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INTRODUCTION Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) has the potential to increase endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial lung biopsy with guide sheath (EBUS-GS-TBLB) accuracy in the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer. However, studies have reported controversial results. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnosis value of EBUS-GS-TBLB combination with ROSE in peripheral lung cancer. METHODS A total of 138 patients undergoing EBUS-GS-TBLB and ultimately diagnosed with lung cancer were allocated into the ROSE group and non-ROSE group. The result of the diagnostic yields, number of biopsy sites, the complication, cytopathological diagnostic cost and procedure times of EBUS-GS-TBLB with ROSE and without ROSE were compared. RESULTS The diagnostic yields of TBLB were 87.8% and 78.1% in ROSE group and non-ROSE group, respectively (P

Peritoneal fibrosis (PF) represents a well-recognized complication associated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis therapy, characterized by a reversible epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) at the early stage. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects linked with the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) AK089579 on the EMT of peritoneal mesothelial cells (PMCs) as well as the associated regulatory mechanisms of AK089579 downstream of tyrosine kinase 2 (DOK2) and microRNA-296-3p (miR-296-3p). Enrichment analysis, gene intersection association analysis, and a gene-gene intersection network were initially constructed to ascertain whether AK089579 regulated the expression of DOK2 through the mediation of miR-296-3p via the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway in PF. After the PF mouse model had been constructed, the expression of the proteins associated with the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway and EMT and PMC migration and invasion were all determined accordingly. Based on the obtained results, AK089579 was determined to function as a competing endogenous RNA for miR-296-3p while acting to up-regulate the expression of DOK2, which is a target gene of miR-296-3p. AK089579 was detected to confer an inhibitory effect on the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, whereby the migration and invasion of PMCs among the mice models were suppressed. Meanwhile, up-regulated miR-296-3p and down-regulated DOK2 produced contrasting effects when compared with the aforementioned findings. Treatment with wp10066, a JAK2/STAS3 signaling pathway inhibitor, was shown to reverse the effects exerted by up-regulated miR-296-3p. Taken together, the central findings of the current study present evidence highlighting the capability of the lncRNA AK089579 to bind competitively to miR-296-3p and indirectly enhance the expression of DOK2, which in turn suppresses the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, whereby the EMT, migration, and invasion of PMCs was inhibited in PF.-Zhang, X. W., Wang, L., Ding, H. Long noncoding RNA AK089579 inhibits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of peritoneal mesothelial cells by competitively binding to microRNA-296-3p via DOK2 in peritoneal fibrosis.

INTRODUCTION Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1), a transforming growth factor-β superfamily cytokine, is involved in tumor pathogenesis, and its measurement can be used as a clinical tool for the diagnosis of a wide range of cancers. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic value of serum MIC-1 in patients with solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). METHODS Serum specimens from 158 malignant SPN patients, 110 benign SPN patients, along with 120 healthy volunteers. The levels of serum MIC-1 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS Serum levels of MIC-1 in malignant SPN patients were significantly higher than those in benign SPN patients (P

It remains controversial whether the addition of a second cytotoxic agent can further improve the therapeutic effect of gemcitabine monotherapy in advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer (LA/MPC). The objective of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine-based doublet chemotherapy regimens compared to single-agent gemcitabine in the first-line treatment of unresectable LA/MPC. We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of gemcitabine monotherapy versus gemcitabine in combination with a second cytotoxic agent in patients with LA/MPC. The last search date was December 31, 2016. Twenty-seven RCTs were identified and included in the present systematic review and meta-analysis, involving a total of 7343 patients. The meta-analysis showed that gemcitabine-based combination therapy significantly improved overall survival (OS) (HR: 0.89; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85-0.94; P

INTRODUCTION B7-H4, a member of the inhibitory B7 family, can restrain T cell proliferation, activation, cytokine secretion, and may be involved in immune evasion in cancer patients. OBJECTIVES This aim of the study was to determine the expression level of soluble B7-H4 (sB7-H4) in circulation and to subsequently evaluate the clinical significance of circulating sB7-H4 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS Serum specimens from 128 patients with NSCLC, 100 healthy volunteers (HV), and 80 patients with benign lung diseases (BLD) were collected. The concentrations of sB7-H4 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS Serum sB7-H4 levels in patients with NSCLC were significantly higher than those in patients with BLD (P

