Search

The standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) records the heart’s electrical activity from electrodes on the skin, and is widely used in screening and diagnosis of the cardiac conditions due to its low price and non-invasive characteristics. Manual examination of ECGs requires professional medical skills, and is strenuous and time consuming. Recently, deep learning methodologies have been successfully applied in the analysis of medical images. In this paper, we present an automated system for the identification of normal and abnormal ECG signals. A multi-channel multi-scale deep neural network (DNN) model is proposed, which is an end-to-end structure to classify the ECG signals without any feature extraction. Convolutional layers are used to extract primary features, and long short-term memory (LSTM) and attention are incorporated to improve the performance of the DNN model. The system was developed with a 12-lead ECG dataset provided by the Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH). Experimental results show that the proposed system can yield high recognition rates in classifying normal and abnormal ECG signals.

Background Chronic jet lag (CJL)-induced circadian rhythm disruption (CRD) is positively correlated with an increased risk of allergic diseases. However, little is known about the mechanism involved in allergic rhinitis (AR). Methods Aberrant light/dark cycles-induced CRD mice were randomly divided into negative control (NC) group, AR group, CRD+NC group, and CRD+AR group (n = 8/group). After ovalbumin (OVA) challenge, nasal symptom scores were recorded. The expression of Occludin and ZO-1 in both nasal mucosa and lung tissues was detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical staining. The level of OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) and T-helper (Th)-related cytokines in the plasma was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the proportion of Th1, Th2, Th17, and regulatory T cell (Treg) in splenocytes was evaluated by flow cytometry. Results The nasal symptom score in the CRD+AR group was significantly higher than those in the AR group with respect to eosinophil infiltration, mast cell degranulation, and goblet cell hyperplasia. The expression of ZO-1 and Occludin in the nasal mucosa and lung tissues in the CRD+AR group were significantly lower than those in the AR group. Furthermore, Th2 and Th17 cell counts from splenocytes and OVA-sIgE, interleukin 4 (IL-4), IL-6, IL-13, and IL-17A levels in plasma were significantly increased in the CRD+AR group than in the AR group, whereas Th1 and Treg cell count and interferon γ (IFN-γ) level were significantly decreased in the CRD+AR group. Conclusion CRD experimentally mimicked CJL in human activities, could exacerbate local and systemic allergic reactions in AR mice, partially through decreasing Occludin and ZO-1 level in the respiratory mucosa and increasing Th2-like immune response in splenocytes.

Chronic visceral pain (CVP) is one of the common symptoms of many diseases triggered by underlying diseases of the internal organs of the human body. Its causes include vascular mechanisms, mechanical factors, persistent inflammation, and unexplained functional mechanisms. Although the pathogenesis is unclear, more and more research has begun to shift from the neuronal aspect to the glial cells in recent years. Some data highlight that the spinal glial cells, particularly the microglia and astrocytes, play an essential role in CVP. Based on this, we highlight the mechanisms of microglia and astrocytes in CVP concerning the release of cytokines, chemokines, and neuroactive substances and alterations in intracellular signaling pathways during the process. Finally, because CVP is widespread in various diseases, we present future perspectives targeting microglia and astrocytes for treatment.

An inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) of the respiratory system is an uncommon disease. In Taiwan, there is a lack of previous studies on tracheobronchial IMT. The tumor is characterized by overexpression of anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK)‐1. Surgical resection is the standard treatment of choice nowadays.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study an electrolytic etching method to prepare fine lines on printed circuit board (PCB). And the influence of organics on the side corrosion protection of PCB fine lines during electrolytic etching is studied in detail. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the etching factor of PCB fine lines produced by new method and the traditional method was analyzed by the metallographic microscope. In addition, field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to study the inhibition of undercut of the four organometallic corrosion inhibitors with 2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole, benzotriazole, l-phenylalanine and l-tryptophan in the electrolytic etching process. Findings The SEM results show that corrosion inhibitors can greatly inhibit undercut of PCB fine lines during electrolytic etching process. XPS results indicate that N and S atoms on corrosion inhibitors can form covalent bonds with copper during electrolytic etching process, which can be adsorbed on sidewall of PCB fine lines to form a dense protective film, thereby inhibiting undercut of PCB fine lines. Quantum chemical calculations show that four corrosion inhibitor molecules tend to be parallel to copper surface and adsorb on copper surface in an optimal form. COMSOL Multiphysics simulation revealed that there is a significant difference in the amount of corrosion inhibitor adsorbed on sidewall of the fine line and the etching area. Originality/value As a clean production technology, electrolytic etching method has a good development indicator for the production of high-quality fine lines in PCB industry in the future. And it is of great significance in saving resources and reducing environmental pollution.

Few studies have been performed to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation and T2DM in type 2 diabetic animal models. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between early 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] and the incidence of T2DM and determine whether early 1,25(OH)2D3 supplementation was associated with inflammation in KK-Ay mice. The KK-Ay mice were divided into 4 vitamin D treatment groups, the low-dose vitamin D supplementation group (VDS-L, 1.5 μg/kg 1,25(OH)2D3), moderate-dose vitamin D supplementation group (VDS-M, 3.0 μg/kg 1,25(OH)2D3), high-dose vitamin D supplementation group (VDS-H, 6.0 μg/kg 1,25(OH)2D3) and the model control group (MC). C57BL/6J mice were used as the controls. The treatment period lasted for 9 wk. During this treatment period, fasting blood glucose (FBG) level of the mice was measured on a weekly basis. The levels of lipid profile, insulin and inflammation biomarkers were determined after 9 wk of 1,25(OH)2D3 intragastric gavage. After 9 wk of 1,25(OH)2D3 intragastric gavage, FBG level was significantly decreased in the vitamin D treatment groups compared with the MC group. The number of T2DM incidence in the VDS-L group (n=7), VDS-M group (n=5) and VDS-H group (n=3) was lower than those in the MC group (n=10) on week 9. Moreover, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the vitamin D treatment groups were significantly suppressed by 1,25(OH)2D3 administration compared with the MC group. Early 1,25(OH)2D3 supplementation could effectively lower the incidence of T2DM via ameliorating inflammation in KK-Ay mice.

