先天性肺静脉异位引流的双源CT与超声心动图对比研究

对比双源CT(DSCT)和超声心动图(TTE)对先天性肺静脉异位引流(APVC)诊断的价值,以探讨DSCT诊断APVC的优势。回顾性研究行DSCT检查的APVC 31例,其中行手术治疗16例,术前均行DSCT和TTE检查;而未行手术治疗15例,其中行TTE检查10例。统计分析异常静脉的数量、引流的解剖部位和途径,以及合并畸形。其中手术病例,还与手术结果对照。手术病例16例中,诊断异常肺静脉数量及引流部位与途径,DSCT的准确率分别为98%(49/50)、93.8%(15/16)、TTE准确率分别为80%(40/50)、56.3%(9/16),差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05);合并畸形,DSCT和TTE的准确率分别为89.1%(41/46)、78.3%(36/46),差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。未手术病例15例,DSCT诊断为部分性肺静脉异位引流,但TTE诊断率仅40%(4/10)。因此,与TTE对比,DSCT在准确、全面诊断APVC方面具有明显优势,提示APVC患者术前应常规行DSCT检查。     

左心辅助装置流入管道不同头部结构的数值模拟

头部结构是决定左心辅助装置(LVAD)流入管道优劣的关键结构,流入管道头部结构对心室及管道内的血液相容性和流入管道插入心尖后的流入口吸壁堵塞影响很大。本文设计了四种不同头部结构的流入管道,建立了这四种临床上使用较多的流入管道插入心尖的数值模型,用流体力学软件Fluent计算流入管道的血流动力学特性,并对四种管道的回流、涡流等流动情况和压力分布情况进行了研究。结果表明喇叭口状流入管道的流速分布均匀,无回流和低速流动区,血液相容性最好,喇叭口状结构还可防止吸壁堵塞的发生;笼状结构的流入管道涡流较严重,容易产生血栓,且心室壁处的低压极易引起心室塌陷。喇叭口状流入管道的血液相容性好且不易发生吸壁,适用于长期使用的LVAD。     

Smoothed functional principal component analysis for testing association of the entire allelic spectrum of genetic variation

Fast and cheaper next-generation sequencing technologies will generate unprecedentedly massive and highly dimensional genetic variation data that allow nearly complete evaluation of genetic variation including both common and rare variants. There are two types of association tests: variant-by-variant test and group test. The variant-by-variant test is designed to test the association of common variants, while the group test is suitable to collectively test the association of multiple rare variants. We propose here a smoothed functional principal component analysis (SFPCA) statistic as a general approach for testing association of the entire allelic spectrum of genetic variation (both common and rare variants), which utilizes the merits of both variant-by-variant analysis and group tests. By intensive simulations, we demonstrate that the SFPCA statistic has the correct type 1 error rates and much higher power than the existing methods to detect association of (1) common variants, (2) rare variants, (3) both common and rare variants and (4) variants with opposite directions of effects. To further evaluate its performance, the SFPCA statistic is applied to ANGPTL4 sequence and six continuous phenotypes data from the Dallas Heart Study as an example for testing association of rare variants and a GWAS of schizophrenia data as an example for testing association of common variants. The results show that the SFPCA statistic has much smaller P-values than many existing statistics in both real data analysis examples.     

Baicalein reduces lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation via suppressing JAK/STATs activation and ROS production

Objective

To investigate the precise molecular mechanisms by which baicalein exerts beneficial biochemical activities in RAW264.7 macrophages treated with LPS.

Materials and methods

RAW264.7 cells were cultured in the absence or presence of baicalein together with or without LPS. iNOS and COX-2 expression were measured by western blot and RT-PCR analyses. TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were determined by using double-antibody sandwich ELISA. Phosphorylations of JAK1 and JAK2, and of STAT1 and STAT3 were detected by western blotting. Nuclear translocation of STAT1 and STAT3 was visualized by confocal microscopy. ROS production was detected by ROS assay.

Results

Baicalein significantly reduced the phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3 and the phosphorylation of JAK1 and JAK2, but without affecting MAPKs phosphorylation in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Baicalein suppressed the nuclear translocation of STAT1 and STAT3 and inhibited production of iNOS upon LPS-stimulation, resulting in the inhibition of releases of NO and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, we found that baicalein reduced the LPS-induced accumulation of ROS, confirming that baicalein serves as an antioxidant.

Conclusions

Our results suggested that suppressing JAK/STATs activation and interfering with ROS production might contribute to the anti-inflammatory action of baicalein in macrophages.     

Inertia sensor-based guidance system for upperlimb posture correction

Stroke rehabilitation is labor-intensive and time-consuming. To assist patients and therapists alike, we propose a wearable system that measures orientation and corrects arm posture using vibrotactile actuators. The system evaluates user posture with respect to a reference and gives feedback in the form of vibration patterns. Users correct their arm posture, one DOF at a time, by following a protocol starting from the shoulder up to the forearm. Five users evaluated the proposed system by replicating ten different postures. Experimental results demonstrated system robustness and showed that some postures were easier to mimic depending on their naturalness.     

