Effectiveness and safety of Jiawei Xiaoyao pill in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome (liver depression, spleen deficiency, and blood-heat syndrome): a multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of Jiawei Xiaoyao pill (，JXP) in the treatment of symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). METHODS: A total of 144 regularly menstruating women with PMS were recruited at 8 sites in China from August 2017 to December 2018, and randomized to receive either a JXP or a matching placebo (12 g/d, 6 g twice a day) for 3 menstrual cycles. The primary indicator was the reduced Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) scores in the luteal phase after 3 months of treatment. The safety outcomes included clinical adverse events (AEs), adverse reactions (ARs), changes in vital signs, and laboratory tests. RESULTS: JXP surpassed the placebo in reducing DRSP scores (psychological/somatic dysfunction) in the luteal phase over 3 menstrual cycles of treatment (PFAS = 0.002, PPPS = 0.001). Additionally, there were no significant differences in the incidence of AEs, severe AEs, withdrawal due to AEs and ARs between the two groups (all P > 0.05), and no clinically significant adverse medical events related to the test drug observed. CONCLUSIONS: JXP was superior to the placebo in relieving the symptoms associated with PMS, which signified that JXP may be effective, safe, and well-tolerated as an alternative therapy.

Three dimensional condylar positional and morphological changes following mandibular reconstruction based on CBCT analysis: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the condylar positional changes following mandibular reconstruction with preservation of the condylar head using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). Also, to assess joint space changes and the overall volumetric space compared to the preoperative status. METHODOLOGY: This prospective study included 30 patients (60 joints) subjected to unilateral mandibular resection and reconstruction with preservation of the condylar head. The Helkimo index and preoperative (T1), two weeks postoperative (T2), and follow-up CBCTs (T3) after at least six months were gathered and processed to evaluate the condylar position and TMJ joint space using Anatomage Invivo 6. A student's t-test and repeated-measures ANOVA statistics were used. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Thirty patients (14 males, 16 females) with a mean age of 40.01 ± 12.7 years (a range of 18.1-62.9 years) were included. On the tumor side, there were significant variances in the vertical and mediolateral condylar positions between the three-time points (T1, T2, T3). Immediately after the operation, the condyles were significantly displaced in a downward direction at T2, which became larger after the last follow-up period (T3) (p = 0.007). The condylar positions at the anteroposterior direction were relatively stable without significant differences between the three times points (p = 0.915). On the non-tumor side, the condylar positions were relatively stable in the mediolateral and anteroposterior positions. In the tumor side, all of the TMJ spaces were significantly increased in size following the mandibular reconstructions (T2 and T3). However, on the non-tumor side, the anterior, posterior, and medial joint spaces were significantly changed postoperatively. CONCLUSION: After mandibular reconstruction with condylar preservation, the condylar position and volumetric measurement immediately changed noticeably and continued to be a permanent change over time compared to relatively stable condyles on the non-tumor side. According to Helkimo index, patients become adapted to the postoperative changes without significant differences between the two sides.

Layer-dependent electronic and optical properties of tin monoxide: a potential candidate in photovoltaic applications.

Tunable band gaps make two-dimensional (2D) SnO a promising candidate for a wide variety of applications in optoelectronic devices. In this work, we calculated the structural, electronic, and optical properties of monolayer and mutilayer SnO up to seven layers based on density functional theory. We found that the band gaps of SnO can vary from 0.61 eV to 4.05 eV as the layer number of SnO decreases from seven to one, which is mainly because of the interlayer coupling effect. The interlayer coupling ensures improved carrier transport properties between neighbouring layers, which can benefit the performance of 2D SnO in photovoltaic applications. In particular, a suitable band gap of 1.20 eV for solar cell applications is obtained in trilayer SnO, and the predicted theoretical efficiency of solar cells with trilayer SnO as the active material achieves a high value exceeding 16%, which is relatively high for 2D materials.

ViTT: Vision Transformer Tracker.

This paper presents a new model for multi-object tracking (MOT) with a transformer. MOT is a spatiotemporal correlation task among interest objects and one of the crucial technologies of multi-unmanned aerial vehicles (Multi-UAV). The transformer is a self-attentional codec architecture that has been successfully used in natural language processing and is emerging in computer vision. This study proposes the Vision Transformer Tracker (ViTT), which uses a transformer encoder as the backbone and takes images directly as input. Compared with convolution networks, it can model global context at every encoder layer from the beginning, which addresses the challenges of occlusion and complex scenarios. The model simultaneously outputs object locations and corresponding appearance embeddings in a shared network through multi-task learning. Our work demonstrates the superiority and effectiveness of transformer-based networks in complex computer vision tasks and paves the way for applying the pure transformer in MOT. We evaluated the proposed model on the MOT16 dataset, achieving 65.7% MOTA, and obtained a competitive result compared with other typical multi-object trackers.

