84 results on '"Ma KF"'
Search Results
2. Patterns of COVID-19 on computed tomography imaging
- Author
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Li, SK, primary, Ng, FH, additional, Ma, KF, additional, Luk, WH, additional, Lee, YC, additional, and Yung, KS, additional
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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3. Percutaneous Repair of Inadvertent Brachiocephalic Arterial Puncture by Closure Device: A Case Report
- Author
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Ng, KTF, primary, Chau, CM, additional, Chan, HF, additional, Cheng, LF, additional, Ma, KF, additional, and Chan, KM, additional
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. High-resolution computed tomography in a patient with COVID-19 with non-diagnostic serial radiographs
- Author
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Kwok, HM, primary, Wong, SC, additional, Ng, TF, additional, Yung, KS, additional, Luk, WH, additional, Ma, KF, additional, and Chik, Thomas SH, additional
- Published
- 2020
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5. Scaling in spectral behavior of regional to single-fault seismicity
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Chen CC, Telesca L, Ma KF, and Lin YY.
- Subjects
Physics::Geophysics ,EARTHQUAKE ,SEQUENCES ,TAIWAN - Abstract
Power spectral density was applied to analyse the time dynamics of seismicity in Taiwan. Scaling with exponent alpha similar to 0.52 was found, revealing an identical power law behavior from a local fault plane up to a large region and from large earthquakes down to micro-earthquakes.
- Published
- 2010
6. Malignant rhabdoid tumour of the oesophagus: a case report
- Author
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Ng, WC, Leong, HT, Ma, KF, Yip, WL, and Suen, WM
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Clinical pathology -- Research -- Case studies -- Health aspects -- Analysis ,Medical tests -- Analysis -- Case studies -- Health aspects ,Cancer patients -- Case studies -- Health aspects -- Care and treatment -- Analysis ,Gastrointestinal tumors -- Health aspects -- Diagnosis -- Care and treatment -- Case studies -- Research -- Analysis ,Mortality -- Health aspects -- Causes of -- China -- Case studies ,Esophageal cancer -- Health aspects -- Care and treatment -- Case studies -- Diagnosis -- Research -- Analysis ,Health ,Diagnosis ,Care and treatment ,Analysis ,Research ,Case studies ,Causes of ,Health aspects - Abstract
Malignant extrarenal rhabdoid tumour (MERT) of the gastrointestinal tract is rarely reported in the literature. This report describes the clinical and pathological features of a malignant rhabdoid tumour of the [...]
- Published
- 2003
7. Hepatocellular carcinoma with extrahepatic collateral arterial supply
- Author
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Cheng, LF, primary, Ma, KF, additional, Fan, WC, additional, Yung, AWT, additional, Li, TM, additional, and Wong, CS, additional
- Published
- 2010
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8. Clinical and radiological features of biliary papillomatosis
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Ma, Kf, primary, lu, Pp, additional, Chau, Lf, additional, Chong, Ak Ah, additional, and Lam, Hs, additional
- Published
- 2000
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9. External Jugular Vein Vascular Malformation: Sonographic and MR Imaging Appearances
- Author
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Ahuja, At, Yuen, Hy, Wong, Kt, Ann King, Abdullah, V., To, E., Chan, Yp, and Ma, Kf
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Adult ,Male ,Interventional ,Middle Aged ,Image Enhancement ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,Sensitivity and Specificity ,Arteriovenous Malformations ,Diagnosis, Differential ,cardiovascular system ,Humans ,Female ,Jugular Veins ,Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color ,Follow-Up Studies ,Ultrasonography - Abstract
Summary: Vascular malformations arising from the wall of the external jugular vein are rare. This case series discusses the sonographic and MR imaging appearances of four such cases and reviews the literature. The diagnosis should be suggested preoperatively particularly because of the close relationship such malformations to the external jugular vein, as this helps surgeons to plan the operative procedure. The imaging appearances are similar to those of other vascular malformations elsewhere in the head and neck.
10. [Mechanism of noise induced hidden hearing loss based on proteomics].
- Author
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Wang M, Wu FS, Cui B, Liang W, Zeng Q, and Ma KF
- Subjects
- Animals, Mice, Male, Disease Models, Animal, Auditory Threshold, Ear, Inner metabolism, Hearing Loss, Hidden, Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced metabolism, Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced physiopathology, Proteomics, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Noise adverse effects
- Abstract
Objective: To explore the mechanism of noise-induced hidden hearing loss by proteomics. Methods: In October 2022, 64 SPF male C57BL/6J mice were divided into control group and noise exposure group with 32 mice in each group according to random sampling method. The noise exposure group was exposed to 100 dB sound pressure level, 2000-16000 Hz broadband noise for 2 h, and the mouse hidden hearing loss model was established. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) was used to test the change of hearing threshold of mice on the 7th day after noise exposure, the damage of basal membrane hair cells was observed by immunofluorescence, and the differentially expressed proteins in the inner ear of mice in each group were identified and analyzed by 4D-Label-free quantitative proteomics, and verified by Western blotting. The results were statistically analyzed by ANOVA and t test. Results: On the 7th day after noise exposure, there was no significant difference in hearing threshold between the control group and the noise exposure group at click and 8000 Hz acoustic stimulation ( P >0.05) . The hearing threshold in the noise exposure group was significantly higher than that in the control group under 16000 Hz acoustic stimulation ( P <0.05) . Confocal immunofluorescence showed that the basal membrane hair cells of cochlear tissue in noise exposure group were arranged neatly, but the relative expression of C-terminal binding protein 2 antibody of presynaptic membrane in middle gyrus and basal gyrus was significantly lower than that in control group ( P <0.05) . GO enrichment analysis showed that the functions of differentially expressed proteins were mainly concentrated in membrane potential regulation, ligand-gated channel activity, and ligand-gated ion channel activity. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that differentially expressed proteins were significantly enriched in phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase-protein kinase B (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, calcium signaling pathway, etc. Western blotting showed that the expression of inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate receptor 3 (Itpr3) was increased and the expression of solute carrier family 38 member 2 (Slc38a2) was decreased in the noise exposure group ( P <0.05) . Conclusion: Through proteomic analysis, screening and verification of the differential expression proteins Itpr3 and Slc38a2 in the constructed mouse noise-induced hidden hearing loss model, the glutaminergic synaptic related pathways represented by Itpr3 and Slc38a2 may be involved in the occurrence of hidden hearing loss.
- Published
- 2024
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11. Radon concentration in seawater as a geochemical indicator of submarine fault activity in the Yatsushiro Sea, Japan.
- Author
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Kawabata K, Tsunomori F, Kitamura Y, Lin YY, Chan CH, and Ma KF
- Abstract
This study examined the relationship between radon (
222 Rn) concentrations in seawater and crustal activity in the Yatsushiro Sea by investigating the submarine fault zone situated at the southern end of the Futagawa-Hinagu fault zone, activated by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake (M7.3). We conducted an analysis of222 Rn concentration in samples of bottom water just above the seafloor and pore water in sediments, utilizing multiple and piston cores from the Hakuho Maru Expedition KH18-3. The findings revealed significantly elevated222 Rn concentrations in the central sites of the Yatsushiro Sea, coinciding with a high-stress field exhibiting dense active faults. Seismicity analysis revealed heightened moment release and a low b-value post the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, indicative of increased seismic activity and the potential for substantial earthquakes in the Yatsushiro Sea vicinity. Our results indicate that heightened concentrations of222 Rn in seawater can serve as an effective tracer for identifying and estimating submarine fault activities. Moreover, our research highlights the utility of222 Rn concentrations in detecting active submarine faults and assessing their activity. It contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the potential for significant earthquakes in the Yatsushiro Sea in the future., (© 2024. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2024
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12. Un-diagnosed coarctation of the aorta in a 27-year-old adult with a rare presentation: a rare case report.
- Author
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Shhada E, Saleh M, Kf Alghazal MA, and Wasel N
- Abstract
Introduction and Importance: Coarctation of the aorta (COA) is a rare form of congenital heart disease that is typically diagnosed in children. COA is known to present with hypertension, weak or absent femoral pulses, heart failure in older patients, but the presentation of COA as calf atrophy is extremely rare. This article reports the successful surgical repair of a 27-year-old adult with undiagnosed COA., Case Presentation: A 27-year-old-male has presented with calf atrophy, which was diagnosed as COA transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography angiography indicate COA, which is treated with successful surgical repair., Clinical Discussion: COA is typically diagnosed in children with a rare incidence in adults. Calf atrophy is an extremely rare presentation and uncommon. He has calf atrophy, which led to the diagnosis of COA in 27 years. The presentation in this medium-aged population with this rare manifestation gives our case significance to be one of the unique reported cases., Conclusion: COA is uncommon to be found in adults and the presentation with calf atrophy is even rare. The authors revealed that COA can be found in adults and with an unexpected manifestation and highlights the significance of early detection, and timely referral to a specialist can enable proper management, which includes surgical correction., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)
- Published
- 2023
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13. Detecting Changes in Tissue Perfusion With Hyperspectral Imaging and Thermal Imaging Following Endovascular Treatment for Peripheral Arterial Disease.
