ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of curcumin on the expression regulation of endogenousβ-glucoronidase (β-GD) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Methods① Human normal intrahepatic biliary epithelial cell line (HiBEpiC) cells in the logarithmic growth phase were divided into blank control group (0 h group) and 7 different stimulation time groups. The cell density was adjusted to 1×104/mL, and the cells were stimulated with 100 mg/mL LPS for 1, 3, 6, 18, and 24 hours respectively, including another two groups where the cells were cultured with LPS-free medium for 18 and 24 hours after LPS stimulation for 24 h. ② HiBEpiC cells in the logarithmic growth phase were divided into blank control group, LPS+low, medium, and high concentration curcumin group. The cell density was adjusted to 1×104/mL. In the blank control group, cells were not stimulated with any reagent; in the LPS group, cells were stimulated with 100 mg/mL LPS, in the other three groups, the cells were stimulated with 100 mg/mL LPS and simultaneously 20, 40, and 80 μmol/L curcumin, respectively, for 24 hours. The expressions of c-myc and endogenous β-GD were detected by Western blot method.Results① The expressions of endogenous β-GD and c-myc in HiBEpiC cells gradually increased with the prolongation of treatment time by LPS, and the expression levels of β-GD and c-myc at each time point group were significantly different from those in the 0 h group (P<0.05). ② There were significant difference between any two groups of the blank control group, LPS group, LPS+low concentration of curcumin group, LPS+medium concentration of curcumin group, and LPS+high concentration of curcumin group (P<0.05).ConclusionCurcumin is able to inhibit the increased expression of endogenous β-GD induced by LPS, possibly via inhibiting expression of c-myc.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the predictive value of critical illness scores for hospital mortality of severe respiratory diseases in respiratory intensive care unit (ICU).MethodsThe clinical data of the patients who needed intensive care and primary diagnosed with respiratory diseases from June, 2001 to Octomber, 2012 were extracted from MIMIC-Ⅲ database. The Acute Physiology Score (APS) Ⅲ, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) Ⅱ, Oxford Acute Severity of Illness Score (OASIS), Logistic Organ Dysfunction System (LODS), Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) were calculated according to the requirements of each scoring system. ICU mortality was set up as primary outcome and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive performances by comparing the areas under ROC curve (AUC). According to whether they received invasive mechanical ventilation during ICU, the patients were divided into two groups (group A: without invasive mechanical ventilation group; group B: with invasive mechanical ventilation group). The AUCs of six scoring systems were calculated for groups A and B, and the ROC curves were compared independently.ResultsA total of 2988 patients were recruited, male accounted for 49.4%, median age was 67 (55, 79), and ICU mortality was 13.2%. The AUCs of SAPSⅡ, LODS, APSⅢ, OASIS, SOFA and SIRS were 0.73 (0.70, 0.75), 0.71 (0.68, 0.73), 0.69 (0.67, 0.72), 0.69 (0.67, 0.72), 0.67 (0.64, 0.70) and 0.58 (0.56, 0.62). Subgroup analysis showed that in group A, the AUCs of OASIS, SAPSⅡ, LODS, APSⅢ, SOFA and SIRS were 0.81 (0.76, 0.85), 0.80 (0.75, 0.85), 0.77 (0.72, 0.83), 0.75 (0.70, 0.80), 0.73 (0.68, 0.78) and 0.63 (0.56, 0.69) in the prediction of ICU mortality; in group B, the AUCs of SAPSⅡ, APSⅢ, LODS, SOFA, OASIS and SIRS were 0.68 (0.64, 0.71), 0.67 (0.63, 0.70), 0.65 (0.62, 0.69), 0.62 (0.59, 0.66), 0.62 (0.58, 0.65) and 0.57 (0.54, 0.61) in the prediction of ICU mortality. The results of independent ROC curve showed that the AUC differences between groups A and B were statistically significant in terms of OASIS, SAPSⅡ, LODS, APSⅢ and SOFA, but there were no significant differences in SIRS.ConclusionsThe predictive values of six critical illness scores for ICU mortality in respiratory intensive care are low. Lack of ability to predict ICU mortality of patients with invasive mechanical ventilation should hold primary responsibility.