[Application of neuroendoscopy combined with fluorescence angiography in anterior circulation aneurysm clipping].

Objective: To explore the value of neuroendoscopy combined with fluorescence angiography in anterior circulation aneurysm clipping. Methods: A total of 15 patients with anterior circulation aneurysm from Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University between October 2018 and January 2019 were enrolled. Neuroendoscopy combined with indocyanine green fluorescence angiography (ICGA) was used to determine the shape of the aneurysm, the specific location of the aneurysm neck and its relationship with the aneurysm-bearing artery during anterior circulation aneurysm clipping. Meanwhile, Neuroendoscopy combined with ICGA can be employed to observe whether there was stenosis and incomplete clamping of the aneurysm-bearing artery after clipping the aneurysm, and whether there was misclamping of the perforating branches hidden under the posterior wall of the aneurysm. Results: The success rate of aneurysm clipping in 15 cases was 15/15. After aneurysm clipping, ICGA and neuroendoscopy were performed. The residual aneurysm neck was detected in 3 cases, and the position of aneurysm clip was adjusted or aneurysm clips were added. In one case, the anterior choroidal aneurysm was found to be mistakenly clipped. After adjusting the aneurysm clip, ICGA and neuroendoscopy showed that the anterior choroidal artery was normal. In another case, the A1 segment aneurysm was clipped. ICGA and neuroendoscopy found that the perforating branch blood vessels were mistakenly clipped. After the adjustment of the aneurysm clip, the blood vessels recovered their patency. There were no surgical-related deaths, disability and coma cases in the study. Conclusions: During aneurysm clipping, neuroendoscopy combined with ICGA can reduce cerebral vasospasm, decrease the misclipping rate of perforation of blood vessels, and avoid residual neck of aneurysm, stenosis or occlusion of aneurysm-bearing artery by using neuroendoscopy to observe whether misclipping of the perforating branch vessels exist and whether the aneurysm is clipped. Therefore, it can reduce postoperative complications.

[Observational study on the impact of corneal power on refractive status of patients after small incision lenticule extraction surgery].

Objective: To observe the change of refractive status and possible influencing factors for patients with different corneal power who underwent small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery. Methods: Prospective cohort study was performed for patients who underwent small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery at Daping Hospital and Research Institute of Surgery of Third Military Medical University between January and August 2016. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to their corneal power: low curvature group (K(1)≤41.00 D), common curvature group (41.00 D

Gas chromatograph-surface acoustic wave for quick real-time assessment of blood/exhaled gas ratio of propofol in humans.

BACKGROUND: Although pilot studies have reported that exhaled propofol concentrations can reflect intraoperative plasma propofol concentrations in an individual, the blood/exhaled partial pressure ratio RBE varies between patients, and the relevant factors have not yet been clearly addressed. No efficient method has been reported for the quick evaluation of RBE and its association with inter-individual variables. METHODS: We proposed a novel method that uses a surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor combined with a fast gas chromatograph (GC) to simultaneously detect propofol concentrations in blood and exhaled gas in 28 patients who were receiving propofol i.v. A two-compartment pharmacokinetic (PK) model was established to simulate propofol concentrations in exhaled gas and blood after a bolus injection. Simulated propofol concentrations for exhaled gas and blood were used in a linear regression model to evaluate RBE. RESULTS: The fast GC-SAW system showed reliability and efficiency for simultaneous quantitative determination of propofol in blood (correlation coefficient R(2)=0.994, P<0.01) and exhaled gas (R(2)=0.991, P<0.01). The evaluation of RBE takes <50 min for a patient. The distribution of RBE in 28 patients showed inter-individual differences in RBE (median 1.27; inter-quartile range 1.07-1.59). CONCLUSIONS: Fast GC-SAW, which analyses samples in seconds, can perform both rapid monitoring of exhaled propofol concentrations and fast analysis of blood propofol concentrations. The proposed method allows early determination of the coefficient RBE in individuals. Further studies are required to quantify the distribution of RBE in a larger cohort and assess the effect of other potential factors. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-ONC-13003291.

Molecular cytogenetic characterization of a new leaf rolling triticale.

Leaf rolling occurs in some cereal genotypes in response to drought. We identified and made a phenotypic, cytological and physiological analysis of a leaf-rolling genotype (CMH83) of hexaploid triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) that exhibited reduced plant height, rolled and narrow leaves. Gliadin electrophoresis of seed protein showed that CMH83 was genetically stable. Sequential Giemsa-C-banding and genomic in situ hybridization showed that CMH83 contains 12 rye chromosomes; two pairs of these chromosomes have reduced telomeric heterochromatin bands. Tests of relative water content and water loss rate of leaves of CMH83 compared with those of wheat cultivars indicated that rapid water loss after drought stress in CMH83 is associated with the leaf rolling phenotypes. Leaf rolling in CMH83 was a dominant trait in our inheritance studies. Triticale line CMH83 could be used to study drought resistance mechanisms in triticale.

Atomically thin micas as proton-conducting membranes.

