Medicine
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This study aimed to analyze the influence of the radiation field size on the passing rate of the treatment planning system using MatriXX if the field irradiated the circuit. Two sets of static fields which were 10 cm and 30 cm in the left-right direction (X), and was 31 cm to 40 cm in gun-target direction (Y) were designed. In these fields, the gantry was 0 and the monitor units were 200 MU. ⋯ The results showed that with the increase of the radiation field size in the Y direction, more areas were irradiated in the circuit, and the passing rate gradually decreases and dropped sharply at a certain threshold. After putting lead alloys above the circuit, the passing rate was much better in the static field but was still less than 90% in the second patient volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) because the circuit was irradiate in other directions. In daily QA, we should pay attention to these patients with long size tumor.
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Lung cancer is a malignant tumor with high morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis remains a great challenge for the cancer. In this study, we aimed to explore diagnostic performance of serum microRNA-520f (miR-520f) in lung cancer. ⋯ The area under the curve (AUC) value of ROC curve was 0.888, suggesting that miR-520f could be a diagnostic biomarker for lung cancer. The cut-off value of serum miR-520f for lung cancer diagnosis was 1.815, with a sensitivity of 79.9% and a specificity of 84.2%. Serum miR-520f was down-regulated in lung cancer patients, and may be a candidate biomarker for non-invasive screening of the disease.
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Observational Study
Determinants of hypertension treatment adherence among a Chinese population using the therapeutic adherence scale for hypertensive patients.
To assess the adherence level of antihypertensive treatment and identify any associated risk factors in a sample of hypertensive patients from China. A cross-sectional study involving 488 Chinese hypertensive patients was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Xi'an, China. Data were collected regarding socio-demographic factors and hypertension-related clinical characteristics. ⋯ More attention and effective strategies should be designed to address factors affecting treatment adherence. Education about hypertension knowledge should be strengthened for patients. Moreover, the importance of lifestyle modification during hypertension treatment is often neglected by patients, therefore, there is an urgent need to educate hypertensive patients about the adherence to lifestyle modifications.
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Meta Analysis
The safety and efficacy of dorsal penile nerve block for premature ejaculation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Premature ejaculation is a common sexual dysfunction disease in adult males. There are many clinical trials shown that dorsal penile nerve block can prolong the ejaculation latency to a certain extent in the vagina. In this study, we aim to use a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dorsal penile nerve block for premature ejaculation. ⋯ This systematic review will evaluate the efficacy and safety of dorsal penile nerve block for premature ejaculation. Because all of the data used in this systematic review and meta-analysis has been published, this review does not require ethical approval. Furthermore, all data will be analyzed anonymously during the review process Trial.
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Knee osteoarthritis (KOA), known as severe degenerative arthritis, commonly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people all over the world. Acupuncture as traditional oriental intervention is getting widely used and several systematic reviews (SRs) have reported the effectiveness of acupuncture on pain relief and functional recovery in patients with KOA. ⋯ According to the high-quality evidence, we concluded that acupuncture may have some advantages in treating KOA. However, there are some risk of bias and reporting deficiencies still needed to be improved.