completed the 6-month follow-up. We present the baseline characteristics of the first 11,764 enrollees. CONCLUSIONS: The CERTAIN is the first nationwide registry to document comprehensive data on CM treatment in patients with RA. The development of the CERTAIN resource is a significant step forward for Chinese RA patients, herbal medicine users, and research communities and will deepen our understanding of CM for RA. REGISTRATION: The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05219214).

Systematic assessment of complications after robotic-assisted total versus distal gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer: A retrospective propensity score-matched study using Clavien-Dindo classification.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing evidence demonstrated robot-assisted distal gastrectomy (RADG) is safe and feasible for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC), robot-assisted total gastrectomy (RATG) remains a challenging procedure due to its technical difficulties and possible postoperative complications (POCs). This study aimed to systematically evaluate POCs following RATG. METHODS: Between January 2017 and January 2019, 319 AGC patients with pathological stage T2-4aN0-3M0 who underwent RADG or RATG were enrolled. POCs were stratified using the Clavien-Dindo classification. One-to-one propensity score matching was performed to reduce confounding differences. RESULTS: After matching, 266 patients met the criteria for further analysis. Ultimately, 64 patients (24.1%) who developed POCs had 126 clinical manifestation events. Overall the POCs rate was significantly greater after RATG in comparison with RADG (29.3% vs. 18.8%; P = 0.045), and more major POCs (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ IIIa) were observed in the RATG group (14.3% vs. 5.3%; P = 0.013). The POCs were then classified into local and systemic POCs. The rates of local POCs (35.3% vs. 19.5%; P = 0.004) and systemic POCs (24.8% vs. 15.0%; P = 0.046) were significantly higher in the RATG group than the RADG group. Subgroup analysis showed that the anastomotic leakage rate was higher after RATG (5.3% vs. 0.8%; P = 0.031), whereas the remaining POCs were similar between the two groups. Patients with higher POCs significantly had longer postoperative length of stay (R = 0.895, P = 0.003). Multivariate analysis confirmed age, extent of resection, and TNM stage were risk factors for all POCs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrated that RATG is technically feasible and safe for treatment of AGC with acceptable morbidity and mortality rates. The POCs rate of RATG was higher than RADG, especially for anastomotic leakage. More effective anastomotic techniques are needed in RATG to prevent leakage.

Long non-coding RNA CASC19 is associated with the progression and prognosis of advanced gastric cancer.

Evidence indicates that aberrantly expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the development and progression of advanced gastric cancer (AGC). Using RNA sequencing data and clinical information obtained from The Cancer Gene Atlas, we combined differential lncRNA expression profiling and weighted gene co-expression network analysis to identify key lncRNAs associated with AGC progression and prognosis. Cancer susceptibility 19 (CASC19) was the top hub lncRNA among the lncRNAs included in the gene module most significantly correlated with AGC's pathological variables. CASC19 was upregulated in AGC clinical samples and was significantly associated with higher pathologic TNM stage, pathologic T stage, lymph node metastasis, and poor overall survival. Multivariable Cox analysis confirmed that CASC19 overexpression is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR assay confirmed that CASC19 expression in four human gastric cancer cells (AGS, BGC-823, MGC-803, and HGC-27) was significantly upregulated compared with human normal gastric mucosal epithelial cell line (GES-1). Functionally, CASC19 knockdown inhibited GC cell proliferation and migration in vitro. These findings suggest that CASC19 may be a novel prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for AGC.

[Principal factor analysis of symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and their correlations with efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlations between symptom-based principal factors of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the effect of traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine on RA after factor analysis of RA symptoms. METHODS: Four hundred and thirteen RA patients from 9 clinical centers were included in the clinical trial. They were randomly divided into Western medicine (WM) treated group with 204 cases and traditional Chinese medicine (CM) treated group with 209 cases. A complete physical examination and 18 common clinical manifestations were recorded before the randomization and after the treatment. The WM therapy included voltaren extended action tablet, methotrexate and sulfasalazine. The CM therapy included glucosidorum Tripterygll totorum tablet and Yishen Juanbi Tablet. The American College of Rheumatology 20 (ACR20) was used for efficacy evaluation. All data were analyzed on SAS 8.2 statistical package. Eighteen symptoms in the RA patients were analyzed by factor analysis and the relationships between the factors and effects were analyzed with Chi-Square test. RESULTS: Four principal factors were obtained from the analysis results of the 18 symptoms. The factors could represent the symptoms related to joints, cold-syndrome, deficiency syndrome and heat-syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), respectively. The effect of WM therapy was better than CM therapy. After 12 weeks of treatment, the effect of CM on patients without deficiency-syndrome was better than the patients with deficiency-syndrome. After 24 weeks of treatment, WM therapy showed better effect on patients with cold syndrome than patients without cold syndrome. CONCLUSION: The results based on the factor analysis of RA symptoms are similar to the results of syndrome differentiation of TCM, and the factor-related different categories of symptoms are associated with the curative effect, thus further research on the symptoms is necessary.