Monolayers of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are highly permeable to thermal protons1,2. For thicker two-dimensional (2D) materials, proton conductivity diminishes exponentially, so that, for example, monolayer MoS2 that is just three atoms thick is completely impermeable to protons1. This seemed to suggest that only one-atom-thick crystals could be used as proton-conducting membranes. Here, we show that few-layer micas that are rather thick on the atomic scale become excellent proton conductors if native cations are ion-exchanged for protons. Their areal conductivity exceeds that of graphene and hBN by one to two orders of magnitude. Importantly, ion-exchanged 2D micas exhibit this high conductivity inside the infamous gap for proton-conducting materials3, which extends from ∼100 °C to 500 °C. Areal conductivity of proton-exchanged monolayer micas can reach above 100 S cm-2 at 500 °C, well above the current requirements for the industry roadmap4. We attribute the fast proton permeation to ~5-Å-wide tubular channels that perforate micas' crystal structure, which, after ion exchange, contain only hydroxyl groups inside. Our work indicates that there could be other 2D crystals5 with similar nanometre-scale channels, which could help close the materials gap in proton-conducting applications.

A rapid cosmic-ray increase in BC 3372-3371 from ancient buried tree rings in China.

Cosmic rays interact with the Earth's atmosphere to produce 14C, which can be absorbed by trees. Therefore, rapid increases of 14C in tree rings can be used to probe previous cosmic-ray events. By this method, three 14C rapidly increasing events have been found. Plausible causes of these events include large solar proton events, supernovae, or short gamma-ray bursts. However, due to the lack of measurements of 14C by year, the occurrence frequency of such 14C rapidly increasing events is poorly known. In addition, rapid increases may be hidden in the IntCal13 data with five-year resolution. Here we report the result of 14C measurements using an ancient buried tree during the period between BC 3388 and 3358. We found a rapid increase of about 9‰ in the 14C content from BC 3372 to BC 3371. We suggest that this event could originate from a large solar proton event.

Neuropeptide Y levels are associated with nutritional status and cardiovascular events in adults with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Neuropeptide Y (NpY) is an important factor in neuropeptide signalling, and significantly change in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. However, the role of NpY remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the associations between NpY levels, nutritional status and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with CKD. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In this cohort study, we performed Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple linear regressions to assess the relationship between CSF and serum NpY levels, as well as nutritional indices. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of CSF NpY levels. As NpY affects the cardiovascular system, Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to investigate the relationship between serum NpY levels and CVD. RESULTS: CSF NpY levels and nutritional indices were related during CKD progression (energy intake: ß=0.236, P<0.001; mid-arm muscle circumference: ß=0.953, P=0.014; prealbumin: ß=0.067, P<0.001), and had high specificity (79.9%). High serum NpY levels may be a risk factor associated with CVD (relative risk=1.8015, 95% confidence interval: 1.0509-3.0881). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested a relationship between CSF NpY levels and nutritional indices in CKD patients. High serum NpY concentrations may be a risk factor associated with CVD.

[Ionic channels formed in the lipid bilayer membranes by aureofuscin, a polyene antibiotics].

A chamber filled with salt solution and separated into two compartments by a Teflon partition with a pore of 700 microns diameter was used to investigate the action of aureofuscin, a polyene antibiotics, on a planar lipid bilayer. The pore was covered with a bilayer formed by a N-decane solution of lecithin and cholesterol (20 mg/ml and 5 mg/ml). The electrical property and ionic permeability of the bilayer were studied by using voltage clamp method. Decrease of the bilayer resistance and the channel-like activity could be observed 20 min after the addition of aureofuscin (10-20 micrograms/ml) to one compartment. The existence of a transmembrane voltage and ionic gradient were not necessary for the channel-forming activity of aureofuscin. Discrete current steps were recorded at a concentration of 1.4 micrograms/ml aureofuscin, with a predominant unit conductance of 4-6 pS in a symmetric KCl, solution of 100 mmol/L. By using Goldmann-Hodgkin-Katz voltage equation the ionic selectivity of the channel formed by aureofuscin was estimated by the reversal potential measured in the asymmetrical solution system. The results showed that aureofuscin channels were more permeable to potassium ion than to chloride ion (PK/PCl approximately 5.2). These data may be used to explain the action of aureofuscin on neurotransmitter release and muscle membrane potential in addition to providing some explanation on its curing effect in clinical use.

[Clinical observation on efficacy of ivermectin in the treatment of intestinal nematode infections].

A total of 166 cases were divided into 3 groups: group A comprised 55, group B 54 and group C 57 cases. Group A received ivermectin 0.1 mg/kg orally at a single dose, the cure rates were 100%, 3.8% and 50% for ascaris, hookworm and trichuris, infections respectively: group B received ivermectin 0.2 mg/kg orally at a single dose, the corresponding cure rates were 95.5%, 11.8% and 76.5% respectively; group C received pyrantel pamoate 10 mg/kg orally at a single dose, the corresponding cure rates were 95.5%, 29.6% and 31.6% respectively. Although the cure rates were very low for hookworm infection in both group A and B, however, a number of adult worms of Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus were expelled aster medication; It indicates that ivermectin has some effects on these two species of human hookworm. Side effects were mild and transient in all groups.