Factors contributing to clinical picture and progression of Huntington's disease

Huntington’s disease（HD）is an autosomal dominant,monogenic,progressive,neurodegenerative and rare disease with a frequency of10 per 100,000 in the Caucasian population and occurring more rarely in other races（Squitieri et al.,1994）.HD is,nevertheless,one of the most frequently and extensively studied diseases of those caused by a dynamic mutation.The HD mutation is located on the short arm of the 4th chromosome within the HTT gene.

Progressive collapse resisting capacity of reinforced concrete load bearing wall structures

Reinforced concrete(RC) load bearing wall is widely used in high-rise and mid-rise buildings. Due to the number of walls in plan and reduction in lateral force portion, this system is not only stronger against earthquakes, but also more economical. The effect of progressive collapse caused by removal of load bearing elements, in various positions in plan and stories of the RC load bearing wall system was evaluated by nonlinear dynamic and static analyses. For this purpose, three-dimensional model of 10-story structure was selected. The analysis results indicated stability, strength and stiffness of the RC load-bearing wall system against progressive collapse. It was observed that the most critical condition for removal of load bearing walls was the instantaneous removal of the surrounding walls located at the corners of the building where the sections of the load bearing elements were changed. In this case, the maximum vertical displacement was limited to 6.3 mm and the structure failed after applying the load of 10 times the axial load bored by removed elements. Comparison between the results of the nonlinear dynamic and static analyses demonstrated that the "load factor" parameter was a reasonable criterion to evaluate the progressive collapse potential of the structure.

Multidisciplinary and Comprehensive Chinese Medicine for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients:A Retrospective Study of 855 Cases

Objective To investigate the effects of multidisciplinary and comprehensive Chinese medicine(CM)treatments on progression-free survival(PFS)and median survival time(MST)in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)and identify factors that influence progression and prognosis.Methods Clinical data of 855 patients with advanced NSCLC who received multidisciplinary and comprehensive CM treatments at Longhua Hospital from January 2009 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.Univariate analysis was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank sequential inspection.Multivariate analysis of significant variables from the univariate analysis was performed with Cox regression modeling.Key factors correlated to progression and prognosis were screened out,and a Cox proportional hazard model was established to calculate the prognostic index.Results The PFS and MST of 855 advanced NSCLC patients were 9.0 and 26.0 months,respectively.The 1-,2-,3-,and 5-year survival rates were 79.2%,54%,36.2%,and 17.1%,respectively.Gender,pathologic type,and clinical stage were independent prognostic risk factors;surgical history,radiotherapy,treatment course of Chinese patent medicine,intravenous drip of Chinese herbal preparation,duration of oral administration of Chinese herbal decoction(CHD),and intervention measures were independent prognostic protective factors.Gender was an independent risk factor for progression,while operation history and oral CHD administration duration were independent protective factors(all P<0.05).Women with stage IIIb–IIIc lung adenocarcinoma had the best outcomes.Conclusions Female patients have lower progression risk and better prognoses than male patients,younger patients have higher progression risk but better long-term prognoses than the elderlys,and patients with lower performance status scores are at lower risk for progression and have better prognoses.Comprehensive CM treatments could significantly reduce progression risk,improve prognosis,and prolong survival time for patients with advanced NSCLC.This treatment mode offers additional advantages over supportive care alone.