Circ_002664/miR-182–5p/Herpud1 pathway importantly contributes to OGD/R-induced neuronal cell apoptosis

ObjectiveApoptosis is a prominent form of neuron death in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion-induced injury. Accompanied with the pathogenesis, Circ_002664 is upregulated. However, its role in the neuron apoptosis and the underlying mechanisms are unknown.MethodsIn this study, HT22 cells were treated with oxygen glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R). The cell viability, apoptosis, proliferation and mitochondrial potential were examined. The expressions of interested genes, Circ_002664, miR-182–5p and Herpud1, were measured. The roles of these genes in OGD/R-induced cell injury were investigated by knockdown, overexpression alone or in combination. Additionally, the interactions between Circ_002664, miR-182–5p and Herpud1 were validated by luciferase report assay. The levels of MAP2, CHOP, Cytochrome C (CYC) and cleaved caspase-3 were determined.ResultsOGD/R treatment significantly increased cell apoptosis, decreased cell proliferation and mitochondrial potential, as well as increased Circ_002664 and Herpud1 expressions, and decreased miR-182–5p level. Circ_002664 knockdown markedly inhibited the effects by OGD/R on cell survival and altered expression of miR-182–5p and Herpud1. MiR-182–5p was observed sponged by Circ_002664 and negatively mediated its effect above mentioned, and this was by directly targeting Herpud1. Additionally, it was observed that CHOP expressions were regulated by Circ_002664/miR-182–5p/Herpud1 pathway, and in turn mediated its regulation in CYC and cleaved caspase-3.ConclusionsIn summary, our data showed that the Circ_002664 importantly contributed to neuronal cell apoptosis induced by OGD/R treatment, and this might be achieved by directly targeting miR-182–5p/Herpud1 pathway.     

头皮发际区微针疗法对血管性痴呆患者认知功能及内皮素的影响

目的:探讨头皮发际区微针疗法治疗血管性痴呆(VD)的疗效。方法:60例VD患者随机分为两组。其中观测组用头皮发际区微针疗法,对照组用口服药物疗法。方法:采用放射免疫法捡测血浆内皮素(ET)的浓度,采用MMSE和ADL量表评定患者的认知功能、社会活动功能及日常生活能力。结果:两组疗效比较,观测组的总有效率为60.00%,对照组的总有效率为53.33%,二者差异有统计学意义(P0.05);治疗后两组MMSE、ADL量表评分与治疗前自身比较均有显著改善(P0.01);治疗后,观测组的MMSE、ADL量表评分与对照组相比较改善更为明显(P0.05);两组血浆ET水平治疗后较治疗前自身比较均有显著下降(P0.01);治疗后,观测组血浆ET水平与对照组比较,下降更为明显(P0.05)。结论:头皮发际区微针疗法对于VD患者具有确切疗效,其治疗机理与降低血浆ET含量相关。     

Disrupted resting‐state functional connectivity and its changing trend in migraine suffers

Chronic pain has been linked with learning and memory processes and functional changes in brain plasticity in its development and maintenance via neuroimaging studies. However, the principle of reorganization of the migraine brain network as the brain progresses into chronic pain remain poorly understood. Here, using resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs‐fMRI) and graph theory approaches, we aimed to investigate the dynamic dysfunctional connectivity in 108 patients with migraine without aura (MWoA) and 30 gender‐matched healthy controls (HC). All patients were divided into 40 groups using a sliding boxcar grouping of subjects in disease duration order. As compared with HC, nonparametric permutation tests were applied for between‐group comparisons of functional connectivity strength in each patient group. We focused only on the between‐group differences of functional connections in MWoA, and the situation how these different connections were organized along with the changing trend. As the disease duration increased, the presence of chronic headache altered the functional connectivity from the local central nervous system (CNS) to a disruption in the whole‐brain networks. These dysfunctional connections integrated into a connected component in relatively longer migraine duration groups, suggesting an abnormal integrated network configuration with ongoing central changes for long‐term migraine. Within these between‐group differences of the connected component, there were contained a small number of brain regions that had disproportionately numerous connections. Moreover, these brain regions exhibited a tendency to link to each other were organized into a strongly interconnected community. These interconnected brain regions were mainly located in the sensory‐discriminative brain areas. Our results exhibited a working model of the central mechanisms of migraine where the brain functional connectivity was altered from the local central nervous system to a densely interconnected center, which may extend our understanding of the role of learning mechanisms which are likely involved in maintenance of chronic pain. Hum Brain Mapp 36:1892–1907, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc .     

