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Purpose Shared decision making promotes patient participation in medical decisions. This study aims to explore the decision-making situation and influencing factors in patients with cancer. Patients and methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted for patient with cancers in regional teaching hospitals in northern Taiwan using short-form Mandarin Health Literacy Scale (s-MHLS) and Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9), with total 120 cases collected from January 15 to April 30, 2018. Results Overall health literacy in patients with cancer is 86.52%, and degree of shared decision making is 89.63%; higher education level indicated better health literacy (p

The purpose of the study was to assess the value of admission macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) levels in predicting clinical outcomes in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients.For this study we recruited 498 STEMI patients after they received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), 40 with stable angina pectoris and 137 healthy participants. Plasma MIF levels were measured at admission and after PCI. The primary end points were in-hospital mortality and major adverse cardio-and/or cerebrovascular events (MACCE) during hospitalization and 3.2-year follow-up period.Admission MIF levels were elevated in 88.4% of STEMI patients over the upper reference limit of healthy controls and it was 3- to 7-fold higher than that in stable angina pectoris and control groups (122 ± 61 vs 39 ± 19 vs 17 ± 8 ng/mL; P0.001). Admission MIF levels were significantly higher in patients who died after myocardial infarction vs survivors. For predicting in-hospital mortality using the optimal cutoff value (127.8 ng/mL) of MIF, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for MIF was 0.820, similar area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values for predicting short-term outcomes were observed for high-sensitivity troponin T, CK-MB, N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide, and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score. Although peak high-sensitivity troponin T and N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide also predicted MACCE during the follow-up period, only higher admission MIF levels predicted in-hospital mortality and MACCE during the 3.2-year follow-up. Multivariate regression analysis showed the independent predictive value of a higher admission MIF level (≥ 127.8 ng/mL) on in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 9.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-47.2) and 3.2-year MACCE (hazard ratio, 2.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-5.6).A higher admission MIF level is an independent predictor for in-hospital mortality and long-term MACCE in STEMI patients who underwent PCI.

Background. Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) has been detected in coronary plaques. However, the association between serum GGT levels and coronary atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) as detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) has not been investigated.Methods. We performed a retrospective study of consecutively enrolled CAD patients undergoing preintervention OCT examination during coronary angiography. Plaque vulnerability was defined as the presence of ruptured plaques or thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) upon OCT. The association between serum GGT levels and coronary plaque vulnerability was evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results. A total of 142 patients were included in our analysis. OCT examination detected ruptured plaques in 16 patients, nonruptured plaques with TCFA in 17 patients, and nonruptured plaques and non-TCFA in 109 patients. Univariate analyses showed that gender, diabetes, Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), and diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were associated with plaque vulnerability (P all < 0.05). Patients grouped according to serum GGT tertiles did not differ statistically in baseline characteristics or OCT findings. Results of multivariate logistic analyses showed that diabetes and diagnosis of ACS were associated with plaque rupture and TCFA (P < 0.05).Conclusions. GGT serum levels were not associated with OCT detected coronary vulnerability in our cohort of CAD patient.

With the high incidence of occupational diseases in China, occupational-disease-type mass incidents also show a tendency of "frequent occurrence" and "easy occurrence", which poses a severe challenge to China’s modernization governance capacity and system. Mass incidents are also the difficulty, pain point and focus of China’s social public management. Mass incidents we are facing are a major social issue that needs to be properly handled right now. Most occupational-disease-type mass incidents are problems left over from history, and the generation mechanism is multifaceted and deep-seated. Based on the review and analysis of silicosis events in X County, this paper systematically analyzes the occurrence mechanism of occupational-disease-type mass incidents, expounds and puts forward the effective resolution strategies as well as the construction of long-term prevention and governance mechanisms of occupational-disease-type mass incidents.

ObjectivesA combined equation based on white cell count (WCC) and total bilirubin (TB) was assessed for its ability to predict adverse clinical outcomes in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).DesignA single-centre, prospective cohort study.SettingThe First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University.MethodA total of 615 patients with STEMI postprimary PCI were enrolled. WCC and TB were collected at admission. Logistic regression was used to determine the combined equation. The primary endpoints were in-hospital mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), which composed of cardiac death, cardiac shock, malignant arrhythmia (ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation), severe cardiac insufficiency, non-fatal myocardial infarction, angina pectoris readmission, severe cardiac insufficiency (cardiac III–IV level), stent restenosis and target vessels revascularisation during the hospitalisation and 36 months follow-up period.Result77 patients occurred in MACE during the hospitalisation (17 in-hospital mortality). WCC and TB were taken as an independent variables to make a category of logistic regression analysis of in-hospital MACE, the logistic regression model was: logit (P)=−8.00+0.265 WCC+0.077 TB, the combination of WCC and TB was more valuable on evaluating the in-hospital mortality (area under the curve 0.804, 95% CI 0.678 to 0.929, pConclusionThe combination of WCC and TB is an independent predictor for in-hospital outcomes in patients with STEMI than single detection.