Traffic sign detection and recognition perform a vital function in real-world driver guidance applications, including driver assistance systems. Research into vision-based traffic sign detection (TSD) and traffic sign recognition (TSR) has gained considerable attention in the scientific community, led mainly by three variables: identification, monitoring, and classification. In addition, TSR provides valuable details and alerts for smart cars including advanced driving assistance (ADAS) and cooperative intelligent transport systems (CITS). Our work will generate high-quality synthetic prohibitory sign images using deep convolutional generative adversarial networks (DCGAN). This paper analyzes and discusses CNN models incorporating different backbone architectures and feature extractors, focusing on Resnet 50 and Densenet for object detection. Assessment of the models provides important information, including mean average accuracy (mAP), workspace capacity, detection period, and the amount of billion floating-point operations (BFLOPS). The maximum average accuracy is 92% (Densenet DCGAN), led by 91% (Resnet 50 DCGAN), 88% (Densenet), and 63% (Resnet 50). We find when using the original image and a synthetic image, accuracy increases, while detection time falls. Our findings show that combining original images and synthetic images in the dataset for training can improve intersection over union (IoU) and traffic sign recognition performance.

Popular music has been shown to reflect cultural characteristics and psychological change in a society. However, little is known about how popular songs are related to the socioeconomic conditions. In this research, we analyzed the annual top 10 songs from United States and Germany between 1980 and 2017, and found that the unemployment rate predicted the amount of anger but not anxiety or sadness in lyrics in both countries. Our research contributes to the literature on popular media culture by revealing that top song lyrics may reflect public sentiment toward the socioeconomic environment. It highlights the possibility of using top song lyrics as an alternative measure of public sentiments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) Nanyang Technological University This work was supported by the Nanyang Technological University HASS Incentive Scheme Grant 2018 awarded to the Lin Qiu

Introduction: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The effects of SARS-CoV-2 on normal pituitary glands function or pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) have not yet been elucidated. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the potential risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the impairment of pituitary glands and the development of PitNETs.Methods: PitNETs tissues were obtained from 114 patients, and normal pituitary gland tissues were obtained from the autopsy. The mRNA levels of ACE2 and angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AGTR1) were examined by quantitative real-time PCR. Immunohistochemical staining was performed for ACE2 in 69 PitNETs and 3 normal pituitary glands. The primary tumor cells and pituitary cell lines (MMQ, GH3 and AtT-20/D16v-F2) were treated with diminazene aceturate (DIZE), an ACE2 agonist, with various dose regimens. The pituitary hormones between 43 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared with 45 healthy controls.Results: Pituitary glands and the majority of PitNET tissues showed low/negative ACE2 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels, while AGTR1 showed high expression in normal pituitary and corticotroph adenomas. ACE2 agonist increased the secretion of ACTH in AtT-20/D16v-F2 cells through downregulating AGTR1. The level of serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) was significantly increased in COVID-19 patients as compared to normal controls (pConclusion: This study revealed a potential impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on corticotroph cells and adenomas.

Objective This study aimed to quantify the 3D asymmetry of the maxilla in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCP) and investigate the defect factors responsible for the variability of the maxilla on the cleft side using a deep-learning-based CBCT image segmentation protocol. Setting and sample population Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of 60 patients with UCP were acquired. The samples in this study consisted of 39 males and 21 females, with a mean age of 11.52 years (SD = 3.27 years; range of 8-18 years). Materials and methods The deep-learning-based protocol was used to segment the maxilla and defect initially, followed by manual refinement. Paired t-tests were performed to characterize the maxillary asymmetry. A multiple linear regression was carried out to investigate the relationship between the defect parameters and those of the cleft side of the maxilla. Results The cleft side of the maxilla demonstrated a significant decrease in maxillary volume and length as well as alveolar length, anterior width, posterior width, anterior height and posterior height. A significant increase in maxillary anterior width was demonstrated on the cleft side of the maxilla. There was a close relationship between the defect parameters and those of the cleft side of the maxilla. Conclusions Based on the 3D volumetric segmentations, significant hypoplasia of the maxilla on the cleft side existed in the pyriform aperture and alveolar crest area near the defect. The defect structures appeared to contribute to the variability of the maxilla on the cleft side.

We propose a comb-locked multi-channel transmitter with high-speed VCSELs injection-locked by an optical frequency comb. VCSEL dynamics are analyzed with various injection parameters including number of comb tones, frequency detuning, and injection ratio. We evaluate the performance of filtering and amplification effect when multiple comb tones injection into single VCSEL and estimate the transmission performance considering the reflection from VCSEL. Compared to intrinsic parameters of VCSEL, a 2-fold increase in frequency response and a $2.6\times 10^4$ -fold reduction in linewidth have been verified experimentally when the bandwidth-limited VCSEL locked to an incident comb line. 14-Gb/s single-lane transmission is demonstrated through 20 km single-mode fiber based on a 3.4-GHz VCSEL without any dispersion compensation. The similar performance can be achieved for all generated 25 comb tones, verifying a potential high-capacity transmitter with distinct feature of two-dimensional VCSELs.

Although immune-checkpoint inhibitors have improved the survival of patients with various types of metastatic tumor, intra- and inter-patient heterogeneities in the response of multiple tumors to the therapy have significantly limited clinical benefits. Understanding the specific driving forces behind these heterogeneities will facilitate a better understanding of therapeutic resistance. Research has revealed that tumors in patients and established cancer cell lines are composed of multiple clones with different phenotypes. Our goal is to dissect these complexities and decipher mechanisms of tumor heterogeneities and resistance to immunotherapy. We have established single cell-derived clonal populations from parental, polyclonal 4T1, murine breast cancer cells. In vitro studies, while parental cells formed the heterogeneous types of colonies in a clonogenic assay, established clones created clone dependent uniform colonies. Each clone showed different growth rates, response to chemotherapy, and produced different amounts of cytokines. Then, 4T1 parental cells, clone 1, or clone 16 cells were injected into the spleen of mice to create multiple experimental liver metastases. Seven days after the inoculation, tumor-bearing mice were implanted with the window chamber above the liver, intravenously (iv) injected with fluorescently labeled anti-PDL1 IgG, and delivery of the antibody to individual liver metastasis was imaged using intravital microscopy (IVM). Then, mice were imaged using IVM for 7 days to determine the therapeutic effect on individual tumor growth. In another set of tumor-bearing mice, either isotype IgG or anti-PDL1 IgG were iv injected and the effect on the survival was evaluated. We found that the delivery of fluorescently labeled anti-PDL1 IgG and therapeutic effect was heterogeneous among liver metastases originated from 4T1 parental cells. We also found that there was an inverse correlation between the amount of the anti-PDL1 IgG delivered to the tumor and individual tumor growth. Liver metastases originated from clone 16 cells accumulated significantly more amount of the anti-PDL1 IgG and most of the tumors disappeared within 7 days. On the other hand, the anti-PDL1 IgG delivery to clone 1 cell-derived tumor was significantly reduced than parental and clone 16 cell-derived tumors and none of the tumors responded to the therapy. Thus, limited therapeutic efficacy can be attributed to the limited anti-PDL1 IgG delivery to the tumor. The survival of the tumor-bearing mice was correlated with the level of anti-PDL1 IgG delivery. While the anti-PDL1 therapy could extend the survival of mice-bearing clone 16 derived tumors, mice-bearing parental cells, and clone 1 cells didn’t respond to the therapy. To elucidate the mechanism for the difference in anti-PDL1 Ab delivery, the effect of the therapeutics on tumor growth, and survival, we evaluated the expression of PDL1 protein in tumors by immunohistochemical analysis. PDL1 expression was higher in clone 16 tumors compared to parental and clone 1 tumor. Next, we evaluated the amount of blood vessels in tumors, because the difference in the antibody delivery can be attributed to the amount of angiogenesis. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in the amount of blood vessels, indicating the expression level of the target protein is crucial to determine the amount of the antibody delivery. Regarding the immune microenvironment, there was no difference in the amount of CD8 cells inside tumors. Thus, heterogeneity in anti-PDL1 IgG delivery and its therapeutic efficacy was explained by heterogeneous PDL1 expression in polyclonal tumors. Evaluation of heterogeneity in PDL1 expression in the patient’s tumor shall be considered for personalizing the therapy. Citation Format: Yan ting Liu, Shreya Goel, Megumi Kai, Thao Nguyen, Kenji Yokoi. Heterogeneous tumor microenvironment in metastatic breast cancer for insufficient anti-PDL1 IgG delivery and its efficacy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS18-42.

