Short-course or long-course radiation therapy as a part of a neoadjuvant regimen for stage Ⅱ & Ⅲ rectal adenocarcinoma?

The aim of this mini-review is to compare and contrast the pros and cons of short-course and long-course neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy regimens for stageⅡ&Ⅲrectal adenocarcinoma.Multiple trials have demonstrated the equal efficacy and safety of short-course and long-course radiation therapy as a part of neoadjuvant regimens.Published data also shows that total neoadjuvant therapy could be more successful than neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.This review points out future research directions for patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma such as comparing total neoadjuvant therapy that contains a short-course of radiation therapy to the standard of care,and evaluating how the sequence of short-course radiation therapy and chemotherapy in the total neoadjuvant therapy impacts the pathological complete response(pCR)rate,local control,and survival outcomes.

Short-course在控制工程基础课程教学实践中的研究与应用

控制工程基础是高等学校机械工程及其自动化专业的必须课程,该课程要求学生具有扎实的综合理论知识和较强的实践动手能力。在应用型本科高校转型发展的过程中,对培养学生能力提出了更高要求。通过对Short-course教学实践模式的研究,结合新疆农业大学机电学院的实际情况,探索Short-course教学实践实施方案、实践过程控制、学习效果考核等内容,更新学生学习模式、丰富教学内容、优化教学实践体系,培养适应区域经济发展的复合应用型人才。

Short-course在畜产品加工学课程教学实践中的探索与应用

畜产品加工学课程对学生的综合知识和实践能力要求较高,实践课程的改革与进一步完善有助于学生对知识的掌握和能力的提高。将Short-course的教学方式引入该课程的实践教学,结合四川农业大学的实际情况,从short-coures的方案制定、实施、学习效果评价等方面进行实践教学的探索,以丰富畜产品加工学课程实践教学的内容,增加实践教学方式,培养适应社会的综合性人才。

Short vs long-course antibiotic therapy in adults with acute cholangitis:A systematic review,meta-analysis,and evidence quality assessment

BACKGROUND Acute cholangitis(AC)constitutes an infection with increased mortality rates in the past.Due to new diagnostic tools and therapeutic methods,the mortality of AC has been significantly reduced nowadays.The initial antibiotic treatment of AC has been oriented to the most common pathogens connected to this infection.However,the optimal duration of the antibiotic treatment of AC is still debatable.AIM To investigate if shorter-course antibiotic treatments could be similarly effective to long-course treatments in adults with AC.METHODS This study constitutes a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature concerning the duration of antibiotic therapy of AC and an assessment of the quality of the evidence.The study was conducted in accordance with the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.Fifteen studies were included in the systematic review,and eight were eligible for meta-analysis.Due to heterogeneous duration cutoffs,three study-analysis groups were formed,with a cutoff of 2-3,6-7,and 14 d.RESULTS A total of 2763 patients were included in the systematic review,and 1313 were accounted for the meta-analysis.The mean age was 73.66±14.67 years,and the male and female ratio was 1:08.No significant differences were observed in the mortality rates of antibiotic treatment of 2-3 d,compared to longer treatments(odds ratio=0.78,95% confidence interval:0.23-2.67,I2=9%)and the recurrence rates and hospitalization length were also not different in all study groups.CONCLUSION Short-and long-course antibiotic treatments may be similarly effective concerning the mortality and recurrence rates of AC.Safe conclusions cannot be extracted concerning the hospitalization duration.

Second primary malignancy risk after radiotherapy in rectal cancer survivors

AIM To investigate second primary malignancy(SPM) risk after radiotherapy in rectal cancer survivors METHODS We used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to identify rectal cancer patients between 1996 and 2011. Surgery-alone, preoperative short course, preoperative long course, and post-operative radiotherapy groups were defined. The overall and sitespecific SPM incidence rates were compared among the radiotherapy groups by multivariate Cox regression, taking chemotherapy and comorbidities into account. Sensitivity tests were performed for attained-year adjustment and long-term survivors analysis. RESULTS A total of 28220 patients were analyzed. The 10-year cumulative SPM incidence was 7.8% [95% confidence interval(CI): 7.2%-8.2%] using a competing risk model. The most common sites of SPM were the lung, liver, and prostate. Radiotherapy was not associated with increased SPM risk in multi-variate Cox model(hazard ratio = 1.05, 95%CI: 0.91-1.21, P = 0.494). The SPM hazard remained unchanged in 10-yearsurvivors. In addition, no SPM risk difference was found between the preoperative radiotherapy and postoperative radiotherapy groups.CONCLUSION In this large population-based cohort study, we demonstrated that radiotherapy had no increase in SPM.

