The use of individual-based FDG-PET volume of interest in predicting conversion from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.

BACKGROUND: Based on a longitudinal cohort design, the aim of this study was to investigate whether individual-based 18F fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET) regional signals can predict dementia conversion in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS: We included 44 MCI converters (MCI-C), 38 non-converters (MCI-NC), 42 patients with Alzheimer's disease with dementia, and 40 cognitively normal controls. Data from annual cognitive measurements, 3D T1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and 18F-FDG-PET scans were used for outcome analysis. An individual-based FDG-PET approach was applied using seven volumes of interest (VOIs), Z transformed using a normal FDG-PET template. Hypometabolism was defined as a Z score < -2 of regional standard uptake value ratio. For the longitudinal cognitive test scores, generalized estimating equations were used. A linear mixed-effects model was used to compare the temporal impact of cortical hypometabolism and cortical thickness degeneration. RESULTS: The clinical follow-up period was 6.6 ± 3.8 years (range 3.1 to 16.0 years). The trend of cognitive decline could differentiate MCI-C from MCI-NC after 3 years of follow-up. In the baseline 18F-FDG-PET scan of the patients with MCI, medial temporal lobe (MTL; 94.7% sensitivity, 80.5% specificity) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC; 89.5% sensitivity, 73.1% specificity) hypometabolism predicted conversion with high accuracy. 18F-FDG-PET hypometabolism preceded dementia conversion at an interval of 3.70 ± 1.68 years and was earlier than volumetric changes, with the exception of the MTL. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding supports the use of individual-based 18F-FDG-PET analysis to predict MCI conversion to dementia. Reduced FDG-PET metabolism in the MTL and PCC were strongly associated with future cognitive decline in the MCI-C group. Changes in 18F-FDG-PET occurred 1 to 8 years prior to conversion to dementia. Progressive hypometabolism in the PCC, precuneus and lateral temporal lobe, but not MTL, preceded MRI findings at the MCI stage.

Bioactive 5/5/5/6 Four-Ring System Iridoids from Plumeria alba L.

Two rare 5/5/5/6 four-ring system iridoids, allamancins A and B (1 and 2) together with one known biogenetically related iridoid derivative, 3-O-methyallamancin (3) were isolated from the flowers of Plumeria alba L. The structures of these iridoid derivatives were determined by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configuration of 1 was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The inhibitory activities of compounds 1-3 against nitric oxide (NO) production induced and three cancer cell lines were evaluated in vitro. Compounds 1 and 3 showed inhibitory activities on NO production with IC50 values of 18.3±0.12 and 22.1±0.14 µM, respectively. Compounds 1-3 showed moderate inhibitory activities against cancer cell lines of A549, Hela and MCF-7.

Peach Kernel Extracts Inhibit Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Activation of HSC-T6 Hepatic Stellate Cells.

There is an important role for hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in liver fibrosis. As it stands, many traditional Chinese medicine formulations can effectively improve liver fibrosis, whether it is clinically used or in animal studies; however, the efficacy and mechanism of the main formulations remain unclear, including the peach kernel, which contains numerous phytochemicals with a wide range of biological activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate peach kernel's anti-liver fibrosis effects. In this study, peach kernel extracts inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activation in HSC-T6 cells and the expression of α-smooth muscle actin and connective tissue growth factor induced by LPS in HSC-T6 cells. Furthermore, peach kernel extracts inhibited signal transducers involving protein kinase B and mitogen-activated protein kinase, which regulate downstream genes associated with inflammation. As a result, peach kernel extracts inhibited inflammatory responses and subsequently inhibited LPS-induced transformation of activated HSC-T6 cells.

Dynamical diversity of pulsating solitons in a fiber laser.

Pulsating behavior is a universal phenomenon in versatile fields. In nonlinear dissipative systems, the solitons also pulsate under proper conditions and show many interesting dynamics. However, the pulsation dynamics are generally concerned with single-soliton cases. Herein, by utilizing real-time spectroscopy technique, namely, dispersive Fourier-transform (DFT), we reveal the distinct dynamical diversity of pulsating solitons in a fiber laser. In particular, the weak to strong explosive behaviors of pulsating solitons, as well as the rogue wave generation during explosions are observed. Moreover, the concept of soliton pulsation is extended to the multi-soliton case. It is found that the simultaneous pulsations of energy, separation and relative phase difference could be observed for solitons inside the molecule, while the pulsations of each individual in a multi-soliton bunch could be regular or irregular. These findings will shed new insights into the complex nonlinear behavior of solitons in ultrafast fiber lasers as well as dissipative optical systems.