Case report of an acute myocardial infarction complicated by coronary spasm in a patient with chronic systemic lupus erythematosus.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a major cause of death in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Due to their chronic inflammatory state, patient with SLE has an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease. We report a case of a middle-aged woman with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) caused by a right coronary artery (RCA) stenosis complicated with severe coronary artery spasm. Our patient has a history of long-standing SLE. Clinical expression of coronary artery disease (CAD) in SLE is the result of different pathophysiologic mechanism. From this case, we raise the importance of the clinician to be aware of the diverse pathophysiologic pathways involving a coronary artery in a patient with SLE.

Method for parametric imaging of attenuation by intravascular optical coherence tomography.

Catheter-based intravascular optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) is a powerful imaging modality for visualization of atherosclerosis with high resolution. Quantitative characterization of various tissue types by attenuation coefficient (AC) extraction has been proven to be a potentially significant application of OCT attenuation imaging. However, existing methods for AC extraction from OCT suffer from the challenge of variability in complex tissue types in IVOCT pullback data such as healthy vessel wall, mixed atherosclerotic plaques, plaques with a single component and stent struts, etc. This challenge leads to the ineffectiveness in the tissue differentiation by AC representation based on single scattering model of OCT signal. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on multiple scattering model for parametric imaging of optical attenuation by AC retrieval from IVOCT images conventionally acquired during cardiac catheterization. The OCT signal characterized by the AC is physically modeled by Monte Carlo simulation. Then, the pixel-wise AC retrieval is achieved by iteratively minimizing an error function regarding the modeled and measured backscattered signal. This method provides a general scheme for AC extraction from IVOCT without the premise of complete attenuation of the incident light through the imaging depths. Results of computer-simulated and clinical images demonstrate that the method can avoid overestimation at the end of the depth profile in comparison with the approaches based on the depth-resolved (DR) model. The energy error depth and structural similarity are improved by about 30% and 10% respectively compared with DR. It provides a useful way to differentiate and characterize arterial tissue types in IVOCT images.

Genomic profiling in amyloid light-chain amyloidosis reveals mutation profiles associated with overall survival.

Background: Amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis is characterized by tissue deposition of amyloid fibres derived from immunoglobulin that can lead to irreversible organ damage. Information about genomic profiles of AL amyloidosis is lacking.Methods: In this study, we adopted a two-step strategy to investigate the mutational profile of AL amyloidosis bone marrow plasma cells (PCs) and their clinical implications. In step one, whole-exome sequencing was performed in bone marrow PCs and paired with normal tissue from 10 AL amyloidosis patients, by which we identified 10 significantly mutated genes (SMGs). In step two, we constituted a targeted gene sequencing (TGS) panel covering the frequently mutated genes identified in step one, genes reported in prior AL amyloidosis studies, and known cancer driver mutations. Then, we analysed an expanded cohort of AL amyloidosis patients (N = 48) with this panel comprising 98 genes.Results: Four recurrent mutations were identified by TGS and verified by Sanger sequencing: ASB15 (c. 844 C > T), ASCC3 (c. 1595 A > G), HIST1H1E (c. 311 C > T) and KRAS (c. 35 G > A), among which the first three mutations were associated with inferior overall survival (OS). Additionally, we found that the number of mutations identified by the TGS panel of 98 genes could be a prognostic predictor for OS.Conclusions: In summary, we revealed genomic profiling in AL amyloidosis and found mutation profiles associated with OS.

Comparison of Surgical Outcomes and Recovery of Neurologic and Linguistic Functions in the Dominant Hemisphere After Basal Ganglia Hematoma Evacuation by Craniotomy versus Endoscopy.