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) achieves perfection in traffic sign identification with enough annotated training data. The dataset determines the quality of the complete visual system based on CNN. Unfortunately, databases for traffic signs from the majority of the world’s nations are few. In this scenario, Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) may be employed to produce more realistic and varied training pictures to supplement the actual arrangement of images. The purpose of this research is to describe how the quality of synthetic pictures created by DCGAN, LSGAN, and WGAN is determined. Our work combines synthetic images with original images to enhance datasets and verify the effectiveness of synthetic datasets. We use different numbers and sizes of images for training. Likewise, the Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) and Mean Square Error (MSE) were employed to assess picture quality. Our study quantifies the SSIM difference between the synthetic and actual images. When additional images are used for training, the synthetic image exhibits a high degree of resemblance to the genuine image. The highest SSIM value was achieved when using 200 total images as input and $32\times 32$ image size. Further, we augment the original picture dataset with synthetic pictures and compare the original image model to the synthesis image model. For this experiment, we are using the latest iterations of Yolo, Yolo V3, and Yolo V4. After mixing the real image with the synthesized image produced by LSGAN, the recognition performance has been improved, achieving an accuracy of 84.9% on Yolo V3 and an accuracy of 89.33% on Yolo V4.

Context Accurate methods for early gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (during the first trimester of pregnancy) prediction in Chinese and other populations are lacking. Objectives This work aimed to establish effective models to predict early GDM. Methods Pregnancy data for 73 variables during the first trimester were extracted from the electronic medical record system. Based on a machine learning (ML)-driven feature selection method, 17 variables were selected for early GDM prediction. To facilitate clinical application, 7 variables were selected from the 17-variable panel. Advanced ML approaches were then employed using the 7-variable data set and the 73-variable data set to build models predicting early GDM for different situations, respectively. Results A total of 16 819 and 14 992 cases were included in the training and testing sets, respectively. Using 73 variables, the deep neural network model achieved high discriminative power, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.80. The 7-variable logistic regression (LR) model also achieved effective discriminate power (AUC = 0.77). Low body mass index (BMI) (≤ 17) was related to an increased risk of GDM, compared to a BMI in the range of 17 to 18 (minimum risk interval) (11.8% vs 8.7%, P = .09). Total 3,3,5′-triiodothyronine (T3) and total thyroxin (T4) were superior to free T3 and free T4 in predicting GDM. Lipoprotein(a) was demonstrated a promising predictive value (AUC = 0.66). Conclusions We employed ML models that achieved high accuracy in predicting GDM in early pregnancy. A clinically cost-effective 7-variable LR model was simultaneously developed. The relationship of GDM with thyroxine and BMI was investigated in the Chinese population.

Interface interactions between two distinct layered materials of vertically stacked van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures play a vital role in the modulation of their electrical/optoelectronic prope...

Distinguishing a multitude of optical labels is crucial to improving the spatial and temporal resolution of bioimaging. However, current multicolor imaging approaches are limited by the spectral overlap of employed fluorophores. We here discern different instances of a single optical label type through their emission intensity. Such multilevel optical labels are enabled by an optical writing process that permanently modifies their spectral response in a predictable manner and by a separate spectral feature that serves as normalization in the presence of sample variability. The proposed approach was realized by independently controlling the emission properties of highly functionalized fluorescent nanodiamond. Upon laser irradiation, the contribution of the spectral region associated with the N3 color center decreases in a predictable and permanent fashion, while the nitrogen vacancy (NV) emission remains stable. This selective photobleaching of N3 centers was found to originate from a two-photon-assisted dissociation process that results in a 105 higher mobility of photoexcited carriers in N3 centers compared to NV. The resulting write once read many (WORM) memory exhibits multiple distinct memory levels that can be stored and read out with high robustness and reproducibility. The potential of our approach was demonstrated by characterizing markers in HeLa cells with high fidelity, despite the complex emission background. Finally, direct manipulation of label information inside of cells was demonstrated, opening up new routes in advanced bioimaging.

