Quantile regression and empirical likelihood for the analysis of longitudinal data with monotone missing responses due to dropout,with applications to quality of life measurements from clinical trials

The analysis of quality of life (QoL) data can be challenging due to the skewness of responses and the presence of missing data. In this paper, we propose a new weighted quantile regression method for estimating the conditional quantiles of QoL data with responses missing at random. The proposed method makes use of the correlation information within the same subject from an auxiliary mean regression model to enhance the estimation efficiency and takes into account of missing data mechanism. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimator have been studied and simulations are also conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed estimator. The proposed method has also been applied to the analysis of the QoL data from a clinical trial on early breast cancer, which motivated this study.     

Chalcone hybrids and their antimalarial activity

Malaria, one of the most striking, re-emerging infectious diseases caused by the genus Plasmodium, places a huge burden on global healthcare systems. A major challenge in the control and eradication of malaria is the continuous emergence of increasingly widespread drug-resistant malaria, creating an urgent need to develop novel antimalarial agents. Chalcone derivatives are ubiquitous in nature and have become indispensable units in medicinal chemistry applications due to their diverse biological profiles. Many chalcone derivatives demonstrate potential in vitro and in vivo antimalarial activity, so chalcone could be a useful template for the development of novel antimalarial agents. This review covers the recent development of chalcone hybrids as antimalarial agents. The critical aspects of the design and structure–activity relationship of these compounds are also discussed.     

黄芪活血功效及现代药理学研究进展

黄芪始载于《神农本草经》,有补气升阳、益卫固表,利水消肿,托毒生肌之效。被誉为补气健脾之要药,临床上常用于气虚乏力、脾虚泄泻等疾病,已为医者所熟知。近年来,研究学者围绕其补气、健脾、利水功效机制已有较全面的认识。然陶弘景在《本草经集注》首载黄芪"逐五脏间恶血",表明本品兼有活血作用。目前,对于本品活血作用机制阐释,中医常基于"补气活血""气行血行"理论进行论证,但并不等同于本品无活血作用。通过梳理历代本草文献中对黄芪的记载,发现其活血作用应用广泛。综合传统方剂与现代方剂中有关其活血作用的应用,本品在方中行活血通络、活血利水、活血扶正作用,尤能体现其活血作用。且现代药理学研究在有关瘀血病理指标的分子机制中,黄芪有很好的调控作用,表明黄芪有活血作用,但未深入探究,存在研究价值。该文从历代文献对黄芪活血功效的论述、黄芪活血作用的临床应用及现代药理学研究深入探讨其活血作用机制,以期扩展黄芪的临床应用范围,为临床治疗提供理论指导。     

医用粘胶相关性皮肤损伤的文献计量学分析

目的: 应用文献计量学方法,分析国内外医用粘胶相关性皮肤损伤（Medical adhesive-related skin injuries,MARSI）文献的研究主题和热点。方法: 检索Cochrane Library、PubMed、EMbase、Web of science、sinoMed、CNKI、Wanfang、VIP等数据库MARSI相关文献,检索时限为建库至2019年5月。采用SPSS 22.0 软件进行文献计量分析,利用gCLUTO统计对国内外高频主题词进行聚类分析。结果: 共纳入论文103篇,其中外文文献占总文献量的27.18%,中文文献占总文献量的72.82%。聚类分析将国内外高频主题词聚为4大类,依次为皮肤损伤及损伤类型、相关危险因素、风险评估及风险管理、护理干预措施。结论: MARSI仍是国内外研究的热点,其发病机制研究仍处于探索阶段,目前尚缺乏有效的预防策略,研究领域较局限。在今后的研究中,应加强MARSI预防的研究、注重多学科合作。