Introduction Cripto-1 (CR-1) is highly expressed in several different types of human tumors. However, the clinical significance of CR-1 expression in serum specimens from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has not yet been determined. Objectives The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum CR-1 levels in patients with NSCLC. Methods Serum specimens from 592 NSCLC patients, 180 benign lung disease patients and 240 healthy controls were collected. The concentrations of CR-1 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Patients with NSCLC had higher serum CR-1 levels than the controls (P

Based on the rapid geographic information system (GIS) development, there are many kinds of tools for geographic information visualization (geovisualization). One kind of these tools is using modeling techniques to present geographic information (geoinformation). Therefore, we developed an application for geovisualization by applying modeling or special effects to visualize large-scale geoinformation. Moreover, the application provides several methods to the geovisualization especially for the weather information and georeferenced information such as forest cover. Geoinformation data are downloaded from cloud database in advance or obtained by HTTP request in real time. In order to enhance the immersion of visualization environment, the application is operated with Virtual Reality(VR). We utilize Unity3D as our platform since it facilitates multifunction in modeling, special effects and VR. In this paper, we discuss each visualization method and its advantages and disadvantages.

In recent years, human beings begin to pay more attention to exercise, and along with the development of technology, many people tend to exercise by exergames. However, most of exergames do not present enough information on the user action for correctly adjusting their movements. In this paper, we provide an exergame for Tae-Bo learning and focus on the adjustment of the user action. Moreover, we apply virtual reality and motion input device to build a virtual aerobic room which contains a virtual coach, a virtual first-personal character and visualization objects of skeleton data to build an environment for one-on-one situated learning. In order to test our game system, we select twelve Tae-Bo actions for Tae-Bo instruction, samples of data filtering strategy and the building of standard action database. In the game procedure, after the user finishes an action, the system will carry out the necessary action adjustment through two subsystems, namely the human action analysis (HAA) and interactive physical adjustment (IPA). The HAA subsystem collects the user's motion data such as postures and joint movements Then, the IPA subsystem utilizes these datasets to evaluate and adjust the user's movements by the coach animation, voice message or visual objects. After a working prototyping system developed, it was tested thoroughly to get feedback and make suitable adjustments. In the end, a refined system then was deployed for more extensive user evaluation.

Abraxane is a novel Cremophor-free nanoparticle paclitaxel that has been demonstrated to improve efficacy in the treatment of solid tumors. We undertook this retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Abraxane in the progressive or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. From August 2009 to April 2011, 33 patients who were diagnosed with progressive or recurrent NSCLC and treated with one or more prior platinum-based chemotherapies, were enrolled. The patients were injected with Abraxane, 260 mg/m There were no complete response and 11 partial responses (33.3%). Patients with squamous cell carcinoma showed better responses than those with adenocarcinoma (41.7% and 21.1%, respectively). Fourteen patients had stable disease, and the disease control rate was 75.8%. The median progression-free survival was five months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.5-6.5). Four patients (12.1%) experienced grade 3-4 hematologic toxicities; one anemia (3.0%), two leucopenia (6.1%) and one thrombocytopenia (3.0%). Six patients (18.2%) experienced grade 3-4 non-hematologic toxicities; two abnormal hepatic functions (6.1%), one fatigue (3.0%), one peripheral neuropathy (3.0%), and two alopecia (6.1%). Recurrent and progressive NSCLC patients pretreated with platinum-based chemotherapy might benefit from Abraxane with tolerable adverse events.

This study examined the effects of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on physiological characteristics of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) growing on calcareous soil. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was added into slow-release fertilizer (SRF) or sprayed on leaves to supply NO for iron-deficient peanut. The results showed that root application of SNP at 5.63 mg/g and foliar spray of SNP at 1.0 mmol L−1 significantly enhanced the peanut growth, pod yield, and quality. The soil pH was reduced, and available iron content and iron (Fe3+) reductase activity in root were increased, indicating NO application improved the availability of iron in the soil. Additionally, NO increased the chlorophyll and active iron content in young leaves, implying NO enhanced the availability of iron within the plant. Nitric oxide also inhibited the malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation in leaves and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes, which protected peanut against iron-deficiency-induced oxidative stress. It was concluded that NO might ...

