With the novel risk scores, we can estimate the chance of HCC development more exactly and practically. This approach can be used for HCC screening in CHC patients achieving SVR.

Formation of well-aligned and single-crystalline ZnGa(2)O(4) nanowires on sapphire (0001) substrates has been achieved via annealing of the Ga(2)O(3)/ZnO core-shell nanowires. Ga(2)O(3)/ZnO core-shell nanowires were prepared using a two-step method. The thickness of the original ZnO shell and the thermal budget of the annealing process play crucial roles for preparing single-crystalline ZnGa(2)O(4) nanowires. Structural analyses of the annealed nanowires reveal the existence of an epitaxial relationship between ZnGa(2)O(4) and Ga(2)O(3) phases during the solid-state reaction. A strong CL emission band centered at 360 nm and a small tail at 680 nm are obtained at room temperature from the single-crystalline ZnGa(2)O(4) nanowires.

Patient education could be helpful and efficient in hyperphosphatemic control in dialysis patients. The patient education should be given before the serum iPTH level getting high.

In Pompe disease, deficient lysosomal acid α-glucosidase (GAA) activity causes glycogen accumulation in the muscles, which leads to weakness, cardiomyopathy, and respiratory failure. Although glycogen accumulation also occurs in the nervous system, the burden of neurological deficits in Pompe disease remains obscure. In this study, a neuron-specific gene therapy was administered to Pompe mice through intracerebroventricular injection of a viral vector carrying a neuron-specific promoter. The results revealed that gene therapy increased GAA activity and decreased glycogen content in the brain and spinal cord but not in the muscles of Pompe mice. Gene therapy only slightly increased the muscle strength of Pompe mice but substantially improved their performance on the rotarod, a test measuring motor coordination. Gene therapy also decreased astrogliosis and increased myelination in the brain and spinal cord of Pompe mice. Therefore, a neuron-specific treatment improved the motor coordination of Pompe mice by lowering glycogen accumulation, decreasing astrogliosis, and increasing myelination. These findings indicate that neurological deficits are responsible for a significant burden in Pompe disease.

Newborn screening to measure the number of TREC copies successfully identifies newborns with T-cell lymphopenia, 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome, and other high-risk conditions. Taken together, the incidence of T-cell lymphopenia in apparently healthy newborns is more than 1 in 11,821, and further attention to their immune functions is warranted.

Background and aimThe aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) are commonly used compound surrogates for advanced fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. However, the use of APRI and FIB-4 entails a risk of overestimating the fibrosis stage due to the impact of necroinflammatory activity on transaminases. We sought to investigate the optimal cutoff values of the two compound surrogates for predicting cirrhosis stratified by AST level.MethodsThis retrospective study enrolled 1716 treatment-naive CHC patients who underwent liver biopsy prior to interferon therapy from 1997–2010. Fibrosis was scored according to the modified Knodell classification. The upper limit for normal AST in our hospital is 37 IU/L. We stratified the enrolled patients into the categories of AST≤37 IU/L (N = 132), 37148 IU/L (N = 346).Results436 patients had cirrhosis (F4). The area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) analysis results distinguishing cirrhosis (F4) from non-cirrhosis (F0–F3) were 0.81 for APRI and 0.85 for FIB-4 in patients with AST≤37 IU/L; 0.71 for APRI and 0.72 for FIB-4 in patients with 37148 IU/L. The optimal cutoff values of APRI and FIB-4 for the diagnosis of cirrhosis were 0.6 and 1.4, respectively, in patients with AST≤37 IU/L; 1.1 and 2.2, respectively, in patients with 37148 IU/L.ConclusionsWe provide optimal cutoff values of both APRI and FIB-4 to predict cirrhosis stratified by AST levels, which should be more feasible compared with the single cutoff values proposed in previous studies.

For Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

BackgroundPatients with influenza complicated with pneumonia are at high risk of rapid progression to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Prone positioning with longer duration and lung-protective strategies might reduce the mortality level in ARDS. The aim of this study is to investigate the survival predictors of prone positioning in patients with ARDS caused by influenza pneumonia.MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted by eight tertiary referral centers in Taiwan. From January 1 to March 31 in 2016, all of the patients in intensive care units with virology-proven influenza pneumonia were collected, while all of those patients with ARDS and receiving prone positioning were enrolled. Demographic data, laboratory examinations, management records, ventilator settings and clinical outcomes were collected for analysis.ResultsDuring the study period, 336 patients with severe influenza pneumonia were screened and 263 patients met the diagnosis of ARDS. Totally, 65 patients receiving prone positioning were included for analysis. The 60-day survivors had lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, pneumonia severity index (PSI), creatinine level and lower rate of receiving renal replacement therapy than non-survivors (22.4 ± 8.5 vs. 29.2 ± 7.4, p = 0.003; 106.6 ± 40.9 vs. 135.3 ± 48.6, p = 0.019; 1.2 ± 0.9 mg/dL vs. 3.1 ± 3.6 mg/dL, p = 0.040; and 4% vs. 42%, p < 0.005). Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified PSI (hazard ratio 1.020, 95% confidence interval 1.009–1.032; p < 0.001), renal replacement therapy (hazard ratio 6.248, 95% confidence interval 2.245–17.389; p < 0.001), and increase in dynamic driving pressure (hazard ratio 1.372, 95% confidence interval 1.095–1.718; p = 0.006) which were independent predictors associated with 60-day mortality.ConclusionsIn the present study, in evaluating the effect of prone positioning in patients with influenza pneumonia-related ARDS, pneumonia severity index, renal replacement therapy and increase in dynamic driving pressure were associated with 60-day mortality in patients with influenza pneumonia-related ARDS receiving prone positioning.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13613-018-0440-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.