BACKGROUND: Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) maturation failure is a significant clinical problem in the hemodialysis population. Geometric parameters of human AVFs were associated with AVF development, but causative studies are lacking. We characterized mouse AVF geometry using endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) mouse models. METHODS: Carotid-jugular AVFs were created in NOS3 overexpression (OE), knockout (KO), and wild type (WT) mice. At 7 and 21 days postcreation, black-blood magnetic resonance images of AVFs were acquired and used to build three-dimensional reconstructions of AVF lumens. We used these reconstructions to calculate the lumen area, lumen centerline, and centerline-derived parameters: anastomosis angle, tortuosity, nonplanarity angle, and location of maximal distance between the feeding artery and AVF vein. Inter- and intrauser variabilities were also determined. RESULTS: When all mice were considered, increased minimum AVF venous lumen area was accompanied by increased venous tortuosity and increased distance between the artery and vein, with both remaining in-plane with the anastomosis. At day 7, the lumen area of AVFs from all strains was 1.5- to 2.5-fold larger than native veins. Furthermore, at day 21, AVF lumen in NOS3 OE (4.04±1.43 mm(2)) was significantly larger than KO (2.74±1.34 mm(2)) (P

To observe the clinical efficacy of Zhen’ai needling method in Nei Jing (Classic of Internal Medicine) for children with allergic rhinitis (AR) accompanied by adenoid hypertrophy (AH). A total of 74 children who met the screening criteria were divided into a Zhen’ai group and a control group by the random number table method, with 37 cases in each group. The control group was treated with acupuncture at Zusanli (ST 36), Hegu (LI 4), Yingxiang (LI 20), Juliao (ST 3), Yintang (GV 29), Shangxing (GV 23) and Baihui (GV 20). The Zhen’ai group added points of Zhen’ai needling method {Shanglianquan [Extra, located at 1 cun above Lianquan (CV 23)], Tianrong (SI 17) and Lieque (LU 7)} in addition to the points in the control group. The needles were retained for 30 min. The treatment was performed twice a week. The total nasal symptom score (TNSS), sino-nasal outcome test-20 (SNOT-20) and symptom scale for AH (SSAH) were assessed before and after 10 treatments. The clinical efficacy of the two groups was compared after treatment. During the treatment, 5 cases dropped out in the control group and 2 cases in the Zhen’ai group. After treatment, the total effective rate of the Zhen’ai group was 94.3%, versus 93.8% in the control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The markedly effective rate of the Zhen’ai group was 42.9%, versus 12.5% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P

Aim This study was designed to investigate whether the playing-back of the recorded maternal voice through the headphones to children undergoing bilateral ophthalmic surgery has clinical effects on the incidence of emergence agitation, and the anaesthesia recovery course. Methods In this prospective, blinded and randomised study, 127 children, aged 2-8 years and undergoing bilateral ophthalmic surgery were randomly allocated to one of the two groups: group T (treatment group, listening to recorded mother's voice via headphones) or group C (control group, wearing headphones without auditory stimuli). The primary outcome was the incidence of emergence agitation, and the secondary outcomes were the awakening time, and the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) stay time. Results Children in the group of listening recorded mother's voice exhibited significantly low incidence of emergence agitation compared with those in the control group (32.8 vs. 55.6%; odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.39(0.19-0.80); P = 0.010). The awakening time was shorter in group T as compared to that in group C (22.9 (10.4) vs. 27.3 (13.7); P = 0.048). As results, the group T had significantly less PACU stay time with early discharge than the group C did (29.7 (12.1) vs. 34.8 (14.1); P = 0.031). Conclusions Recorded mother's voice is an efficient method to reduce emergence agitation in children undergoing bilateral ophthalmic surgery with sevoflurane anaesthesia. Also, patients woke faster and PACU stay time was shorter in the mother's voice group as compared with the control group.

The study aimed to explore the effect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on low-grade inflammatory response in obese patients. A total of twenty-one patients: 2 men and 19 women, age range from 32 to 46 years (mean age 36.4 years), and mean body mass index (BMI) 50.3 who underwent LSG were enrolled in this study from 2016 to 2019. C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) were detected before surgery, 1 month and 3 months after surgery. The metabolic parameters were also evaluated in these patients. At baseline, body weight, BMI, and waistline were 110.76 kg, 41.11 kg/m2, and 108.05 cm, respectively, in obese group, with significant expression of triglyceride, HbA1c, CRP, and IL-6. At 1 month and 3 months post-operative, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) were all improved, and HbA1c decreased most significantly. Similarly, creatinine (Cr), alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) decreased as well but did not differ significantly. CRP showed a significant decrease in patients at 3 months after surgery compared to patients before operation. There were no significant differences of IL-6 and TNF-α among the groups. LSG was effective in both improvement metabolic parameters and decreasing the expression of CRP, in addition to weight loss of obese patients.

To summarize the clinical application patterns in acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of AD by reviewing the clinical literatures on acupuncture-moxibustion for Alzheimer disease (AD) published between January 2009 and December 2019. China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang), Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP), Chinese Medicine Acupuncture-moxibustion Information Database, PubMed Medical Data Retrieval Service System, Springer Database and Ovid Technologies (OVID) were retrieved to screen clinical studies of acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of AD according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria to conduct quantitative, clustering and association analyses. In acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of AD, the frequently used points were Baihui (GV 20), Zusanli (ST 36), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), Taixi (KI 3), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), and Neiguan (PC 6) in the descending order. Regarding meridians, the most frequently used one was the Governor Vessel, followed by the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming and Gallbladder Meridian of Foot Shaoyang. From the perspective of body regions, the points in the head-face region and the lower-limb region had the highest frequencies, followed by the upper-limb, back and chest-abdomen regions. The point group, Baihui (GV 20) and Sishencong (EX-HN 1)-Neiguan (PC 6)-Sanyinjiao (SP 6), showed the most significant association, and the group winning the second place was Baihui (GV 20) and Sishencong (EX-HN 1)-Neiguan (PC 6)-Zusanli (ST 36). The clustering analysis showed that the commonly used point pairs included Zusanli (ST 36)-Sishencong (EX-HN 1) and Taixi (KI 3)-Sanyinjiao (SP 6), which were closely associated with Baihui (GV 20). By analyzing the three commonly used acupuncture-moxibustion methods, acupuncture plus medication was found achieving the best result in the total effective rate and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score, followed by monotherapy of electroacupuncture therapy, and these two methods were superior to acupuncture alone (P

Several studies have shown that active smoking is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the effects of passive smoking on T2DM remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of passive smoking and its duration on the prevalence of prediabetes and T2DM. According to passive smoking status, participants were divided into Group A (passive smokers) and Group B (controls). Furthermore, Group A was divided into three subgroups according to the duration of passive smoking: Group A1 (≤10 years), Group A2 (10–20 years), and Group A3 (>20 years). We found that the prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in Group A (26.6%), Group A2 (28%), and Group A3 (37.8%) was significantly higher than that in Group B (19.6%), and the prevalence gradually increased with an increase in the duration of passive smoking. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that passive smoking for >10 years was a risk factor for impaired fasting glucose (IFG), IGT, and T2DM. Therefore, passive smoking not only increases the prevalence of IGT in a time-dependent manner, but also a risk factor for IFG, IGT, and T2DM when its duration is over 10 years.