Novel EMD-Based Extraction Approach of Electric Field Fringe Impacts on a Micro Capacitive Displacement Sensor.

This paper presents an EMD (empirical mode decomposition)-based extraction approach to decouple the electric field fringe component impacts on the nonlinearity errors of a micro encoder-like capacitive displacement sensor. A calculated capacitance model built under Maxwell's equations against the impacts of electric field fringe component indicates that signals of this sensor are all in periodic co-sinusoidal waveforms. Applying the proposed EMD scheme, signals are decomposed into sets of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residual, in which a fundamental component represents all the features of sensor signal and reserves the local information. Interpreting sensor information from the extracted component instead of the original signal drastically diminishes the impacts of electric field fringe effect. Results from a test bench shows that after applying the EMD-based extraction approach, waveform errors were decreased from over 4.18% to less than 0.89%. Nonlinearity of the interpreted displacement was decreased from 1.54% to 0.29% for 8 mm stroke.

Identification of key genes and associated pathways in KIT/PDGFRA wild­type gastrointestinal stromal tumors through bioinformatics analysis.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common type of mesenchymal tumor in the gastrointestinal tract. The present study aimed to identify the potential candidate biomarkers that may be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of v­kit Hardy­Zuckerman 4 feline sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KIT)/platelet­derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRA) wild­type GISTs. A joint bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in wild­type GIST samples compared with KIT/PDGFRA mutant GIST samples. Gene Ontology function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs was conducted using Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery and KEGG Orthology­Based Annotation System (KOBAS) online tools, respectively. Protein­protein interaction (PPI) networks of the DEGs were constructed using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes online tool and Cytoscape, and divided into sub­networks using the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) plug­in. Furthermore, enrichment analysis of DEGs in the modules was analyzed with KOBAS. In total, 546 DEGs were identified, including 238 upregulated genes primarily enriched in 'cell adhesion', 'biological adhesion', 'cell­cell signaling', 'PI3K­Akt signaling pathway' and 'ECM­receptor interaction', while the 308 downregulated genes were predominantly involved in 'inflammatory response', 'sterol metabolic process' and 'fatty acid metabolic process', 'small GTPase mediated signal transduction', 'cAMP signaling pathway' and 'proteoglycans in cancer'. A total of 25 hub genes were obtained and four modules were mined from the PPI network, and sub­networks also revealed these genes were primarily involved in significant pathways, including 'PI3K­Akt signaling pathway', 'proteoglycans in cancer', 'pathways in cancer', 'Rap1 signaling pathway', 'ECM­receptor interaction', 'phospholipase D signaling pathway', 'ras signaling pathway' and 'cGMP­PKG signaling pathway'. These results suggested that several key hub DEGs may serve as potential candidate biomarkers for wild­type GISTs, including phosphatidylinositol­4,5­bisphosphate 3­kinase, catalytic subunit γ, insulin like growth factor 1 receptor, hepatocyte growth factor, thrombospondin 1, Erb­B2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 and matrix metallopeptidase 2. However, further experiments are required to confirm these results.

Robotic versus conventional laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Robot-assisted gastrectomy (RAG), as an alternative minimally invasive surgical technique, is gradually being used for the treatment of gastric cancer (GC). This study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of RAG over conventional Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) for the treatment of GC. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed all procedures (RAG and LAG) performed by one surgeon between 31 January 2017 and 1 December 2017. The short-term of surgical outcomes were compared between two groups and further subgroup analyses were performed. RESULTS: One hundred patients were enrolled in the RAG group and 135 in the LAG group. The demograghics and clinicopathologic characteristics are well matched between two groups. The RAG group had shorter postoperative hospital stay (11 (interquartile range 9-13) vs. 12 (10-14) day; p < 0.0001), earlier day of first flatus (2 (2-3) vs. 3 (2.3-3) day; p < 0.0001), and larger lymph nodes dissection (40.9 ±â€¯13.1 vs. 35.4 ±â€¯15.8; p = 0.004). Of interest, mean numbers of retrieved lymph nodes from station 6 (p = 0.002), 7 (p = 0.032), 10 (p = 0.025), 11p (p = 0.036), and 14v (p = 0.038) in RAG was significantly larger than LAG. However, no significant differences between two groups were observed in operative time (p = 0.136), operative blood loss (p = 0.434), days of eating liquid diet (p = 0.889), and postoperative complications (p = 0.752). In subgroup analyses, the similar results were observed. CONCLUSIONS: RAG for the treatment of GC is a safe and feasible procedure and beneficial for postoperative recovery of GC patients. However, further studies are needed to evaluate long-term and oncologic outcomes of RAG.