B7-H4, a member of the inhibitory B7 family, can restrain T cell proliferation, activation, cytokine secretion, and may be involved in immune evasion in cancer patients.This aim of the study was to determine the expression level of soluble B7-H4 (sB7-H4) in circulation and to subsequently evaluate the clinical significance of circulating sB7-H4 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Serum specimens from 128 patients with NSCLC, 100 healthy volunteers (HV), and 80 patients with benign lung diseases (BLD) were collected. The concentrations of sB7-H4 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Serum sB7-H4 levels in patients with NSCLC were significantly higher than those in patients with BLD (P 0.05), or those in HV (P 0.05). Using a cutoff of 27.8 ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity of sB7-H4 in differentiating between patients with NSCLC and patients with BLD, and between patients with NSCLC and HV was, 46.9% and 92.5%, and 54.7% and 95.0%, respectively. An area under the curve (AUC) for NSCLC resulting from sB7-H4 (0.863), which was significantly better than any other tumour markers tested including CA125 (0.763), and CEA (0.775).In conclusion, assessment of serum sB7-H4 levels could be considered as a diagnostic biomarker for NSCLC.

Background: Abraxane is a novel Cremophor-free nanoparticle paclitaxel that has been demonstrated to improve efficacy in the treatment of solid tumors. We undertook this retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Abraxane in the progressive or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Methods: From August 2009 to April 2011, 33 patients who were diagnosed with progressive or recurrent NSCLC and treated with one or more prior platinum-based chemotherapies, were enrolled. The patients were injected with Abraxane, 260 mg/m2, d1, and were evaluated for efficacy and safety. The treatment was repeated every three weeks unless progressive lesions or unacceptable toxicities were found. Results: There were no complete response and 11 partial responses (33.3%). Patients with squamous cell carcinoma showed better responses than those with adenocarcinoma (41.7% and 21.1%, respectively). Fourteen patients had stable disease, and the disease control rate was 75.8%. The median progression-free survival was five months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.5–6.5). Four patients (12.1%) experienced grade 3–4 hematologic toxicities; one anemia (3.0%), two leucopenia (6.1%) and one thrombocytopenia (3.0%). Six patients (18.2%) experienced grade 3–4 non-hematologic toxicities; two abnormal hepatic functions (6.1%), one fatigue (3.0%), one peripheral neuropathy (3.0%), and two alopecia (6.1%). Conclusion: Recurrent and progressive NSCLC patients pretreated with platinum-based chemotherapy might benefit from Abraxane with tolerable adverse events.

Multi-sensor registration is an important and basic problem of intelligent surveillance. A novel visual-thermal image sequence registration method based on motion statistics feature multi-resolution analysis is proposed. In this method, motion statistics feature is utilized to select corresponding point pairs from visual-thermal synchronous video sequence. Then, multi-resolution analysis of motion statistic feature is done to choose proper scale. Finally, outliners are removed by RANSAC, and the geometry transformation parameters are optimized by LM algorithm. By using motion statistics feature, this method avoids the difficult problem of extracting invariant feature from two different image sensor and doesn’t depend on precise motion detection. Through multi-resolution analysis, the proposed approach can resolve the registration under the change of large scale. The performance was demonstrated on three groups of dataset, the results showed that our algorithm carried out precise image registration under the change of translation, scale and rotation.

Nemo-like kinase (NLK), as a mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK)-like kinase, is involved in the development of several human cancers. In this study, we explored the expression of NLK in lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma tissues, and investigated the associations among NLK, β-catenin, T-cell factor 4 (TCF4), and the clinicopathological factors of lung cancers. The expressions of NLK, β-catenin, TCF4 were examined in 109 cases of lung cancers using immunohistochemistry method. The expression of NLK was observed in the nuclei of lung cancer tissues, and was significantly higher in lung cancer tissues than that in corresponding normal lung tissues (t = 21.636, n = 109, P < 0.001). The high expression of NLK was found in 45 cases of lung SCCs (45/49, 91.84%), which was much more than that in adenocarcinomas (38/60, 63.33%) (P = 0.001). Furthermore, the high expression of NLK was negatively correlated with TCF4 expression and positively correlated with the membranous expression of β-catenin. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the expression of NLK was localized in nucleus and significantly increased in lung cancers. The expression of NLK was negatively correlated with TCF4 expression and positively correlated with β-catenin membranous expression in lung cancers.