Background Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with high-priming volume can significantly activate the inflammatory response and increse the usage of packed red blood cells (PRBCs). As risks and complications related to transfusions are increasing, many cardiac centers are focusing on reducing the priming volume of CPB. In our center, efforts have also been made to reduce the priming volume, and the effects of CPB with low-priming volume on clinical outcomes in children undergoing congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery were investigated in this study to provide referential experiences for pediatric CPB. Methods The clinical case data of 158 children undergoing CHD surgery with CPB were collected. The children were divided into the low-priming-volume group (group A, n = 79) and the traditional group (group B, n = 79) according to the priming volume. The amount of PRBCs transfused, the postoperative hematological test results and the clinical outcomes of the two groups were compared by the independent sample t-test or the chi-square test. Results The amount of PRBCs transfused during CPB and during the whole operation were significantly lower in group A than in group B (p p p Conclusions The usage of PRBCs in CPB with low-priming volume decreased significantly, but the postoperative Hb concentration and platelet count could still be maintained at a high level, improving the use efficiency of PRBCs. CPB with low-priming volume did not affect the postoperative recovery of patients, so it is worthy of continuous promotion and optimization.

Objective To assess whether vaginal secretions and breast milk of women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) contain severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). Design Single centre cohort study. Setting Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Population We studied 13 SARS‐CoV‐2‐infected pregnant women diagnosed between 31 January and 9 March 2020. Methods We collected clinical data, vaginal secretions, stool specimens and breast milk from SARS‐CoV‐2‐infected women during different stages of pregnancy and collected neonatal throat and anal swabs. Main outcomes and measures We assessed viral presence in different biosamples. Results Of the 13 women with COVID‐19, five were in their first trimester, three in their second trimester and five in their third trimester. Of the five women in their third trimester who gave birth, all delivered live newborns. Among these five deliveries, the primary adverse perinatal outcomes included premature delivery (n = 2) and neonatal pneumonia (n = 2). One of nine stool samples was positive; all 13 vaginal secretion samples, and five throat swabs and four anal swabs collected from neonates, were negative for the novel coronavirus. However, one of three samples of breast milk was positive by viral nucleic acid testing. Conclusions In this case series of 13 pregnant women with COVID‐19, we observed negative viral test results in vaginal secretion specimens, suggesting that a vaginal delivery may be a safe delivery option. However, additional research is urgently needed to examine breast milk and the potential risk for viral contamination. Tweetable abstract New evidence for the safety of vaginal delivery and breastfeeding in pregnant women infected with SARS‐CoV‐2, positive viral result in a breast‐milk sample., New evidence for the safety of vaginal delivery and breastfeeding in pregnant women infected with SARS‐CoV‐2, positive viral result in a breast‐milk sample.

Thermal energy storage is a pivotal technology for sustainable energy development and environmental protection. Thermochemical sorption heat storage, including adsorption and resorption heat storage technology, has received great attentions owing to large heat storage density, diversiform working modes and long-term heat storage capacity. The performance of thermochemical resorption heat storage system was measured on the basis of the sorption working pair of MnCl2–SrCl2/NH3. 3.78 kg and 4.38 kg MnCl2 and SrCl2 composite materials are filled in the sorption reactor. The long-term heat storage potential of thermochemical resorption heat storage system was investigated. The experimental results show the thermochemical sorption heat storage density varies between 398.44 kJ/kg (51.35 kWh/m3) composite material and 2027.74 kJ/kg (261.35 kWh/m3) composite material under the experimental conditions. The highest thermochemical sorption heat storage density is about 2027.74 kJ/kg (261.35 kWh/m3) composite material when charging and discharging temperature is 177 °C and 45 °C, respectively. The sorption heat storage efficiency ranges from 0.11 to 0.48 under the experimental conditions. The thermochemical sorption heat storage efficiency increases with the increment of charging temperature, whilst decreases with the increase of discharging temperature. The thermochemical sorption heat storage can supply thermal energy with different temperature level and therefore could satisfy miscellaneous requirements of heat users.

Phase change energy storage technology, which can solve the contradiction between the supply and demand of thermal energy and alleviate the energy crisis, has aroused a lot of interests in recent years. Due to its high energy density, high temperature and strong stability of energy output, phase change material (PCM) has been widely used in thermal energy systems. The aim of this review is to provide an insight into the thermal conduction mechanism of phonons in PCM and the morphology, preparation method as well as thermal conductivity of composite PCMs. Phonon thermal conduction mechanism is suggested to cover three forms: phonon-phonon scattering, phonon-defect scattering and phonon-boundary scattering. Then the microcosmic factors affecting the thermal conductivity of composite PCMs are analyzed. The research progress of adding three-dimensional, two-dimensional, one-dimensional and zero-dimensional structure additives to PCM is reviewed. Besides summarizing the preparation method and microstructure, the thermal conductivity of the composite PCMs are also analyzed from the aspect of phonon thermal conductivity mechanism. Meanwhile, some novel materials, including metal organic frameworks (MOFs), titanium dioxide foam, highly graphitized network carbon, graphene foam and hexagonal boron nitride (HBN) nanoparticles, are proposed for the additives of heat storage materials. Ongoing research and development studies indicate that the challenges of the improving the thermal conductivity of PCM focus on the aspects of clarifying the phonon scattering mechanism in PCM, increasing the number of thermal conductivity chains and broadening the thermal transmission channels. Booming progress illustrates that the exploration of high performance PCM is an extremely valuable and scalable option for storing industrial waste heat and solar energy, especially for constant temperature storage and utilization. To bring the phase change heat storage solution into a broader market, more intensive studies in fields of phonon thermal conductivity mechanism, development of high performance composite PCMs and efficient and compact phase change heat storage system are still required.

