Cervical surgery is associated with high risk of C5 palsy, particularly in patients who received LIF and in male patients. These figures may be useful in the estimation of the probability of C5 palsy following cervical surgery.

BackgroundNoninvasive ventilation (NIV) has proved to be a useful technique for breathing support. However, complications, discomfort, and failure of NIV were commonly caused by the mask. Therefore, the helmet was developed to improve performance and reduce complications; however, there has been no conclusive results on its effect until now. Thus, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of NIV with a helmet versus the control strategy in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF).MethodsWe searched Cochrane Library, PubMed, Ovid, and Embase databases and bibliographies of relevant articles published before June 2016. Randomized and case-control studies that adopted the helmet as an NIV interface and compared it with another interface were included. The primary outcomes were hospital mortality, intubation rate, and complications. The secondary outcomes included the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, gas exchange, and respiratory rate. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by the Mantel-Haenszel method and mean difference by the inverse variance method in a fixed effect model or random effects model according to the heterogeneity.ResultsA total of 11 studies involving 621 patients were included. The overall hospital mortality was 17.53 % in the helmet NIV group versus 30.67 % in the control group. Use of the helmet was associated with lower hospital mortality (OR 0.43, 95 % CI 0.26 to 0.69, p = 0.0005), intubation rate (OR 0.32, 95 % CI 0.21 to 0.47, P < 0.00001), and complications (OR 0.6, 95 % CI 0.4 to 0.92, P = 0.02). In contrast, there was no significant difference in gas exchange and ICU stay (P >0.05). Subgroup analysis found the helmet reduced mortality mainly in hypoxemic ARF patients (P < 0.05) and a lower intubation rate was shown in randomized trials; fewer complications caused by the helmet might be restricted to case-control trials. Additionally, the effect of the helmet on PaCO2 was influenced by type of ARF and ventilation mode (P <0.00001).ConclusionNIV with a helmet was associated with reduced hospital mortality and intubation requirement. The helmet was as effective as the mask in gas exchange with no additional advantage. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to provide more robust evidence.

Liver fibrosis leading to cirrhosis is one of the major health burdens worldwide with currently limited therapeutic options available. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in various biological and pathological processes in a cell- or tissue-specific manner. However, there is still an important gap in the understanding of the role of hepatocyte-specific lncRNAs in liver fibrosis.Methods: The expressions of lnc-Hser in human and mice fibrotic livers as well as primary hepatocytes (HCs) of mice developing liver fibrosis were determined by real-time RT-PCR. The roles and mechanisms of lnc-Hser in HCs and liver fibrosis were determined in vitro and in vivo.Results: In this study, we have identified a hepatocyte-specifically expressed lnc-Hser, which was reduced in human and mice fibrotic livers as well as primary HCs of mice developing liver fibrosis. We have shown that silencing lnc-Hser aggravated liver fibrosis both in vitro and in vivo through inducing the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the apoptosis of HCs. In addition, knockdown of lnc-Hser promoted hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation through the signals derived from injured HCs. Mechanistically, we have revealed that lnc-Hser inhibited HCs apoptosis via the C5AR1-Hippo-YAP pathway and suppressed HCs EMT via the Notch signaling.Conclusions: Our work has identified a hepatocyte-specific lnc-HSER that regulates liver fibrosis, providing a proof that this molecule is a novel biomarker for damaged HCs and a potential target for anti-fibrotic therapy.

Through their multiple targets, microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes. In this study, miR‐342‐3p was found to be deregulated with ossification of ligament or osteoporosis. We demonstrate that silencing miR‐342‐3p impairs osteoblast activity and matrix mineralization, while over expression of miR‐342‐3p promotes osteoblast differentiation significantly. Moreover, miR‐342‐3p directly targets activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), which inhibits transcription of pro‐osteogenic differentiation‐associated genes. In addition, there exists a higher frequency of methylation at the CpG island of the Enah/Vasp‐Like (EVL) locus in undifferentiated pre‐osteoblasts; however, demethylation of the EVL CpG island induces over expression of miR‐342‐3p during osteogenic differentiation. This study suggests that miR‐342‐3p may serves as a potential marker for diagnosis and treatment of ossification of ligament and osteoporosis.

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