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Objective. The aim of this study was to observe the efficacy and mechanism of Draba scabra in sepsis myocarditis. Methods. The efficacy and pathways of action of Draba scabra on septic myocarditis were evaluated by making a rat model of sepsis with appendix perforation, using Draba scabra for pharmacological intervention, and measuring serum inflammatory factors, cardiac function indexes and parameters, and P38 protein expression in each group of rats, respectively. Results. The inflammatory factor level, apoptotic index of cardiomyocytes, and P38-MARK protein were significantly higher, while the cardiac function index and hemodynamic index were significantly decreased in group B, while the opposite was true in group E. The treatment was also found to be dose-dependent. Conclusion. Draba scabra pretreatment effectively reduces the inflammatory response and improves hemodynamic indexes in septic rats. The mechanism may be via the P38-MARK pathway to protect the myocardium.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is one of the most organ dysfunctions in sepsis. Although the development of therapeutic strategies such as protective mechanical ventilation technology has improved the mortality of ARDS patients, there is currently no effective drug for reducing the associated mortality. Our study aims to investigate the efficacy, safety, and pharmacoeconomics of sivelestat sodium in patients with septic ARDS, for providing the basis on clinical use of this drug.This was a retrospective study of 140 patients with septic ARDS. Clinical information including general conditions, mechanical ventilation time, drug cost parameters, and adverse reactions. The partial pressure of O2/fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation score (APACHE II score) and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA score) are for assessing the severity illness. To evaluate the efficacy of sivelestat sodium on septic ARDS patients by comparing length of mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization, cost of hospitalization and mortality between the two groups.There were no significant differences in the incidence of organ failure, biochemical data, blood gas analysis, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE II score), and SOFA score between the two groups on the day of admission. The PaO2/FiO2, APACHE II score, and SOFA score of the sivelestat sodium group were significantly better than in the control group (P0.05). The length of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU hospitalization, and cost of ICU hospitalization were all lower in the sivelestat sodium group (P0.05). No adverse events were reported during the study period.Sivelestat sodium significantly improves the oxygenation in patients with septic ARDS, together with reducing mechanical ventilation, ICU hospitalization, and medical costs.

The incidence of sepsis has been steadily increasing worldwide, and the heart is one of the target organs that can be easily damaged by sepsis. At present, antibiotics and organ function support are the main treatment options for sepsis and multiple system organ dysfunction, but are still under investigation.Fifty rats were randomly divided into the sham operation group, sepsis group, sivelestat sodium low-dose (L) group (administered with sivelestat sodium 1.6 mg/kg), sivelestat sodium middle-dose (M) group (administered with sivelestat sodium 4.8 mg/kg), and sivelestat sodium high-dose (H) group (administered with sivelestat sodium 10 mg/kg). Morphological changes of myocardial cells and the distribution of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 proteins were observed by light microscope. Serum troponin-T, creatine kinase isoenzyme MB, brain natriuretic peptide, interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-1β levels and changes in cardiac function indicators were measured. The protein expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, and ERK1/2 were detected by Western blotting.Compared with the sham operation group, the release of inflammatory factors in the sepsis group increased; the protein expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, and ERK1/2 increased; left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), and maximum rate of LVP rise (+dp/dtmax) level decreased, whereas -dp/dtmax increased. In the sivelestat sodium groups, the release of inflammatory factors decreased; Bax expression decreased, whereas Bcl-2 and ERK1/2 protein expressions increased; LVSP, LVEDP, and +dp/dtmax increased, whereas -dp/dtmax decreased. In addition, all of these changes occurred in a dose-dependent manner.Sivelestat sodium can effectively lower the expressions of inflammatory factors and improve cardiac function. It can act on the ERK1/2 signaling pathway to exert its cardiomyocyte-protective effect, and the activation of this signaling pathway can offer potential treatment sites for septic myocarditis.

Many neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) share common learning and behavioural impairments, as well as features such as dysregulation of the oxytocin hormone. Here, we examined DNA methylation (DNAm) in the 1st intron of the oxytocin receptor gene, OXTR, in patients with autism spectrum (ASD), attention deficit and hyperactivity (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive (OCD) disorders. DNAm of OXTR was assessed for cohorts of ASD (blood), ADHD (saliva), OCD (saliva), which uncovered sex-specific DNAm differences compared to neurotypical, tissue-matched controls. Individuals with ASD or ADHD exhibiting extreme DNAm values had lower IQ and more social problems, respectively, than those with DNAm within normative ranges. This suggests that OXTR DNAm patterns are altered across NDDs and may be correlated with common clinical outcomes.

Acoustic holographic techniques are crucial in diverse applications, such as three-dimensional holographic display and particle manipulation. However, conventional methods for computer-generated acoustics holography rely heavily on iterative optimization algorithms, which are time-consuming and particularly hinder their capacity of generating a dynamic hologram in real time. Here, a deep learning approach based on U-Net is proposed to rapidly generate an acoustic hologram with optimal amplitude and phase maps. It is demonstrated that, after being trained with adequate data that are numerically synthesized by the pseudo-inverse method, the proposed deep learning approach can generate both amplitude and phase maps for new target images with an improved overall reconstruction quality. Remarkably, after the offline cost is compensated by a lower online cost for the proposed DL approach, the hologram generation speed is significantly accelerated by the proposed deep learning approach as compared with the pseudo-inverse method, especially for complicated or dynamic images. With the hierarchical feature learning capability and the fast online computational speed, the proposed deep learning approach can serve as a smart platform for rapidly generating complete maps of holograms for the sophisticated or dynamical target images, leading to the new possibility of real-time acoustic-hologram-based applications.