Cripto-1 (CR-1) is highly expressed in several different types of human tumors. However, the clinical significance of CR-1 expression in serum specimens from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has not yet been determined.The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum CR-1 levels in patients with NSCLC.Serum specimens from 592 NSCLC patients, 180 benign lung disease patients and 240 healthy controls were collected. The concentrations of CR-1 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Patients with NSCLC had higher serum CR-1 levels than the controls (P 0.01) and patients with benign lung diseases (P 0.01). When a cutoff point of 1.8 ng/mL was selected (diagnostic specificity 95%), the diagnostic sensitivity for NSCLC is 56.8%. About 37.5% of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-negative lung cancer patients were CR-1 positive at 95% specificity. In patients with stage I/II lung cancer, use of these two markers in combination results in almost 21% increase in sensitivity, at 95% specificity, compared with CEA alone. Uni-variate analysis revealed that NSCLC patients with positive CR-1 had a shorter overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) than those with negative CR-1 [hazard ratio (HR) of 2.93, P = 0.005; HR of 2.12, P = 0.005]. Cox multi-variate analysis indicated that CR-1 was an independent prognostic indicator of PFS and OS (HR of 1.91, P = 0.006; HR of 1.82, P = 0.007). Kaplan-Meier survival curves further confirmed that patients with negative CR-1 had longer PFS and OS (P = 0.026 and P = 0.011, respectively).In conclusion, measurement of serum CR-1 is a useful diagnostic and prognostic marker for NSCLC patients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of soluble receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells (sRCAS1) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in lung cancer patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and benign pleural effusion (BPE).Pleural effusion samples from 118 patients were classified on the basis of diagnosis as MPE (n=60) and BPE (n=58). The concentration of sRCAS1 was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The CEA levels were also determined in all patients.Of 60 MPE patients, 50 had sRCAS19.7 U/mL and 54 had CEA5.5 ng/mL. The concentration of both sRCAS1 and CEA in MPE was significantly higher compared with that in BPE (P0.01 in both cases). With a cutoff point of 9.7 U/mL, sRCAS1 had a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 91.4% for differential diagnosis. The combined detection of sRCAS1 and CEA had a sensitivity of 98.3% and a specificity of 96.6% to distinguish MPE from BPE.The combined detection of sRCAS1 and CEA may be more valuable in the differential diagnosis between MPE and BPE.

To investigate the glycemic control and the related factors of type 1 diabetic patients in Guangdong Province.Medical records and blood samples of type 1 diabetic patients were collected in 89 tertiary and secondary hospitals from all of the 21 cities in Guangdong Province. The clinical data were analyzed to explore the correlates of glycemic control. HbA1c levels, measured in Guangdong Diabetes Center, were used to assess glycemic control.851 patients were enrolled from August 6, 2010 to May 25, 2011. There were 408 males and 443 females. The median (interquartile range) age was 29.6 years (20.3 - 41.3 years). The onset age of diabetes was 25.3 years (15.7 - 35.5 years). The disease duration was 3.3 years (1.0 - 7.3 years). The BMI was 19.9 kg/m(2) (17.9 - 21.8 kg/m(2)). HbA1c levels were 8.6% (6.9% - 11.0%) and only 234 (27.50%) patients reached the age-specific target levels. Correlates with poorer glycemic control were 13 - 19 years old (vs 7 - 12 and ≥ 20 years old), lower household income, not on dietary intervention, never accepting diabetic education and shorter diabetic duration.The majority of Guangdong type 1 diabetic patients did not achieve target values for glycemic control, indicating an urgent need for comprehensive management to improve glycemic control.