By observing the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on the apoptosis of conjunctival cells of rabbits with dry eye syndrome (DES) and the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins Caspase-3, Fas and Bcl-2, to discuss the mechanism of EA in the treatment of DES from the perspective of cell apoptosis. Male New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into a normal group (NG), a model group (MG), an EA group (EAG) and a sham EA group (SEAG). DES rabbit model was developed by eye drop of 0.1% benzalkonium chloride. The rabbit tear secretion and tear film break-up time (BUT) were measured; terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay was used to detect the apoptosis of conjunctival cells; the expressions of Caspase-3, Fas and Bcl-2 proteins in conjunctival cells were detected by immunohistochemistry. Compared with the NG, the rabbit tear secretion decreased and the BUT was shortened in the MG (both P

Objectives: Typically, prognostic capability of gene expression profiling (GEP) is studied in the context of clinical trials, for which 50%-80% of patients are not eligible, possibly limiting the generalizability of findings to routine practice. Here, we evaluate GEP analysis outside clinical trials, aiming to improve clinical risk assessment of multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Methods: A total of 155 bone marrow samples from MM patients were collected from which RNA was analyzed by microarray. Sixteen previously developed GEP-based markers were evaluated, combined with survival data, and studied using Cox proportional hazard regression. Results: Gene expression profiling-based markers SKY92 and the PR-cluster were shown to be independent prognostic factors for survival, with hazard ratios and 95% confidence interval of 3.6 [2.0-6.8] (P

Objective: Poor sleep quality is common during pregnancy. Although a few studies have investigated the associations between maternal sleep quality and fetal birth weight (BW), no evidence has been ...

Ferroelectrics usually exhibit temperature‐triggered structural changes, which play crucial roles in controlling their physical properties. However, although light is very striking as a non‐contact, non‐destructive, and remotely controlled external stimuli, ferroelectric crystals with light‐triggered structural changes are very rare, which holds promise for optical control of ferroelectric properties. Here, an organic molecular ferroelectric, N‐salicylidene‐2,3,4,5,6‐pentafluoroaniline (SA‐PFA), which shows light‐triggered structural change of reversible photoisomerization between cis‐enol and trans‐keto configuration is reported. SA‐PFA presents clear ferroelectricity with the saturate polarization of 0.84 μC cm−2, larger than those of some typical organic ferroelectrics with thermodynamically structural changes. Benefit from the reversible photoisomerization, the dielectric real part of SA‐PFA can be reversibly switched by light. More strikingly, the photoisomerization enables SA‐PFA to show reversible optically induced ferroelectric polarization switching. Such intriguing behaviors make SPFA a potential candidate for application in next‐generation photo‐controlled ferroelectric devices. This work sheds light on further exploration of more excellent molecular ferroelectrics with light‐triggered structural changes for optical control of ferroelectric properties., Organic N‐salicylidene‐2,3,4,5,6‐pentafluoroaniline is a ferroelectric that experiences a light‐triggered structural change of reversible photoisomerization between cis‐enol and trans‐keto configuration, different from the general temperature‐triggered structural changes in other ferroelectrics. It has a saturate polarization of 0.84 μC cm−2. The photoisomerization makes it show reversible optically induced ferroelectric polarization switching.

Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is essential for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on hemodialysis, but treatment for AVF maturation failure remains an unmet clinical need. Successful AVF remodeling occurs through sufficient lumen expansion to increase AVF blood flow and lumen area. Aberrant blood flow is thought to impair AVF remodeling, but previous literature has largely focused on hemodynamics averaged over the entire AVF or at a single location. We hypothesized that hemodynamics is heterogeneous, and thus any treatment’s effect size is heterogeneous in the AVF. To test our hypothesis, we used the PDE5A inhibitor sildenafil to treat AVFs in a rat model and performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to generate a detailed spatial profile of hemodynamics in AVFs. 90 mg/kg of sildenafil was administered to rats in their drinking water for 14 days. On day 14 femoral AVFs were created in rats and sildenafil treatment continued for another 21 days. 21 days post-AVF creation, rats underwent non-contrast MRI for CFD and geometrical analysis. Lumen cross-sectional area (CSA) and flow rate were used to quantify AVF remodeling. Parameters used to describe aberrant blood flow include velocity magnitude, wall shear stress (WSS), oscillatory shear index (OSI), and vorticity. Geometrical parameters include arterial-venous (A-V) distance, anastomosis angle, tortuosity, and nonplanarity angle magnitude. When averaged across the entire AVF, sildenafil treated rats had significantly higher CSA, flow rate, velocity, WSS, OSI, and vorticity than control rats. To analyze heterogeneity, the vein was separated into zones: 0–5, 5–10, 10–15, and 15–20 mm from the anastomosis. In both groups: 1) CSA increased from the 0–5 to 15–20 zone; 2) velocity, WSS, and vorticity were highest in the 0–5 zone and dropped significantly thereafter; and 3) OSI increased at the 5–10 zone and then decreased gradually. Thus, the effect size of sildenafil on AVF remodeling and the relationship between hemodynamics and AVF remodeling depend on location. There was no significant difference between control and sildenafil groups for the other geometric parameters. Rats tolerated sildenafil treatment well, and our results suggest that sildenafil may be a safe and effective therapy for AVF maturation.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common types of malignant tumor. Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1) serves as an adaptor of autophagy for degrading protein aggregates. The regulation of autophagy by EGFR and its clinical impacts are indicated in various types of cancer. However, the association of EGFR and SQSTM1 in OSCC is still unknown. Our results show that the expression levels of SQSTM1 and EGFR proteins are higher in tumor tissues than in the corresponding tumor-adjacent (CTAN) tissues of OSCC patients. The expression levels of SQSTM1 were positively associated with the EGFR expression level. High co-expression of SQSTM1 and EGFR is associated with poor prognosis in OSCC patients. Moreover, SQSTM1 expression is decreased in EGFR-knockdown cells. Cell growth and invasion/migration are also decreased in cells with single/combined knockdowns of EGFR and SQSTM1 or in SQSTM1-knockdown cells without EGFR kinase inhibitor Lapatinib treatment compared to that in scrambled cells. However, cell growth and invasion/metastasis were not significantly different between the scrambled cells and SQSTM1-knockdown cells in the presence of Lapatinib. This study is the first to indicate the biological roles and clinical significance of SQSTM1 regulation by EGFR in OSCC.

