ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo identify Lycium chinense and L. barbarum as the original plants of Lycii Cortex simply and efficiently by multiple allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). MethodThe chloroplast genome sequences of L. chinense and L. barbarum were downloaded from the Chloroplast Genome Information Resource (CGIR), and then IdenDSS was employed to screen out the specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites between the two plants. Primer 5.0 was used to design the specific primers, including primers GQ-F/R for identifying L. chinense and primers NX-F/R for identifying L. barbarum. Furthermore, the primer concentration ratio, annealing temperature, cycles, and Taq enzyme were optimized to establish the optimal PCR system and conditions for plant identification. Finally, the applicability of the established method was examined with the plant samples collected from different regions. ResultThe PCR with GQ-F/R∶NX-F/R concentration ratio of 2∶1 at the annealing temperature at 59 ℃ and for 30 cycles showed specific bands at 183 bp and 295 bp, respectively, for L. chinense and L. barbarum samples from different regions. ConclusionThe established PCR approach can simply, rapidly, and efficiently identify the original plants of Lycii Cortex, serving as a new method for the discrimination between L. chinense and L. barbarum. Moreover, the method provides technical support for the research and development of classic famous prescriptions containing Lycii Cortex.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of the MeltPro MTB assays in the diagnosis of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to retrospectively collect all 4 551 patients with confirmed tuberculosis between January 2018 and December 2019 at Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University. Phenotypic drug sensitivity test and GeneXpert MTB/RIF (hereafter referred to as "Xpert") assay were used as gold standards to analyze the accuracy of the probe melting curve method. The clinical value of this technique was also evaluated as a complementary method to conventional assays of drug resistance to increase the detective rate of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Results: By taking the phenotypic drug susceptibility test as the gold standard, the sensitivity of the MeltPro MTB assays to detect resistance to rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol and fluoroquinolone was 14/15, 95.7%(22/23), 2/4 and 8/9,respectively; and the specificity was 92.0%(115/125), 93.2%(109/117), 90.4%(123/136) and 93.9%(123/131),respectively; the overall concordance rate was 92.1%(95%CI:89.6%-94.1%),and the Kappa value of the consistency test was 0.63(95%CI:0.55-0.72).By taking the Xpert test results as the reference, the sensitivity of this technology to the detection of rifampicin resistance was 93.6%(44/47), the specificity was100%(310/310), the concordance rate was 99.2%(95%CI:97.6%-99.7%), and the Kappa value of the consistency test was 0.96(95%CI:0.93-0.99). The MeltPro MTB assays had been used in 4 551 confirmed patients; the proportion of patients who obtained effective drug resistance results increased from 83.3% to 87.8%(P<0.01); and detection rate of rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol, fluoroquinolone resistance, multidrug and pre-extensive drug resistance cases were increased by 3.2%, 14.7%, 22.2%, 13.7%, 11.2% and 12.5%, respectively. Conclusion: The MeltPro MTB assays show satisfactory accuracy in the diagnosis of drug-resistant tuberculosis. This molecular pathological test is an effective complementary method in improving test positivity of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Subject(s)
Humans , Rifampin/therapeutic use , Antibiotics, Antitubercular/therapeutic use , Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Ethambutol/pharmacology , Isoniazid/pharmacology , Paraffin Embedding , Retrospective Studies , Cross-Sectional Studies , Drug Resistance, Bacterial , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant/drug therapyABSTRACT
Literature research on ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important carrier for inheriting the academic achievements and thoughts of TCM, and a key step for continuing the Chinese civilization and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Based on this, the paper puts forward the purpose of sorting out TCM ancient books:to explore the treasure of traditional culture, reveal its significance, carry forward its spirit, learn from its experiences, so as to make a contribution to the development of TCM. And this paper expounds several major problems in the literature research, that is, paying attention to the phenomenon of "stubborn bass", avoiding the trend of "latecomers turning inferior", attaching importance to the hidden trouble of "making comments on behalf of the ancients". Then, this paper discusses the methodology of carrying out accurate research and revealing the true nature and true value of scholarship with the idea of confucian orthodoxy, the rules of not forgetting the original intention and the scientific method. Taking the materia medica archaeology as an example, the author shared the practical exploration of how to crack the historical code with scientific and technological means, so as to provide useful reference for the literature research on TCM ancient books.
