0303

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between the aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT ratio) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, clinical data from 3002 patients with type 2 diabetes admitted to the Department of Endocrinology of our hospital between January 1, 2021, and December 1, 2022, were retrospectively collected. Measurements of AST and ALT were conducted and diabetes-related complications were screened...

BACKGROUND: We aimed to reveal the effect of abatacept (ABT) on atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, 3-year efficacy for arthritis, and safety in a population of older vs. younger patients. METHODS: In this open-label, prospective, observational study, patients were stratified into four groups: younger (20-64 years old) and older (≥ 65 years) patients taking ABT (AY and AO) and conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) (CY and CO)...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between acute-phase gait speed and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at 3 and 12 months post-stroke. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SUBJECTS/PATIENTS: 1,475 patients with first-ever ischaemic stroke. METHODS: The patients were divided into 3 groups according to tertiles of gait speed, namely ≤0.8, 0.8-1.1, ≥1.1 m/s. Gait speed was assessed by the 10-m walking test within 2 weeks of hospitalization for acute stroke and before the rehabilitation programme...

Improving the overall care of children with medical complexity (CMC) is often beset by challenges in proactively identifying the population most in need of clinical management and quality improvement. The objective of the current study was to create a system to better capture longitudinal risk for sustained and elevated utilization across time using real-time electronic health record (EHR) data. A new Pediatric Population Management Classification (PPMC), drawn from visit diagnoses and continuity problem lists within the EHR of a tristate health system, was compared with an existing complex chronic conditions (CCC) system for agreement (with weighted κ) on identifying CCMC, as well as persistence of elevated charges and utilization from 2016 to 2019...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Background: The buccal fat pad (BFP) has previously been utilized for repair of various defects of the head and neck. Objectives: We explore the utility of a pedicled buccal fat advancement-transposition (BFAT) flap in various forms of midface reconstruction through a variety of surgical approaches and characterize its volume and axial reach in human anatomic specimens. Methods: Ten adult full-head human anatomic specimens were dissected, and a single surgical case demonstrating the use of a BFAT flap is described...

OBJECTIVE: This study identified latent subtypes of mental health literacy (MHL) for Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and explored their characteristics and differences in various factors in adolescents. METHODS: This study analyzed secondary data from the 2019 Youth Smart Digital Media Survey and included data from 1,936 middle and high school students (14-18 years old). Thirteen items of the MHL questionnaire were used for latent profile analysis. We compared the characteristics and predictors of the identified types using various statistical analyses, including one-way ANOVA, chi-square test, and multinomial logistic regression...

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are 2-10 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) than the general population. The assessment of the risk of developing CVD is an important direction for further clinical management. The study was conducted retrospectively and included patients with SLE. The aim of the study was to assess the measurements of pulse wave velocity (PWV), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), ankle-brachial index (ABI) and biochemical parameters. Subclinical atherosclerosis was also assessed...

Toona ciliata is a deciduous or semi-deciduous tree species and belongs to the Toona genus of the Meliaceae family. Owing to low natural regeneration and over-exploitation, the species is listed as an endangered species at level II in China and its conservation has received increasing concern. Here, we sampled 447 individuals from 29 populations across the range-wide distribution of the T. ciliata complex in China and assessed their genetic variation using two chloroplast DNA markers. The results showed that the overall haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity per site were high at h = 0...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Asia is not only the primary region for global pig production but also the largest consumer of pork worldwide. Although the pig production in Asia has made great progress in the past, it still is confronted with numerous challenges. These challenges include: inadequate land and feed resources, a substantial number of small-scale pig farms, escalating pressure to ensure environmental conservation, devastating infectious diseases control, as well as coping with high temperatures and high humidity. To solve these problems, important investments of human and financial capital are required to promote large-scale production systems, exploit alternative feed resources, implement precision feeding, and focus on preventive medicine and vaccines as alternatives to antibiotics, improve pig breeding, and increase manure recycling...

INTRODUCTION: Altered complement component 3 (C3) activation in patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (AATD) has been reported. To understand the potential impact on course of inflammation, the aim of this study was to investigate whether C3d, a cleavage-product of C3, triggers interleukin (IL)-1β secretion via activation of NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. The objective was to explore the effect of AAT augmentation therapy in patients with AATD on the C3d/complement receptor 3 (CR3) signalling axis of monocytes and on circulating pro-inflammatory markers...

PURPOSE: To investigate the elemental composition, corrosion resistance, and mechanical properties of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) retainers versus conventional fixed retainers (FRs). METHODS: Eight different retainer wires were investigated. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used to determine the elemental composition. Leakage was analysed according to ISO 10271:2020 guidelines. Hardness was tested using the Vickers method with a load of 0...

Fuel cells rely on an effective distribution of the reactant gases and removal of the byproduct, that is, water. In this context, bipolar plates are the critical component for the effective management of these fluids, as these dictate to some extent the overall performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Better bipolar plates can lead to a significant reduction in size, cost, and weight of fuel cells. Herein, we report on the use of photoresin 3D printing to fabricate alternative bipolar plates for operating self-breathing fuel cell stacks...

INTRODUCTION: Adaptive radiotherapy (ART) is an essential approach to account for anatomical and biological uncertainties. Adaptive radiotherapy is, however, time-consuming, and it is unclear which patients are eligible or when is the best time to start ART. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted at Kasr El-Aini Center of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Cairo, Egypt from January 2019 to December 2020. Thirty patients with pathologically proven, limited-stage small cell or stage I-II non-small cell lung cancer who were either not fit for or refused surgery or had stage III disease were recruited and underwent treatment planning to receive 60 Gy on a conventional 3D conformal radiation schedule with platinum-based chemotherapy...

Recent studies have highlighted the pivotal roles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in cardiovascular diseases. Through high-throughput circRNA sequencing of both normal myocardial tissues and hypertrophic patients, we unveiled 32,034 previously undiscovered circRNAs with distinct cardiac expression patterns. Notably, circITGa9, a circRNA derived from integrin-α9, exhibited substantial up-regulation in cardiac hypertrophy patients. This elevation was validated across extensive sample pools from cardiac patients and donors...

BACKGROUND: This study analyzed the extent to which irregularities in genetic diversity separate psychiatric patients from healthy controls. METHODS: Genetic diversity was quantified through multidimensional "gene vectors" assembled from 4 to 8 polymorphic SNPs located within each of 100 candidate genes. The number of different genotypic patterns observed per gene was called the gene's "diversity index". RESULTS: The diversity indices were found to be only weakly correlated with their constituent number of SNPs (20...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Ectopic fat deposition is associated with worsening of glycemic control. This study was conducted to determine whether liraglutide reduces ectopic fat deposition, especially in pancreas, in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS: We retrospectively recruited T2D patients who underwent abdominal unenhanced CT scans both before and after administration of liraglutide (N = 13) or glimepiride (N = 29). Using CT values of pancreas (P), liver (L) and spleen (S), we defined the indices of intrapancreatic and liver fat as P-S value and L-S value, respectively...

BACKGROUND: Epidermal cell transplantation is a feasible treatment option for large wounds; however, sources of autologous epidermal cells are often limited. Allogeneic epidermal cells can be cultured conveniently; however, related immune rejection needs to be addressed. Herein, we hypothesized that the immunogenicity of epidermal cells with high indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) expression may be reduced by gene transfection. METHODS/RESULTS: To test this hypothesis, we obtained stable transfectants by transfecting epidermal stem cells with a lentiviral vector encoding the IDO gene and screening them for puromycin resistance (a marker for successful transfection)...