OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of arthroscopic debridement for acute gouty arthritis of the ankle.

METHODSForty-one patients with acute gouty arthritis of the ankle were treated under arthroscopy from January 2010 to June 2012. All the patients were male, age in ranging from 28 to 69 years with an average of 43 years. Eighteen patients were in the left ankles and 23 in the right ankles; 12 cases were firstly attack and 29 cases were recurrent attack. Course of disease was from 2 weeks to 30 months. The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scale score was used to evaluate the clinical effects. Number of acute attacks of gouty arthritis were observed.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up at least 12 months. The mean AOFAS Ankle-Hindfoot Scale score increased from 58.44 +/- 9.45 preoperatively to 86.15 +/- 7.36, 83.41 +/- 9.22, 84.10 +/- 8.22 postoperatively at 6, 12, months and the last follow-up respectively. Swelling of the ankle were improved significantly, pain was relieved and the mean number of acute attacks of gouty arthritis decreased significantly.

CONCLUSIONArthroscopy is helpful for the diagnosis of acute gouty arthritis of the ankle and improvement of clinical symptoms and ankle function.

Adult ; Aged ; Ankle Joint ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Arthritis, Gouty ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Arthroscopy ; Debridement ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical features and treatment outcomes of different regimens in Chinese patients with lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL).

METHODSForty-three patients with LBL were retrospectively analysed, of which 30 were T-LBL, and 13 B-LBL.

RESULTS(1) Most patients were young men with a median age of 21, and 63.0% of the T-LBL patients had mediastinal masses. (2) Treatment outcome could be assessed in 37 cases, of which the response rate (RR) was 81.1% and complete remission (CR) rate was 67.6%. The RR and CR rates in patients treated with regimens for ALL (ALL-like group) and those treated with regimens for NHL (NHL-like group) were 94.4%, 68.4% and 83.3%, 52.6%, respectively. (3) The estimated median overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) group were significant longer than those of ALL-like group (P=0.018, P=0.025) and NHL-like group (P=0.016, P=0.011). The OS at 5 years in NHL-like group, ALL-like group and HSCT group were (14.4+/-9.4)%, (20.2+/-12.7)% and (79.5+/-13.1 )%, respectively.

CONCLUSION(1) LBL is more common in young men, with less involvement of peripheral blood. Compared with B-LBL, T-LBL often has a mediastinal mass and serious cavity effusion. (2) Intensive treatment regimens for ALL should be used in LBL. HSCT at CR1 can improve outcome obviously.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Proteins are the final executive actor of cell viability and function. Protein-protein interactions determine the complexity of the organism. Research on the protein interactions can help us understand the function of the protein at the molecular level, learn the cell growth, development, differentiation, apoptosis and understand biological regulation mechanisms and other activities. They are essential for understanding the pathologies of diseases and helpful in the prevention and treatment of diseases, as well as in the development of new drugs. In this paper, we employ the single decision-tree classification model to predict protein-protein interactions in the yeast. The original data came from the existing literature. Using software Clementine, this paper analyzes how these attributes affect the accuracy of the model by adjusting the predicted attributes. The result shows that a single decision tree is a good classification model and it has higher accuracy compared to those in the previous researches.
Algorithms ; Decision Trees ; Fungal Proteins ; chemistry ; Models, Theoretical ; Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs ; Protein Interaction Maps

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxymatrine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

METHODSA multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 144 patients with chronic hepatitis B entered the study for 52 weeks; of them 72 received oxymatrine, and 72 received a placebo. Before and after the treatment, clinical symptoms, liver function, serum hepatitis B virus markers, and adverse drug reactions were observed.

RESULTSIn 144 patients, 14 were dropped and excluded due to inconsistencies in the included standard. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of 130 patients were analyzed. After being treated for 52 weeks, 70.77% of the patients in the study group had a normal ALT level, and in 43.08% and 33.33% their HBV DNA and HBeAg became negative. In the placebo group, 39.68% had normal ALT level, and 12.31% and 3.33% had their HBV DNA and HBeAg become negative. The rates of complete response and partial response in the oxymatrine group were 23.08% and 58.46%, and in the placebo group they were 3.08% and 44.62%. They were significantly higher in the oxymatrine group than in the placebo group. In the oxymatrine treated patients, 12 weeks after its withdrawal, 60.00% had a normal ALT level, 41.54% and 23.33% had both HBV DNA and HBeAg negative. In the placebo group, 31.75% had a normal ALT level, 3.08% and 1.67% had both HBV DNA and HBeAg negative. The rates of complete response and partial response in the oxymatrine group were 21.54% and 47.69%, and in the placebo group they were 0 and 41.54%. They were significantly higher in the study group than in the placebo group. The adverse reaction rates of oxymatrine in the study and the placebo group were 7.69% and 6.15%, respectively, but there was no statistical significant difference between them.

CONCLUSIONOxymatrine is an effective and safe agent for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alkaloids ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Antiviral Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Quinolizines