ABSTRACT
Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is a new type of subregional cooperation mechanism initiated and built by China and other five countries of the Lancang-Mekong subregion, namely Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Countries in the Lancang-Mekong subregion are geographically and culturally connected, and they have nurtured their unique traditional medicine. By combing the history of traditional medicine exchanges between China and other Lancang-Mekong countries and their progress of modern research, this paper summarized the challenges and opportunities of traditional medicine cooperation in the Lancang-Mekong subregion. It has been found that many regional cooperation mechanisms coexist for a long time in the Lancang-Mekong subregion and the medicinal resources are abundant. However, the degree of their development and utilization varies, and modern scientific research is insufficient. Lancang-Mekong Cooperation has provided a strong support for integrating the advantageous resources in Lancang-Mekong subregion countries and making progress together. Focusing on the development and protection of medicinal resources, this paper puts forward a new path of cooperation in the intellectual property rights and characteristic seed resource protection, the compilation of universal herbal pharmacopoeia in various countries, the research and development of public health products, and the construction of traditional herbal industry bases, thus enabling the traditional medicine to better protect the public health and building a human health community.
Subject(s)
Humans , China , Materia Medica , Medicine, Traditional , Rivers , ThailandABSTRACT
Objective To investigate whether the metabolites in follicular fluid can be used as indicators for predicting oocyte quality and embryos early development in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods The study subjects were divided into four groups: lean control (LC) 30 cases, overweight (OW) 13 cases, lean PCOS (LP) 26 cases, and overweight PCOS (OP) 26 cases based on the Chinese criteria for body mass index (BMI) categories. The metabolic variance of follicular fluid from PCOS and controls was performed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and clinical characteristics, oocyte outcomes and differences of metabolites in follicular fluid of those patients have been compared by ANOVA. Furthermore, Pearson's correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between oocyte fertilization rate, top-quality embryos rate and follicular metabolites. Results Compared to the LC group, oocytes retrieved and top-quality embryos rate were significantly increased, while the mature oocytes rate and fertilization rate decreased significantly in the OP group. A total of 236 metabolites were identified and quantified by metabolomics in follicular fluid. Compared with LC and OP groups, 19 metabolites showed statistically significant differences in PCOS group. Additionally, 7 metabolites were significant correlated with the fertilization rate or top-quality embryo rate respectively, most of which were lysophospholipids. Conclusion Several metabolites in the follicular fluid are significantly different between PCOS and healthy women. Among these, lysophospholipids are crucial for oocyte quality and early embryonic development, may serve as potential markers to evaluate the oocyte quality in PCOS patients.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the value of shear wave elastography (SWE) for diagnosis of sural neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods:From September to December, 2017, 119 patients with T2DM were divided into diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) group (n = 61) and non-DPN group (n = 58) according to the diagnosic criteria. In the same period, other 60 healthy volunteers were also recruited as normal group. They were measured the thickness, width, circumference and cross-sectional area of sural nerve, as well as the Young's modulus and shear wave velocity (SWV) with SWE. Based on the results of electrophysiology, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to determine the cut-off of the Young's modulus and SWV to differentiate DPN from non-DPN, and their area under the curve was compared. Results:The thickness of sural nerve was more in DPN group than in the normal group (P < 0.05). There were significant differences among all the groups in width, cross-sectional area, circumference, Young's modulus and SWV of sural nerves (P < 0.05). For SWE image, it was yellow-green for DPN group, dark blue for non-DPN group, and uniform light blue for the normal group. The cut-off was 51.65 kPa for Young's modulus, with the area under the curve of 0.925, sensitivity of 86.9% and specificity of 89.7%; while it was 4.15 m/s for SWV, with the area under curve of 0.923, specificity of 89.7% and sensitivity of 85.2%. The diagnostic efficiency for DPN was similar between Young's modulus and SWV (Z = 0.556, P = 0.579). Conclusion:SWE can provide useful information for clinical diagnosis of sural neuropathy after T2DM.