Emerging cytokines contribute to the clinical manifestation of carotid artery plaque formation and stability in patients with diabetes.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) promotes atherosclerosis and plaque instability through chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation. Emerging evidence implicates members of the interleukin-1 family-particularly IL-36, IL-37, and IL-38-in the modulation of inflammatory responses in diabetic and non-diabetic vascular disease. However, their roles in carotid atherosclerosis remain poorly defined.

PPARα deficiency exacerbates retinal pathological changes and dysfunction in high-fat diet mice.

Aim: To examined the effects of a high-fat diet (HFD) on retinal pathological changes and dysfunction using peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα) knockout mice.

Methods: For four months, C57BL/6J and knockout mice received either HFD or a standard diet (SD). A fluorometric method was used to determine the retinal triglycerides.

[Acupuncture regulates dynamic flux of Ca, Na, and HO in skeletal muscle injury induced by eccentric exercise in rats].

This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on dynamic changes in Ca, Na, and HO flux following eccentric exercise-induced muscle injury. The total of 324 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: control group (C), eccentric exercise group (E), eccentric exercise with acupuncture group (EA), EA with TRP channel blocker group (EAT), EA with NOX2 blocker group (EAN) and EA with placebo group (EAP). Gastrocnemius muscles were subject to lengthening contractions with percutaneous electrical stimulation, followed by immediate pretreatment with blocking agents.

Association between liver fibrosis's noninvasive scores and retinal imaging changes: insights from NHANES.

Background: There is a known association between liver disease and retinopathy. However, the relationship between non-invasive fibrosis scores and retinal image changes remains unknown. The research sought to explore the link between Fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) and Fibrosis-8 score (FIB-8) and retinal image changes.

Trend and driving factors in burden of age-related macular degeneration in older adults aged 60-89 years: a global analysis over three decades.

Background: To explore temporal trends and determine driving factors of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) burden in older adults aged 60-89 years at global, regional and national levels from 1990 to 2019.

Methods: Prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) were extracted. Joinpoint regression analysis was adopted to calculate average annual percentage change and to identify the year with the most significant changes.

Novel insight from the first lung transplant of a COVID-19 patient.

Background: To reveal detailed histopathological changes, virus distributions, immunologic properties and multi-omic features caused by SARS-CoV-2 in the explanted lungs from the world's first successful lung transplantation of a COVID-19 patient.

Materials And Methods: A total of 36 samples were collected from the lungs. Histopathological features and virus distribution were observed by optical microscope and transmission electron microscope (TEM).

A transcriptomics study of differentiated C2C12 myoblasts identified novel functional responses to 17β-estradiol.

Previous studies of the role of 17β-estradiol (E2) in myoblast differentiation have produced conflicting data. Therefore, this work aimed to determine the role of E2 on myoblast differentiation and specific myofiber formation. Murine C2C12 myoblasts were cultured in proliferation medium or differentiation medium/10 nM E2.

Serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 level as a diagnostic biomarker for interstitial lung disease in Chinese patients.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic and prognostic values of serum KL-6 levels in Chinese patients with interstitial lung disease (ILDs).

Methods: A total of 1084 subjects including 373 cases of ILDs, 584 cases of non-ILD pulmonary diseases, and 127 healthy individuals were recruited from three clinical centers in China between January 2011 and December 2013. A total of 106 patients undergoing treatments for ILDs in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital between January 2011 and December 2013 were enrolled.

Inter-rater reliability of three most commonly used pressure ulcer risk assessment scales in clinical practice.

The objective of this study was to evaluate inter-rater reliability of Braden Scale, Norton Scale and Waterlow Scale for pressure ulcer risk assessment in clinical practice. The design of the study was cross-sectional. A total of 23 patients at pressure ulcer risk were included in the study, and 6 best registered nurses conducted three subsequent risk assessments for all included patients.

Meta-analysis of the adverse effects of long-term azithromycin use in patients with chronic lung diseases.

The adverse effects of azithromycin on the treatment of patients with chronic lung diseases (CLD) were evaluated in the present study. MEDLINE and other databases were searched for relevant articles published until August 2013. Randomized controlled trials that enrolled patients with chronic lung diseases who received long-term azithromycin treatment were selected, and data on microbiological studies and azithromycin-related adverse events were abstracted from articles and analyzed.

Serum cytokine levels in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: correlation with clinical outcome of erlotinib treatment.

Background: Serum expression of cytokines may provide information about the clinical outcome of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum cytokine levels and the clinical outcome of erlotinib treatment in a second or third line setting in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Methods: A total of 162 patients with advanced NSCLC who received erlotinib as either second or third line therapy were enrolled in this study.

4-Bromo-5-[(2-bromo-ethyl)-sulfanyl]-1,3-dithiole-2-thione.

The title compound, C(5)H(4)Br(2)S(4), consists of a statistically planar, 4-bromo-1,3-dithiole-2-thione unit [maximum deviation from the ring plane 0.001 (2) Å], with a bromo-ethyl-sulfanyl substituent in the 5-position. In the crystal structure, weak inter-molecular S⋯S [3.

Effects of different levels of end-expiratory positive pressure on lung recruitment and protection in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: It is still controversial as to the implementation of higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This study was conducted to compare the lower and higher PEEP in patients with ARDS ventilated with low tidal volume, to investigate the relationship between the recruited lung volume by higher PEEP and relevant independent variables and to provide a bedside estimate of the percentage of potentially recruitable lung by higher PEEP.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with ARDS were studied.

3-(2-Thioxo-1,3-dithiol-4-ylsulfan-yl)-propane-nitrile.

The title compound, C(6)H(5)NS(4), consists of a planar 2-thioxo-1,3-dithiol-4-ylsulfanyl unit [maximum deviation from the ring plane = 0.0325 (2) Å], with a cyano-ethyl-sulfanyl substituent in the 4-position. In the crystal structure, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯S hydrogen bonds together with S⋯N inter-actions [3.