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Objective To explore the application effect of standardized quality control concept in the quality control of ultrasound department. Methods A standardized quality control management system was established, based on the quality control concepts of 'medical quality first, medical safety first', 'PDCA continuous improvement', and 'full-process quality control and all-department participation'. We compared average outpatient and inpatient ultrasound appointment times from January 2019 to June 2019 and January 2021 to June 2021, patient satisfaction and clinical satisfaction data of ultrasound department from January 2019 to June 2019 and October 2019 to March 2020 before and after the establishment of the standardized quality control management system, and the annual ultrasound diagnosis consistent rate from 2020 to 2021 after the establishment of the standardized quality control management system. Results After the establishment of the standardized quality control management system, the mean outpatient ultrasound appointment time and inpatient ultrasound appointment time was shortened[(5.00±0.89)days vs. (13.33±2.81)days, P=0.009; (1.33±0.52)days vs. (3.50±0.55)days, P=0.448]. The scores of patient and clinical satisfaction were significantly higher than those before implementation[(89.56±0.95)points vs. (86.91±3.12)points, (87.28±2.04)points vs. (82.95±4.59)points], and all differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The consistent rate of ultrasound diagnosis in 2021 (94.7%) was significantly higher than that in 2020 (93.5%)(P < 0.05). Conclusion The establishment of the standardized quality control system has shortened the average appointment time for outpatient and inpatient ultrasound examinations, improved the patient and clinical satisfaction and the average ultrasound diagnostic compliance rate, and effectively improved the quality of medical services and quality control, thus showing good application effects on ultrasound quality control.

Objective: Using rabbit models, this study simulated the laryngopharynx's response to the synergistic effects of various acidic reflux environments and pepsin to investigate the response mechanism underlying weak acid reflux and pepsin in the mucosal barrier injury of laryngopharyngeal reflux. Methods: The rabbits were divided into six groups, and the original larynx was recorded for each group. During the study period, rabbits were sprayed with different doses of acid and pepsin solutions and monitored for hypopharyngeal mucosal transient impedance before and after modeling. After the experiment, laryngeal mucosal tissues were collected, observed using hematoxylin and eosin staining, and assessed for E-cadherin expression. The width of the intercellular space and lanthanum staining penetrating the intercellular space were also observed using electron microscopy. Results: Eight weeks post-modeling, evidence of laryngopharyngeal mucosa inflammatory responses was observed in each group. Downregulation of E-cadherin expression significantly positively correlated with acid strength (p < 0.05). The pepsin and acid intervention groups showed a significantly widened space between mucosal epithelial cells in the posterior ring area (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, in the experimental group, a large amount of stained lanthanum penetrated the intercellular spaces; however, no significant difference was observed in the mucosal impedance (MI). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that acid, weak acid, and pepsin could damage the laryngeal mucosal barrier; pepsin was an independent factor associated with tissue damage; the downregulation of hypopharyngeal cadherin was associated with acid-intensity exposure. Transient LP-MI cannot be applied directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To probe the microbiota composition progressing from healthy individuals to those with laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) and subsequently undergoing potassium‐competitive acid inhibitor (P‐CAB) therapy. Study Design: Prospective case‐control study. Setting: Academic Medical Center. Methods: Forty patients with LPRD and 51 patients without LPRD were recruited. An 8‐week P‐CAB therapy was initiated (post‐T‐LPRD), and 39 had return visits. In total, 130 laryngopharyngeal saliva samples were collected and sequenced by targeting the V3‐V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene using an Illumina MiSeq. Amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and clinical indices were analyzed. Results: Alpha and beta diversities were compared among the non‐LPRD, LPRD, and post‐T‐LPRD groups, and the Observed_ASVs were not significantly different. At the same time, the Shannon and Simpson indices, unweighted Unifrac, weighted Unifrac, and binary Jaccard distance were significantly different between non‐LPRD and LPRD groups. In addition, significant differences were found in the abundance of Streptococcus, Prevotella, and Prevotellaceae in the LPRD versus non‐LPRD groups, and Neisseria, Leptotrichia, and Allprevotella in the LPRD versus post‐T‐LPRD groups. The genera model was used to distinguish patients with LPRD from those without, and a better receiver operating characteristic curve was formed after combining the clinical indices of reflux symptom index, reflux finding score, and pepsin, with an area under the curve of 0.960. Conclusion: Laryngopharyngeal microbial communities changed after laryngopharyngeal reflux and were modified further after P‐CAB treatment, which provides a potential diagnostic value for LPRD, especially when combined with clinical indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use and nutrient enrichment can substantially affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, whether and how the responses of community temporal stability to land use and nutrient enrichment change with time remain poorly understood. As part of a 15-year (2005–2019) field experiment, this study was conducted to explore the effects of mowing, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions on community temporal stability in a temperate steppe on the Mongolian Plateau. Over the 15 years, N and P additions decreased community temporal stability by reducing the population stability, especially the shrub and semi-shrub stability. However, mowing increased community temporal stability in the early stage (2005–2009) only. Nitrogen addition suppressed community temporal stability in the early and late (2015–2019) stages, whereas enhanced it in the intermediate stage (2010–2014). Phosphorus addition decreased community temporal stability marginally in the early stage and significantly in the late stage. The fluctuations of N-induced changes in community temporal stability are mainly explained by its diverse effects on species asynchrony and population stability over time. Our findings highlight the important role of plant functional groups and species asynchrony in regulating community temporal stability, suggesting that more long-term studies are needed to accurately forecast ecosystem response patterns in the context of global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a divergence-narrowed broad-area laser-diode array (LDA) with an external-cavity configuration that consists of a beam-transformation system and an off-axis reflecting mirror. Sixteen off-axis external-cavity laser diodes are formed for the high-power LDA. At a drive current of 21.2 A (four times the threshold current), the divergence angle full width at half maximum of the slow axis is reduced from 7.26° without the external cavity to 1.45° with the external cavity. The external-cavity LDA achieves a cw power output of 9.8 W, which is 60% of the free-running LDA. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]