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The influence of anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment history on tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) diagnosis is unclear. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the diagnostic methods, including histology, microbiology, and molecular tests, used for TBLN.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In this study, suspected patients with TBLN and having different anti-TB treatment background were enrolled. All the samples were tested simultaneously by histology, Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining, mycobacterial culture (culture), Xpert MTB/RIF (xpert), real-time PCR, and high-resolution melting curve PCR (HRM). Thereafter, the performance of these methods on samples with different anti-TB treatment background was assessed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In our study, 89 patients were prospectively included 82 patients with TBLN and 7 with other diseases. The overall sensitivities of Xpert, real-time PCR, histology, ZN staining, and culture were 86.6%, 69.5%, 58.5%, 43.9%, and 22.0%, respectively. The anti-TB treatment history revealed dramatic influences on the sensitivity of culture (P < 0.0001). In fact, the treatment that lasted over 3 months also influenced the sensitivity of Xpert (P < 0.05). However, the treatment history did not affect the performance of remaining tests (P > 0.05). For rifampicin drug susceptibility test (DST), the anti-TB treatment showed only significant influence on the success rate of culture DST (P = 0.001), but not on those of Xpert and HRM tests (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Other tests as well as culture should be considered for patients with TBLN having retreatment history or over 1-month treatment to avoid false negative results.</p>
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Antitubercular Agents , Therapeutic Uses , Bacteriological Techniques , Drug Resistance, Bacterial , Tuberculosis, Lymph Node , Diagnosis , Drug Therapy , MicrobiologyABSTRACT
Objective:The present study aim to explore the difference and characteristics of disgust in obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD) with/without contamination washing symptoms,adding to the growing literature on the heterogeneity and clinical treatment of OCD.Methods:Totally 66 patients with OCD meeting the criteria of International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems,Tenth Revision (ICD-10) and 51 healthy controls matched with gender,age and level of education were recruited.All patients were divided into two subgroups namely washing symptoms group(n =26) and other symptoms group(n =40) based on the contamination washing symptoms.Participants respectively completed the lexical decision task.The results of the tasks were indicators reflecting the disgust feelings,including the accuracy,reaction time to core disgust words,moral disgust words,neutral words,and the rating intensity of disgust provoked by all of the words.Results:The reaction time for core disgust words[(723 ± 89)ms,(746 ± 95) ms vs.(676 ± 96) ms] and moral disgust words[(772 ± 98)ms,(796± 92)ms vs.(723 ± 94)ms] were longer in both group of patients with OCD than in healthy controls.The patients also rated higher degree of disgust for core disgust words[(6.7 ± 1.5),(6.9 ± 1.6)vs.(5.8 ± 1.7)]and moral disgust words [(6.8 ± 1.7),(7.2 ± 1.3)vs.(6.3 ± 1.5)] than healthy controls (Ps <0.05).But there were no difference existed between patients with and without contamination washing symptoms on the results of lexical decision task(Ps <0.05).Conclusion:It shows that patients with OCD tend to experience intense disgust feelings,and there is no difference between contamination washing symptoms and other symptoms on disgust.These findings suggest that intense disgust feelings may play a role on the etiology and maintenance of OCD,and reducing disgust could be a potential approach for OCD treatment.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the concentration-response relationship between ambient concentration of PM2.5 and daily total hospital emergency room visits in Beijing during 2012 and 2013. This study also examined the effects of ambient PM2.5 during heavy polluted days on emergency room visits compared with the light polluted days.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We collected the daily meteorological factors monitoring data and concentrations of air pollutants in Beijing during October 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013. We also collected the daily emergency room visits from a tertiary hospital in Beijing in the same time period. Generalized additive model was fitted to estimate the association between the ambient PM2.5 and the hospital emergency room visits, by using the smooth function to adjust long term trend of time, public holidays and day of week. In addition, constrained piecewise linear function was then used to estimate the excess risk for different segment of concentration-response function.