- Author
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Kleiss SF, Ma KF, El Moumni M, Ünlü Ç, Nijboer TS, Schuurmann RCL, Bokkers RPH, and de Vries JPM
- Subjects
- Humans, Hyperspectral Imaging, Treatment Outcome, Angiography, Perfusion, Perfusion Imaging methods, Peripheral Arterial Disease diagnostic imaging, Peripheral Arterial Disease therapy, Endovascular Procedures adverse effects
- Abstract
Purpose: Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and thermal imaging allow contact-free tissue perfusion measurements and may help determine the effect of endovascular treatment (EVT) in patients with peripheral arterial disease. This study aimed to detect changes in perfusion with HSI and thermal imaging peri-procedurally and determine whether these changes can identify limbs that show clinical improvement after 6 weeks., Methods: Patients with Rutherford class 2-6 scheduled for EVT were included prospectively. Hyperspectral imaging and thermal imaging were performed directly before and after EVT. Images were taken from the lateral side of the calves and plantar side of the feet. Concentrations of (de)oxyhemoglobin, oxygen saturation, and skin temperature were recorded. Angiographic results were determined on completion angiogram. Clinical improvement 6 weeks after EVT was defined as a decrease ≥ one Rutherford class. Peri-procedural changes in perfusion parameters were compared between limbs with and without good angiographic results or clinical improvement. To identify limbs with clinical improvement, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine cutoff values for change in HSI., Results: Included were 23 patients with 29 treated limbs. Change in HSI values and temperature was not significantly different between limbs with good and poor angiographic results. Change in peri-procedural deoxyhemoglobin, determined by HSI, at the calves and feet was significantly different between limbs with and without clinical improvement at 6 week follow-up (p=0.027 and p=0.017, respectively). The ROC curve for change in deoxyhemoglobin at the calves showed a cutoff value of ≤1.0, and ≤-0.5 at the feet, which were discriminative for clinical improvement (sensitivity 77%; specificity 75% and sensitivity 62%; specificity 88%, respectively)., Conclusions: HSI can detect changes in perfusion at the calves after EVT in patients with Rutherford class 2-6. Peri-procedural deoxyhemoglobin changes at the calves and feet are significantly different between limbs with and without clinical improvement. Decrease in deoxyhemoglobin directly after EVT may identify limbs that show clinical improvement 6 weeks after EVT.
- Published
- 2023
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14. Availability, Functionality, and Safety as well as Quality Control of Hepatocytes as Seeding Cells in Liver Regenerative Medicine: State of the Art and Challenges.
- Author
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Lian RT, Zhuang AQ, Yue J, Chen Y, Ma KF, and Wu YH
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- Humans, Hepatocytes, Stem Cells, Cell Differentiation, Quality Control, Regenerative Medicine methods, Liver Failure therapy
- Abstract
Hepatic disease is one of the most common causes of death worldwide and has become a global health problem. Liver transplantation is the only effective treatment strategy for patients with hepatic function failure, but the insufficient number of donated healthy livers is the main obstacle limiting this process. To alleviate the demand for donor's livers, alternative approaches are being actively explored using liver tissue engineering principles. Liver tissue engineering consists of three elements, including seeding cells, extracellular matrix, and bioreactors. Among them, seeding cell is the most key factor. In this regard, hepatocyte-based tissue engineering can overcome the above shortages for tissue repair and regeneration in hepatic disorders. Primary human hepatocytes in liver regenerative medicine are the most preferred seeding cells, although limited access to a sufficient number of functional hepatocytes are a major issue due to the difficulties in long-term function maintenance of hepatocyte as well as the lack of availability of healthy donors. Hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs), derived from various stem cells, including non-liver-derived stem cells and liver-derived stem cells, as well as trans-differentiation of other cell types, may provide adequate cell sources and could replace primary human hepatocytes as seeding cells. However, it is still a great difficulty that HLCs generated by stem cell differentiation meet the quality required for clinical therapy. Furthermore, none of the standardized protocols to generate high-quality HLCs is available. Whether primary hepatocytes or HLCs are from various sources, preventing the functional deterioration of hepatocytes or generating fully functional hepatocytes is also a big challenge, respectively. In addition, the adoptions of three-dimensional co-culture systems and some small-molecule compounds contribute to maintaining the hepatic functionality of primary hepatocytes and enhancing the liver-specific functions of HLCs. In short, hepatocyte-based liver regenerative medicine is an attractive alternative strategy for liver diseases, notwithstanding some challenges still exist from bench to bedside. This review summarizes the current status, issues, and challenges in availability, functionality, and safety, as well as quality control of seeding hepatocytes with regard to liver tissue engineering in regenerative medicine for the treatment of liver disorders., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)
- Published
- 2023
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15. Determination of Changes in Tissue Perfusion at Home with Hyperspectral and Thermal Imaging in the First Six Weeks after Endovascular Therapy in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease.
- Author
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Ma KF, Nijboer TS, Kleiss SF, El Moumni M, Bokkers RPH, Schuurmann RCL, and de Vries JPM
- Abstract
The aims of this study were to assess changes in tissue perfusion up to 6 weeks after endovascular therapy (EVT), in hospital and at home, and to determine differences in tissue perfusion between patients with and without clinical improvement or good angiographic result. This single-center prospective cohort study included patients undergoing EVT for Rutherford stages two to six. Hyperspectral and thermal imaging were performed at the dorsal and plantar sides of the foot. These measurements consisted of a baseline measurement pre-EVT, and six follow-up measurements obtained at 1 and 4 h and 6 weeks in hospital, and 1 day, 7 days, and 14 days at home. Clinical improvement was defined as a decrease of one or more Rutherford class or decrease in the wound surface area and a good angiographic result was accomplished when a Transatlantic Inter-Society Consensus for the Management of PAD II C or D lesion was treated and uninterrupted flow continued in at least one below-the-knee artery in continuation with the inframalleolar arteries. The study included 34 patients with 41 treated limbs. Deoxyhemoglobin values were lower 1 h post-EVT compared with baseline and increased over time up to 6 weeks post-EVT. Significant differences in deoxyhemoglobin levels at 7 and 14 days post-EVT were determined between patients with and without clinical or angiographic success. This prospective pilot study shows the feasibility of hyperspectral imaging and thermal imaging post-EVT at home, which may decrease the need for hospital visits.
- Published
- 2022
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16. [Progress in research of population size estimation by network scale-up method].
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Wang YD, Zhang XT, Ma KF, and Li DM
- Subjects
- Humans, Surveys and Questionnaires, Population Density
- Abstract
Network scale-up method is an indirect population size estimation method based on social network theory. It is widely used in estimating the hidden population size because it does not need to contact the target population. In order to provide reference for the further application of this method, this paper summarizes the traditional network scale-up method, the progress of this method and its combination with new survey techniques.
- Published
- 2022
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17. [Effects of GLAST gene knockout on phenotype and hearing in mice].
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Wu FS, Ma KF, Zheng PF, She XJ, Liu HT, Zhai QF, and Cui B
- Subjects
- Animals, Female, Male, Mice, Amino Acid Transport System X-AG genetics, Amino Acid Transport System X-AG metabolism, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem genetics, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Knockout, Phenotype, Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 1 genetics, Hearing genetics, Hearing physiology
- Abstract
Objective: To investigate the effects of glutamate aspartate transporter (GLAST)deletion on the normal auditory function of mice., Methods: We hybridized GLAST
+/- mice with C57BL/6J background and identified the genotypes of their offspring by agarose gel electrophoresis. 9-10-week-old mice were selected to detect the expression of GLAST protein in the cochlea by immunofluorescence staining and to verify the knockout results( n =3). The changes in weight from 7 days to 30 days after birth and the 30-day body length of male and female mice were compared( n =8). The auditory brainstem response(ABR) was used to detect the auditory threshold and the amplitude of wave I in 9-10-week-old male and female mice( n =5)., Results: Male GLAST-/- mice had shown significantly lower weight and body length compared to male GLAST+/+ and GLAST+/- mice( P <0.01), and male GLAST-/- mice showed significant differences compared to GLAST+/+ from P7 to P30 statistical time. Male GLAST-/- mice exhibited a significant reduction in weight after P15 compared to male GLAST+/- mice. In contrast, no significant differences in weight and body length were observed in female GLAST-/- mice compared with female GLAST+/+ and GLAST+/- mice. There was no difference in the hearing threshold detected by ABR between the three genotypes in both male and female mice, but the amplitude of wave I in GLAST-/- mice was significantly lower than that in male GLAST+/+ mice( P <0.01). In contrast, the amplitude of wave I in females was reduced throughout the stimulus intensity but was most significant only at high-intensity stimulation (e.g.80 dB, 90 dB) ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: GLAST knockout affects the normal growth and development of male mice, and decreases the amplitude of wave I, but do not change the threshold, suggesting that GLAST knockout may lead to synaptic pathological changes, and there are gender differences in this effect.- Published
- 2022
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18. [Progress on the application of respondent-driven sampling in population size estimation].