To study the mechanism of Bi-level positive airway pressure (BIPAP) on the heart function and the vascular endothelial function of the overlap syndrome (OS).There were 87 males and 33 females (mean age 48 ± 4, range 40 - 53 years) admitted to the Affiliated Jiangning Hospital respiratory department of Nanjing Medical University. Subjects tested with PSG were allocated to normal, OSAHS, COPD and OS groups by the result of pulmonary function testing. All persons were tested with pulmonary function (FEV(1)% of predicted, FEV(1)/FVC%, PEF%), heart function (Tei index, BNP), vascular endothelial function (ET-1, NO, AT-III) and PSG (AHI, LSaO2, the time of SaO290%). The measurements were repeated in patients with OS after BiPAP treatment and 1 month after follow-up. One-way ANOVA was used for comparison between 2 groups. Post-hoc multiple comparisons of means were performed by using LSD. Paired-samples t Test was used for comparison of data between baseline and post-treatment.The FEV(1)% of predicted, FEV(1)/FVC%, and PEF% in the OS group were significantly lower than the those in the other groups (F = 215.47 - 681.65, P0.05). The vascular endothelial function was impaired more severely than the other groups (F = 46.60 - 259.12, P0.05). The heart function, pulmonary function, and vascular endothelial function were significantly improved after BiPAP treatment (t = -17.13 - 42.06, P0.05).The vascular endothelial dysfunction is associated with OS. Treatment by BiPAP can improve hypoxia and vascular endothelial function, and therefore may be useful in prevention of cardiovascular disease in OS.

To explore the norms of treatment of acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning (AOPP), and observe the curative effect.On basis of the pre-research, the norms of treatment of AOPP were summarized, and a multi-center clinical trial was performed in 6 hospitals selected from high incidence of AOPP in Shandong Province.422 patients of AOPP in 6 hospitals in observation period were treated and observed by the norms of treatment. Among them, the proportion of oral poisoning was 97.16%, middle and severe degree were 87.44%. Compared with themselves 2 years ago before standard treatment, the curative effect of the norms of treatment for AOPP was much better than before. The mortality rate of AOPP declined from 9.87% to 1.66% (Chi2 = 27.92, P0.01), that was much better than the average therapeutic effect level of all our province in the same period (the mortality rate: 8.92%) (Chi2 = 26.05, P0.01). The average amount of atropine [(37.54 +/- 17.76) mg], dropped greatly [(1280.70 +/- 69.22) mg] (U = 439.22, P0.01).The usage of atropine by continuous intravenous injection with venous pump was better than ordinary intravenous injection. The mean dosage of pralidoxime chloride increased twice than the previous (U = 19.48, P0.01). There was no drug poisoning.The standard treatment of AOPP is urgently needed in our country, especially in rural area. By this trial, the satisfactory effect of the norms of treatment for AOPP summarized is observed and it reduces the fatality rate remarkably.

To investigate the circadian and seasonal distribution of cardiovascular events (CVE) and the relationship between average monthly temperature and the incidence of CVE.A total of 5837 emergency patients with CVE were enrolled from 1997 to 2007. The exact admission time of each patient was registered. The average monthly temperature data from a regional weather station for this time period was supplied by the meteorological office of the city. The relationship between the average monthly temperature and the incidence of CVE was explored and the corresponding curves were plotted.The occurrence of CVE has obvious seasonal variation, and its a higher tendency of episodes was found in spring and winter periods. High incidence of acute myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, acute left-sided heart failure, hypertensive crisis, and sudden death occurred in spring and winter as well as the time for a change of season, that is, January, February, March, April, October, November, and December. There was a significant negative correlation between the incidence and the average monthly temperature (P0.005 - 0.001). Circadian rhythm of CVE was present, with a peak in the early morning and forenoon.There are circadian and circadian rhythms of the incidence of CVE. Cold weather condition is a risk factor for the occurrence of CVE, which usually peaks in the early morning and forenoon.

To study the clonality of polygonal cells and surface cuboidal cells in the so-called pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma (PSH).17 female surgically resected PSH were found. The polygonal cells and surface cuboidal cells of the 17 PSH cases were microdissected from routine hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections. Genomic DNA was extracted, pretreated through incubation with methylation-sensitive restrictive endonuclease HhaI or HpaII, and amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction for X chromosome-linked androgen receptor (AR) and phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) genes. The length polymorphism of AR gene was demonstrated by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. The PGK gene products were treated with Bst XI and resolved on agarose gel.Amongst the 17 female cases of PSH, 15 samples were successfully amplified for AR and PGK genes. The rates of polymorphism were 53% (8/15) and 27% (4/15) for AR and PGK genes respectively. Polygonal cells and surface cuboidal cells of 10 cases which were suitable for clonality study, showed the same loss of alleles (clonality ratio = 0) or unbalanced methylation pattern (clonality ratio0.25).The polygonal cells and surface cuboidal cells in PSH demonstrate patterns of monoclonal proliferation, indicating that both represent true neoplastic cells.