Huei-Lan Chang,1 Fang-Shan Li,1 Chiou-Fen Lin2,3 1Nursing Department, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsinchu Branch, Hsinchu City, Taiwan; 2College of Nursing, School of Gerontology Health Management, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Department of Nursing, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, TaiwanCorrespondence: Chiou-Fen LinCollege of Nursing, School of Gerontology Health Management, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei City 110, TaiwanTel +886 2 2736 1661 Ext. 6341Email cflin@tmu.edu.twPurpose: Shared decision making promotes patient participation in medical decisions. This study aims to explore the decision-making situation and influencing factors in patients with cancer.Patients and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted for patient with cancers in regional teaching hospitals in northern Taiwan using short-form Mandarin Health Literacy Scale (s-MHLS) and Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9), with total 120 cases collected from January 15 to April 30, 2018.Results: Overall health literacy in patients with cancer is 86.52%, and degree of shared decision making is 89.63%; higher education level indicated better health literacy (p

Background. Fibrinogen levels have been associated with coronary plaque vulnerability in experimental studies. However, it has yet to be determined if serum fibrinogen levels are independently associated with coronary plaque vulnerability as detected by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with coronary heart disease. Methods. Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) who underwent coronary angiography and OCT in our department from January 2015 to August 2018 were included in this study. Coronary lesions were categorized as ruptured plaque, nonruptured with thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), and nonruptured and non-TCFA. Presence of ruptured plaque and nonruptured with TCFA was considered to be vulnerable lesions. Determinants of coronary vulnerability were evaluated by multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results. A total of 154 patients were included in this study; 17 patients had ruptured plaques, 15 had nonruptured plaques with TCFA, and 122 had nonruptured plaques with non-TCFA. Results of univariate analyses showed that being male, diabetes, current smoking, high body mass index (BMI), and clinical diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were associated with coronary vulnerability. No significant differences were detected in patient characteristics, coronary angiographic findings, and OCT results between patients with higher and normal fibrinogen. Results of multivariate logistic analyses showed that diabetes and ACS were associated with TCFA, while diabetes, higher BMI, and ACS were associated with plaque rupture. Conclusions. Diabetes, higher BMI, and ACS are independently associated with coronary vulnerability as detected by OCT. Serum fibrinogen was not associated with coronary vulnerability in our cohort.

Monocular visual odometry like DSO (Direct Sparse Odometry) or visual SLAM can be used for UAV navigation. But the scale of DSO is set more or less arbitrarily during its initialization, because the absolute scale is unobservable by using a single-camera. Therefore, the map reconstructed by DSO and the pose estimated by DSO can’t be used directly. In order to recover the scale, firstly, we use IMU, GPS and ultrasonic data and Kalman filter algorithm to calculate the position and pose of UAV. Particularly, we improve the Kalman filtering algorithm instead of using the original algorithm. After the calculation, we get the position and pose of UAV with real scale, and then estimate the proportion between DSO’s scale and real scale by least square method. Finally, using this proportion to correct the scale of point cloud, we can get the point cloud map with real scale which can be used for UAV navigation in the future work.

Toxascaris leonina is a common parasitic nematode of wild mammals and has significant impacts on the protection of rare wild animals. To analyze population genetic characteristics of T. leonina from South China tiger, its mitochondrial (mt) genome was sequenced. Its complete circular mt genome was 14,277 bp in length, including 12 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 2 non-coding regions. The nucleotide composition was biased toward A and T. The most common start codon and stop codon were TTG and TAG, and 4 genes ended with an incomplete stop codon. There were 13 intergenic regions ranging 1 to 10 bp in size. Phylogenetically, T. leonina from a South China tiger was close to canine T. leonina. This study reports for the first time a complete mt genome sequence of T. leonina from the South China tiger, and provides a scientific basis for studying the genetic diversity of nematodes between different hosts.

Tartary buckwheat, which has nutritional and health benefits, has been consumed in China for so many years. However, its predominant component, starch, limits the application range of tartary buckwheat in the food industry. In this study, tartary buckwheat starch (TBS) was extracted and subjected to heat–moisture treatment (HMT) at different moisture levels (20–35%). Both the solubility and swelling power of native starch significantly decreased following HMT. In HMT-modified TBS, oil absorption capacity decreased and water absorption capacity increased with increasing moisture level. The typical A-type X-ray diffraction pattern of native starch was not affected by HMT. Gelatinization temperature, gelatinization temperature range, and relative crystallinity increased with increasing moisture level. However, peak viscosity, gelatinization enthalpy, hardness, and adhesiveness of starch gels significantly decreased with moisture level. These results revealed that the structure and physicochemical properties of TBS can be modified by HMT to improve its thermal stability and extend its application range.