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Zhu LM, Zhang XT, Ma KF, and Li DM
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- Female, Homosexuality, Male, Humans, Male, Population Density, Sampling Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, HIV Infections epidemiology, Sex Workers, Sexual and Gender Minorities
- Abstract
Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a method of sampling specifically for hidden populations, often applied to transgender women, female sex workers, men who have sex with men, and other groups that are difficult to identify and contact because of stigma and legal constraints. However, this method is gradually applied to the general population. With the continuous improvement of RDS, studies find that the network size of RDS samples can be weighted to estimate the overall situation and population size. This article summarizes the current application progress of RDS in population size estimation and provides ideas for the development of RDS and the use of RDS to carry out relevant research.
- Published
- 2022
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19. Reliability assessment of hyperspectral imaging with the HyperView™ system for lower extremity superficial tissue oxygenation in young healthy volunteers.
- Author
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Kleiss SF, Ma KF, El Moumni M, Schuurmann RCL, Zeebregts CJ, Haalboom M, Bokkers RPH, and de Vries JPM
- Subjects
- Adult, Healthy Volunteers, Humans, Prospective Studies, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult, Hyperspectral Imaging, Lower Extremity
- Abstract
Purpose: Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a noninvasive spectroscopy technique for determining superficial tissue oxygenation. The HyperView™ system is a hand-held camera that enables perfusion image acquisition. The evaluation of superficial tissue oxygenation is warranted in the evaluation of patients with peripheral arterial disease. The aim was to determine the reliability of repeated HSI measurements., Methods: In this prospective cohort study, HSI was performed on 50 healthy volunteers with a mean age of 26.4 ± 2.5 years, at the lower extremity. Two independent observers performed HSI during two subsequent measurement sessions. Short term test-retest reliability and intra- and inter-observer reliability were determined, and generalizability and decision studies were performed. Transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO
2 ) measurements were also performed., Results: The short term test-retest reliability was good for the HSI values determined at the lower extremity, ranging from 0.72 to 0.90. Intra- and inter-observer reliability determined at different days were poor to moderate for both HSI (0.24 to 0.71 and 0.30 to 0.58, respectively) and TcPO2 (0.54 and 0.56, and 0.51 and 0.31, respectively). Reliability can be increased to >0.75 by averaging two measurements on different days., Conclusion: This study showed good short term test-retest reliability for HSI measurements, however low intra- and inter-observer reliability was observed for tissue oxygenation measurements with both HSI and TcPO2 performed at separate days in young healthy volunteers. Reliability of HSI can be improved when determined as a mean of two measurements taken on different days., (© 2021. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2022
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20. Laser Doppler Flowmetry Combined with Spectroscopy to Determine Peripheral Tissue Perfusion and Oxygen Saturation: A Pilot Study in Healthy Volunteers and Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease.
- Author
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Ma KF, Kleiss SF, Schuurmann RCL, Nijboer TS, El Moumni M, Bokkers RPH, and de Vries JPM
- Abstract
Background: In this study, we assessed the ability of the EPOS system (Perimed AB, Järfälla, Stockholm, Sweden) to detect differences in tissue perfusion between healthy volunteers and patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with different severity of disease., Methods: This single-center prospective pilot study included 10 healthy volunteers and 20 patients with PAD scheduled for endovascular therapy (EVT). EPOS measurements were performed at rest at 32 °C and 44 °C, followed by transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPo
2 ) measurements. The measurements were performed on the dorsal and medial side of the foot, as well as the lateral side of the calf. EPOS parameters included hemoglobin oxygen saturation (HbSo2 ) and speed-resolved red blood cell (RBC) perfusion., Results: HbSo2 at 44 °C was significantly different between the three groups for all measurement locations. The overall speed-resolved RBC perfusion at 44 °C was statistically significant between the groups on the dorsal and medial side of the foot but not on the calf. TcPo2 values were not significantly different between the three groups., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the EPOS system can depict differences in tissue perfusion between healthy volunteers, patients with Fontaine class IIb PAD, and those with Fontaine class III or IV PAD but only after heating to 44 °C.- Published
- 2022
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21. [Preliminary observation on the differential expression of metformin in preventing noise-induced hearing loss in inner ear protein group of rats].
- Author
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Zhang AR, Ma KF, She XJ, Liu HT, Cui B, and Wang R
- Subjects
- Animals, Auditory Threshold physiology, Cochlea, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem physiology, Male, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases metabolism, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Ear, Inner, Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced drug therapy, Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced prevention & control, Metformin pharmacology
- Abstract
Objective: To study the protective effects of metformin on noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and its differential protein omics expression profile. Methods: In January 2021, 39 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group, noise exposure group and metformin+noise exposure group, with 13 rats in each group. Rats in the noise exposure group and metformin+noise exposure group were continuously exposed to octave noise with sound pressure level of 120 dB (A) and center frequency of 8 kHz for 4 h. Rats in the metformin+noise exposure group were treated with 200 mg/kg/d metformin 3 d before noise exposure for a total of 7 d. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) was used to test the changes of hearing thresholds before noise exposure and 1, 4, 7 d after noise exposure in the right ear of rats in each group. Tandem mass tag (TMT) quantitative proteomics was used to identify and analyze the differentially expressed protein in the inner ear of rats in each group, and it was verified by immunofluorescence staining with frozen sections. Results: The click-ABR thresholds of right ear in the noise exposure group and metformin+noise exposure group were significantly higher than those in the control group 1, 4, 7 d after noise exposure ( P <0.05) . The click-ABR threshold of right ear in the metformin+noise exposure group were significantly lower than that in the noise exposure group ( P <0.05) . Compared with the noise exposure group, 1035 up-regulated proteins and 1145 down-regulated proteins were differentially expressed in the metformin+noise exposure group. GO enrichment analysis showed that the significantly differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in binding, molecular function regulation, signal transduction, and other functions. Enrichment analysis of KEGG pathway revealed that the pathways for significant enrichment of differentially expressed proteins included phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway, focal adhesion, diabetic cardiomyopathy, mitogen, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Immunofluorescence experiments showed that compared with the noise exposure group, the fluorescence intensity of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) in the metformin+noise exposure group was increased, and the fluorescence intensity of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (eIF4EBP1) was decreased. Conclusion: Noise exposure can lead to an increase in rat hearing threshold, and metformin can improve noise-induced hearing threshold abnormalities through multiple pathways and biological processes.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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22. [Application and progress of capture-recapture method in population size estimation].
- Author
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Huang GH, Zhang XT, Ma KF, and Li DM
- Subjects
- Humans, Incidence, Population Density, Prevalence, Research Design
- Abstract
Capture-recapture method is an economical and straightforward method widely used in fields such as estimating population size and estimating and adjusting incidence or prevalence. This paper reviews the classical capture-recapture method and its improvement and application in population size estimation in referring the subsequent related work.
- Published
- 2022
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23. [Progress on application of spatial epidemiology in HIV/AIDS control and prevention].
- Author
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Ma KF, Zhang XT, and Li DM
- Subjects
- Geographic Information Systems, Humans, Spatial Analysis, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome epidemiology, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome prevention & control, HIV Infections epidemiology, HIV Infections prevention & control
- Abstract
Spatial epidemiology focuses on the use of geographic information systems and spatial analysis to study spatial distribution and change tendency of diseases and explore the health status of specific populations. In recent years, spatial epidemiology has been applied in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. This review summarizes the progress in the application of spatial epidemiology in the analysis of spatiotemporal distribution, non-monitoring area data estimation, influencing factors of AIDS and health resource allocation and utilization to provide reference for its application in the prevention and control of AIDS in the future.
- Published
- 2022
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24. [Clinicopathological and prognostic characteristics of clear cell papillary renal cell carcinoma].
- Author
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Xu YW, Zhou JC, Xie HB, Yang WP, Li L, Zhang KN, Ma KF, Gong YQ, Zhang Z, Cai L, and Gong K
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prognosis, Retrospective Studies, Carcinoma, Renal Cell, Kidney Neoplasms
- Abstract
Objective: To analyze the epidemiological, clinicopathological and prognostic characteristics of clear cell papillary renal cell carcinoma (CCPRCC) based on Chinese patient population. Method: Patients with renal cell carcinoma diagnosed at Peking University First Hospital from June 2016 to June 2020 were included in this study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All cases were grouped according to CCPRCC, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC), and the general clinical, postoperative pathological and follow-up data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. Result: A total of 18 CCPRCC patients were enrolled in this study, accounting for 0.44% (18/4 110) of the postoperative pathologically confirmed renal cell carcinoma cases in our hospital during this time period. The age range of the included patients was 28-86 years old, with a median age of 49.5 years old. There were 11/18 males and 7/18 females. All CCPRCC patients had no family history of renal malignant tumors. Among them, only one patient with CCPRCC had related clinical symptoms, that was intermittent waist and abdomen pain, while the other 17 cases were found by physical examination without any related symptoms. Compared with ccRCC and pRCC, there was no significant difference in their end stage renal disease history(χ
2 ccRCC =0.291, χ2 pRCC =1.161,all P> 0.05). The maximum diameter of CCPRCC tumor was smaller than pRCC (χ2 =-2.280, P =0.027) but not significantly different from ccRCC (χ2 =-0.579, P =0.565). The majority of patients with CCPRCC were in pT1, their pathological stage was earlier than the other two types, and their overall survival was better than ccRCC and pRCC ( P< 0.05). Conclusion: CCPRCC is a type of renal cell carcinoma with unique epidemiology, clinicopathology and prognostic characteristics. Patients with this subtype have an earlier clinical stage and a better prognosis than ccRCC and pRCC.- Published
- 2021
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25. A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of Peri-Procedural Tissue Perfusion Techniques and their Clinical Value in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease.
