BACKGROUND:The number of elderly patients with hip fracture is huge, and this population mainly combines with a variety of internal diseases. The general condition was bad. Compared to total hip arthroplasty, bipolar hemiarthroplasty can shorten operation time, reduce the time of anesthesia and improve surgical safety, but the operation using which fixation mode is always controversial.
OBJECTIVE:To compare the safety and curative effects of bipolar hemiarthroplasty with cementless or cement femoral stem prosthesis in elderly patients with osteoporotic complex hip fracture.
METHODS:From June 2007 to June 2010, 198 elderly patients with osteoporotic hip fracture aged more than 75 years old, who were treated with bipolar hemiarthroplasty in the People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, were enroled in this study. Al patients were divided into cementless group (n=69) and cement group (n=129) according to the type of prognosis. Osteoporosis was treated conventionaly in both groups after replacement. Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, incidence of postoperative hip pain, out of bed activity time post surgery, Harris scores of last folow-up and loosening rate of the prognosis were compared between the two groups.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:176 of above 198 cases were folowed up for 48 to 84 months, including 122 in the cement group and 54 in the cementless group. Operation time was longer in the cement group than in the cementless group, but out of bed time was earlier in the cement group than in the cementless group post surgery, and there were significant differences (P < 0.05). The incidences of loosening and hip pain were more in the cement group than in the cementless group post surgery (P < 0.05). No significant difference in intraoperative blood loss and Harris scores of last folow-up was detected between the two groups (P > 0.05). The incidences of loosening rate were 5% and 4% in the cement and cementless groups, respectively, which showed significant differences (P< 0.05). These results indicate that bipolar hemiarthroplasty with or without cement for osteoporotic hip fracture in the elderly can obtain good middle- and long-term effects. Bipolar hemiarthroplasty with cement can reduce the out of bed time, but operation time was longer, and incidences of hip pain and loosening were higher in cement prosthesis than in cementless prosthesis.

The function of drugs is based on the interaction between drug molecules and their targets.Qualitative analysis and quantitative detection of drug-target interactions run through the whole process from drug discovery to clinical practice.After decades of development, the study methods on the interaction between drug molecules and target proteins have been transformed from traditional biochemical experiments to a diversity of efficient and accurate technology systems supported by advanced molecular biology and biophysics theory.In this review, representative methods and techniques were introduced from aspects of target discovery and validation, affinity determination, interaction sites and structural analysis, which might provide some references for drug discovery and mechanism exploration.

OBJECTIVESThe objectives of this study were to compare the prevalence of submandibular gland neoplasia in an Asian population with a Western population and to evaluate the accuracy of fi ne needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and computed tomography (CT) scan in the study of submandibular gland pathologies.

MATERIALS AND METHODSWe conducted a 10-year retrospective review of 101 submandibular mass excisions. Data on the demographic profi le of patients, clinical features, correlation of fi ne needle aspiration cytology, CT scans and histology and morbidities related to surgery were collected.

RESULTSThe prevalence of submandibular gland neoplasia was 27.1%. Most (78.9%) of these were benign. FNAC and CT scans were accurate for benign neoplasia. However, the accuracy of FNAC and CT scans for sialadenitis without sialolithiasis was low.

CONCLUSIONThe prevalence of submandibular gland malignancy was lower in the Asian population. FNAC and CT scans were accurate for benign neoplasia of the submandibular gland.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Child ; European Continental Ancestry Group ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prevalence ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Submandibular Gland Diseases ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Submandibular Gland Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: Information regarding the underlying causes of death (UCODs) and standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of dementia is instrumental in formulating medical strategies to prolong life in persons with dementia (PWD). We examined the leading UCODs among PWD and estimated the overall and cause-specific SMRs in relation to dementia in Taiwan. METHODS: Data were retrieved from 2 national datasets: the Taiwan Death Registry and the medical claim datasets of the National Health Insurance program. The observed person-years for each study participant were counted from the date of cohort enrollment to either the date of death or the final day of 2016. Sex-specific and age-specific SMRs were then calculated. RESULTS: The leading UCOD was circulatory disease, accounting for 26.0% of total deaths (n=3,505), followed by respiratory disease at 21.3% (n=2,875). PWD were at significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (SMR, 2.01), with SMR decreasing with advancing age. A cause-specific analysis revealed that the highest SMRs were associated with nervous system diseases (SMR, 7.58) and mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders (SMR, 4.80). Age appeared to modify SMR, suggesting that younger age at cohort enrollment was linked to higher SMRs for nearly all causes of mortality. CONCLUSIONS Circulatory and respiratory diseases were the leading UCODs among PWD. The particularly elevated mortality due to nervous system diseases and mental disorders suggests that allocating more resources to neurological and psychiatric services is warranted. The elevated SMRs of various UCODs among younger PWD underscore the need for clinicians to pay particular attention to the medical care provided to these patients.

Background/Aims: Despite the high efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), approximately 1–3% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail to achieve a sustained virological response. We conducted a nationwide study to investigate risk factors associated with DAA treatment failure. Machine-learning algorithms have been applied to discriminate subjects who may fail to respond to DAA therapy. Methods: We analyzed the Taiwan HCV Registry Program database to explore predictors of DAA failure in HCV patients. Fifty-five host and virological features were assessed using multivariate logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and artificial neural network. The primary outcome was undetectable HCV RNA at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: The training (n=23,955) and validation (n=10,346) datasets had similar baseline demographics, with an overall DAA failure rate of 1.6% (n=538). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, poor DAA adherence, and higher hemoglobin A1c were significantly associated with virological failure. XGBoost outperformed the other algorithms and logistic regression models, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 1.000 in the training dataset and 0.803 in the validation dataset. The top five predictors of treatment failure were HCV RNA, body mass index, α-fetoprotein, platelets, and FIB-4 index. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the XGBoost model (cutoff value=0.5) were 99.5%, 69.7%, 99.9%, 97.4%, and 99.5%, respectively, for the entire dataset. Conclusions Machine learning algorithms effectively provide risk stratification for DAA failure and additional information on the factors associated with DAA failure.