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The annual average concentration of PM2.5 was 90.9 µg/m(3) during October 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013. There were total 64 260 cases for total emergency room visits, of which respiratory disease had 9 849 cases and cardiovascular disease had 11 168 cases. PM2.5 was positive related with PM10, NO2 and SO2. The corresponding correlation coefficients were 0.87, 0.78 and 0.62, respectively (P<0.05). And PM2.5 was positively related with relative humidity, with correlation coefficient 0.45 (P<0.05). But PM2.5 was negatively related with mean temperature (r=-0.17, P< 0.05) and wind speed (- 0.32, P<0.05). In the single polluted model, after adjusting the effects of temperature, relative humidity and wind, every 10 µg/m(3) increase of concentration of ambient PM2.5, the corresponding excess risk of daily emergency room visits was 0.25% (95% CI: 0.07-0.43). In the two-pollutant model PM2.5+SO2 and PM2.5+NO2, every 10 µg/m(3) increase of concentration of ambient PM2.5, the corresponding excess risk of daily emergency room visits were 1.07% (95%CI:0.83-1.30) and 0.56% (95%CI: 0.32-0.80) respectively, which were higher than the effect in single pollutant model. Average concentration of ambient particulate matters (PM2.5) was 204.16 µg/m(3) during heavy pollution, higher than control period (85.24 µg/m(3)). When PM2.5 as the primary air pollutants during heavy polluted days, we observed a significant increase in emergency room visits, and the odd ratios was 1.16 (95% CI:1.09-1.22).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There were positive correlation between high concentration of ambient particulate matters (PM2.5) and increasing daily emergency room visits. Especially during the heavy polluted days, the effects of elevated concentration of PM2.5 on hospital emergency room visits were much larger.</p>
Subject(s)
Humans , Air Pollutants , Beijing , Cardiovascular Diseases , Diagnosis , Emergency Service, Hospital , Meteorological Concepts , Particulate Matter , Respiratory Tract Diseases , Diagnosis , Temperature , Tertiary Care CentersABSTRACT
This paper is in order to discussion with the composition and characteristics of Tibetan medicine plant resources, and promote the reasonable protection and utilization of the resources of Tibetan materia medica. Statistical analysis of species, distributions, and others of Chinese endemic seed plant from Tibetan medicine plants and usually used in the clinic of Tibetan medicine. The results showed that there are 523 species (25%) of Chinese endemic seed plant, belonging to 65 families and 162 genera, in about 2 000 varieties of Tibetan medicine plants recorded in relevant literatures. There are 180 Chinese endemic seed plant species (28%) belonging to 42 families and 72 genera from 625 medicine plants usually used in the clinic of Tibetan medicine. Specifically, the most of these Chinese endemic seed plant species are characteristic crude drug used in Tibetan medicine, and mainly or only distributed in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. And a few species of them were intersected with traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and other ethnic medicines. In addition, about 10% are listed in China Species Red List. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the most abundant areas of Areal-types of the Chinese endemic seed plant. This is the biological and ecological reason formation the characteristics of Tibetan medicine plant resources. Therefore, strengthen the research of Chinese endemic seed plants used in Tibetan medicine is great significance for the reasonable protection and utilization of Tibetan medicine plant resources.
Subject(s)
Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Chemistry , Medicine, Tibetan Traditional , Plants, Medicinal , Chemistry , Classification , Seeds , Chemistry , Classification , TibetABSTRACT
In this paper, the domestic varieties and quality standard of Leguminosae medicinal plants used in Tibetan medicine were analyzed. The results showed that there were 36 genera and 142 species (including varieties), as well as 64 medicinal materials varieties of Leguminosae plants were recorded in relevant literatures. In relevant Tibetan standards and literatures, there are great differences in varieties, sources, used parts, and efficacy of medicinal plants. Among them, about 38.0% (including 54 species) of the endemic plants, about 25.4% (including 36 species) of the original plants have medicinal standard legal records, except 9 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine general quality standard more fairly completed, the most varieties have only description about characters, identification, etc. Therefore it is necessary to reinforce study for the herbal textual, resources and the use present situation, chemical components and biological activity, quality standard, medicinal terms specification, to promote establishment of quality standard system for variety-terminologies-sources of Tibetan medicinal plants.
