Effects of exercise on sleep among young women with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Statement of the problemGeneralized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and disturbed sleep are prevalent, debilitating, and frequently comorbid problems for which successful treatment remains limited. Exercise can promote sleep but whether it does among GAD patients is unknown.MethodsThirty sedentary women (18−37 y) with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of GAD were randomized to six weeks of resistance (RET) or aerobic exercise training (AET), or waitlist (WL). RET and AET involved twice-weekly sessions of either lower-body weightlifting or leg cycling matched on multiple features of exercise. Outcomes included total sleep time (TST), lights out time, awakening out of bed time, time in bed (TIB), sleep onset latency (SOL), wakefulness after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency. Hedges' d effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for each exercise condition compared to WL. Regression examined baseline associations between anxiety and sleep and associated change.ResultsTwenty-two of 26 participants reported poor baseline sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index > 5). RET significantly decreased weekend TIB (d = −1.79; [−2.89,−0.70]) and SOL (d = −1.30; [−2.32,−0.28]), and significantly increased weekend sleep efficiency (d = 1.30; [0.29,2.32]). AET significantly reduced weekend TIB (d = −1.13; [−2.16,−0.11]) and SOL (d = −1.08; [−2.09,−0.06]). Reduced GAD clinical severity rating was significantly associated with improved weekend sleep efficiency among RET (t₆ = −3.48, p ≤ 0.013).ConclusionsShort-term exercise training improves sleep outcomes among GAD patients, especially for RET and weekend sleep. Findings suggest improved sleep may be associated with reduced clinical severity among GAD patients.     

Cutting efficiency of diamond burs operated with electric high‐speed dental handpiece on zirconia

Zirconia‐based dental restorations are becoming used more commonly. However, limited attention has been given to the difficulties experienced, concerning cutting, in removing the restorations when needed. The aim of the present study was to compare the cutting efficiency of diamond burs, operated using an electric high‐speed dental handpiece, on zirconia (Zir) with those on lithium disilicate glass–ceramic (LD) and leucite glass–ceramic (L). In addition, evaluation of the cutting efficiency of diamond burs on Zir of different thicknesses was performed. Specimens of Zir were prepared with thicknesses of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 mm, and specimens of LD and L were prepared with a thickness of 1.0 mm. Cutting tests were performed using diamond burs with super coarse (SC) and coarse (C) grains. The handpiece was operated at 150,000 rpm with a cutting force of 0.9 N. The results demonstrated that cutting of Zir took about 1.5‐ and 7‐fold longer than cutting of LD and L, respectively. The SC grains showed significantly higher cutting efficiency on Zir than the C grains. However, when the thickness of Zir increased, the cutting depth was significantly decreased. As it is suggested that cutting of zirconia is time consuming, this should be taken into consideration in advance when working with zirconia restorations.     

Establishment of a scoring system for predicting the difficulty level of high-intensity focussed ultrasound ablation of uterine fibroids

Purpose: To establish a scoring system that predicts the difficulty level of high-intensity focussed ultrasound (HIFU) ablation of uterine fibroids.

Materials and methods: Four hundred and twenty-two patients with fibroids were enrolled. The energy efficiency factor (EEF) and sonication time were set as dependent variables, with factors possibly affecting EEF and sonication time including age, body mass index (BMI), the volume of fibroids, the location of the uterus, the type of fibroids, the signal intensity on the T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), the enhancement type, the thickness of the rectus abdominis and the subcutaneous fat layer, the distance from the anterior/posterior surface of the fibroid to the skin, and the abdominal wall scars were set as predictors for building optimal scaling regression models.

Results: The volume of the fibroids, the location of the uterus, the signal intensity on T2WI, enhancement type, rectus abdominis thickness, subcutaneous fat thickness, and distance from the anterior surface of fibroid to the skin were related to EEF. Signal intensity on T2WI, the volume of fibroids, distance from the posterior surface of fibroid to the skin, and enhancement type were related to sonication time. Models that can predict the difficulty level of HIFU for fibroids have been established: for EEF, y?′?=?0.338X?′₁???0.231X?′₂+0.156X?′₃+0.167X?′₄?; for sonication time, y?=?0.227X₁+0.321X₂+0.157X₃+0.194X₄.