湖沼地区钉螺指数的初步研究

目的利用遥感与地理信息系统(GIS)技术自动确定钉螺孳生地。方法  利用丰水期与枯水期遥感图像，分别自动计算与提取水体指数(NDWI)，两图像水体指数相减，获得“冬陆夏水”区域；在“冬陆夏水”区域计算植被指数(NDVI)，并提取有植被覆盖的区域；将提取的区域与已有螺情资料进行空间叠加对比分析。结果在鄱阳湖区，两时相中NDWI>0. 05的区域之差与NDVI>0. 20的区域的交集，为适宜钉螺孳生的区域。结论根据适宜钉螺孳生的生态条件，利用遥感与GIS技术可以快速获得钉螺的孳生地及其面积。         

Common genetic variants have associations with human cortical brain regions and risk of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a highly heritable mental disorder and is reported to be associated with measurements in cortical regions of the human brain. In this study, we considered genome-wide association studies to uncover genetic effects on cortical regions and prodromal symptoms of schizophrenia. Specifically, area, thickness, and volume of 66 cortical regions derived from magnetic resonance imaging scans of 1,445 children and adolescents from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort were studied. Two common variants were identified as being associated with two prefrontal cortical regions (one significant variant rs11601331 on chromosome 11p11 for right rostral middle frontal gyral area, p = 1.97 × 10 ⁻⁸; one suggestive variant rs2345981 on chromosome 6q11 for left frontal pole gyral volume, p = 2.07 × 10 ⁻⁷), where the significance of rs11601331 was independently replicated on the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics study of size 1,239 (p = 9.19 × 10 ⁻³). Moreover, genetic effects on schizophrenia were investigated based on a sample of 8,719 subjects. The two identified variants rs11601331 and rs2345981 showed significant association with the longest prodromal symptoms duration (p = 0.048 and p = 0.027, respectively).     

Vitamin C and eggshell membrane facilitate orthodontic tooth movement and induce histological changes in the periodontal tissue

ObjectivesCollagen remodeling of the periodontal tissue is an important mechanism that involves several biologically active substances to accelerate orthodontic tooth movement. It is known that Vitamin C (VC) enhances collagen production and induces tooth movement. Moreover, the eggshell membrane (ESM) is an integral component of various formulations used to promote wound healing. The purpose of our study was to determine the effects of combined treatment with VC and ESM on periodontal tissues during tooth movement.MethodsNine-week-old male osteogenic disorder Shionogi rats were randomized into four groups: control, VC, ESM, and VC + ESM. The control group was given tap water, and the VC, ESM, and VC + ESM groups were orally administered 0.1% VC solution, 1 wt% ESM solution, and a combination of 0.1 wt% VC and 1 wt% ESM solutions, respectively. A force of 25 or 75 g was applied for 10 days to produce orthodontic tooth movement. Distances of tooth movement were measured on days 3, 7, and 10 of treatment. Histological examination of the periodontal ligament was performed to determine the increase in type I and III collagen levels in response to treatment.ResultsDistances of tooth movement were significantly greater in the VC + ESM group than in the control group. The compression area of the alveolar bone showed increased osteoclastic activity and higher levels of bone resorption in the VC + ESM group. Expression levels of type I and III collagen in the tension area of the alveolar bone were higher in the VC + ESM group than in the control group.ConclusionsThis study revealed that the combined administration of VC and ESM accelerated tooth movement by protecting the periodontal tissue during orthodontic treatment. The combined clinical application of VC and ESM could potentially shorten orthodontic treatment time.     

