Impacts of the “transport subsidy initiative on poor TB patients” in Rural China: A Patient-Cohort Based Longitudinal Study in Rural China

<div><p>Objective</p><p>To describe the financial burden on TB patients for transportation during treatment, and to evaluate the impacts of the “transportation subsidy initiative on poor TB patients” in rural China for improving poor patients’ access to TB treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p><p>A Case-cohort of 429 TB patients was investigated through questionnaire interviews in four counties of two provinces in China. Information on the financial burden for transportation during TB diagnosis and treatment was collected. Qualitative in-depth interviews with 26 TB patients were carried out to understand their perceptions of transportation subsidy initiative.</p> <p>Results</p><p>The mean transportation cost of TB medical care was 97 CNY (70 CNY in median), varying from 0 to 700 CNY. About 51% of the patients spent more than 10 CNY per round trip to the TB dispensary. Of the 429 TB patients investigated, 139 had received transportation subsidies after getting TB diagnosis; 15/139 (10.9%) showed dissatisfaction, mainly because the subsidy amount being insufficient. The income of patients receiving transportation subsidies was significantly lower than those not receiving the subsidies (<i>p</i><0.05). The impression that an appropriate transportation subsidy enables patients to complete the required visits during their TB treatment was obtained after observation of over 80% of the patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p><p>The transportation subsidy plays an important role in reducing financial burden on poor TB patients for the completion of treatment. However, the coverage was limited and the amount of subsidy was not enough under the present policy. Considering the poverty of rural TB patients, a universal coverage and a rational amount of transportation subsidy should be proposed.</p> </div

Proportion of TB patients spending less than 10CNY on transportation

<p>Proportion of TB patients spending less than 10CNY on transportation</p

Head-to-Head Comparison of Sirolimus-Eluting Stents versus Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Meta-Analysis of 76 Studies

<div><p>Background</p><p>The relative short-, long- and overall-term efficacy and safety of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES, Cypher) compared with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES, Taxus) in large head-to-head comparisons still remain to be defined.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We searched Pubmed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) for articles comparing outcomes of interest between SES and PES without language restriction. Short- (≤1 year), long- (>1 year), and overall-term (the longest follow-up of each study) outcomes were evaluated. The primary endpoint was target lesion revascularization (TLR). Other outcomes of interest were target vessel revascularization (TVR), myocardial infarction, all-cause death, cardiac death, stent thrombosis, major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), restenosis and late lumen loss.</p><p>Results</p><p>Seventy-six studies including more than 15000 patients in randomized controlled trials and over 70000 patients in adjusted observational studies were included. At overall-term follow-up, SES significantly reduced TLR (relative risk [RR]: 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.49–0.76), TVR (RR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.54–0.83), MACE (RR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.72–0.87), myocardial infarction (RR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.73–0.99), in-segment restenosis (RR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.38–0.65), and in-segment late lumen loss (weighted mean difference [WMD]: −0.19; 95% CI: −0.24–−0.14) in randomized controlled trials compared with PES. In addition, lower rates of death (RR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.83–1.00), any stent thrombosis (RR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.45–0.86), definite stent thrombosis (RR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.45–0.77) were found in patients receiving SES in adjusted observational studies. Largely similar results were found at short- and long-term follow-up, and in patients with diabetes, acute myocardial infarction or long lesions.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>SES significantly reduced the short-, long- and overall-term risk of TLR/TVR, MACE, and restenosis, and overall-term risk of myocardial infarction in randomized controlled trials, as compared with PES. Lower rates of death and stent thrombosis were also observed in observational studies in SES-treated patients.</p></div

Additional file 1: of Percutaneous closure versus medical therapy for stroke with patent foramen Ovale: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PRISMA 2009 Checklist. (DOCX 29 kb