Simple Summary Hong Kong has an ageing Chinese population with high life expectancy and a rising number of new cancer cases (156.5% increase for women and a 96% increase for men during the period 1983–2017). While both population growth and population ageing could contribute to this trend, it is unknown whether change in disease risk contributes to or inhibits this trend. In this study, we quantify the demographic and epidemiological contributions to this trend by disentangling the effect of these factors, finding that this increasing trend is mostly due to population growth (66.1% for women, 25.4% for men) and population ageing (95% for women, 119.4% for men), with changes in disease risk inhibiting this increasing trend (−4.5% for women, −48.8% for men). Abstract Background: Hong Kong has an ageing Chinese population with high life expectancy and a rising number of cancer cases. While population ageing could lead to higher incidence, we aim to quantify the demographic and epidemiological contributions to this trend by disentangling the effect of these factors. Methods: We analysed secular trends of cancer incidences of all cancer sites combined, including the five top cancers in men and women in Hong Kong in 1983–2017, by disentangling effects of demographics (ageing population and population growth) and cancer risk/rate change using the RiskDiff methodology. Results: Overall, age-standardised incidences of all cancers combined in women and in men declined over the study period (−5.3% for women, −30.2% for men), but total incident cancer case counts increased dramatically (156.5% for women, 96% for men). This increase was primarily due to ageing and increasing population (95% age, 66.1% growth for women, and 119.4% age, 25.4% growth for men), while disease risk for all cancers combined has a decreasing trend (−4.5% for women and −48.8% for men). For the site-specific risk changes among the most five common cancer types, there were increases in risks of prostate and colorectal cancers in men, and breast, endometrial, and thyroid cancers in women. Conclusion: Demographic changes and ageing in our Chinese population resulted in a marked increase in the number of cancer diagnoses in Hong Kong in past decades. The surge in incident case counts overall is expected to stress the healthcare system in terms of the increased demand of healthcare professionals. Cancer surveillance should be enhanced in view of the growing demand from older patients and the cancer types with fast-increasing incidence rates in our population.

Background Correction surgery for cleft palate is recommended between 9 and 18 months of age. Patients suffer from acute pain after palatoplasty. Clinicians are hesitant to use opioids for analgesia concerning the potential high risk of respiratory adverse events. Intravenous ibuprofen perhaps be a suitable adjuvant to pain relief. We try to assess whether preoperative administration of intravenous ibuprofen can decrease opioid requirements following cleft palate repair in infants. Methods This single center prospective randomized clinical trial was performed from February to April 2021 at Department of Anesthesiology in Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. Forty patients ASA I-II, aged 9–24 months with isolated cleft palate and undergoing palatoplasty were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either a single dose of 10 mg/kg ibuprofen intravenously or normal saline at induction. Children and infants postoperative pain scale (CHIPPS) was used for pain assessment. Those patients CHIPPS pain score equal or higher than 4 received analgesic rescue with titrating intravenous fentanyl 0.5 μg/kg and repeated in 10 min if required. The primary outcome was the amount of postoperative fentanyl used for rescue analgesia in postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Results Patients (n = 20 in each group) in IV-Ibuprofen group required less postoperative fentanyl than those in placebo group (pp = 0.079) and surgical blood loss (p = 0.194). No incidence of obvious adverse events had been found within the first 24 h after surgery in both groups. Conclusions Preemptive intravenous administration ibuprofen 10 mg/kg at induction had a significant opioid sparing effect in early postoperative period without obvious adverse effects in infants undergoing palatoplasty. Trial registration CHICTR, CTR2100043718, 27/02/2021 http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=122187

Background Many antiseizure medications (ASMs) control seizures by blocking voltage-dependent sodium channels. Polymorphisms of sodium channel genes may affect the response to ASMs due to altering the effect of ASMs on blocking sodium channels. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of epilepsy patients followed up at the Neurological Department of Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan between January 2010 and December 2018. We categorized the patients into response, partial response, and failure to sodium channel blocking ASM groups. Sodium channel blocking ASMs included phenytoin, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, lacosamide, zonisamide, topiramate, and valproic acid. A subgroup of predominant sodium channel blocking ASMs included phenytoin, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, and lacosamide. Associations between the response of ASMs and single-nucleotide polymorphisms of SCN1A, SCN1B, SCN2A, and SCN9A were analyzed. Results Two hundred Taiwanese patients and 21 single-nucleotide polymorphisms among SCN1A, SCN1B, SCN2A, and SCN9A were evaluated. We found allele C of rs55742440 in SCN1B was statistically significantly associated with not achieving seizure-free with sodium channel blocking ASMs. For the predominant sodium channel blocking ASMs group, no SNPs were associated with the response of ASMs. Conclusion Single-nucleotide polymorphism in SCN1B was associated with the response to sodium channel blocking ASMs. This highlights the possibility that beta subunits may affect the function of sodium channels and resulted in different responsiveness to ASMs.

The traditional Chinese medicine Poria cum Radix Pini (PRP) is a fungal medicinal material that has been proven to play an important role in the treatment of arrhythmia. However, the mechanism of its effect on arrhythmia is still unclear. In this study, network pharmacology and metabolomics correlation analysis methods were used to determine the key targets, metabolites and potential pathways involved in the effects of PRP on arrhythmia. The results showed that PRP can significantly improve cardiac congestion, shorten the SV-BA interval and reduce the apoptosis of myocardial cells induced by barium chloride in zebrafish. By upregulating the expression of the ADORA1 protein and the levels of adenosine and cGMP metabolites in the cGMP-PKG signalling pathway, PRP can participate in ameliorating arrhythmia. Therefore, we believe that PRP shows great potential for the treatment of arrhythmia.

Pembrolizumab is a humanised therapeutic antibody against the PD-1 receptor. It has been used in various advanced cancer immunotherapies. Here, we report an extremely rare case of a 32-year-old man who developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) with porokeratosis simultaneously during pembrolizumab treatment for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (T3N1M1).

Inversion Mode (IM), Accumulation Mode (AC), and Junctionless Mode (JL) of Nanosheet (NS) Field Effect Transistor (FET) are explored for potential sub 5-nm logic technology node (N5) using 3D TCAD simulation. The devices are simulated with gate lengths (L G ) of 12 nm, EOT 0.8 nm, and three vertical stacked channels. For IM and AC NSFET, the electrons are distributed in the center. The effects of surface geometry-dependent current density combined with quantum confinement effect make a bow tie-shaped electron distribution. In the other hand, the carriers of JL NSFET are also concentrated in the center of NS channel layers and forms partial depletion. These JL mechanisms can give benefit less sensitive to surface roughness interface between oxide and channel. It is also observed that the depletion width would increase as the gate voltage increases, thus decreasing the depletion and total capacitance. These characteristics indicate that the JL NSFET with less capacitance can become alternative promising logic devices for enhancing the device performances.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence and characteristics of HIV-tuberculosis (TB) co-infected patients in Singapore, an intermediate TB-burden country. Methods: Retrospective data across 11 years was obtained from the National University Hospital (NUH), a quaternary hospital and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), the national HIV center. Results: From December 2005 to December 2016, 4015 HIV-infected patients were managed at NUH and NCID, of whom, respectively, 48 and 272 were diagnosed with active TB disease. Only 2 patients (0.6%) were screened for latent TB infection on HIV diagnosis. Mean CD4 count at TB diagnosis was 125.0 +/- 153.9 cells/mm(3). More patients with HIV diagnosed >= 6 weeks before TB (41%) were associated with CD4 counts > 200 cells/mm(3) than patients with TB diagnosed > 6 weeks before HIV (2%). Of 124 (38.6%) HIV-TB patients with CD4 count