Buildup dynamics of dissipative soliton in an ultrafast fiber laser with net-normal dispersion.

Taking advantage of technology of spatio-temporal reconstruction and dispersive Fourier transform (DFT), we experimentally observed the buildup dynamics of dissipative soliton in an ultrafast fiber laser in the net-normal dispersion regime. The soliton buildup dynamics were analyzed in both the spectral and temporal domains. We firstly revealed that the appearing of the spectral sharp peaks with oscillation structures during the mode-locking transition is caused by the formation of structural dissipative soliton. The experimental results were explained by the numerical simulations. These findings would give some new insights into the dissipative soliton buildup dynamics in ultrafast fiber lasers.

Coexistence of rectangular and Gaussian-shape noise-like pulses in a figure-eight fiber laser.

We experimentally report the coexistence of the rectangular noise-like pulse (NLP) and the Gaussian-shape NLP in a figure-eight fiber laser. Benefiting from the strengthened nonlinear effect of a segment of highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) in the cavity, the coexistent NLPs with various patterns, i.e. one rectangular pulse with one Gaussian-shape pulse, one rectangular pulse with two Gaussian-shape pulses and two rectangular pulses with one Gaussian-shape pulse, are formed depending on the cavity parameters setting. In particular, the evolution of these coexistent NLPs properties with pump power is investigated. It is found that the duration of the rectangular pulse always increases, while the Gaussian-shape pulse has almost no changes with the increasing pump power. The achieved results demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the pulses with different shapes can coexist under the NLP regime, which contributes to further understanding the fundamental characteristics of the NLPs and multiple pulses.

Tunable and switchable dual-waveband ultrafast fiber laser with 100 GHz repetition-rate.

We demonstrate a tunable and switchable dual-waveband 100 GHz high-repetition-rate (HRR) ultrafast fiber laser based on dissipative four-wave-mixing (DFWM) mode-locked technique. Each waveband maintains HRR operation. The DFWM effect was realized by combining a Fabry-Perot (F-P) filter and a piece of highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF). The tunable and switchable operations were achieved by nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) technique. Through appropriately controlling the filtering effect induced by NPR, the laser could operate at two kinds of tunable regimes. One is that the spacing between these two wavebands could be tuned while keeping their center at 1559 nm. The other is that the central position of the entire dual-waveband is tunable while with the same separation between these two wavebands of 13.2 nm. Moreover, the laser could switch between these two wavebands. Correspondingly, the center of the single-waveband has a tuning range of 15.2 nm. This versatile ultrafast fiber laser may find applications in fields of optical frequency combs, high speed optical communications, where HRR pulses are necessary.

Dissipative soliton resonance in Bismuth-doped fiber laser.

We experimentally demonstrate the generation of dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) in a passively mode-locked Bi-doped fiber ring laser based on nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) technique. The DSR with the central wavelength of 1169.5 nm has a repetition rate of 343.7 kHz. By purely increasing the pump power, the DSR evolves from Gaussian shape to rectangular shape with the duration extending from 2.1 ns to 13.1 ns, while keeping the pulse amplitude and the 3-dB spectrum bandwidth almost constant. The single-pulse energy reaches 24.82 nJ. Furthermore, we construct a lumped model to reproduce the mode-locking process and the traits of the DSR pulse. The obtained results indicate that it could achieve higher pulse energy in mode-locked Bi-doped fiber laser by generating DSR.

Switchable generation of rectangular noise-like pulse and dissipative soliton resonance in a fiber laser.

We report on the switchable generation of a rectangular noise-like pulse (NLP) and a dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) in a fiber laser with highly nonlinear effect at very low pump power. The NLP centered at 1530.5 nm demonstrates a new characteristic that its profile evolves gradually from rectangular shape to Gaussian-like shape with the increasing pump power. By appropriately manipulating the polarization controller (PC), the laser switches emit a DSR pulse centered at 1551.3 nm. The duration of the DSR could broaden from 17.4 ns to the cavity round trip time with increasing the pump power, while keeping the pulse profile and the intensity unaltered. This type of fiber laser may not only facilitate further investigations of the characteristics of NLP and DSR but also serve as a multi-functional optical source for potential applications.

[Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in men with pre-diabetes: An investigation in Lanzhou].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men with pre-diabetes. METHODS: This study included 500 men with impaired fasting glycaemia (IFG), 500 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and another 500 with normal blood glucose (NBG), all from Lanzhou. We conducted a questionnaire investigation among the subjects using the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction 5 (IIEF-5). RESULTS: The prevalence rates of ED in the IFG, IGT, and NBG groups were 14.8%, 29.2%, and 33.2%, respectively. After controlling for age, nationality, occupation, education, income, obesity, and blood pressure, the incidence rate was markedly higher in the IFG and IGT than in the NBG group (29.2% and 33.2% vs 14.8%, P <0.05), but showed no statistically significant difference between the IFG and IGT groups (P >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ED is higher in men with pre-diabetes than in those with normal blood glucose in Lanzhou.

Primary leiomyosarcoma of epididymis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Leiomyosarcoma is a tumor that can develop in any organ that contains smooth muscles. Although leiomyosarcoma is common, its epididymal localization is quite rare. CASE PRESENTATION: A 79-year-old male Chinese Han patient presented with mild pain in the right groin and scrotum for 3 years concomitant with right scrotal swelling. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging of the scrotum showed a irregular and heterogeneous mass that was extratesticular. Right high orchiectomy was performed, and pathological examination of the resected specimen confirmed the diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma of the epididymis with surgical margins clear of tumor. CONCLUSION: Epididymal leiomyosarcoma is rare and difficult to diagnose preoperatively. The final diagnosis of epididymal leiomyosarcoma requires histologic examination. Resection must be extensive and complete. The effect of chemotherapy and radiation on the epididymal leiomyosarcoma remains unclear. Recurrence is common, so follow-up is necessary.

Polymerization strategy for cellulose nanocrystals-based photonic crystal films with water resisting property.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) can form a liquid crystal film with a chiral nematic structure by evaporative-induced self-assembly (EISA). It has attracted much attention as a new class of photonic liquid crystal material because of its intrinsic, unique structural characteristics, and excellent optical properties. However, the CNCs-based photonic crystal films are generally prepared via the physical crosslinking strategy, which present water sensitivity. Here, we developed CNCs-g-PAM photonic crystal film by combining free radical polymerization and EISA. FT-IR, SEM, POM, XRD, TG-DTG, and UV-Vis techniques were employed to characterize the physicochemical properties and microstructure of the as-prepared films. The CNCs-g-PAM films showed a better thermo-stability than CNCs-based film. Also, the mechanical properties were significantly improved, viz., the elongation at break was 9.4 %, and tensile strength reached 18.5 Mpa, which was a much better enhancement than CNCs-based film. More importantly, the CNCs-g-PAM films can resist water dissolution for more than 24 h, which was impossible for the CNCs-based film. The present study provided a promising strategy to prepare CNCs-based photonic crystal film with high flexibility, water resistance, and optical properties for applications such as decoration, light management, and anti-counterfeiting.

EPHX1 A139G polymorphism and lung cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

Microsomal epoxide hydrolase 1 (EPHX1) plays an important role in both the activation and the detoxification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aromatic amines. Polymorphisms at exon 4 of the EPHX1 gene have been reported to be associated with variations in EPHX1 activity. Many studies have investigated the association between EPHX1 A139G polymorphism and lung cancer risk, but the impact of EPHX1 A139G polymorphism on lung cancer risk is not clear owing to the apparent inconsistence among those studies. This study aimed to identify the association between EPHX1 A139G polymorphism and lung cancer risk by performing a meta-analysis. We used the pooled odds ratio (OR) with its corresponding 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) to explore the association. Finally, 26 studies with a total of 14,494 subjects were included into this meta-analysis. Meta-analyses of total studies showed the EPHX1 A139G polymorphism was associated with lung cancer risk under three genetic models (OR (G versus A) = 1.17, 95 % CI 1.04-1.31, P (OR) = 0.01; OR (AG versus AA) = 1.21, 95 % CI 1.06-1.37, P (OR) = 0.004; OR (AG + GG versus AA) = 1.22, 95 % CI 1.06-1.39, P (OR) = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses further identified the significant association between the EPHX1 A139G polymorphism and lung cancer risk. No evidence of publication bias was observed. Meta-analyses of available data supported the concept of EPHX1 A139G polymorphism as a genetic susceptibility factor for lung cancer.

Clinical application of anatomy landmarks for microscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas.