Additional file 2: of Percutaneous closure versus medical therapy for stroke with patent foramen Ovale: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Figure S1. Flow diagram of study selection. Table S1. Main inclusion and exclusion criteria of included randomized trials. Table S2. Definitions of degree of shunting and atrial septal aneurysm in randomized trials. Table S3. Primary and secondary endpoints of included randomized trials. Table S4. Definitions of composite outcome, major bleeding, recurrent stroke and TIA in randomized trials. Table S5. Risk of bias of included randomized trials. Table S6. Study quality of included comparative observational studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Figure S2. The composite outcome of recurrent stroke, TIA and all-cause death with device closure versus medical therapy from randomized controlled trials and adjusted observational studies. Table S7. Subgroup analysis of the major outcomes based on study designs, number of patients and duration of follow-up. Table S8. Subgroup analysis of the composite outcome in randomized trials. Table S9. Subgroup analysis of recurrent ischemic stroke in randomized trials. Table S10. Meta-regression analysis in randomized trials exploring the potential for effect modification by multiple variables, including Moderate to severe PFO, atrial septal aneurysm, index event of stroke, and anticoagulation in medical treatment. (DOCX 594 kb

Flow Diagram of Meta-Analysis.

<p>Flow Diagram of Meta-Analysis.</p

RRs and 95% CIs of TLR (A) and TVR (B) associated with SES versus PES.

<p>Short-term (≤1 year), long-term (>1 year), and overall-term TLR and TVR in patients treated with SES versus PES were evaluated. Adj-OS  =  adjusted observational study; CI  =  confidence interval; No.  =  number of the studies; Non-adj OS  =  non-adjusted observational study; PES  =  paclitaxel-eluting stents; RCT  =  randomized controlled trial; RR  =  relative risk; SES  =  sirolimus-eluting stent; TLR  =  target lesion revascularization; TVR  =  target vessel revascularization.</p

Ultrathin Pt–Cu Nanosheets and Nanocones

In this work, we have successfully synthesized free-standing ultrathin Pt–Cu alloy nanosheets of 4–6 atom thickness with tunable lateral size from 10 to 50 nm. The nanosheets with diameters >20 nm can be converted into nanocones in a controllable way. These nanosheets and nanocones exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activities for the oxidation of ethanol in comparison to commercial Pt black and Pt/C catalysts

RRs and 95% CIs of other clinical endpoints associated with SES versus PES.

<p>MACE (A), MI (B), all-cause death (C), cardiac death (D), death/MI (E) were evaluated in Short-term (≤1 year), long-term (>1 year), and overall-term follow-up. Adj-OS  =  adjusted observational study; CD  =  cardiac death; CI  =  confidence interval; Death + MI  =  the composite of death and myocardial infarction; MACE  =  major adverse cardiac event; MI  =  myocardial infarction; No.  =  number of the studies; Non-adj OS  =  non-adjusted observational study; PES  =  paclitaxel-eluting stents; RCT  =  randomized controlled trial; RR  =  relative risk; SES  =  sirolimus-eluting stent.</p

Chromate Interaction with the Chromate Reducing Actinobacterium <i>Intrasporangium chromatireducens</i> Q5-1

<div><p>This study was conducted to determine the microbe-chromate [Cr(VI)] interaction and the effect of quinoid analogue anthraquinone-2-sulfonate (AQS) on aerobic Cr(VI) reduction by <i>Intrasporangium chromatireducens</i> Q5-1. The addition of redox mediator AQS, which might expedite the electron transfer, promoted Cr(VI) bioreduction. Addition of carbon sources, such as maltose, acetate, sucrose and lactose stimulated the AQS-promoted Cr(VI) reduction of strain Q5-1. Induction experiment clarified that the enzyme involves in the Cr(VI) reduction is constitutive. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) spectra showed the existence of trace Cr distributed on the cell surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that the Cr(III) complex was bound to the cell surface (0.87%, atomic percent). The spectra shifts detected by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicated that Cr(III) was bound to the carbonyl and amide groups. In addition, Cr(VI) reduction by different cell fractions showed that Cr(VI) reduction was occurred extracellularly rather than intracellularly. The results disclosed that Cr(VI) detoxification of strain Q5-1 was mainly associated with extracellular Cr(VI) reduction process in combination with trace Cr(III) adsorption on the cell surface. A schematic figure depicting the interactions between strain Q5-1 and Cr(VI) was presented. This study enhanced the understanding of the microbe-Cr(VI) interaction mechanism and revealed the AQS-promoted aerobic Cr(VI) reduction of strain Q5-1. Such strain and quinoid analogue-mediated bacterial Cr(VI) reduction may facilitate the bioremediation for Cr(VI)-polluted environment.</p></div