Assessing perceived quality of primary care under hospital-township health centre integration: A cross-sectional study in China

Since the new round of health care reform in 2009, the vertical integration of hospitals and primary health institutions has become widely implemented in China as an efficient method for improving quality of primary care. This study aimed to answer the following questions: (a) What is the perceived quality of township health centres (THCs) under integration? (B) What differences could be observed among the three typical integration models, namely, private hospital-THC integration, public hospital-THC integration, and loose collaboration? Two rounds of cross-sectional surveys were conducted from November 2016 to June 2018. The Chinese version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool was used to evaluate perceived quality of sample THCs, and 1118 adult patients were interviewed in total. Multiple linear regressions were employed to compare the quality scores between two survey rounds and among different integration models after controlling for potential confounders. The results revealed that the quality of care significantly improved under private hospital-THC integration as observed by comparing two survey rounds, while no change or slight changes were observed in the other two models. The difference observed among the three models was that the perceived quality of THCs integrated with private hospitals was worse than that of THCs integrated with public hospitals and THCs under loose collaboration, while no significant difference was observed between public hospital-THC integration and loose collaboration. Increased attention should be given to highlighting the tight integration between hospitals and THCs and the different roles played by private and public hospitals in the current reform.     

乳腺密度对浸润性小叶癌术前MRI评估的影响

目的:探讨MRI在浸润性小叶癌(ILC)术前诊断中的应用价值，并评估乳腺密度对其影响。方法:选取75例术前30天内行MRI检查的I-Ⅲ期ILC患者列入本项研究，根据腺体含量评估乳腺密度，在MRI下测量肿瘤大小，并对比其与病理大小的一致性。结果:75例入组患者中26例（34.7%）患者经MRI评估发现新的可疑病灶，20例（26.7%）患者改变了手术方式。高密度乳腺型患者额外病灶检出率明显高于低密度乳腺型患者（51.6% vs 22.7%，P=0.010）。MRI评估肿瘤大小在低密度乳腺型患者中容易被低估（36.4% vs 12.9%，P=0.024），在高密度乳腺型患者中容易被高估（6.8% vs 29.0%，P=0.010），但两组患者与病理大小一致性的比例无明显差异。结论:ILC患者术前乳腺MRI检查能够提高额外恶性肿瘤的检出率，而乳腺密度是影响MRI评估的重要因素。     

Uncertainty evaluation at three spatial scales for the NDVI-based VWC estimation method used in the SMAP algorithm

Vegetation water content (VWC) is the key input parameter for a soil moisture retrieval algorithm based on microwave remote sensing, and VWC uncertainty can limit the estimated accuracy of soil moisture. There has been little research on VWC algorithm development and validation in China, and the uncertainty of the VWC estimation method has not been well evaluated. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the uncertainty of the VWC estimation method used in the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) algorithm on three spatial scales (the point-scale, 30 m scale, and 1 km scale) for maize in northeast China. Results from three ground experimental datasets showed that the SMAP VWC estimation method was strongly biased with an average overestimation of 1.16 kg m^?2,1.04 kg m^?2, and 1.13 kg m^?2 for the point-scale, 30 m scale, and 1 km scale respectively, and maximum bias occurred in the mid-stage of maize. Also, a new power relationship between NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and VWC was proposed for the 30 m scale based on Sentinel 2 NDVI and field VWC values from 2017 experiment, with respective R² (coefficient of determination) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) values of 0.80 and 0.67 kg m^?2. The results confirmed that this power relationship was still suitable for VWC estimation at the 1 km scale, and it has smaller bias than the original SMAP VWC method. Future work will be carried out to evaluate the applicability of this VWC estimation method over a lager region. It is expected that it can improve the accuracy of soil moisture by providing high precision VWC input parameters.     

漏斗胸Nuss矫形术对胸廓的影响及相关因素分析

目的通过CT影像测量了解漏斗胸Nuss矫形术前后胸廓径线的改变情况,探讨并分析Nuss矫形术对胸廓的影响及相关因素。方法对2014年1月至2018年12月郑州大学第一附属医院收治的50例行漏斗胸Nuss矫形术患儿的临床资料进行回顾性分析。50例患儿中男43例,女7例。所有患儿中存在脊柱侧弯6例,胸廓不对称12例,胸骨旋转11例。通过CT影像测量其放置矫形器前及取出矫形器后胸廓各椎体平面最大横内径及该平面胸脊间的距离,通过配对样本t检验比较矫形前后各径线的改变情况,以及通过独立样本t检验分析在不同年龄、性别、矫形时间、漏斗胸对称与否、是否合并脊柱侧弯等情况间的差异性。结果50例患儿均顺利完成矫形器置入术及矫形器拔除术,无明显术中及术后并发症,Nuss矫形后较矫形前相比,胸廓前后径在第8~12胸椎水平均较前增加,第3~5胸椎平面较前减小,胸廓横径在第8~10胸椎平面较前减小;年龄≤10岁、矫形时长≥2年及女性患儿胸廓前后径改变量在多个胸椎平面分别较年龄>10岁、矫形时长<2年及男性患儿大,P<0.05,差异具有统计学意义。结论漏斗胸Nuss矫形后前胸壁凹陷较前明显改善,并且在不同年龄和不同矫形时长间存在差异性,年龄较小及适当增加矫形时间可获得较好的矫形效果,而胸廓横径生长在一定程度上受限。     