It is important to identify relevant anatomical landmarks on the route of endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) for pituitary adenomas to improve the gross total resection and the remission of disease. We therefore retrospectively studied the clinical outcomes of 148 patients who underwent single nostril endonasal TSS for pituitary adenomas. The anatomic basis of these procedures was evaluated. The important landmarks included the mucosal sphenoid ostia, the sphenoid keel, the osseous ostia and the nutrient arteries nearby, the sellar bulge, and the carotid protuberance, which outlined a clear route to the sella turcica with the best view and less tissue damage. Based on these landmarks, 148 cases of endonasal TSS were successfully performed to achieve 70.3% of gross total resection and remission, respectively. The complications were controlled to the least. Therefore, the application of these landmarks will help to prevent complications and improve the long-term outcomes.

Chronic myeloid leukemia with sleep-related painful erections as a first symptom: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Sleep-related painful erections are characterized by deep penile pain that occurs during erections in the rapid eye movement stage of sleep. CASE PRESENTATION: This case presents a 43-year-old Chinese Han patient with sleep-related painful erections. Turgid painful erections (4-5 episodes of tumescence) during the sleep hours caused pain. Further, blood testing revealed an abnormal increase in white blood cells (123 × 109/L). The patient was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia by bone marrow biopsy, BCR::ABL1 fusion gene testing, and Philadelphia chromosome. However, the sleep-related painful erections have dramatically decreased in frequency of erectile pain after chemotherapy for Chronic myeloid leukemia in our case. CONCLUSION: We considered that the occurrence of sleep-related painful erections was related to chronic myeloid leukemia and the case might be secondary sleep-related painful erections.

[Relationship between anxiety, depression and asthma control].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between psychological status of depression and anxiety and asthma control. METHODS: A total of 144 definite physician-diagnosed asthmatics at First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University from March 2011 to March 2012 were evaluated with the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depressive scale (SDS). And 85 healthy subjects were selected as the controls and evaluated by the asthma control test (ACT). The incidence of anxiety and depression and scores of SAS and SDS was compared between the asthma group and health controls. The relationship was analyzed between the scores of ACT and SAS or SDS respectively. The subjects were divided into anxiety, non-anxiety, depression and non-depression groups according to the scores of SAS and SDS. The inter-group differences in ACT scores were compared. According to the asthma control test scale, the asthmatics were divided into the control, non-control and partial control groups. And the inter-group differences in the scores of SAS and SDS were compared. RESULTS: Anxiety (20.1%) and depression (35.4%) was more common in asthmatics than healthy controls (both P < 0.01). Scores of SAS (40.8 ± 8.1) and SDS (44.9 ± 9.1) in physician-diagnosed asthmatics were higher than the controls and general community (both P < 0.01). Scores of ACT in non-anxiety group (18.6 ± 4.4) were higher than those in anxiety group, higher in non-depression group (18.5 ± 4.6) than depression group (both P < 0.01). Scores of SAS (control group: 33.6 ± 4.3, non-control group: 43.7 ± 7.8 and partial control group: 37.6 ± 7.1) and SDS (control group: 35.1 ± 6.7, non-control group: 47.2 ± 9.7 and partial control group: 43.3 ± 6.6) in physician-diagnosed asthmatics varied among different control levels (both P < 0.01). The anxiety, depression scores and ACT scores were negatively correlated in asthmatics (r = 0.52 and 0.23, both P < 0.01). With the rising scores of SAS and SDS, ACT score decreases (b = -0.29 and -0.12, both P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety and depression moods are more common in asthmatics than healthy controls. The worse asthma control, the more severity of anxiety and depression, and vice versa.

Functional MRI and ApoE4 genotype for predicting cognitive decline in amyloid-positive individuals.

Background: In light of advancements in machine learning techniques, many studies have implemented machine learning approaches combined with data measures to predict and classify Alzheimer's disease. Studies that predicted cognitive status with longitudinal follow-up of amyloid-positive individuals remain scarce, however. Objective: We developed models based on voxel-wise functional connectivity (FC) density mapping and the presence of the ApoE4 genotype to predict whether amyloid-positive individuals would experience cognitive decline after 1 year. Methods: We divided 122 participants into cognitive decline and stable cognition groups based on the participants' change rates in Mini-Mental State Examination scores. In addition, we included 68 participants from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database as an external validation data set. Subsequently, we developed two classification models: the first model included 99 voxels, and the second model included 99 voxels and the ApoE4 genotype as features to train the models by Wide Neural Network algorithm with fivefold cross-validation and to predict the classes in the hold-out test and ADNI data sets. Results: The results revealed that both models demonstrated high accuracy in classifying the two groups in the hold-out test data set. The model for FC demonstrated good performance, with a mean F 1-score of 0.86. The model for FC combined with the ApoE4 genotype achieved superior performance, with a mean F 1-score of 0.90. In the ADNI data set, the two models demonstrated stable performances, with mean F 1-scores of 0.77 in the first and second models. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the proposed models exhibited promising accuracy for predicting cognitive status after 1 year in amyloid-positive individuals. Notably, the combination of FC and the ApoE4 genotype increased prediction accuracy. These findings can assist clinicians in predicting changes in cognitive status in individuals with a high risk of Alzheimer's disease and can assist future studies in developing precise treatment and prevention strategies.