[Clinical efficacy analysis of transverse tibial bone transport combined with vacuum drainage for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate clinical effect of transverse tibial bone transport micro vessels regeneration technology combined with vacuum drainage in treating diabetic foot ulcer. METHODS: From November 2015 and December 2016, clinical data of 19 diabetic foot ulcer patients treated with transverse tibial bone transport micro vessels regeneration technology combined with vacuum drainage were retrospective analyzed, including 15 males and 4 females aged from 42 to 82 years old with an average of (64.57±7.14) years old;the courses of diabetic ranged was (14.62±6.19) years;12 cases on the left side and 7 cases on the right side;the area of ulcer ranged from 2 cm×3 cm to 8 cm×6 cm. All patients were stage D according to Texas classification, 3 cases were grade 2, 10 cases were grade 3 and 6 cases were grade 4. Ankle-brachial index and Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI) were used to evaluate recovery of peripheral vessel and nerve before and after operation, the result of angiography and vascular ultrasound were also compared after operation. RESULTS: Seventeen of 19 patients were followed up from 3 to 13 months with an average of 6.9 months. Seventeen patients' surface wound were healed. Ankle-brachial index was increased from (0.51±0.20) before operation to (0.93±0.18) at 3 months after operation, and had significant difference(t=13.63, P=0.000);MNSI was increased from (4.06±1.36) before operation to(5.76±1.44) at 3 months after operation, and differences were statistically significant (t=7.31, P=0.000). Postoperative angiography and vascular ultrasound showed satisfied regeneration of micro-vessel and affected foot achieved normal movement and daily life. CONCLUSIONS: Transverse tibial bone transport micro vessels regeneration technology could reconstruct micro-vessel under lower affected limb, promote recovery of peripheral vessel and nerve, while with vacuum drainage could promote wound healing, has advantages of simple operation, obvious clinical effect, and high success rate of limb-salvage, and is one of ideal treatment for diabetic foot ulcer.

A propensity score-matched comparison of laparoscopic distal versus total gastrectomy for middle-third advanced gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The optimal resection extent for middle-third advanced gastric cancer (AGC) still remains controversial. This study aimed to assess the long-term oncologic outcomes of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) versus laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) for middle-third AGC. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from 464 patients who underwent LADG or LATG between September 2007 and March 2013. Propensity score matching (PSM) were used for reducing the confounding effects to compare the long-term oncologic outcomes between two groups. Cox regression analysis was performed to clarify the prognostic factors. RESULTS: After PSM was performed, a well-balanced cohort of 376 patients (188 LADG and 188 LATG) was further analyzed. Of interest, the LADG group had a significantly shorter operative time (244.6 ±â€¯28.0 vs. 259.1 ±â€¯30.1, P < 0.0001), less operative blood loss (142.9 ±â€¯50.9 vs. 157.8 ±â€¯54.1, P = 0.006), earlier day of first flatus (2.6 ±â€¯0.8 vs. 2.9 ±â€¯0.9, P = 0.014), fewer number of retrieved lymph nodes (36.5 ±â€¯7.9 vs. 41.4 ±â€¯9.8, P < 0.0001), and shorter postoperative hospital stay (9.7 ±â€¯1.3 vs. 10.7 ±â€¯1.4, P < 0.0001) than the LATG group. However, no significant differences were observed in days of eating liquid diet (P = 0.626) and days of eating soft diet (P = 0.353). The incidence of overall and severe postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ IIIa) following the LADG group were significantly fewer than the LATG group (overall, 24.5% vs. 34.6%, P = 0.032; severe, 4.8% vs. 11.2%, P = 0.022). In addition, the LADG group had significantly more favorable overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates than the LATG group (5-year OS rate, 55.6% vs. 41.8%, P = 0.002; 5-year DFS rate, 45.9% vs. 32.8%, P < 0.001). In multivariate analyses, resection extent was not an independent prognostic factor for OS and DFS. CONCLUSIONS: This PSM cohort analysis has indicated LADG with D2 lymphadenectomy appeared to be safe and reasonable option for patients with middle-third AGC in general. LADG could contribute to improved survival.

Noradrenaline release by activation of κ-bungarotoxin-sensitive nicotinic acetylcholine receptors participates in long-term potentiation-like response induced by nicotine.

Nicotine enhances the function of learning and memory, but the underlying mechanism still remains unclear. Hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) is assumed to be a cellular mechanism of learning and memory. Our previous experiments showed that with the single pulses evoking 80% of the maximal population spike (PS) amplitude, nicotine (10 µmol/L) induced LTP-like response in the hippocampal CA1 region. In the present study, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes and relevant neurotransmitter releases involved in LTP-like response induced by nicotine were investigated by extracellularly recording the PS in the pyramidal cell layer in the hippocampal CA1 region in vitro. LTP-like response induced by nicotine was blocked by mecamylamine (1 µmol/L) or κ-bungarotoxin (0.1 µmol/L), but not by dihydro-ß-erythtroidine (DHßE, 10 µmol/L). Moreover, it was inhibited by propranolol (10 µmol/L), but not by phentolamine (10 µmol/L) or atropine (10 µmol/L). The results suggest that noradrenaline release secondary to the activation of κ-bungarotoxin-sensitive nAChRs participates in LTP-like response induced by nicotine in the hippocampal CA1 region.