- Author
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Wermelink B, Ma KF, Haalboom M, El Moumni M, de Vries JPM, and Geelkerken RH
- Subjects
- Endovascular Procedures, Humans, Peripheral Arterial Disease physiopathology, Peripheral Arterial Disease therapy, Predictive Value of Tests, Regional Blood Flow, Reproducibility of Results, Treatment Outcome, Vascular Surgical Procedures, Diagnostic Techniques, Cardiovascular, Perfusion Imaging, Peripheral Arterial Disease diagnosis
- Abstract
Objective: Many techniques have been introduced to enable quantification of tissue perfusion in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Currently, none of these techniques is widely used to analyse real time tissue perfusion changes during endovascular or surgical revascularisation procedures. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an up to date overview of the peri-procedural applicability of currently available techniques, diagnostic accuracy of assessing tissue perfusion and the relationship with clinical outcomes., Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials., Review Methods: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Four electronic databases were searched up to 31 12 2020 for eligible articles: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Eligible articles describing a perfusion measurement technique, used in a peri-procedural setting before and within 24 hours after the revascularisation procedure, with the aim of determining the effect of intervention in patients with PAD, were assessed for inclusion. The QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the risk of bias and applicability of the studies., Results: An overview of 10 techniques found in 26 eligible articles focused on study protocols, research goals, and clinical outcomes is provided. Non-invasive techniques included laser speckle contrast imaging, micro-lightguide spectrophotometry, magnetic resonance imaging perfusion, near infrared spectroscopy, skin perfusion pressure, and plantar thermography. Invasive techniques included two dimensional perfusion angiography, contrast enhanced ultrasound, computed tomography perfusion imaging, and indocyanine green angiography. The results of the 26 eligible studies, which were mostly of poor quality according to QUADAS-2, were without exception, not sufficient to substantiate implementation in daily clinical practice., Conclusion: This systematic review provides an overview of 10 tissue perfusion assessment techniques for patients with PAD. It seems too early to appoint one of them as a reference standard. The scope of future research in this domain should therefore focus on clinical accuracy, reliability, and validation of the techniques., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2021
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26. The Impact of Lower Extremity Skeletal Muscle Atrophy and Myosteatosis on Revascularization Outcomes in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease.
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Ma KF, Levolger S, Vedder IR, El Moumni M, de Vries JPM, Bokkers RPH, and Viddeleer AR
- Abstract
Background: This study investigated whether lower extremity muscle atrophy and myosteatosis in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are correlated to postoperative outcomes, such as reintervention or amputation-free survival., Methods: In this single-center retrospective cohort study of 462 patients treated for peripheral arterial disease scheduled for intervention, muscle mass and the presence of fattening of the lower extremity muscles were measured semiautomatically in a single computed tomography slice of the treated leg. Binary logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the effect of muscle atrophy and myosteatosis on reintervention and amputation., Results: Muscle atrophy and myosteatosis increased in PAD patients with Fontaine class IV compared with Fontaine class IIa. In PAD patients with muscle atrophy or myosteatosis, no association was found with the reintervention rate or reintervention-free survival, but an association was found with amputation-free survival, even after adjustment for patient-related, disease-severity, and comorbidities-related factors., Conclusion: Muscle atrophy and mysosteatosis increased in PAD patients with increasing disease severity. Lower extremity muscle atrophy and myosteatosis are associated with amputation rate and amputation-free survival in PAD patients. No association with reintervention rate or reintervention-free survival was found. Muscle atrophy and myosteatosis may serve as additional risk factors in decision making in the often frail vascular patient.
- Published
- 2021
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27. Population Pharmacokinetics of Vancomycin in Kidney Transplant Recipients: Model Building and Parameter Optimization.
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Ma KF, Liu YX, Jiao Z, Lv JH, Yang P, Wu JY, and Yang S
- Abstract
Background: Depending on the renal function of patients and many other influencing factors, studies on vancomycin pharmacokinetics show significant inter- and intra-individual variability. The present study was conducted using a population pharmacokinetics method to investigate the pharmacokinetic parameters and identified their influencing covariates for intravenous vancomycin in adult kidney transplant recipients., Methods: The drug monitoring data included 56 adult renal transplant recipients who received intravenous vancomycin as prophylactic medication. The analysis was performed by a population approach with NONMEM. Data were collected mainly during the first week after transplantation. Monitoring of vancomycin trough concentration in blood was initiated mainly 3-5 days after the initial administration., Results: The one-compartment open model was optimal and adequately described the data. Body weight (WT) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were identified as significant covariates of the pharmacokinetic parameters CL and V of intravenous vancomycin in the kidney transplant patients. The typical values of vancomycin CL and V were 2.08 L h
-1 and 63.2 L, respectively. A dosage strategy scheme according to model results was also designed., Conclusion: Both WT and GFR of the kidney transplant patients positively influence the pharmacokinetic parameters CL and V for intravenous vancomycin. Our population pharmacokinetic model provides a reference for vancomycin dosage adjustment in kidney transplant recipients., (Copyright © 2020 Ma, Liu, Jiao, Lv, Yang, Wu and Yang.)- Published
- 2020
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28. Transient glacial incision in the Patagonian Andes from ~6 Ma to present.
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Willett CD, Ma KF, Brandon MT, Hourigan JK, Christeleit EC, and Shuster DL
- Abstract
We report a mountain-scale record of erosion rates in the central Patagonian Andes from >10 million years (Ma) ago to present, which covers the transition from a fluvial to alpine glaciated landscape. Apatite (U-Th)/He ages of 72 granitic cobbles from alpine glacial deposits show slow erosion before ~6 Ma ago, followed by a two- to threefold increase in the spatially averaged erosion rate of the source region after the onset of alpine glaciations and a 15-fold increase in the top 25% of the distribution. This transition is followed by a pronounced decrease in erosion rates over the past ~3 Ma. We ascribe the pulse of fast erosion to local deepening and widening of valleys, which are characteristic features of alpine glaciated landscapes. The subsequent decline in local erosion rates may represent a return toward a balance between rock uplift and erosion., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).)
- Published
- 2020
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29. Quantification of muscle mass in the legs of patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease: associations between volumetric and cross-sectional single-slice measurements for identification of atrophy and focal sarcopenia.
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Ma KF, Berends B, Vedder IR, Levolger S, Gupta M, Schuurmann RC, de Vries JPPM, and Bokkers RP
- Subjects
- Aged, Female, Humans, Ischemia physiopathology, Male, Middle Aged, Muscle, Skeletal physiopathology, Muscular Atrophy physiopathology, Observer Variation, Peripheral Arterial Disease physiopathology, Predictive Value of Tests, Reproducibility of Results, Retrospective Studies, Sarcopenia physiopathology, Severity of Illness Index, Body Composition, Ischemia diagnostic imaging, Lower Extremity blood supply, Muscle, Skeletal diagnostic imaging, Muscular Atrophy diagnostic imaging, Peripheral Arterial Disease diagnostic imaging, Sarcopenia diagnostic imaging, Tomography, X-Ray Computed
- Abstract
Background: Sarcopenia, commonly determined by measuring skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) at the third lumbar level, has been identified as a predictor of clinical outcome in a variety of diseases. For patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), we hypothesized that lower extremity SMI (LESMI) might be a more precise predictor of outcome and the extent of chronic ischemia than the systemic muscle mass at the L3 level. We investigated the association between complete muscle volume and muscle area derived with single-slice 2-dimensional measurements in the legs to identify at which level cross-sectional single-slice measurements are most representative of the muscle volume and investigated whether LESMI is associated with systemic sarcopenia and PAOD severity., Methods: Muscle volumes and areas were semiautomatically segmented from computed tomography (CT) scans of the affected and contralateral legs of 50 PAOD patients with Fontaine stage IIb and 50 PAOD patients with Fontaine stage IV. The muscle mass was determined for the complete volumes of the upper and lower legs and for cross-sectional slices at 40%, 50%, and 60% of the length of the femur and tibia. Patients were determined as sarcopenic based on sex-specific cut-off values at the L3 spinal segment. Two observers segmented 20 randomly selected patients to determine the interobserver reliability with the intraclass correlation coefficient., Results: The correlation between the LESMI of the complete muscle volume and the three cross-sectional slices in all 200 upper and 200 lower legs was moderately strong to strong. Interobserver reliability of cross-sectional slice segmentation was excellent. The LESMI, both measured volumetrically and cross-sectionally, were significantly lower in patients with sarcopenia compared to patients without sarcopenia. The LESMI was lower in patients with Fontaine stage IV compared to patients with Fontaine stage IIb for both volumetric and cross-sectional measurements., Conclusions: Segmentation of skeletal muscle mass from cross-sectional single-slice CT in the upper and lower leg can accurately and precisely substitute complete volume segmentations. These findings warrant the use of measurements based on cross-sectional single-slice CT for assessing the LESMI. Patients with systemic sarcopenia are also at increased risk for muscle mass loss in the lower extremities. In the current study, LESMI was lower in patients with Fontaine class IV PAOD compared to patients with Fontaine class IIb PAOD. Future studies should assess the predictive value of the LESMI on clinical outcomes in PAOD patients.
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- 2019
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30. Hyperspectral imaging for noninvasive tissue perfusion measurements of the lower leg: review of literature and introduction of a standardized measurement protocol with a portable system.
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Kleiss SF, Ma KF, Schuurmann RC, El Moumni M, Zeebregts CJ, Bokkers RP, Ünlü Ç, and de Vries JPPM
- Subjects
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Microcirculation, Perfusion Imaging standards, Peripheral Arterial Disease physiopathology, Predictive Value of Tests, Prognosis, Regional Blood Flow, Severity of Illness Index, Spectrum Analysis, Wound Healing, Lower Extremity blood supply, Perfusion Imaging methods, Peripheral Arterial Disease diagnostic imaging
- Abstract
Introduction: Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a noninvasive technique for transcutaneous measurements of tissue perfusion. This study (1) provides a review of the current literature on HSI for tissue perfusion measurements of the lower leg and (2) introduces a standardized measurement protocol for HSI measurements with a portable system., Evidence Acquisition: A literature search was performed for studies on tissue perfusion measurements with HSI in the lower extremity. A standardized protocol was developed to perform HSI measurements in 43 healthy volunteers at the plantar side of the foot and at the lateral side of the calf, with 3 consecutive hyperspectral images at each location., Evidence Synthesis: The literature review identified 9 studies, including 2 of healthy volunteers, 4 of patients with diabetes mellitus, and 3 of patients with peripheral arterial disease. In 5 of 7 patient studies, HSI values were associated with severity of disease or wound healing. In our study, the healthy volunteers' HSI values for oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, and oxygen saturation were (mean±SD) 82.8±24, 55.7±15.7, and 59.2±11.7, respectively, at the plantar surface of the foot, and 40.8±11, 38.0±7.8, and 51.7±10.5, respectively, at the lateral side of the calf. HSI values differed significantly between the calf and plantar locations. Intraoperator reliability between the 3 consecutive images ranged from 81% to 89%., Conclusions: Limited evidence indicates that HSI is associated with severity of peripheral arterial disease and diabetes mellitus, and with wound healing. Hyperspectral images with a portable system can be taken with high precision when a standardized measurement protocol is used. However, differences exist at several locations at the lower extremity, so each measurement location should be used as its own reference when consecutive measurements are performed during follow-up. More studies with larger patient cohorts should be performed before HSI can be incorporated as standard tool in the diagnostic armamentarium of the vascular specialist.
- Published
- 2019
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31. [Construction of eukaryotic expression plasmid of pcDNA3.1(+)- CTGF and its expression in human osteoblast-like cells SaOS-2].
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Ma KF, Yang SG, and Liu SJ
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- Cell Line, Connective Tissue Growth Factor genetics, Humans, Plasmids genetics, Transfection, Connective Tissue Growth Factor metabolism, Genetic Vectors, Osteoblasts metabolism
- Abstract
Objective: To construct pcDNA3.1(+) eukaryotic expression plasmid of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF), and detected its expression in human osteoblast-like cells SaOS-2, which provides a technical support for further research on the mechanism of CTGF gene in bone development and bone repair process. ;Methods: The whole sequence of CTGF gene was cloned in vitro by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) method and connected to the linear pcDNA3.1(+) vector for constructing pcDNA3.1(+)-CTGF eukaryotic expression plasmid by homologous recombination technology. The plasmid was identified by sequencing. After identification, it was transfected into SaOS-2 cells and its expression was detected at 48 h. ;Results: pcDNA3.1(+)-CTGF eukaryotic expression recombinant plasmid was successfully constructed, which was confirmed by sequencing. Compared with the control group, CTGF expression level was significantly up-regulated after transfection of SaOS-2 cells for 48 h, up to five times as much as the control group. ;Conclusion: pcDNA3.1(+)-CTGF eukaryotic expression plasmid was successfully constructed and could be stably expressed in human osteoblasts-like cell SaOS-2, which laid a foundation for further study on the regulatory mechanism of CTGF gene on bone formation.
- Published
- 2019
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32. Telemedicine in patients with peripheral arterial disease: is it worth the effort?
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Haveman ME, Kleiss SF, Ma KF, Vos CG, Ünlü Ç, Schuurmann RCL, Bokkers RPH, Hermens HJ, and De Vries JPM
- Subjects
- Humans, Monitoring, Physiologic, Peripheral Arterial Disease surgery, Postoperative Care, Peripheral Arterial Disease therapy, Telemedicine
- Abstract
Introduction : For patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), the various components of telemedicine, such as telemonitoring, telecoaching, and teleconsultation, could be valuable in daily management. The objective of this review was to give an overview of the current use of telemedicine interventions in PAD. Areas covered : A literature search was performed for studies that evaluated patients with PAD of the aorto-pedal trajectory, who were monitored by telemedicine and acted upon accordingly. The primary outcome was health-related outcomes. The studies that were found focused mainly on wearable activity monitoring and telecoaching in PAD (n = 4) or wound monitoring after vascular surgery (n = 2). Main results indicate that telemedicine interventions are able to detect (post-operative) complications early, improve functional capacity and claudication onset time, and improve PAD patients' quality of life. Expert opinion : The use of telemedicine in PAD patients is still an under-explored area. Studies investigating the use of telemedicine in PAD are very limited and show varying results. Owing to its high potential in improving physical ability, lifestyle coaching, and timely detection of deterioration, future research should focus on proper implementation of telemedicine in PAD patients, including clinical and feasibility outcomes, effect on workload of nurses, and cost-efficiency.
- Published
- 2019
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33. A systematic review of diagnostic techniques to determine tissue perfusion in patients with peripheral arterial disease.
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Ma KF, Kleiss SF, Schuurmann RCL, Bokkers RPH, Ünlü Ç, and De Vries JPM
- Subjects
- Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Publication Bias, Tomography, Optical, Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures, Perfusion, Peripheral Arterial Disease diagnosis
- Abstract
Introduction : Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) may cause symptoms due to impaired tissue perfusion of the lower extremity. So far, assessment of PAD is mainly performed by determination of stenosis or occlusion in the large arteries and does not focus on microcirculation. Several diagnostic techniques have been recently introduced that may enable tissue perfusion measurements in the lower limb; however, most have not yet been implemented in clinical daily practice. This systematic review provides an overview of these diagnostic techniques and their ability to accurately detect PAD by peripheral tissue perfusion. Areas covered : A literature search was performed for articles that described a diagnostic technique to determine tissue perfusion in patients with known PAD compared with healthy controls. Expert opinion : So far, transcutaneous oxygen measurements are most often used to measure tissue oxygenation in PAD patients, but evidence seems too low to define this technique as a gold standard, and implementing this technique for home monitoring is difficult. New potentially suitable diagnostic tests should be non-invasive, contact-free, and quick. Further research is needed for all of these techniques before broad implementation in clinical use is justified, in hospital, and for home monitoring.
- Published
- 2019
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34. Genotype and phenotype correlation in von Hippel-Lindau disease based on alteration of the HIF-α binding site in VHL protein.
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Liu SJ, Wang JY, Peng SH, Li T, Ning XH, Hong BA, Liu JY, Wu PJ, Zhou BW, Zhou JC, Qi NN, Peng X, Zhang JF, Ma KF, Cai L, and Gong K
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Binding Sites genetics, Carcinoma, Renal Cell pathology, Female, Genetic Association Studies, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Missense genetics, Protein Binding, von Hippel-Lindau Disease pathology, Carcinoma, Renal Cell genetics, Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit genetics, Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein genetics, von Hippel-Lindau Disease genetics
- Abstract
Purpose: Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a rare hereditary cancer syndrome that reduces life expectancy. We aimed to construct a more valuable genotype-phenotype correlation based on alterations in VHL protein (pVHL)., Methods: VHL patients (n = 339) were recruited and grouped based on mutation types: HIF-α binding site missense (HM) mutations, non-HIF-α binding site missense (nHM) mutations, and truncating (TR) mutations. Age-related risks of VHL-associated tumors and patient survival were compared., Results: Missense mutations conferred an increased risk of pheochromocytoma (HR = 1.854, p = 0.047) compared with truncating mutations. The risk of pheochromocytoma was lower in the HM group than in the nHM group (HR = 0.298, p = 0.003) but was similar between HM and TR groups (HR = 0.901, p = 0.810). Patients in the nHM group had a higher risk of pheochromocytoma (HR = 3.447, p < 0.001) and lower risks of central nervous system hemangioblastoma (CHB) (HR = 0.700, p = 0.045), renal cell carcinoma (HR = 0.610, p = 0.024), and pancreatic tumor (HR = 0.382, p < 0.001) than those in the combined HM and TR (HMTR) group. Moreover, nHM mutations were independently associated with better overall survival (HR = 0.345, p = 0.005) and CHB-specific survival (HR = 0.129, p = 0.005) than HMTR mutations., Conclusion: The modified genotype-phenotype correlation links VHL gene mutation, substrate binding site, and phenotypic diversity (penetrance and survival), and provides more accurate information for genetic counseling and pathogenesis studies.
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- 2018
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35. Myt1l induced direct reprogramming of pericytes into cholinergic neurons.
- Author
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Liang XG, Tan C, Wang CK, Tao RR, Huang YJ, Ma KF, Fukunaga K, Huang MZ, and Han F
- Subjects
- Cell Differentiation drug effects, Cells, Cultured, Cellular Reprogramming drug effects, Cholinergic Neurons drug effects, Endothelium, Vascular cytology, Endothelium, Vascular drug effects, Endothelium, Vascular metabolism, Humans, Nerve Tissue Proteins pharmacology, Pericytes drug effects, Transcription Factors pharmacology, Cell Differentiation physiology, Cellular Reprogramming physiology, Cholinergic Neurons metabolism, Nerve Tissue Proteins biosynthesis, Pericytes metabolism, Transcription Factors biosynthesis
- Abstract
Objective: The cholinergic deficit is thought to underlie progressed cognitive decline in Alzheimer Disease. The lineage reprogramming of somatic cells into cholinergic neurons may provide strategies toward cell-based therapy of neurodegenerative diseases., Methods and Results: Here, we found that a combination of neuronal transcription factors, including Ascl1, Myt1l, Brn2, Tlx3, and miR124 (5Fs) were capable of directly converting human brain vascular pericytes (HBVPs) into cholinergic neuronal cells. Intriguingly, the inducible effect screening of reprogramming factors showed that a single reprogramming factor, Myt1l, induced cells to exhibit similarly positive staining for Tuj1, MAP2, ChAT, and VAChT upon lentivirus infection with the 5Fs after 30 days. HBVP-converted neurons were rarely labeled even after long-term incubation with BrdU staining, suggesting that induced neurons were directly converted from HBVPs rather than passing through a proliferative state. In addition, the overexpression of Myt1l induced the elevation of Ascl1, Brn2, and Ngn2 levels that contributed to reprogramming., Conclusions: Our findings provided proof of the principle that cholinergic neurons could be produced from HBVPs by reprogramming factor-mediated fate instruction. Myt1l was a critical mediator of induced neuron cell reprogramming. HBVPs represent another excellent alternative cell resource for cell-based therapy to treat neurodegenerative disease., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
- Published
- 2018
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36. Substantial Epigenetic Variation Causing Flower Color Chimerism in the Ornamental Tree Prunus mume Revealed by Single Base Resolution Methylome Detection and Transcriptome Sequencing.
- Author
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Ma KF, Zhang QX, Cheng TR, Yan XL, Pan HT, and Wang J
- Subjects
- Chimerism, DNA Transposable Elements, Epigenesis, Genetic, Flowers physiology, Gene Expression Regulation, Plant, Prunus physiology, Trees genetics, Trees physiology, DNA Methylation, Flowers genetics, Pigmentation, Prunus genetics, Transcriptome
- Abstract
Epigenetic changes caused by methylcytosine modification participate in gene regulation and transposable element (TE) repression, resulting in phenotypic variation. Although the effects of DNA methylation and TE repression on flower, fruit, seed coat, and leaf pigmentation have been investigated, little is known about the relationship between methylation and flower color chimerism. In this study, we used a comparative methylomic⁻transcriptomic approach to explore the molecular mechanism responsible for chimeric flowers in Prunus mume "Danban Tiaozhi". High-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry revealed that the variation in white (WT) and red (RT) petal tissues in this species is directly due to the accumulation of anthocyanins, i.e., cyanidin 3,5- O -diglucoside, cyanidin 3- O -glucoside, and peonidin 3- O -glucoside. We next mapped the first-ever generated methylomes of P . mume , and found that 11.29⁻14.83% of the genomic cytosine sites were methylated. We also determined that gene expression was negatively correlated with methylcytosine level in general, and uncovered significant epigenetic variation between WT and RT. Furthermore, we detected differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and DMR-related genes between WT and RT, and concluded that many of these genes, including differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and transcription factor genes, are critical participants in the anthocyanin regulatory pathway. Importantly, some of the associated DEGs harbored TE insertions that were also modified by methylcytosine. The above evidence suggest that flower color chimerism in P . mume is induced by the DNA methylation of critical genes and TEs.
- Published
- 2018
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37. Risk factors for survival in patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease.
- Author
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Wang JY, Peng SH, Li T, Ning XH, Liu SJ, Hong BA, Liu JY, Wu PJ, Zhou BW, Zhou JC, Qi NN, Peng X, Zhang JF, Ma KF, Cai L, and Gong K
- Subjects
- Adult, Age of Onset, Aged, China epidemiology, Female, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Counseling, Humans, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, Kidney Neoplasms genetics, Kidney Neoplasms pathology, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Proportional Hazards Models, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, von Hippel-Lindau Disease genetics, von Hippel-Lindau Disease pathology, Kidney Neoplasms epidemiology, Survival, von Hippel-Lindau Disease epidemiology
- Abstract
Background: Historically, von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is characterised by a poor survival. Although genotype-phenotype correlation has been described in many studies, the risk factors for VHL survival remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate the median survival of Chinese patients with VHL disease and explore whether VHL survival is influenced by genetic and clinical factors., Methods: In this retrospective study, we recruited 340 patients from 127 VHL families. Kaplan-Meier plot and Cox regression model were used to evaluate the median survival and assess how survival was influenced by birth year, birth order, sex, family history, mutation type, onset age and first presenting symptom., Results: The estimated median life expectancy for Chinese patients with VHL disease was 62 years. Patients with early-onset age, positive family history and truncating mutation types had poorer overall and VHL-related survival. Patients with haemangioblastoma as their first presenting symptom were related to a higher risk of death from central nervous system haemangioblastoma than those with abdominal lesions (HR 8.84, 95% CI 2.04 to 38.37, P=0.004)., Conclusions: This largest VHL survival analysis indicates that onset age, family history, mutation type and first presenting symptom have an effect on the survival of patients with VHL disease, which is helpful to genetic counselling and clinical decision-making., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)
- Published
- 2018
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38. Self-inflicted transorbital brain injury by chopsticks in a patient with acute psychosis.
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Lee YC, Kwan HH, Wong T, Pan NY, Lai HY, and Ma KF
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- Brain Injuries complications, Cooking and Eating Utensils, Head Injuries, Penetrating complications, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Brain Injuries diagnostic imaging, Foreign Bodies diagnostic imaging, Head Injuries, Penetrating diagnostic imaging, Psychotic Disorders psychology
- Published
- 2017
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39. Impact of high fat diet on long non-coding RNAs and messenger RNAs expression in the aortas of ApoE(-/-) mice.
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Bao MH, Luo HQ, Chen LH, Tang L, Ma KF, Xiang J, Dong LP, Zeng J, Li GY, and Li JM
- Subjects
- Animals, Body Weight, Gene Regulatory Networks, Lipids blood, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Aorta metabolism, Apolipoproteins E genetics, Diet, High-Fat, RNA, Long Noncoding genetics, RNA, Messenger genetics
- Abstract
Atherosclerosis is a chronic multifactorial inflammatory disease with high prevalence worldwide, and has become the leading cause of death. The present study was designed to investigate the impact of high-fat diet on ApoE(-/-) mice exhibiting atherosclerosis by detecting the genome-wide expression profile of lncRNAs and mRNAs. A total of 354 differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified (≥2.0 folds). Simultaneously, 357 differentially expressed mRNAs from the same chip were found. The expression differences of lncRNAs and mRNAs were consistent in both qPCR and microarray detection. Annotation results of the mRNAs which correlated with lncRNAs showed that the commonly related pathways were metabolism and inflammation. Hypergeometric distribution analysis indicated that the differentially expressed lncRNAs had been mostly regulated by transcription factors (TFs) such as Myod1, Rxra, Pparg, Tcf3, etc. Additional lncRNA-target-TFs network analysis was conducted for the top 20 differentially expressed lncRNAs. The results indicated Hnf4a, Ppara, Vdr, and Runx3 as the TFs most likely to regulate the production of these lncRNAs, and might play roles in inflammatory and metabolic processes in atherosclerosis. In a nutshell, the present study identified a panel of dysregulated lncRNAs and mRNAs that may be potential biomarkers or drug targets relevant to the high-fat diet related atherogenesis.
- Published
- 2016
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40. Clinical significance of lymphatic vessel invasion in stage I non-small cell lung cancer patients.
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Ma KF, Chu XY, and Liu Y
- Subjects
- Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, Neoplasm Staging, Prognosis, Proportional Hazards Models, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Survival Rate, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung diagnosis, Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung pathology, Lymphatic Metastasis pathology, Lymphatic Vessels pathology, Neoplasm Invasiveness pathology
- Abstract
The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prognostic influence of lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) in stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. From January 2004 to December 2007, LVI was detected in 57 patients with T1N0M0 NSCLC; therefore, 114 patients with the same pathology, T stage, and surgery method, but without LVI, were selected as the control group to compare survival. The overall survival and relapse-free survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards analysis. The average follow-up length was 59.94 ± 23.1 months. The 5-year overall survival rates of the LVI-negative and the LVI-positive groups were 90.54 and 70.1%, respectively (P = 0.002). A multivariate analysis revealed LVI to be an independent predictive factor (hazard ratio = 4.562; P = 0.004). The 5-year overall survival rates for patients who received postoperative adjunctive therapy and those who did not in the LVI-positive group were 88.2 and 61.5%, respectively, with a P value less than 0.05 in both univariate and multivariate analyses. LVI is a poor prognostic factor in stage I NSCLC patients; postoperative adjunctive therapy is needed to improve the prognosis of NSCLC patients with LVI.
- Published
- 2015
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41. Transient cortical blindness following vertebral angiography: a case report.
- Author
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Lo LW, Chan HF, Ma KF, Cheng LF, and Chan TK
- Abstract
Transient cortical blindness (TCB) is a rare but well-known complication of cerebral angiography. Its pathophysiology remains uncertain. We would like to report a case of TCB in a patient during a follow up vertebral angiogram for post-coil embolization of left posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm. Patient's vision was resumed spontaneously within 24 hours after angiography, with no residual neurological deficit in subsequent clinical follow up. Multi-modality imaging evaluation including vertebral angiography, brain CT and MRI performed on same day are presented.
- Published
- 2015
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42. How stemlike are sphere cultures from long-term cancer cell lines? Lessons from mouse glioma models.
- Author
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Ahmad M, Frei K, Willscher E, Stefanski A, Kaulich K, Roth P, Stühler K, Reifenberger G, Binder H, and Weller M
- Subjects
- Animals, Cell Line, Tumor, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Glioma pathology, Neoplastic Stem Cells pathology
- Abstract
Cancer stem cells may mediate therapy resistance and recurrence in various types of cancer, including glioblastoma. Cancer stemlike cells can be isolated from long-term cancer cell lines, including glioma lines. Using sphere formation as a model for cancer cell stemness in vitro, we derived sphere cultures from SMA-497, SMA-540, SMA-560, and GL-261 glioma cells. Gene expression and proteomics profiling demonstrated that sphere cultures uniformly showed an elevated expression of stemness-associated genes, notably including CD44. Differences in neural lineage marker expression between nonsphere and sphere cultures were heterogeneous except for a uniform reduction of β-III-tubulin in sphere cultures. All sphere cultures showed slower growth. Self-renewal capacity was influenced by medium conditions but not nonsphere versus sphere culture phenotype. Sphere cultures were more resistant to irradiation, whereas both nonsphere and sphere cultures were highly resistant to temozolomide. Nonsphere cells formed more aggressive tumors in syngeneic mice than sphere cells in all models except SMA-560. There were no major differences in vascularization or infiltration by T cells or microglia/macrophages between nonsphere and sphere cell-derived tumors implanted in syngeneic hosts. Together, these data indicate that mouse glioma cell lines may be induced in vitro to form spheres that acquire features of stemness, but they do not exhibit a uniform biologic phenotype, thereby challenging the view that they represent a superior model system.
- Published
- 2014
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43. CYP1A2 polymorphism in Chinese patients with acute liver injury induced by Polygonum multiflorum.
- Author
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Ma KF, Zhang XG, and Jia HY
- Subjects
- Adult, Alleles, Asian People, Case-Control Studies, China, Drugs, Chinese Herbal adverse effects, Female, Gene Frequency, Genotype, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Polygonum adverse effects, Polygonum chemistry, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury genetics, Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2 genetics, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Polymorphism, Genetic
- Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the genotype and allelic frequencies of CYP1A2 in Chinese patients with acute liver injury induced by Polygonum multiflorum. We examined the clinical mechanism of acute liver injury induced by P. multiflorum. According to the diagnostic criteria for drug-induced liver injury (DILI), 43 cases of P. multiflorum-induced liver injury admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University were identified between January 2008 and December 2012. An additional 43 control subjects were also chosen. Several alleles, including 1C, 1F, 2, 7, 9, and 11 of CYP1A2 were amplified from genomic DNA and sequenced. We used the chi-square test to determine whether CYP1A2 allele polymorphisms are associated with acute liver injury induced by P. multiflorum. The frequency of the CYP1A2 1C allele was 46.5% in P. multiflorum-induced DILI patients, which was significantly different from the frequency of 27.9% observed in healthy subjects. The frequency of the CYP1A2 1F allele was 63.9% in P. multiflorum-induced DILI patients, compared to 57.0% in healthy controls; the difference was not significant. The allelic frequencies of CYP1A2 2, CYP1A2 7, CYP1A2 9, and CYP1A2 11 were too low to be detected. The frequency of the CYP1A2 1C mutation in Chinese patients with P. multiflorum-induced acute liver injury differed from that in healthy Chinese people, indicating that CYP1A2 1C is probably related to metabolism of P. multiflorum, which is followed by acute liver injury.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
44. Impact of pharmacist antimicrobial dosing adjustments in septic patients on continuous renal replacement therapy in an intensive care unit.
- Author
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Jiang SP, Zhu ZY, Ma KF, Zheng X, and Lu XY
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Anti-Infective Agents adverse effects, Critical Care economics, Critical Care standards, Female, Humans, Male, Medication Errors prevention & control, Middle Aged, Anti-Infective Agents administration & dosage, Critical Care methods, Pharmacists, Renal Replacement Therapy methods, Sepsis drug therapy
- Abstract
Background: Correct dosing of antimicrobial drugs in septic patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is complex. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dosing adjustments performed by pharmacists on the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, ICU cost, and antimicrobial adverse drug events (ADEs)., Methods: A single-center, 2-phase (pre-/post-intervention) study was performed in an ICU of a university-affiliated hospital. Septic patients receiving CRRT in the post-intervention phase received a specialized antimicrobial dosing service from critical care pharmacists, whereas patients in the pre-intervention phase received routine medical care without involving pharmacists. The 2 phases were compared to evaluate the outcomes of pharmacist interventions., Results: Pharmacists made 183 antimicrobial dosing adjustment recommendations for septic patients receiving CRRT. Changes in CRRT-related variables (116, 63.4%) were the most common risk factors for dosing errors, and β-lactams (101, 55.2%) were the antimicrobials most commonly associated with dosing errors. Dosing adjustments were related to a reduced length of ICU stay from 10.7 ± 11.1 days to 7.7 ± 8.3 days (p = 0.037) in the intervention group, and to cost savings of $3525 (13,463 ± 12,045 vs. 9938 ± 8811, p = 0.038) per septic patient receiving CRRT in the ICU. Suspected antimicrobial adverse drug events in the intervention group were significantly fewer than in the pre-intervention group (19 events vs. 8 events, p = 0.048)., Conclusions: The involvement of pharmacists in antimicrobial dosing adjustments in septic patients receiving CRRT is associated with a reduced length of ICU stay, lower ICU costs, and fewer ADEs. Hospitals may consider employing clinical pharmacists in ICUs.
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
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45. The role of ursodeoxycholic acid in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: a systematic review.
- Author
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Xiang Z, Chen YP, Ma KF, Ye YF, Zheng L, Yang YD, Li YM, and Jin X
- Subjects
- Humans, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Treatment Outcome, Cholagogues and Choleretics therapeutic use, Fatty Liver drug therapy, Ursodeoxycholic Acid therapeutic use
- Abstract
Background: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a condition that occurs during the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Effective therapy for NASH is still lacking. In this study, we investigated the effects of Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the treatment of NASH., Methods: Western and Chinese databases were searched by independent investigators using appropriate MESH headings to identify randomized, controlled Western and Chinese clinical trials, published between January 1990 and October 2012, testing the effects of UDCA in patients with NASH. Patient characteristics and trial endpoints were analyzed, with quality assessment according to widely acknowledged criteria. P < 0.05 was defined as statistically significant in all trials., Results: Twelve qualified randomized clinical trials, including six from China and involving 1160 subjects, were selected. Seven of these trials assessed the effects of UDCA Monotherapy, with the other five testing combinations of UDCA with vitamin E, polyene phosphatidylcholine, silymarin, glycyrrhizin and tiopronin. The duration of therapy ranged from 3 to 24 months, with two studies using high doses of UDCA (23-35 mg/kg/d). The average quality point was 2.69, and was significantly lower in articles from China than in those from Western countries (2.2 ± 0.4 vs. 3.8 ± 1.1, respectively, p < 0.05). UDCA Monotherapy significantly improved liver function in five studies and improved steatosis and fibrosis in two studies. All five studies assessing UDCA combination therapy showed significant improvements liver function, while two studies also improved steatosis and inflammation. One study of high-dose UDCA showed significant improvements in ALT, γGT and liver fibrosis, whereas the other study showed no significant change in ALT and liver pathology., Conclusions: UDCA therapy is effective in NASH, especially when combined with other drugs. However, the low quality of these studies and the heterogeneity of their results precluded further meta-analysis. Additional carefully designed clinical trials are needed, especially in China.