Objective: To explore the early preventive treatment of hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis (HTGP) in pregnancy. Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed to examine the drug intervention on recurrent HTGP and related pregnancy outcomes among women who had HTGP in their past pregnancy and developed hyperlipidemia during the second pregnancy. Participants were identified through inpatient case records under a single physician at the clinic and divided into two groups. The intervention group was given metformin lipid-lowering combined with low-molecular-weight heparin to prevent thrombosis when hypertriglyceridemia was developed during the pregnancy. In contrast, the non-intervention group includes those who did not receive active drug treatment until they developed recurrent HTGP. Metabolic markers were also examined by comparing them with their respective past pregnancies. Results: All participants experienced elevated triglycerides during their two consecutive pregnancies. No pregnant women developed HTGP in the intervention group (n=12), while 10 of 13 (76.9%) women developed HTGP in the non-intervention group. Thus, the outcome seemed to be markedly different. In the intervention group, 11 women were gestated to term, and one was premature; one of 12 (8.3%) births was neonatal asphyxia; there was no low-weight birth, and the prognosis of mother and baby was favorable. Of 10 women who developed recurrent HTGP in the non-intervention group, four suffered from fetal loss, four had premature, and two had full-term delivery; among the three pregnant women without HTGP, one had a premature and two had full-term births; five of thirteen (38.5%) births were neonatal asphyxia. Conclusion: Pregnant women with HTGP history, if not treated, are likely to develop the condition recurrently during pregnancy, but timely intervention on hypertriglyceridemia with lipid-lowering and thrombosis-preventing seemed complete to reduce the recurrent HTGP and improve the pregnancy outcomes.

Background: Esophagogastric junction tumor (EGJ) is a rare but fatal disease with a rapid rising incidence worldwide in the late 20 years, and it lacks a convenient and safe method for diagnosis. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential of serum CYR61 as a biomarker for the diagnosis of EGJ tumor. Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to estimate CYR61 levels in sera of 152 EGJ tumor patients and 137 normal controls. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) was carried out to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. The Mann–Whitney’s U test was used to compare the difference of serum levels of CYR61 between groups. And chi-square tests were employed to estimate the correlation of the positive rate of serum CYR61 between/among subgroups. Results: Serum CYR61 levels were statistically lower in EGJ tumor and early-stage EGJ tumor patients than those in normal controls (P0.05). Conclusion: The present study showed that CYR61 might be a potential biomarker to assist the diagnosis of EGJ tumor.

Background: Recent studies suggest that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may have therapeutic potential for both acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). However, the rational route of delivery MSC therapy has not reached consensus. We performed a systematic review of clinical trials evaluating the rational route of delivery MSCs for AMI or ICM.Methods: Databases including Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception to February 2021. Studies that examined the use of MSCs in adults with AMI or ICM were eligible. Bias of included studies were assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. The primary outcome was cardiac function assessed by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the secondary outcome was cardiac remodeling which was assessed by left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), we also explored the safety between different routes. Results: 18 studies fulfilled eligibility criteria, which consist of 11 studies evaluated AMI and 7 studies evaluated ICM. In AMI group, only when patients received intracoronary infusion(IC) can improve LVEF (SMD 0.88, 95% CI 0.64-1.12), and there was a decrease in LVEDV&LVESV when administered IC or intravenous infusion (IV). While in ICM group, no significant difference in LVEF was noted no matter administered which route, and transendocardial stem cell injection(TESI) seems to be effective in decreasing LVEDV&LVESV. Safety appeared no difference between different routes. Conclusions: Results from our systematic review suggest that intracoronary infusion seems more effective for MSC’s delivery in AMI group, while in ICM group, TESI better.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the central analgesia mechanism of moxibustion for chronic inflammatory visceral pain (CIVP). Methods A CIVP rat model was established by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) plus 50% ethanol via enema. The analgesic effect of moxibustion was evaluated using the abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR), mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT), and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL). The expression profile of phosphorylated proteins of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway in the spinal cord was assayed by protein microarray. The differentially expressed proteins were examined by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) for functional clusters and corresponding signaling pathways. Results Moxibustion exerted a significant analgesic effect for CIVP rats, mainly presenting as a decrease in the AWR score (all P 1.3 or

This study investigates the role of interactive sea surface temperature (SST) in the early development of aggregated convection using a vector vorticity equation cloud‐resolving model coupled to a slab ocean. The simulations are initialized by a mock Walker circulation driven by initial SST gradient in the elongated x axis, with an average of 300 K and sinusoidal variation of amplitude ranging from 1.5 to 3 K. According to large‐scale perturbation strength, which is caused by SST variation, the results can be divided into two groups. Under weak perturbation, convection‐SST feedback efficiently eliminates SST gradient and moisture anomaly. The large‐scale environment is homogenized within 2 days. Even though SST in the group with stronger perturbation undergoes a similar process, significant moist static energy (MSE) advection in the boundary produces enough moisture difference to introduce virtual temperature effect and aggregation is triggered. Once dry zone starts to expand, radiative and convective effects regenerate SST gradient, which intensifies circulation and accelerates the process. We further show that the evolution of aggregation or not is captured by the trend of MSE‐EIS (estimated inversion strength) variance. The results highlight the boundary layer processes on the formation of aggregated convection in the tropics.

Insufficient delivery of systemically administered anticancer drugs to tumors can compromise therapeutic efficacy and develop drug delivery-based therapeutic resistance. Nanotherapeutics such as PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) are designed to preferentially accumulate in tumors utilizing enhanced permeation and retention effect. However, their antitumor effects and resulting clinical outcomes are modest and heterogeneous among tumors. Here, we aimed to investigate whether the amount and efficacy of PLD delivered to tumors are tumor site dependent. We established orthotopic primary tumor or liver metastases models of murine breast cancer using 4 T1 cells. PLD showed significant therapeutic effects against tumors that grew in primary mammary sites but not in the liver. We found that differences in therapeutic efficacy were not because of the intrinsic biological resistance of cancer cells but rather were associated with tumor site-dependent differences in transport properties, such as the amount of PLD delivery, blood vessel function, relative vascular permeability, and mechanical pressure in tumors. Thus, transport properties in tumor is site dependent and can be used as phenotypic surrogate markers for tumor drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy.