Search

BackgroundPancreatic islet transplantation via infusion through the portal vein, has become an established clinical treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes. Because the engraftment efficiency is low, new approaches for pancreatic islets implantation are sought. The goal of this study is to explore the possibility that a non-thermal irreversible electroporation (NTIRE) decellularized matrix in the liver could be used as an engraftment site for pancreatic islets.Materials and methodsPancreatic islets or saline controls were injected at sites pre-treated with NTIRE in the livers of 7 rats, 16 hours after NTIRE treatment. Seven days after the NTIRE treatment, islet graft function was assessed by detecting insulin and glucagon in the liver with immunohistochemistry.ResultsPancreatic islets implanted into a NTIRE-treated volume of liver became incorporated into the liver parenchyma and produced insulin and glucagon in 2 of the 7 rat livers. Potential reasons for the failure to observe pancreatic islets in the remaining 5/7 rats may include local inflammatory reaction, graft rejection, low numbers of starting islets, timing of implantation.ConclusionsThis study shows that pancreatic islets can become incorporated and function in an NTIRE-generated extracellular matrix niche, albeit the success rate is low. Advances in the field could be achieved by developing a better understanding of the mechanisms of failure and ways to combat these mechanisms.

Background Stroke is an acute cerebrovascular disease in which blood fails to flow into the brain, resulting in damage to brain tissue, with high rates of disability, death, and recurrence, and most of the related studies in Ningxia region are clinical analyses of strokes, which lack trend analysis of stroke hospitalization in Ningxia in recent years. Objective To analyze the disease prevalence characteristics and distribution of stroke hospitalized patients in Ningxia, and provide a basis for the development of comprehensive prevention and treatment measures for stroke. Methods The case home page data of 55 hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western medicine in Ningxia region were collected, and the data discharged from 2013 to 2019 with a primary diagnosis of stroke [International Classification of Diseases (ICD) -10 coded as I60-I63] were screened and analyzed. SPSS 24.0 software was applied to analyze the differences in gender and age using the chi-square test, and a geographic information system (GIS) was applied to analyze the distribution of stroke hospitalization rate data across Ningxia from 2013 to 2019 using global spatial auto correlation analysis. Results A total of 190 634 stroke patients were finally included. The hospitalization rate of stroke in Ningxia region showed an increasing trend year by year from 2013 to 2019 (hospitalization rates of 24.302/10 000, 30.045/10 000, 34.949/10 000, 39.397/10 000, 44.049/10 000, 47.617/10 000, and 52.944/10 000, respectively, χ2trend=5.982, P=0.014) , and the hospitalization rates were higher during the cold season of each year, with a significant peak in March and a slight decline thereafter. Among the stroke inpatients in Ningxia from 2013 to 2019, there were 167 194 cases of ischemic stroke and 23 440 cases of hemorrhagic stroke; there was significant difference between ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke patients in gender and age (χ2=473.533, 7 518.543, P

Objective To investigate the effects of anti-HLA donor-specific antibodies (DSA) and desensitization for DSA+patients on engraftment of haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT). Methods The patients who underwent haplo-HSCT and examinations for HLA antibodies and DSA in our department from March 2017 to July 2023 were recruited in this study.The effects of desensitization measure on engraftment in the DSA+patients after haplo-HSCT were analyzed. Results Among the 70 patients who underwent haplo-HSCT and test for HLA antibodies, 15(21.4%) patients were DSA positive, including 7(46.7%) cases of strong positive, 3(20.0%) cases of moderate positive, and 5(33.3%) cases of weak positive.The median duration for neutrophil implantation was significantly extended in the DSA+patients than the negative patients (P=0.027).For the 6 patients developed graft failure (GF), 4 were DSA+which was statistically higher than the DSA-patients (P=0.025).Multivariate regression analysis showed that DSA was an independent factor affecting GF (HR=9.273, 95%CI: 1.505~57.124, P=0.016).Among the 10 patients (7 strong positive and 3 moderate positive DSA) received desensitization therapy, 4 patients received combination desensitization, with a 100% rate of successful transplantation, and 6 received single desensitization, with 4(66.7%) experiencing GF, so the GF rate was obviously lower in the combination than the single desensitization (P=0.008). Conclusion In haplo-HSCT patients, DSA is an important factor leading to implantation delay and GF.While, single desensitization treatment has limited efficacy.In combined DSA desensitization therapy, the decrease of antibody titer should be dynamically monitored to ensure the successful implantation of stem cells and reduce GF rate.