[Dutasteride in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: an update].

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common disease in older men. At present, 5alpha reductase inhibitor-based medication, preferred by most BPH patients as the first-choice therapy, is taking place of traditional transurethral resection of the prostate. This article presents an update of the researches on the treatment of BPH with dutasteride--a novel 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor.

[Relationship between chronic prostatitis and prostatic calculus].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between chronic prostatitis (CP) and prostatic calculus (PC). METHODS: We used transperineal ultrasonography (TPUS) to detect PC in 500 normal volunteers and 491 CP patients, and divided them into a CP and a CP + PC group according to the ultrasonographic results. Then we analyzed the NIH-CPSI scores, duration of symptoms and white blood cell count in the expressed prostate secretion (ESP). RESULTS: PC was found in 19.8% of the normal controls, 5% (5/100), 12% (12/100), 19% (19/100), 27% (27/100) and 36% (36/100) in the 20-30 yr, 31-40 yr, 41-50 yr, 51-60 yr and > 60 yr groups, respectively. In comparison, PC was detected in 42.2% of the CP patients, 15.8% (12/76), 30.1% (69/215), 55.7% (59/109), 66.2% (43/65) and 82.8% (24/29) in the above five age groups, respectively, with statistically significant differences between the control and CP groups (P < 0.01). The CP and CP + PC groups showed significant differences in the duration of symptoms and white blood cell count in ESP (P < 0.01) but not in CPSI scores (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The incidence of PC is higher in CP patients than in healthy men, and it is associated with inflammation, aging and symptom duration, but not with CPSI scores.

Comparison of dental pulp periodontal therapy and conventional simple periodontal therapy as treatment modalities for severe periodontitis.

BACKGROUND: Severe periodontitis is a major oral health concern today as it can lead to loss of teeth. Conventional periodontal therapy has numerous pitfalls as it does not address the pulp-periodontal complex in its entirety. AIM: To investigate the effect of dental pulp periodontal therapy on the levels of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and IL-10 in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in patients with severe periodontitis. METHODS: Eighty-six patients with severe periodontitis were randomly divided into a research group (n = 43) and a control group (n = 43). The control group was treated with simple periodontal therapy, and the research group was treated with dental pulp periodontal therapy. The total effective rates of the treatments; periodontal status before and after treatment through the measurement of the periodontal pocket probing depth (PPD), gingival sulcus bleeding index (SBI), mobility (MD), and plaque index (PLI); the levels of inflammatory factors IL-1ß and IL-10 in the GCF; and the incidence of complications were calculated for both groups and compared using the Student's t test and the χ 2 test. RESULTS: The total effective rate of treatment in the study group (93.02%) was higher than that in the control group (76.74%; P < 0.05). While before treatment, there was no significant difference in the PLI, MD, SBI, or PPD between the two groups, the post-treatment values of PLI, MD, SBI, and PPD (4.71 ± 0.16 mm, 0.61 ± 0.09 mm, 0.96 ± 0.17 mm, and 0.76 ± 0.26 mm, respectively) were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the research group than in the control group (5.35 ± 0.24 mm, 0.93 ± 0.15 mm, 1.35 ± 0.30 mm, and 1.04 ± 0.41 mm, respectively). There was no significant difference in the level of IL-1ß or IL-10 in the GCF before treatment between the two groups; after treatment, the IL-1ß level in the research group (139.04 ± 15.54 pg/mL) was significantly lower than that in the control group (156.35 ± 18.10 pg/mL), and the level of IL-10 in the research group (7.98 ± 1.01 ug/L) was higher than that in the control group (5.56 ± 0.96 ug/L) (P < 0.05). The incidence of complications in the study group (4.65%) was significantly lower than that of the control group (18.60%; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Endodontic therapy and periodontal treatment for patients with severe periodontitis can effectively reduce the levels of inflammatory factors in the GCF and the inflammatory reaction. In addition, it can improve the periodontal condition and the overall treatment effect, reduce the risk of complications, and ensure the safety of treatment.