- Published
- 2013
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46. [Characteristics of microsomal phase II metabolic enzymes in mouse embryonic stem cell-derived liver tissue].
- Author
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Li T, Guo MY, Ma KF, Du Y, He LY, Zhu DY, and Lou YJ
- Subjects
- Animals, Cell Differentiation, Embryoid Bodies cytology, Embryonic Stem Cells cytology, Hepatocytes cytology, Mice, Glucuronosyltransferase physiology, Glutathione Transferase physiology, Hepatocytes enzymology
- Abstract
Objective: To investigate the characteristics of phase II metabolic enzymes in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived liver tissue., Methods: Mature hepatocytes were differentiated from embryonic stem cells in cultured mouse embryoid bodies (EB) at d18. Western blot was used to detect the expression of uridine 5'-diphosphate glucronosyl transferase (UGT1a1,UGT1a6) and microsomal glutathione S-transferases 1(mGST1) during the differentiation course.The derived liver tissue was incubated with UDPGA and 7-HFC,the formation of 7-HFC glucuronide was detected by HPLC to examine the total activities of UGT1a1 and UGT1a6. Furthermore, the microsomes were incubated with CDNB and GSH,and the mGST1 activity was measured by spectrometry., Results: An increase tendency of UGT1a1 expression was noticed during the differentiation course. UGT1a6 and mGST1 were not detected in the earlier stage until d18 of differentiation. The metabolic activity of mGST1 in the derived hepatocytes was 7.65 nmol/min/mg on d18., Conclusion: The ES cell-derived liver tissue possesses partial metabolic function of phase II enzymes on d18 of differentiation,which might be used as a model for in vitro research on hepatic pathophysiology and phase II drug metabolism.
- Published
- 2013
47. Uncoupling protein and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Author
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Jin X, Xiang Z, Chen YP, Ma KF, Ye YF, and Li YM
- Subjects
- Animals, Fatty Acids, Nonesterified metabolism, Fatty Liver metabolism, Humans, Mitochondrial Proteins analysis, Mitochondrial Proteins chemistry, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Uncoupling Protein 2, Fatty Liver etiology, Ion Channels physiology, Mitochondrial Proteins physiology
- Abstract
Objective: To review the current advances on the role of uncoupling protein (UCP) in the pathogenesis and progress of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)., Data Sources: A comprehensive search of the PubMed literature without restriction on the publication date was carried out using keywords such as UCP and NAFLD., Study Selection: Articles containing information related to NAFLD and UCP were selected and carefully analyzed., Results: The typical concepts, up-to-date findings, and existing controversies of UCP2 in NAFLD were summarized. Besides, the effect of a novel subtype of UCP (hepatocellular down regulated mitochondrial carrier protein, HDMCP) in NAFLD was also analyzed. Finally, the concept that any mitochondrial inner membrane carrier protein may have, more or less, the uncoupling ability was reinforced., Conclusions: Considering the importance of NAFLD in clinics and UCP in energy metabolism, we believe that this review may raise research enthusiasm on the effect of UCP in NAFLD and provide a novel mechanism and therapeutic target for NAFLD.
- Published
- 2013
48. Helicobacter pylori and Crohn's disease: a retrospective single-center study from China.
- Author
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Xiang Z, Chen YP, Ye YF, Ma KF, Chen SH, Zheng L, Yang YD, and Jin X
- Subjects
- Adult, Biopsy, Breath Tests, Chi-Square Distribution, China, Crohn Disease diagnosis, Crohn Disease therapy, Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal, Female, Helicobacter Infections diagnosis, Helicobacter Infections microbiology, Helicobacter Infections therapy, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Prognosis, Remission Induction, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Serologic Tests, Severity of Illness Index, Crohn Disease epidemiology, Helicobacter Infections epidemiology, Helicobacter pylori isolation & purification
- Abstract
Aim: To investigate the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and the prevalence of Crohn's disease (CD)., Methods: Subjects were selected from patients admitted the gastrointestinal (GI) department at The First Affiliated Hospital School of Medicine (Zhejiang University) for abdominal pain, hematochezia, diarrhea and other GI symptoms between January 2008 and September 2012. CD was diagnosed by endoscopy and biopsy. H. pylori infection was detected by a (14)C-urea breath test and culturing of the biopsy sample. Demographic, anthropometric and serologic data were collected for each patient. H. pylori infection rate was compared between CD and control groups, followed by a subgroup analysis based on extent and severity of CD. Student's t, Mann-Whiney U, and χ(2) tests were used to analyze the data., Results: A total of 447 patients were analyzed, including 229 in the CD group and 248 in the control group. There were no significant differences in age, sex, and rates of hypertension or diabetes. However, the CD group showed significantly higher rates of smoking history (34.9% vs 18.1%), alcohol intake (17.4% vs 8.1%), white blood cell count (9.7 ± 2.9 × 10(9)/L vs 4.3 ± 0.9 × 10(9)/L), and C-reactive protein (36.3 ± 20.8 mg/L vs 5.5 ± 2.3 mg/L) but lower body mass index (24.5 ± 2.0 kg/m(2) vs 26.0 ± 2.2 kg/m(2)) than the control group. The H. pylori infection rate in the CD group was 27.1%, significantly lower than that of 47.9% in the control group. Furthermore, the H. pylori infection rates in patients with colonic, small intestine, ileocolonic and extensive CD were 31.1%, 28.9%, 26.8% and 25.9% respectively, all of which were significantly lower than in the control group. Finally, the H. pylori infection rates in patients with remission, moderate and severe CD were 34.3%, 30.7% and 22.0% respectively, which were also significantly lower than in the control group., Conclusion: Lower H. pylori infection in CD patients suggests a correlation between bacterial infection and CD, suggesting caution when considering H. pylori eradication in CD patients.
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
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49. Isotropic events observed with a borehole array in the Chelungpu fault zone, Taiwan.
- Author
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Ma KF, Lin YY, Lee SJ, Mori J, and Brodsky EE
- Abstract
Shear failure is the dominant mode of earthquake-causing rock failure along faults. High fluid pressure can also potentially induce rock failure by opening cavities and cracks, but an active example of this process has not been directly observed in a fault zone. Using borehole array data collected along the low-stress Chelungpu fault zone, Taiwan, we observed several small seismic events (I-type events) in a fluid-rich permeable zone directly below the impermeable slip zone of the 1999 moment magnitude 7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake. Modeling of the events suggests an isotropic, nonshear source mechanism likely associated with natural hydraulic fractures. These seismic events may be associated with the formation of veins and other fluid features often observed in rocks surrounding fault zones and may be similar to artificially induced hydraulic fracturing.
- Published
- 2012
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50. An appraisal of timely magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosing spinal cord compression.
- Author
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Wong CS, Chu YC, Ma KF, and Cheng LF
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Diagnostic Imaging methods, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Radiography, Spinal Cord diagnostic imaging, Spinal Cord pathology, Spinal Cord Compression diagnostic imaging, Time Factors, Magnetic Resonance Imaging methods, Spinal Cord Compression diagnosis, Spinal Cord Compression pathology
- Abstract
Introduction: Spinal cord compression is a very debilitating condition and could be secondary to many causes. Urgent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the spine is crucial in making the diagnosis and guiding further management. Our objectives were to assess the nature of MR imaging requests, the diagnostic yield, and the subsequent management according to relevant MR imaging findings., Methods: We focused on all the urgent MR imagings of the spine conducted from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. Clinical data, including the demographical information, presenting symptoms, radiological diagnosis, waiting time for MR imaging and treatment, was reviewed., Results: A total of 33 cases of urgent MR imaging of the spine were performed. Patients were aged 29-85 years, with 18 males and 15 females. Most of them (84.8 percent) presented with neurological symptoms. 84 percent of the MR imaging was performed within 24 hours. 76 percent of the examinations yielded significant cord compression, of which 56 percent were due to vertebral metastasis, while others were due to epidural haematoma (12 percent), infective spondylodiscitis (8 percent), vertebral fracture (8 percent) and disc herniation (16 percent). Of the vertebral metastasis patients, 43 percent had one region imaged. 64 percent of the cord compression patients received surgical treatment or radiotherapy, with a mean waiting time of 1.7 days., Conclusion: The urgent MR imaging spine service was able to react promptly with a high diagnostic yield. One-third of the patients with vertebral metastasis had multiple levels involved, and imaging of the whole spine would be useful.
- Published
- 2009
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