OBJECTIVE: Hemorrhage in the basal ganglia is a common type of intracerebral hemorrhage and has high mortality and poor prognosis. In our study, we aimed to evaluate surgical outcomes and functional recovery after evacuation of hematoma using either craniotomy or endoscopy. METHODS: We analyzed retrospective data from 58 patients with basal ganglia hemorrhage who were treated with hematoma evacuation using either craniotomy or endoscopy. Magnetic resonance imaging and a navigation system were used for calculating hematoma volume and for navigation during surgery. Clinical information and surgical outcomes were recorded. At 6-month follow-up, the recovery of neurologic function and the results of the Aphasia Battery of Chinese test were assessed. RESULTS: The endoscopy group showed lower intraoperative blood loss (75.36 ± 45.56 vs. 462.67 ± 120.08 mL, P < 0.001), shorter operation time (1.59 ± 0.30 vs. 4.17 ± 0.86 hours, P < 0.001), and a higher hematoma clearance rate (0.93% ± 0.05% vs. 0.88% ± 0.13%, P = 0.04) than the craniotomy group, respectively. No significant differences in mortality were identified, but a trend toward lower mortality in the endoscopy group was apparent (7.14% in the endoscopy group vs. 16.67% in the craniotomy group, P = 0.43). Assessment of neurologic recovery indicated significant differences in the modified Rankin Scale grades between the 2 groups (χ2 = 4.381, P = 0.036). Listening comprehension and speaking ability were also better in the endoscopy group than the craniotomy group (χ2 = 4.693, P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Evacuation by endoscopy had better surgical outcomes, recovery of neurologic function, and aphasia recovery than evacuation by craniotomy. It appears that endoscopy is the surgical treatment of choice for middle-aged and elderly patients with a basal ganglia hemorrhage volume of >35 mL.

Stability Analysis of Networked Control Systems With Aperiodic Sampling and Time-Varying Delay.

This paper addresses the stability of networked control systems with aperiodic sampling and time-varying network-induced delay. The sampling intervals are assumed to vary within a known interval. The transmission delay is assumed to belong to a given interval. The closed-loop system is first converted to a discrete-time system with multiple time-varying delays and norm-bounded uncertainties resulting from the variation of the sampling intervals. And then, it is transformed into a delay-free system being form of an interconnection of two subsystems. By utilizing scaled small gain theorem, an asymptotic stability criterion for the closed-loop system is proposed in terms of linear matrix inequality. Finally, numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method and its advantages over existing methods.

Loss of MiR-664 Expression Enhances Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma Proliferation by Upregulating PLP2.

Proteolipid protein 2 (PLP2) has been shown to be upregulated in several cancers, including breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, osteosarcoma, and melanoma. PLP2 specifically binds to phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase to activate the protein kinase B pathway to enhance cell proliferation, adhesion, and invasion in melanoma cells. Therefore, we speculated that PLP2 exhibits oncogenic potential. However, the regulatory mechanisms of PLP2 in cancer cells remain unclear.Herein, we found that microRNA (miR)-664 expression was significantly downregulated in cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) cells and tissues compared with normal human melanocytes and benign melanocytic naevi. MiR-664 expression level was significantly correlated with patient survival. Ectopic expression of miR-664 reduced CMM cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth, whereas the inhibition of miR-664 induced these effects. Furthermore, inhibition of miR-664 in CMM cells resulted in modulation of their entry into the G1/S transitional phase, which was caused by downregulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor P21 and upregulation of the cell-cycle regulator cyclin D1. Moreover, we demonstrated that miR-664 downregulated PLP2 expression by directly targeting the PLP2 untranslated region.Taken together, our results suggest that miR-664 may play an important role in suppressing proliferation of CMM cells and present a novel mechanism of miR-mediated direct suppression of PLP2 expression in cancer cells.

Intraoral Digital Impression Technique: A Review.

With the techniques of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) being applied in the field of prosthodontics, a concept of intraoral digital impressions was put forward in the early 1980s. It has drawn comprehensive attention from dentists and has been used for dental prosthesis fabrication in a number of cases. This new digital impression technique is expected to bring about absolute digitization to the mode of prosthodontics. A few published articles have indicated that dental prostheses fabricated from intraoral digital impressions have exhibited remarkable advantages over those from conventional impressions in several respects. The present review discusses intraoral digital impression techniques in terms of the following aspects: (1) categories and principles of intraoral digital impression devices currently available; (2) operating characteristics of the devices; and (3) comparison of the manipulation, accuracy, and repeatability between intraoral digital impression and conventional impression.

