001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and optimal cutoffs (pg/ml) were 0.77 (95% confidence interval, 0.67-0.86) and 120, respectively, for significant platelet count improvement prediction. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 88.6%, 71.7%, and 78.8%, respectively.
 
  BL TPO level might be a useful marker for predicting significant platelet count improvement in thrombocytopenic patients after successful DAA therapy.
 BL TPO level might be a useful marker for predicting significant platelet count improvement in thrombocytopenic patients after successful DAA therapy.
  Light-chain (AL) amyloidosis is the most common type of systemic amyloidosis with poor prognosis. Currently, the predictors of cardiac involvement and prognostic staging systems are primarily based on conventional echocardiography and serological biomarkers. We used three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (STE-3D) measurements of strain, hypothesizing that it could detect cardiac involvement and aid in prediction of mortality.
 
  We retrospectively analysed 74 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven AL amyloidosis. Among them, 42 showed possible cardiac involvement and 32 without cardiac involvement. LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), global radial strain, global circumferential strain and global area strain (GAS) measurements were obtained.
 
  The GLS and GAS were considered significant predictors of cardiac involvement. The cut-off values discriminating cardiac involvement were 16.10% for GLS, 32.95% for GAS. During the median follow-up of 12.5months (interquartile range 4-25months), 20 (27%) patients died. For the Cox proportional model survival analysis, heart rate, cardiac troponin T, NT-proBNP levels, E/e', GLS, and GAS were univariate predictors of death. Multivariate Cox model showed that GLS ≤ 14.78% and cardiac troponin T ≥ 0.049mg/l levels were independent predictors of survival.
 
  STE-3D measurements of LV myocardial mechanics could detect cardiac involvement in patients with AL amyloidosis; GLS and cardiac biomarkers can provided prognostic information for mortality prediction.
 STE-3D measurements of LV myocardial mechanics could detect cardiac involvement in patients with AL amyloidosis; GLS and cardiac biomarkers can provided prognostic information for mortality prediction.
  Hypovitaminosis D can be observed in most fragility hip fracture patients. However, measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level is costly and may not be available in some centers. Without the baseline serum 25(OH)D level, the appropriate dose of vitamin D supplementation is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of vitamin D supplementation in fragility hip fracture patients compared between high- and low-dose vitamin D supplementation.
 
  A total of 140 patients diagnosed with fragility hip fracture were randomly allocated to either the high-dose (60,000 IU/week) or low-dose (20,000 IU/week) vitamin D2 supplementation group for 12 weeks. The number of patients who achieved optimal vitamin D level (serum 25(OH)D>30 ng/mL), the proportion of patients who developed hypercalcemia, and the functional outcome were compared between groups.
 
  Of the 140 patients who were enrolled, 21 patients were lost to follow-up during the study period. The remaining 119 patients February 2018.
 The protocol of this study was retrospectively registered in the Thai Clinical Trials Registry database no. TCTR20180302007 on 20 February 2018.
  Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and intestinal Behçet's disease (BD) are vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies due to diarrhea-related gastrointestinal loss and poor dietary intake caused by disease-related anorexia. However, few studies have investigated the incidence and risk factors for micronutrient deficiency.
 
  We retrospectively analyzed 205 patients with IBD who underwent micronutrient examination, including folate, vitamin B12, 25-OH-vitamin D, and/or ferritin level quantification, with follow-up blood tests conducted 6months later.
 
  Eighty patients (39.0%), who were deficient in any of the four micronutrients, were classified as the deficiency group, and the remaining 125 (61.0%) were classified as the non-deficient group. Compared to those in the non-deficiency group, patients in the deficiency group were much younger, had more Crohn's disease (CD) patients, more patients with a history of bowel operation, and significantly less 5-amino salicylic acid usage. Multivariate analysis revealed that CD and bowel operation were significant independent factors associated with micronutrient deficiency.
 
  The incidence of micronutrient deficiency was high (39.0%). Factors including CD, bowel operation, and younger ages were found to be associated with higher risks of deficiency. Therefore, patients with IBD, especially young patients with CD who have undergone bowel resection surgery, need more attention paid to micronutrition.
 The incidence of micronutrient deficiency was high (39.0%). Factors including CD, bowel operation, and younger ages were found to be associated with higher risks of deficiency. Therefore, patients with IBD, especially young patients with CD who have undergone bowel resection surgery, need more attention paid to micronutrition.
  Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a common disease, with a complex genetic background. Dogs with severe CHD sometimes also suffer from osteoarthritis (OA), an inflammatory, often painful and incurable condition. Previous studies have reported breed-specific genetic loci associated with different hip dysplasia and OA phenotypes. However, the independent replication of the known associations within or across breeds has been difficult due to variable phenotype measures, inadequate sample sizes and the existence of population specific variants.
 
  We execute a validation study of 46 genetic markers in a cohort of nearly 1600 dogs from ten different breeds. We categorize the dogs into cases and controls according to the hip scoring system defined by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). We validate 21 different loci associated on fourteen chromosomes.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Y-27632.html  Twenty of these associated with CHD in specific breeds, whereas one locus is unique to the across-breed study. We show that genes involved in the neddylation pathway are enriched among the genes in the validated loci.