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the United States is a research program designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the country. Due to its adoption of a complex sampling design, it is imperative to correctly apply the weights provided by NHANES to ensure the accuracy and external validity of research results. This article first introduces the relevant concepts of the NHANES database and its weights, followed by a practical demonstration of weight selection, calculation, and implementation in the R programming language. It further discusses the significance of using weights in NHANES data and systematically showcases how to perform weighted analysis based on R, providing a valuable reference for relevant researchers.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate effectiveness and safety of total thyroidectomy(TT) plus prophylactic central neck dissection(PCND) versus TT for stage cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC). MethodsDatabases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library(Issue1, 2015), WanFang Data, CBM, and CNKI were searched to collect the randomized controlled trails(RCTs) and non-RCTs about TT+PCND versus TT for stage cN0 PTC. The retrieval time was from inception to March 2015. The studies were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the data were extracted and the quality was evaluated independently by 2 reviewers. Then the meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.1 software. ResultsA total of 10 non-RCTs involving 3 661 patients were included. There were 1 774 cases in the TT+PCND group and 1 887 cases in the TT group. The results of meta-analysis showed that: Related to postoperative complications, compared with TT group, the postoperative transient hypocalcemia rate〔OR=0.40, 95% CI(0.33, 0.49), P < 0.000 01〕and permanent hypocalcemia rate were higher〔OR=0.32, 95% CI(0.19, 0.55), P < 0.000 1〕, the recurrence rate was lower〔OR=1.51, 95% CI(1.07, 2.13), P=0.02〕in the TT+PCND group. But there were no differences in the transient laryngeal nerve palsy rate〔OR=0.73, 95% CI(0.49, 1.09), P=0.13〕and permanent laryngeal nerve palsy rate〔OR=0.87, 95% CI(0.50, 1.52), P=0.62〕between the 2 groups. ConclusionsTT+PCND is superior to TT in treating stage cN0 PTC for it's lower recurrence, but it is raising transient hypocalcemia and permanent hypocalcemia rate at the same time. And it is similar as TT in transient laryngeal nerve palsy and permanent laryngeal nerve palsy rate. So TT+PCND is safe and feasible for treating stage cN0 PTC when its indications are strictly controlled. However, for the quantity and quality limitation of the included studies, this conclusion still requires to be further proved by performing large scale and high quality RCTs. It suggests that doctors should choose a best therapy for stage cN0 PTC patients according to an integrative disease assessment.
ObjectiveTo summarize the effectiveness of modified arterialized venous flaps in repairing soft tissue defect of fingers.MethodsBetween January 2017 and April 2018, 16 patients with soft defects of fingers were treated. There were 12 males and 4 females, with an average age of 41 years (range, 24-74 years). One case was resulted from resection of cicatricial contracture and 15 cases was caused by mechanical strangulation. The defects located at thumb in 3 cases, index finger in 5 cases, middle finger in 4 cases, ring finger in 2 cases, and little finger in 2 cases; and at the palmar aspect in 4 cases, and dorsal aspect in 12 cases. The size of defect ranged from 3 cm×2 cm to 10 cm×3 cm. All flaps were harvested from the palmar aspect of the ipsilateral forearm. The distal ports of the two veins were ligation. Partial fat was eliminated and the all connecting minute branches between the two veins were ligation under microscope in order to achieve the thorough shunt restriction. Then the flaps were positioned over the recipient site without inversion. The size of flap ranged from 3.5 cm×2.5 cm to 10.5 cm×3.5 cm. All donor sites were directly sutured except that 1 case was recovered with free skin graft.ResultsAll flaps survived entirely except that 1 case happened vein crisis. Three flaps demonstrated mild-to-moderate venous congestion without any treatment and the swelling of flaps gradually subsided after 1 week. Skin grafting at donor site survived and all incisions healed by first intension. Thirteen patients were followed up 8-16 months (mean, 11 months). The textures and appearances of the flaps were satisfactory. At last follow-up, the mean size of the Semmes-Weinstein (SW) monofilament test of the flaps was 4.01 g (range, 2.83-4.56 g); the mean static two-point discrimination of the flaps was 12 mm (range, 6-20 mm).ConclusionModified arterialized venous flaps with thoroughly restriction of arteriovenous shunting can offer decreased congestion of venous flaps and improve survival rate. Better effectiveness can be achieved by using this flap to repair soft tissue defect of finger.