Many neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) share common learning and behavioural impairments, as well as features such as dysregulation of the oxytocin hormone. Here, we examined DNA methylation (DNAm) in the 1st intron of the oxytocin receptor gene, OXTR, in patients with autism spectrum (ASD), attention deficit and hyperactivity (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive (OCD) disorders. DNAm of OXTR was assessed for cohorts of ASD (blood), ADHD (saliva), OCD (saliva), which uncovered sex-specific DNAm differences compared to neurotypical, tissue-matched controls. Individuals with ASD or ADHD exhibiting extreme DNAm values had lower IQ and more social problems, respectively, than those with DNAm within normative ranges. This suggests that OXTR DNAm patterns are altered across NDDs and may be correlated with common clinical outcomes.

ObjectivesWe audited a selection of systematic reviews published in 2013 and reported on the proportion of reviews that researched for unpublished data, included unpublished data in analysis and assessed for publication bias.DesignAudit of systematic reviews.Data sourcesWe searched PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013 for the following journals:Journal of the American Medical Association,The British Medical Journal,Lancet,Annals of Internal Medicineand theCochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. We also searched the Cochrane Library and included 100 randomly selected Cochrane reviews.Eligibility criteriaSystematic reviews published in 2013 in the selected journals were included. Methodological reviews were excluded.Data extraction and synthesisTwo reviewers independently reviewed each included systematic review. The following data were extracted: whether the review searched for grey literature or unpublished data, the sources searched, whether unpublished data were included in analysis, whether publication bias was assessed and whether there was evidence of publication bias.Main findings203 reviews were included for analysis. 36% (73/203) of studies did not describe any attempt to obtain unpublished studies or to search grey literature. 89% (116/130) of studies that sought unpublished data found them. 33% (68/203) of studies included an assessment of publication bias, and 40% (27/68) of these found evidence of publication bias.ConclusionA significant fraction of systematic reviews included in our study did not search for unpublished data. Publication bias may be present in almost half the published systematic reviews that assessed for it. Exclusion of unpublished data may lead to biased estimates of efficacy or safety in systematic reviews.

Prescription drug prices in Canada are regulated by a federal agency. In 1987, the Patent Act introduced a major overhaul that strengthened patent protection for drugs to encourage more pharmaceutical research and development in Canada.[1][1] The act also created the Patented Medicine Prices Review

To explore the effect of transfection of adenovirus carrying hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and endothelial cell membrane microparticles (EMP) in a rat model, and the underlying mechanism.Forty healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups, the normal control group (NOR group), monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension group (PAH group), HGF treatment of PAH group (HGF group and THGF group) each with 10 rats. NOR group and the PAH Group: intratracheal instillation of 0.2 ml PBS solution; HGF group: intratracheal instillation of 0.2 ml HGF one times; THGF Group: intratracheal instillation of 0.2 ml HGF one times, and then 1 week repeat again. Different interventions after 2 weeks, the rats was measured mean pulmonary arterial pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy index calculation, HE staining index of pulmonary arterial wall thickness, area index, plasma levels of endothelial cell microparticles.HGF intratracheal instillation after 2 weeks, HGF and THGF groups of SD rats mPAP, RVHI, TI, AI decreased significantly compared with PAH group (P0.05). PAH group was increased in particulate levels at different time points significantly higher levels of horizontal (P0.05). The EMP levels in HGF group which at 7 and 14 days after dosing were significantly decreased compared with PAH.It still higher than the NOR group (P0.05). And after administration of 7 days, 14 days, the EMP level of HGF group was significantly lower than before administration (P0.05).Thought airway instillation transfected HGF, pulmonary artery pressure can reduce greater degree, but can't achieve complete reversal. It can inhibit the pulmonary artery wall thickening and maintain effective lumen area, delaying the right ventricular hypertrophy by reducing the membrane particles within the lung, thereby promoting endothelial cell repair to achieve the goal of intervention in pulmonary hypertension.

Bariatric surgery is the only weight-loss treatment available that results in both sustained weight loss and improvements of obesity-related comorbidities. Individuals who meet the eligibility criteria for bariatric surgery are generally older, come from racial or ethnic minorities, are economically disadvantaged, and have low levels of education. However, the population who actually receives bariatric surgery does not reflect the individuals who need it the most. The objective is to conduct a systematic review of the literature exploring the inequities to the access of bariatric surgery. EMBASE and Medline databases will be searched for observational studies that compared at least one of the PROGRESS-PLUS sociodemographic characteristics of patients eligible for bariatric surgery to those who actually received the procedure. Articles published in the year 1980 to present with no language restrictions will be included. For inclusion, studies must only include adults (≥18 years old) who meet National Institutes of Health (NIH) eligibility criteria for bariatric surgery defined as having either (1) a body mass index (BMI) of 40 kg/m2 or greater; or (2) BMI of 35 kg/m2 or greater with significant weight-related comorbidities. Eligible interventions will include malabsorptive, restrictive, and mixed bariatric procedures. There appears to be inequities in access to bariatric surgery. In order to resolve the health inequity in the treatment of obesity, a synthesis of the literature is needed to explore and identify barriers to accessing bariatric surgery. It is anticipated that the results from this systematic review will have important implications for advancing solutions to minimize inequities in the utilization of bariatric surgery. http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.asp?ID=CRD42013004920 .