Scientific reports
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Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO) is a microbiome-related metabolite that is cleared by the kidney and linked to renal function. We explored the relationship between TMAO and all-cause mortality, and determined whether this association was modified by renal function. A prospective study was performed among PREVEND participants to examine associations of plasma TMAO with all-cause mortality. ⋯ The association of TMAO with mortality was modified by eGFR in crude and age- and sex-adjusted analyses (interaction P = 0.002). When participants were stratified by renal function (eGFR < vs. ≥90 mL/min/1.73 m2), TMAO was associated with all-cause mortality only in subjects with eGFR <90 mL/min/1.73 m2 [adjusted HR:1.18 (95% CI, 1.02-1.36),P = 0.023]. In conclusion, TMAO is associated with all-cause mortality, particularly in subjects with eGFR <90 mL/min/1.73 m2.
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Red blood cell distribution width (RDW), platelet count (PLT), and a RDW-to-PLT ratio (RPR) have been associated with inflammatory activity and adverse outcomes in many diseases. This study has aimed to investigate the association between these indicators and the mortality rate of severe burn patients. From 2008 to 2014, 610 cases of severe burn patients from two burn centers in eastern China were enrolled in this study. ⋯ Our results indicated that the RPR values on the 3rd and 7th day were associated with the mortality rates of severe burn patients (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the RDW and PLT values at these time points failed to provide independent values for burn mortality prediction. Thus, the RPR can serve as an independent and novel marker for mortality rates prediction in severe burn patients.
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Clinical Trial
Efficacy and safety for Apatinib treatment in advanced gastric cancer: a real world study.
Apatinib has been proved to be effective and safe among patients in gastric cancer in Phase II and III Trials. We aimed to evaluate its efficacy and safety in real world practice, and to explore factors associated with efficacy. Between January 2015 and February 2017, totally 36 patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma or adenocarcinoma of gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) were enrolled and followed up retrospectively after failing at least two lines of systemic therapy. ⋯ And the most common adverse events over grade 3 were hand-foot syndrome (8.3%), anemia (5.6%), and diarrhea (5.6%). No treatment-related death was documented during the drug administration. Exploratory analyses indicated patients treated with antiangiogenic therapy previously were more likely to benefit from apatinib.
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Evidences have showed that the deprivation of vision can considerably alter the resting-state activity both within and beyond the visual cortices. However, the functional changes of the brain cortices related to partially vision-deprivation are still largely unknown. Using resting-state functional MR imaging, we quantitatively evaluated the regional homogeneity(ReHo) and functional connectivity(FC) changes between 25 pituitary adenoma patients with visual impairment and 25 healthy controls(HCs). ⋯ Furthermore, we identified that in the PAs group the FC between the left V1 and left V3 increased while the FC between left V2v and left V5 significantly decreased, the FC between left V4 area and the V3, V2d area increased. In our study, we identified that the ReHo and FC were altered between the vision-related cortices and other higher-order cognitive cortices along with disorganized functional connectivity within the visual system in PAs with visual impairment. These findings may provide important insights to understand the plasticity of visual network.
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Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is widely used for diagnosing thyroid nodules. However, there has been no specific investigation about the puncture feeling of grittiness. The aim of the present study was to see if the puncture feeling of grittiness during fine-needle aspiration procedure, combined with standard FNAC, could improve the accuracy in diagnosing thyroid cancer. ⋯ The findings of our study suggest that puncture feeling of grittiness is a useful adjunct. Adding puncture feeling of grittiness to FNAC can significantly enhance the ability to differentiate malignant thyroid nodules from benign thyroid nodules. More importantly, we found that puncture feeling of grittiness is surprising trust-worthy in being near perfectly reproducible per individual radiologist, and among different operators.