妊娠合并右心感染性心内膜炎的临床特征及母婴结局的文献分析

目的探讨妊娠合并右心感染性心内膜炎的临床特征、处理策略和母婴结局,为疾病的诊断和治疗提供理论依据。方法在中国知网、万方数据库、维普网、中国生物医学文献服务系统、PubMed、OVID、EMbase、ScienceDirect数据库检索相关文献,提取临床资料,分析妊娠合并右心感染性心内膜炎的临床表现、危险因素、赘生物位置、血培养结果、治疗策略和母婴结局等。结果纳入15篇文献,共18例患者。患者年龄为(27.7±4.8)岁,发病孕周为(27.8±6.9)周。发热(14例)、咳嗽(12例)、贫血(8例)、气短或呼吸困难(8例)是最常见的症状。心脏听诊时7例可闻及杂音,其中6例为收缩期杂音,1例未明确杂音类型,5例明确心脏听诊无杂音。9例合并肺栓塞和5例合并心力衰竭。危险因素主要为先天性心脏病(10/18)和静脉药瘾史(6/18)。赘生物附着位置以三尖瓣居多(10/18),其次为肺动脉瓣(4/18)。血培养阳性率高(15/16),主要包括葡萄球菌(9/15)及链球菌(3/15)。处理策略上,多以剖宫产适时终止妊娠,针对心内膜炎方面,在应用足量足疗程抗生素的基础上,11例患者行心脏手术,术式主要包括赘生物清除术、瓣膜修复或置换术以及先天性心脏病的手术等,根据患者的孕周、病情和心肺功能等具体情况决定手术在终止妊娠之前、之后或同期进行。18例患者全部存活,新生儿1例死亡(妊娠28周时行剖宫产分娩,因重度窒息死亡)。产妇随访情况基本良好。结论妊娠合并右心感染性心内膜炎临床少见且病情复杂,需及早诊断并实施个体化治疗方案。给予足量足疗程抗生素、选择合适的手术方案以及终止妊娠的时机,对于母婴结局具有重要意义。     

Connexin 36 Mediates Orofacial Pain Hypersensitivity Through GluK2 and TRPA1

Trigeminal neuralgia is a debilitating condition, and the pain easily spreads to other parts of the face. Here, we established a mouse model of partial transection of the infraorbital nerve (pT-ION) and found that the Connexin 36 (Cx36) inhibitor mefloquine caused greater alleviation of pT-ION-induced cold allodynia compared to the reduction of mechanical allodynia. Mefloquine reversed the pT-ION-induced upregulation of Cx36, glutamate receptor ionotropic kainate 2 (GluK2), transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), and phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase (p-ERK) in the trigeminal ganglion. Cold allodynia but not mechanical allodynia induced by pT-ION or by virus-mediated overexpression of Cx36 in the trigeminal ganglion was reversed by the GluK2 antagonist NS102, and knocking down Cx36 expression in Nav1.8-expressing nociceptors by injecting virus into the orofacial skin area of Nav1.8-Cre mice attenuated cold allodynia but not mechanical allodynia. In conclusion, we show that Cx36 contributes greatly to the development of orofacial pain hypersensitivity through GluK2, TRPA1, and p-ERK signaling.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s12264-020-00594-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Investigation of Bimetallic Nickel Catalysts in Catalyst‐Transfer Polymerization of π‐Conjugated Polymers

A comparative study involving bimetallic nickel catalysts designed from disubstituted N,N,N′,N′‐tetra(diphenylphosphanylmethyl)benzene diamine bridging ligands is reported. Catalyst behavior is explored in the Kumada catalyst‐transfer polymerization (KCTP) using poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the model system. The success of a controlled polymerization is monitored by analyzing monomer conversion, degree of polymerization, end‐group identity, and molecular weight distribution. The characterization of P3HT obtained from KCTP initiated with the bimetallic catalysts shows chain‐growth behavior; however, the presence of Br/Br end‐groups and broader molecular weight distribution reveals a reduced controlled polymerization compared to the commonly employed Ni(dppp)Cl₂. The observed increase in intermolecular chain transfer and termination processes in KCTP initiation with the bimetallic catalysts can be attributed to a weaker Ni(0)‐π‐aryl complex interaction, which is caused by increased steric crowding of the coordination sphere.     

Association Study of Matrix Metalloproteinases Gene Polymorphisms with Susceptibility to Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: Association of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) gene polymorphisms with rheumatoid arthritis is controversial. We conduct a meta-analysis to clarify this dispute.

Methods: We systematically searched the electronic PUBMED, EMBASE and CNKI databases for research articles about MMPs (MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9) gene polymorphisms and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) up to January 2015. According to the heterogeneity, fixed-effects or random-effects models were used to calculate crude odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

Results: A total of 11 articles involving 2143 cases and 2049 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, no significant associations were observed between MMP-1-1607 1G/2G polymorphism and RA. Stratification by ethnicity, no significant associations were observed in Caucasian populations. Similarly, no significant associations were observed between MMP-3-1171 5A/6A, MMP-9-1562 C/T polymorphisms and RA in overall and Caucasian populations, respectively. However, a weak association was found between MMP-2-1306 C/T polymorphism and RA (C vs. T, OR?=?0.813, 95%CI?=?0.694–0.953, p?=?0.010) in overall populations.

Conclusions: The present meta-analysis suggests that MMP-1-1607 1G/2G, MMP-3-1171 5A/6A, MMP-9-1562 C/T polymorphisms are not associated with the susceptibility of RA, but MMP-2 -1306 C/T is weakly associated with susceptibility to RA. Further studies with more sample size are needed for definitive conclusions.