This study aimed at applying English reading and writing strategies' training to improve the low English proficiency students' competence of English reading and writing. It was a quasi-experiment design. In total, 70 non-English major undergraduates at a private university in China participated in the research, 35 students in the experimental group and the rest 35 students in the control group. The intervention of English reading and writing strategies training was applied to the experimental group over a 24-lesson period in 6 weeks. The control group received an English reading and writing course without the intervention in the same period of the class schedule. Meanwhile, this study applied SILL and PET to the pre-test and the post-test, and used statistical analysis to do data analysis. The result of a detailed one-way ANCOVA showed that the intervention of English reading and writing strategies training in the experimental group had a significant improvement in English reading and writing skills.

【Objective】 Predicting change in groundwater table in response to natural and anthropogenic influence is a prerequisite in groundwater resource management. This paper compares several methods commonly used in studying groundwater dynamics based on the shallow groundwater exploration in plain areas in central China. 【Method】 The study was based on shallow groundwater resources in Puyang City in Henan province. We analyzed the groundwater dynamics in the region using three methods: water balance method, dewatering-volume method, and time series method. 【Result】 The time series method is applicable only to areas where groundwater development and utilization do not show considerable change with time. In contrast, the water balance method and dewatering volume method are more mechanistic, providing more accurate results as they consider potential changes in groundwater usage and management. As the dewatering volume method divides the studied region into subunits based on administrative regions rather than hydrogeological conditions, it could lead to significant differences when compared to measurements from monitoring boreholes. The water balance method considers factors such as current groundwater development, hydrogeological conditions and groundwater management measures, and it is hence more accurate for analyzing groundwater dynamics. 【Conclusion】 Results calculated by the improved groundwater balance method proposed in this paper are consistent with ground-truth data. It is more reliable for evaluating the response of shallow groundwater table to change in management and usages in plain areas.

BackgroundNonthermal irreversible electroporation is a minimally invasive surgery technology that employs high and brief electric fields to ablate undesirable tissues. Nonthermal irreversible electroporation can ablate only cells while preserving intact functional properties of the extracellular structures. Therefore, nonthermal irreversible electroporation can be used to ablate tissues safely near large blood vessels, the esophagus, or nerves. This suggests that it could be used for thyroid ablation abutting the esophagus. This study examines the feasibility of using nonthermal irreversible electroporation for thyroid ablation.MethodsRats were used to evaluate the effects of nonthermal irreversible electroporation on the thyroid. The procedure entails the delivery of high electric field pulses (1-3 kV/cm, 100 microseconds) between 2 surface electrodes bracing the thyroid. The right lobe was treated with various nonthermal irreversible electroporation pulse sequences, and the left was the control. After 24 hours of the nonthermal irreversible electroporation treatment, the thyroid was examined with hemotoxylin and eosin histological analysis. Mathematical models of electric fields and the Joule heating-induced temperature raise in the thyroid were developed to examine the experimental results.ResultsTreatment with nonthermal irreversible electroporation leads to follicular cells damage, associated with cell swelling, inflammatory cell infiltration, and cell ablation. Nonthermal irreversible electroporation spares the trachea structure. Unusually high electric fields, for these types of tissue, 3000 V/cm, are needed for thyroid ablation. The mathematical model suggests that this may be related to the heterogeneous structure of the thyroid-induced distortion of local electric fields. Moreover, most of the tissue does not experience thermal damage inducing temperature elevation. However, the heterogeneous structure of the thyroid may cause local hot spots with the potential for local thermal damage.ConclusionNonthermal irreversible electroporation with 3000 V/cm can be used for thyroid ablation. Possible applications are treatment of hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. The highly heterogeneous structure of the thyroid distorts the electric fields and temperature distribution in the thyroid must be considered when designing treatment protocols for this tissue type.