Molecular mechanism of fluoroquinolones resistance in Mycoplasma hominis clinical isolates

To evaluate the molecular mechanism of fluoroquinolones resistance in Mycoplasma hominis (MH) clinical strains isolated from urogenital specimens. 15 MH clinical isolates with different phenotypes of resistance to fluoroquinolones antibiotics were screened for mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) of DNA gyrase (gyrA and gyrB) and topoisomerase IV (parC and parE) in comparison with the reference strain PG21, which is susceptible to fluoroquinolones antibiotics. 15 MH isolates with three kinds of quinolone resistance phenotypes were obtained. Thirteen out of these quinolone-resistant isolates were found to carry nucleotide substitutions in either gyrA or parC. There were no alterations in gyrB and no mutations were found in the isolates with a phenotype of resistance to Ofloxacin (OFX), intermediate resistant to Levofloxacin (LVX) and Sparfloxacin (SFX), and those susceptible to all three tested antibiotics. The molecular mechanism of fluoroquinolone resistance in clinical isolates of MH was reported in this study. The single amino acid mutation in ParC of MH may relate to the resistance to OFX and LVX and the high-level resistance to fluoroquinolones for MH is likely associated with mutations in both DNA gyrase and the ParC subunit of topoisomerase IV.

The history of the elimination of lymphatic filariasis in China.

China used to be one of the most heavily endemic countries for lymphatic filariasis (LF) in the world. There were 864 endemic counties/cities in 16 provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities (P/A/M) with a total population of 330 million at risk of infection. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese Government has designated the control of the disease to be a top priority. Due to decades of sustained efforts, close cooperation related to LF control among government departments, and active participation of endemic populations, an all-round campaign for prevention and control has been carried out vigorously and successfully. Over many years, great achievements have been made through persistent endeavors of Chinese scientists and disease control workers. The ultimate goal to eliminate LF in the country was achieved in 2006.

Total glucosides of paeony prevents juxta-articular bone loss in experimental arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Total glucosides of paeony (TGP) is a biologically active compound extracted from Paeony root. TGP has been used in rheumatoid arthritis therapy for many years. However, the mechanism by which TGP prevents bone loss has been less explored. METHODS: TGP was orally administered for 3 months to New Zealand rabbits with antigen-induced arthritis (AIA). Digital x-ray knee images and bone mineral density (BMD) measurements of the subchondral knee bone were performed before sacrifice. Chondrocytes were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Histological analysis and mRNA expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-B ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were evaluated in joint tissues. RESULTS: The BMD value in TGP rabbits was significantly higher compared with that seen in the AIA model rabbits. In addition, the subchondral bone plate was almost completely preserved by TGP treatment, while there was a decrease in bone plate integrity in AIA rabbits. There was less damage to the chondrocytes of the TGP treated group. Immunohistochemical examination of the TGP group showed that a higher percentage of TGP treated chondrocytes expressed OPG as compared to the chondrocytes isolated from AIA treated animals. In contrast, RANKL expression was significantly decreased in the TGP treated group compared to the AIA group. In support of the immunohistochemistry data, the expression of RANKL mRNA was decreased and OPG mRNA expression was enhanced in the TGP group when compared to that of the AIA model group. CONCLUSION: These results reveal that TGP suppresses juxta-articular osteoporosis and prevents subchondral bone loss. The decreased RANKL and increased OPG expression seen in TGP treated animals could explain how administration of TGP maintains higher BMD.

Gland-preserving surgery can effectively preserve gland function without increased recurrence in treatment of benign submandibular gland tumour.

The most widely accepted treatment for neoplasms of the submandibular gland usually involves excision of the entire gland. Our aim was to establish a gland-preserving operation for benign tumours of the submandibular gland and evaluate its efficacy. We treated 40 patients from January 2007 to December 2008 with benign submandibular gland tumours who were listed to have an operation that either preserved the gland or sacrificed it. Duration of operation, extent of injury to the nerve, postoperative function of the gland, aesthetic appearance, and recurrence were assessed. We found no significant difference in baseline characteristics among the 20 patients in each group (19 men; 21 women, mean (SD) age of 34 (33.8 ± 5.72) years. The extent of injury to the lingual nerve and submandibular branch, together with deformities of the facial contour, were significantly less in the group in which the gland was preserved. Postoperative salivary production and overall patients' satisfaction were also better in that group. There was no recurrence in either group during the follow up period of 38 months-5 years. The gland-preserving procedure has advantages over the typical approach in which the gland is sacrificed. There is less risk of injury to the nerve, less deformity of the facial contour, better preservation of function, and patients are more satisfied. The gland-preserving technique should therefore be the first choice for management of benign submandibular tumours.

An unusual case of myocardial noncompaction involving both ventricles--case report.