New standard in locally advanced rectal cancer

In the following review we intend to ascertain the optimal neoadjuvant therapy inpatients with locally advanced rectal cancer. In 2004, a study revealed thatchemoradiotherapy (CRT) resulted in better local control when performedpreoperatively rather than postoperatively, thus neoadjuvant treatment wasestablished as a standard treatment. Subsequently, the Polish study and the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group showed no statistically significant differencebetween concomitant CRT over 5 wk vs short-course radiotherapy (RT).Therefore, both were established as standard neoadjuvant treatments. Later, theStockholm III study demonstrated that short-course RT had a higher completepathological response than long-course RT. It also showed that a delay betweenRT and surgery presented fewer complications. This opened a window of time toprovide an early and effective systemic treatment to prevent distant metastases.Studies show that short-course RT plus oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy couldachieve this. When comparing this total neoadjuvant treatment (TNT) vsconcomitant CRT, the former showed greater complete pathological response andlower acute toxicity. Studies presented during 2020 have also shown the benefitsof TNT in terms of complete pathological response, as well as disease andmetastasis-free survival. Our review suggests that probably TNT should be thenew standard treatment for these patients. However, we will have to wait for thefull text publications of these studies to confirm this statement.

Correlation of Serum C-Reactive Protein with Disease Severity in Tuberculosis Patients

Purpose: To study the factors influencing sputum smear conversion including Serum C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and its correlation with disease severity in tuberculosis patients. Method: Levels of Serum-CRP concentrations were deter-mined in 60 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 30 healthy volunteers and patients in follow-up after completion of antitubercular treatment (DOTS therapy). Results: Serum-CRP levels were found to be significantly higher in smear-positive group as compared with the follow-up patients and smear-negative control group. The values were 43.65 ± 23.68, 9.88 ± 5.23 and 4.04 ± 3.85 mg/L respectively (P Conclusion: Serum-CRP levels are significantly correlated with disease severity in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Thus these findings from the present study would certainly add new criteria for early diagnosis of TB, which may lead to development of new strategies to treat TB.

Achievements and challenges of the World Bank Loan/Department for International Development grant-assisted Tuberculosis Control Project in China

In March 2002,the government of China launched the World Bank Loan/ Department for International Development-supported Tuberculosis （TB） Control Project to reduce the prevalence and mortality of TB. The project generated promising results in policy development, strengthening of TB control systems, patient treatment success,funds management, and the introduction of legislation. In light of the global TB epidemic and control environment, it is useful to review the TB control priorities of the project, summarize the achievements and experiences around its implementation.

The impact of pastoralist mobility on tuberculosis control in Ethiopia:a systematic review and meta-synthesis

Background:Directly observed treatment,short-course(DOTS)is the current mainstay to control tuberculosis(TB)worldwide.Context-specific adaptations of DOTS have impending implications in the fight against TB.In Ethiopia,there is a national TB control programme with the goal to eliminate TB,but uneven distribution across lifestyle gradients remains a challenge.Notably,the mobile pastoralist communities in the country are disproportionately left uncovered.The aim of this study was to summarize the evidence base from published literature to guide TB control strategy for mobile pastoralist communities in Ethiopia.Main text:We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA)guidelines and systematically reviewed articles in seven electronic databases:Excerptra Medical Database,African Journal Online,PubMed,Google Scholar,Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International Direct,Cochrane Library and Web of Science.The databases were searched from inception to December 31,2018,with no language restriction.We screened 692 items of which 19 met our inclusion criteria.Using a meta-ethnographic method,we identified six themes:(i)pastoralism in Ethiopia;(ii)pastoralists’livelihood profile;(iii)pastoralists’service utilisation;(iv)pastoralists’knowledge and awareness on TB control services;(v)challenges of TB control in pastoral settings;and(vi)equity disparities affecting pastoralists.Our interpretation triangulates the results across all included studies and shows that TB control activities observed in pastoralist regions of Ethiopia are far fewer than elsewhere in the country.Conclusions:This systematic review and meta-synthesis shows that TB control in Ethiopia does not align well with the pastoralist lifestyle.Inaccessibility and lack of acceptability of TB care are the key bottlenecks to pastoralist TB service provision.Targeting these two parameters holds promise to enhance effectiveness of an intervention.