New Oscillatory Behavior of Second-Order Nonlinear Dynamic Equations with Damping on Time Scales

We establish four new oscillation criteria of Grace-type for the second-order nonlinear dynamic equations with damping. These criteria extend known criteria for corresponding dynamic equations. Our results are new even in the continuous and the discrete cases

Oscillation Theorems for Second-Order Half-Linear Neutral Delay Dynamic Equations with Damping on Time Scales

We establish the oscillation criteria of Philos type for second-order half-linear neutral delay dynamic equations with damping on time scales by the generalized Riccati transformation and inequality technique. Our results are new even in the continuous and the discrete cases

New Oscillatory Behavior of Third-Order Nonlinear Delay Dynamic Equations on Time Scales

A class of third-order nonlinear delay dynamic equations on time scales is studied. By using the generalized Riccati transformation and the inequality technique, four new sufficient conditions which ensure that every solution is oscillatory or converges to zero are established. The results obtained essentially improve earlier ones. Some examples are considered to illustrate the main results

Head-to-Head Comparison of TB-LAMP, Mycobacterial Culture and Adenosine Deaminase for Diagnosis of Pleural Tuberculosis in China

Objectives: The objective of the prospective single-center study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of Loop-Mediated Amplification test (TB-LAMP), mycobacterial culture and adenosine deaminase (ADA) for diagnosing pleural tuberculosis (TB) from the pleural effusions in a TB-endemic setting. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients suspected of having pleural TB in Weifang between March 2018 and October 2019. The PE samples were evaluated by smear microscopy, mycobacterial culture, TB-LAMP and ADA assay. Results: Overall, 170 patients with suggestive of pleural TB were retrospectively reviewed in this study, of which 125 were diagnosed as pleural TB. Among 125 pleural TB cases, 52 cases were identified by TB-LAMP, resulting in a sensitivity of 41.6%. When combing MGIT and TB-LAMP, 13 additional positive cases were detected compared to MGIT culture alone, demonstrating a sensitivity of 56.8%. The mean ADA levels were corelated with age, and the mean ADA value of <35 years group was significantly higher than that of ≥70 years group (p=0.0214). Conclusion: In conclusion, our data demonstrate the promising effectiveness of TB-LAMP in detection of MTB in concentrated PE specimens. The ADA levels are decreased with advanced age, highlighting the urgent need for confirmation of different cut-off values for various age group

Seed Dormancy-Life Form Profile for 358 Species from the Xishuangbanna Seasonal Tropical Rainforest, Yunnan Province, China Compared to World Database

Seed dormancy profiles are available for the major vegetation regions/types on earth. These were constructed using a composite of data from locations within each region. Furthermore, the proportion of species with nondormant (ND) seeds and the five classes of dormancy is available for each life form in each region. Using these data, we asked: will the results be the same if many species from a specific area as opposed to data compiled from many locations are considered? Germination was tested for fresh seeds of 358 species in 95 families from the Xishuangbanna seasonal tropical rainforest (XSTRF): 177 trees, 66 shrubs, 57 vines and 58 herbs. Seeds of 12.3% of the species were ND, and 0.3, 14.8, 60.6, 12.0 and 0% of the species had morphological (MD), morphophysiological (MPD), physiological (PD), physical (PY), and combinational (PY + PD) dormancy, respectively. PD was more important than ND in all life forms, PY was highest in shrubs, MD was not important in any life form and MPD was most common for herb and vines. The seed dormancy profile for XSTRF differs considerably from the composite profile for this vegetation type worldwide, most obviously in ND being much lower and PD much higher in XSTRF

Successful neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus sintilimab for locally advanced cervical cancer: case series and review of the literature

Abstract Background The locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) of FIGO stage IB3-IIA2 is characterized by large local mass, poor prognosis and survival rate. Tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for LACC, utilized as a surrogate endpoint, is urgently needed to improve. Given that the antitumor immune response can be suppressed by programed death-1 axis, the treatment paradigm of neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy has been explored as one of the prognostic treatments in a variety of solid carcinoma. So far, the application of sintilimab, a domestic immune checkpoint inhibitor, combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy is still limited in LACC, especially in large lesions. Case description We present three postmenopausal women diagnosed with FIGO stage IB3-IIA2 cervical squamous cell carcinoma with lesions larger than 5 cm. Demographic, clinical, histopathological, laboratory and imaging data were record. At the completion of the neoadjuvant therapy with paclitaxel plus carboplatin combined with sintilimab, all patients underwent hysterectomy. After neoadjuvant treatment, a pathologic complete response in case 1 and partial responses in case 2 and case 3 were achieved, and neither patient showed any relapse during the follow-up period of 16 to 22 months. Conclusions This report provide evidence to support the combination of sintilimab with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cervical cancer, which has yet to be validated in prospective studies. More clinical data are needed to verify the effectiveness of the combined regimens. This literature review also collected studies involving potential predictors of response to NACT and immunotherapy, which would be helpful in stratifying patients for future trials

New Oscillation Criteria for Third-Order Nonlinear Functional Differential Equations

This paper discusses oscillatory and asymptotic behavior of solutions of a class of third-order nonlinear functional differential equations. By using the generalized Riccati transformation and the integral averaging technique, three new sufficient conditions which insure that the solution is oscillatory or converges to zero are established. The results obtained essentially generalize and improve the earlier ones