Efficacy of Entecavir Treatment for up to 5 Years in Nucleos(t)ide-Na?ve Chronic Hepatitis B Patients in Real Life

Objective: To analyze the efficacy and safety of entecavir (ETV) treatment for up to 5 years in nucleos(t)ide-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients in real life.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 230 nucleos(t)ide naïve chronic hepatitis B patients who received ETV 0.5 mg/day monotherapy for at least 3 months, of whom 113 were HBeAg positive and 117 were HBeAg negative. The primary endpoints was cumulative probability of achieving a virological response (undetectable serum HBV DNA, <100IU/mL). Secondary endpoints were rates of ALT normalization (ALT < upper limit of normal), HBeAg seroconversion, resistance, and safety.Results: The median follow-up duration was 27.5 months (3-73 months) and mean age was 42 years. With 230, 214, 180, 142, 88, 42 and 11 patients followed-up for at least 3 months,6 months, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years, respectively. In all, Incremental increases were observed in the rates of undetectable HBV DNA. 67.0%, 85.0%, 89.4%, 94.4%, 95.5%, 97.6%, 100% had undetectable HBV DNA at month 3, month 6, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years and 5 years. Proportions of patients achieving normal ALT were 73.9%, 85.5%, 82.8%, 89.4%, 80.7%, 85.7%, 100%, respectively. The rate of HBeAg seroconversion reached 21.4% and 15.4% at year2, 3, respectively. One patient achieved HBsAg seroclearance after 1 year, and achieved anti-HBs seroconversion at year 3. Of 180 patients, HBV DNA was detectable (partial virological response, PVR) in 19 patients at year 1 of follow-up, twelve of 14 (85.7%) patients with PVR need more than 1 year of continuous ETV therapy to achieved VR. At baseline, no ETV-resistance was detected in 25 ETV-naïve patients. One patient developed ETV-resistance mutations due to noncompliance. No serious adverse event was reported.Conclusion: Long-term ETV treatment of nucleos(t)ide-naïve was effective and safe in real life. Adjustment of ETV monotherapy in nucleos(t)ide-naïve patients with a partial virological response at 1 year may be unnecessary.     

Down-Regulated CK8 Expression in Human Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

As an intermediate filament protein, cytokeratin 8 (CK8) exerts multiple cellular functions. Moreover, it has been identified as a marker of notochord cells, which play essential roles in human nucleus pulposus (NP). However, the distribution of CK8 positive cells in human NP and their relationship with intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) have not been clarified until now. Here, we found the percentage of CK8 positive cells in IDD (25.7±4.14%) was significantly lower than that in normal and scoliosis NP (51.9±9.73% and 47.8±5.51%, respectively, p<0.05). Western blotting and qRT-PCR results confirmed the down-regulation of CK8 expression in IDD on both of protein and mRNA levels. Furthermore, approximately 37.4% of cell clusters were CK8 positive in IDD. Taken together, this is the first study to show a down-regulated CK8 expression and the percentage of CK8 positive cell clusters in IDD based upon multiple lines of evidence. Consequently, CK8 positive cells might be considered as a potential option in the development of cellular treatment strategies for NP repair.     

Functional nanostructure-loaded three-dimensional graphene foam as a non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor for reagentless glucose detection

Non-enzymatic and reagentless electrochemical sensors for convenient and sensitive detection of glucose are highly desirable for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes owing to their unique merits of simplicity and easy operation. Facile fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) sensing interface with non-enzymatic recognition groups and an immobilized electrochemical probe remains challenge. Herein, a novel non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor was developed for the sensitive and reagentless detection of glucose by loading functional nanostructure on 3D graphene. Monolithic and macroporous 3D graphene (3DG) foam grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) served as the electrode scaffold. Prussian blue (PB) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were first co-electrodeposited on 3DG (3DG/PB-AuNPs) as immobilized signal indicator and electron conductor. After a polydopamine (PDA) layer was introduced on 3DG/PB-AuNPs via facile self-polymerization of dopamine to stabilize internal PB probes and offer chemical reducibility, the second layer of AuNPs was in situ formed to assemble the recognition ligand, mercaptobenzoboric acid (MPBA). Owing to the high stability of PB and good affinity between MPBA and glucose, the non-enzymatic sensor was able to be used in reagentless detection of glucose with high selectivity, wide linear range (5 μM–65 μM) and low detection limit (1.5 μM). Furthermore, the sensor was used for the detection of glucose level in human serum samples.

A non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor was fabricated by loading functional nanostructure on three-dimensional graphene foam for reagentless detection of glucose with high sensitivity and stability.     

Chitin derived biochar for efficient capacitive deionization performance

The selection and preparation of an electrode material is the core of capacitive deionization. In order to obtain a material with a good deionization properties, we have designed an environmentally-friendly and simple way of preparing biochar. In this work, biochar was prepared by a thermal-deposition method and after chemical modification it was characterized with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The specific surface area of biochar modified by KOH is as high as 833.76 m² g⁻¹, but the specific surface area of the unmodified electrode material is only 126.43 m² g⁻¹. The electrochemical analysis (CV and EIS) of the biochar indicates that HC-800 has a lower charge transfer resistance and a higher specific capacitance, where the specific capacity of HC-800 reaches 120 F g⁻¹. A CDI property analysis of HC-800 shows a better electrosorption capacity of 11.52 mg g⁻¹ and better regeneration and cycling stability than CS-800. The desalination amount remains 87.23% after several cycles.

Schematic illustration of the fabrication of chitin derived biochar and KOH-activated chitin derived biochar electrodes for capacitive deionization.     

基于文献计量学的近10年我国男护士群体的研究现状及热点分析

目的通过文献计量分析,了解2009—2019年我国男护士群体的研究热点及发展趋势,为相关研究提供参考。方法通过万方、CNKI、维普及中国生物医学文献等数据库检索2009—2019年我国男护士相关文献,对纳入文献进行内容分析并使用bicomb 2.0软件和gCLUTO 1.0软件对关键词进行词频分析和双向聚类分析。结果共纳入931篇期刊文献,获得高频关键词25个,通过聚类分析获得3个研究热点,分别为男护士的工作优势与管理、男护士的心理健康以及男护生的护理教育。结论男护士群体的受关注程度日益提高,核心期刊论坛已初具雏形,但整体研究质量不佳,未来需强化科研设计及研究实施的科学性和严谨性,从而提高文献对临床实践的指导价值。