Noncompaction of ventricular myocardium (NCVM) is a rare congenital cardiomyopathy characterized by numerous excessively prominent trabeculations and intertrabecular recesses in the myocardium without any other cardiac structural abnormality. Transthoracic echocardiography is the imaging modality of choice for diagnosing NCVM. Although this disease commonly affects the left ventricle, the right ventricle or both ventricles can rarely be affected. We report the case of an 18-year-old male patient with NCVM involving both ventricles.

Chinese orthopedic surgeons' practice regarding postoperative thromboembolic prophylaxis after major orthopedic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To assess Chinese surgeon practice of thromboprophylaxis following major orthopedic surgery. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted amongst Chinese orthopedic surgeons. A total of 293 surgeons were surveyed concerning five key aspects of thromboembolic prophylaxis after major orthopedic surgery at the proseminar of Chinese guidelines for prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after major orthopedic surgery in January of 2009. RESULTS: Totally, 208 surgeons (71.0%) responded, successfully completing the questionnaire. Of them, 57.6% respondents selected combined basic, mechanical, and pharmacologic methods for thromboprophylaxis; 51.0% respondents prefer starting prophylaxis 12-24 hours after surgery; 60.3% surgeons would use chemoprophylaxis for 7-10 days; 47.6% respondents prefer VTE prevention based on patients' special conditions and needs upon discharge."Safety" was the most repeated and emphasized factor during VTE prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS: Multimodal thromboprophylaxis is frequently used after major orthopedic surgery. Half surgeons prefer to start chemoprophylaxis 12-24 hours after surgery. Thromboprophylaxis regimen varies for discharged patients.

Efficacy and safety of low molecular weight heparin prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism following lumbar decompression surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism (VTE) after lumbar decompression surgery. METHODS: Patients at high or the highest risk of VTE who underwent lumbar spine surgery in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2004 to April 2011 were included in the present study. All the patients received a half dose of LMWH 6 hours after surgery followed by a full dose LMWH once per day until discharge. We recorded incidences of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), bleeding complications, and medication side effects. RESULTS: Seventy-eight consecutive patients were eligible and enrolled in this study. The mean hospital stat was 8.5±4.5 days. No symptomatic DVT, PE, or major bleeding events were observed. One patient developed wound ecchymosis, another developed wound bleeding, four had mild hepatic aminotransferase level elevation, and one developed a suspicious allergic reaction. CONCLUSION: LMWH may be applied as an effective and safe prophylaxis for VTE in high-risk patients undergoing lumbar decompression surgery.

[A study on population-based prenatal screening and diagnosis of Down's syndrome in Jiangsu province].

OBJECTIVE: To screen and diagnose Down's syndrome during mid-term pregnancy to reduce the number of babies with Down's syndrome. METHODS: With the multi-level of stratified cluster sampling, twenty thousand and eight hundred and three women at 15-20 weeks gestation were screened by maternal serum AFP and beta-hCG using the time resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TRFIA). Then the screened high-risk women were diagnosed by amniocentesis, cell culture and chromosome analyses. The born children were diagnosed by follow-up and peripheral blood chromosome analyses. RESULTS: Six fetuses were diagnosed by serum screening and amniotic fluid chromosome analyses, and 3 born children were diagnosed by follow-up and peripheral blood chromosome analyses. Nine cases of Down's syndrome were detected in total, with the positive prenatal screen rate being 67% (6/9). CONCLUSION: The prenatal screening and diagnosis can reduce the birth of Down's syndrome patients and improve the population quality. However, the diagnosis accuracy still needs to be improved to further reduce the false negative rate and prevent misdiagnosis.

Sequential reconstruction of vessel skeletons from X-ray coronary angiographic sequences.

X-ray coronary angiography (CAG) is one of widely used imaging modalities for diagnosis and interventional treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Dynamic CAG sequences acquired from several viewpoints record coronary arterial morphological information as well as dynamic performances. The aim of this work is to propose a semi-automatic method for sequentially reconstructing coronary arterial skeletons from a pair of CAG sequences covering one or several cardiac cycles acquired from different views based on snake model. The snake curve deforms directly in 3D through minimizing a predefined energy function and ultimately stops at the global optimum with the minimal energy, which is the desired 3D vessel skeleton. The energy function combines intrinsic properties of the curve and acquired image data with a priori knowledge of coronary arterial morphology and dynamics. Consequently, 2D extraction, 3D sequential reconstruction and tracking of coronary arterial skeletons are synchronously implemented. The main advantage of this method is that matching between a pair of angiographic projections in point-by-point manner is avoided and the reproducibility and accuracy are improved. Results are given for clinical image data of patients in order to validate the proposed method.