Conclusions: A scoring system for predicting the difficulty level of HIFU treatment for uterine fibroids has been established and it can be used to help select patients and to predict the sonication time for a given fibroid.     

Why women may live longer than men do? A telomere-length regulated and diet-based entropic assessment

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Metabolic scaling law for mouse fetal and placental weight

Human birth weight does not scale linearly with the weight of the placenta: placental mass (PM) is proportional to the fetal mass (FM) raised to the scaling exponent of 0.75 (PM ∼ FM^0.75) 1 and 2. The mouse is a common model for studying genetic and physiological backgrounds of placental development, function and pathologies. However, to date it has not been known how placental weight scales relative to embryo weight in mice.     

不同钾肥施用量对二年生射干生长、产量和品质的影响

目的 探究不同钾肥施用量对二年生射干生长、产量和品质的影响，为实现射干的高产优质栽培提供合理的施钾依据。方法 在施用氮肥、磷肥均为120 kg·hm^-2的基础上，设置0（K₀）、60（K₆₀）、120（K₁₂₀）、180（K₁₈₀）、240（K₂₄₀） kg·hm^-2共5个施钾处理，通过大田试验研究不同钾肥施用量处理对二年生射干农艺性状、药材产量、黄酮类成分含量和钾肥利用效率的影响。结果 施用钾肥可促进射干根系发育及分蘖苗产生，显著提高射干药材产量，与K₀处理相比增施钾肥射干增产16.0%~44.0%，其中K₁₈₀处理射干产量最高。不同钾肥施用量处理组均能促进射干根茎中的药效成分黄酮类物质的积累，其中K₁₂₀处理组芒果苷、射干苷、野鸢尾苷、鸢尾黄素、野鸢尾黄素、次野鸢尾黄素6种黄酮类成分的总积累量与K₀处理组比较增加33.2%；同时还能促进射干氮、钾、镁、铁、锌等元素的积累。随钾肥施用量增加，射干根茎钾积累量呈现先增加后减小趋势；偏生产力和根茎及叶片吸收率呈现逐渐降低的趋势；而钾肥的农学效率则在低钾至中高钾施用量时较高，达到高钾状态后明显下降。结合主成分分析对射干综合品质得分进行排名，由高到低的顺序为K₁₂₀>K₁₈₀>K₂₄₀>K₆₀>K₀。结论 综合考虑二年生射干产量、品质、钾肥利用效率等因素，在团风县射干种植生产中推荐钾肥施用量以120~166 kg·hm^-2为宜。     

儿童细菌性脑膜炎与病毒性脑炎临床及实验室检查特点

目的研究儿童细菌性脑膜炎与病毒性脑炎临床特点及血清基质蛋白金属酶-9(MMP-9)、降钙素原(PCT)、β2-微球蛋白(β2-MG)及C-反应蛋白(CRP)水平,分析各指标对两者鉴别诊断价值。方法选取2017年10月-2019年10月郑州大学附属儿童医院细菌性脑膜炎和病毒性脑炎患儿共80例,其中细菌性脑膜炎组49例,病毒性脑炎组31例,观察患儿症状,同时检测血清MMP-9、PCT、β2-MG和CRP水平并进行比较,作受试者工作特征曲线(ROC)分析各指标对细菌性脑膜炎和病毒性脑炎鉴别诊断价值。结果细菌性脑膜炎组患儿意识障碍、囟门张力增加和肺炎发生率高于病毒性脑炎组,精神萎靡、嗜睡和皮疹发生率低于病毒性脑炎组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);细菌性脑膜炎组血清MMP-9、PCT、β2-MG和CRP水平高于病毒性脑炎组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);意识障碍、肺炎以及血清CRP和PCT水平对细菌性脑膜炎和病毒性脑炎患儿鉴别诊断的敏感度分别为46.93%、46.93%、75.51%和83.67%,特异度分别为77.42%、80.65%、83.87%和90.32%,各指标联合诊断的曲线下面积为0.917,敏感度为91.84%,特异度为83.87%。结论细菌性脑膜炎和病毒性脑炎患儿临床特点和血清MMP-9、PCT、β2-MG和CRP水平均存在明显差异,综合各项指标进行分析可为临床鉴别诊断提供参考信息。