药品电子监管系统在四川部分地区基层零售药店试点运行中的问题与对策

目的探索药品电子监管系统运行中存在的问题,为改善与提高四川地区零售药店药品电子监管效能提供参考。方法采取入户巡访、电话访问、网络交流等方式,对四川部分地区基层零售药店和消费者进行调查分析,并据此提出改善的建议。结果与结论电子监管在运行过程中存在着法律法规空白、电子监管系统缺陷等问题。药品电子监管要在西部地区基层零售药店顺利运行,必须加强基础设施建设,强化行政监管力度,引导药店业主积极参与电子监管工作。     

Quality of life and control of allergic rhinitis in patients from regions beyond western Europe and the United States

There is comparatively little information on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in subjects with allergic rhinitis (AR) or allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (AR/C) in countries beyond western Europe and North America. The primary aim of this investigation was therefore to review and assess the information in the public domain on HRQoL in AR/C patients from diverse regions of the world, represented by different countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey. Second, in view of the absence of a standardized definition for ‘AR control’, the review aimed to determine whether a working definition of AR/C can be inferred from validated tests or other instruments documented to date. Despite the comparatively low number of studies, this review demonstrated that overall the symptoms of AR/C impair the HRQoL of patients in these regions by adversely impacting sleep, daily activities, physical and mental status and social functioning, similar to that demonstrated in much larger numbers of studies of AR/C patients in Europe and the United States. Furthermore, the findings of the review suggest that ‘overall’ control of the disease should encompass reduction of nasal and ocular symptoms, as well as improvements in HRQoL, comorbid conditions and cognition. Although some instruments are currently available for measuring control of AR, none are capable of assessing all these aspects, emphasizing the need to develop appropriate new instruments.     

豫北地区现代护理事业的起步

直至20世纪20年代，河南豫北地区现代护理事业才开始真正起步。随着先进护理理念的引入，加拿大护理人员先后到来，现代化专业性质的医院开始建立，专门的护理学校建成，中国第一批专业护理人员毕业，这些都标志着现代护理事业在豫北扎下根基。究其原因，既有中国社会不断向现代化转变的宏观历史因素，它促使中国人主动接纳西方的、现代的医学；也有许多具体的原因，其中外国护理人员高尚的奉献精神、精湛的专业素养，起到了关键作用。     

Automated method for detecting and reading seven-segment digits from images of blood glucose metres and blood pressure monitors

Abstract

There is an increasing need for fast and accurate transfer of readings from blood glucose metres and blood pressure monitors to a smartphone mHealth application, without a dependency on Bluetooth technology. Most of the medical devices recommended for home monitoring use a seven-segment display to show the recorded measurement to the patient. We aimed to achieve accurate detection and reading of the seven-segment digits displayed on these medical devices using an image taken in a realistic scenario by a smartphone camera. A synthetic dataset of seven-segment digits was developed in order to train and test a digit classifier. A dataset containing realistic images of blood glucose metres and blood pressure monitors using a variety of smartphone cameras was also created. The digit classifier was evaluated on a dataset of seven-segment digits manually extracted from the medical device images. These datasets along with the code for its development have been made public. The developed algorithm first preprocessed the input image using retinex with two bilateral filters and adaptive histogram equalisation. Subsequently, the digit segments were automatically located within the image by two techniques operating in parallel: Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSER) and connected components of a binarised image. A filtering and clustering algorithm was then designed to combine digit segments to form seven-segment digits. The resulting digits were classified using a Histogram of Orientated Gradients (HOG) feature set and a neural network trained on the synthetic digits. The model achieved 93% accuracy on digits found on the medical devices. The digit location algorithm achieved a F1 score of 0.87 and 0.80 on images of blood glucose metres and blood pressure monitors respectively. Very few assumptions were made of the locations of the digits on the devices so that the proposed algorithm can be easily implemented on new devices.