Subject(s)
Fabaceae , Medicine, Tibetan Traditional , Reference StandardsABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements in lung adenocarcinoma, and the clinical therapy and prognosis of the patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinicopathological data of 34 cases of ALK-positive patients treated in the Beijing Chest Hospital from 2005 to 2014 were reviewed. The expression of ALK proteins in the resected tumors was detected by immunohistochemistry, and EGFR mutations were examined by polymerase chain reaction and a direct DNA sequencing method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the 34 patients, 20 were male and 14 were female, the median age was 49, and 11 were smokers and 23 were never smokers. The clinical stages of the patients were stage IA in 5 patients, IB in one patient, IIA in two patients, IIIA in 16 patients, IIIB in 5 patients, IV in 4 patients, and one patient of unknown stage. ALK-positive tumors showed strong granular staining in cell cytoplasm by immunohistochemistry. Forteen patients were solid predominant subtype with mucin production, 10 of acinar predominant subtype, 6 of papillary predominant subtype, 3 of micropapillary predominant subtype, and one was of colloid variant. There were 18 cases with mucin production, 6 cases had signet-ring cell morphology, and 10 cases showed cribriform pattern. Only one patient had coexistence of ALK rearrangement and EGFR mutation (L858R at exon 21). Of the 34 patients, 24 patients were followed up. The median follow up of the 24 patients was 11.0 months (1.7-48.7 months).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>ALK-positive tumors as a molecular subtype of lung adenocarcinoma have distinct clinicopathological features. The histological findings of ALK-positive tumors are characterized by solid predominant subtype with mucin production, acinar predominant subtype, signet-ring cells and cribriform structures. They were rarely co-mutated with EGFR mutation.</p>
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Adenocarcinoma , Pathology , Therapeutics , Exons , Gene Rearrangement , Genes, erbB-1 , Immunohistochemistry , Lung Neoplasms , Pathology , Therapeutics , Mucins , Mutation , Neoplasm Proteins , Genetics , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Prognosis , Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases , Genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
In this paper, the popular domestic varieties and quality standard of Scrophulariaceae plants used in Tibetan medicine were analyzed. The results showed that there were 11 genera and 99 species (including varieties), as well as 28 medicinal materials varieties of Scrophulariaceae plants were recorded in the relevant literatures. In relevant Tibetan standards arid literatures, there are great differences in varieties, sources, parts, and efficacies of medicinal plant. Among them, about 41.4% (including 41 species) of endemic plants, about 15.2% (including 15 species) of the original plants have medicinal standard legal records, except the medicinal materials of Scrophalaria ningpoensis, Lagotis brevituba, Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora, Veronica eriogyne general, most varieties have not completed quality standard. Consequently it is necessary to reinforce the herbal textual, resources and the use present situation investigation, the effects of the species resources material foundation and biological activity, quality standard, specification the medical terms of the plants, and promote Tibetan medicinal vareties-terminologies-sources such as the criterion and quality standard system for enriching the varieties of Tibetan medicinal materials and Chinese medicinal resources.
Subject(s)
Humans , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Chemistry , Pharmacology , Medicine, Tibetan Traditional , Reference Standards , Plants, Medicinal , Chemistry , Classification , Scrophulariaceae , Chemistry , ClassificationABSTRACT
DNA barcoding method was conducted for the authentication of pollen materials due to difficulty of discriminating pollen materials bearing morphological similarity. In this study, a specific focus was to identify cattail pollen (Puhuang) and pine pollen (Songhuafen) samples from their adulterants which are frequently mixed-together. Regions of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) from 60 samples were sequenced, and new primers for cattail pollen were designed according to the sequence information. The results from the NJ trees showed that the species of pine pollen, Puhuang and their adulterants can be classified as obvious monophyly. Therefore, we propose to adapt DNA barcoding methodology to accurately distinguish cattail pollen, pine pollen and their adulterant materials. It is a great help for drug regulatory agency to supervise the quality of medicinal materials.
Subject(s)
China , DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic , Methods , DNA, Plant , Genetics , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer , Genetics , Drug Contamination , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Chemistry , Classification , Molecular Sequence Data , Phylogeny , Pinus , Classification , Genetics , Pollen , Classification , Genetics , Quality Control , Typhaceae , Classification , GeneticsABSTRACT
AIM: To investigate the effect of problem - based learning ( PBL) used in the teaching of medical students'evidence-based medicine ( EBM) . METHODS: Five classes ( total 147 students ) were randomly selected as experimental ( PBL ) group, at the same time, another 5 classes ( total 149 students ) were also randomly selected as control group, using traditional teaching method ( lecture-based learning, LBL ) in 2010 grade. The final examination scores of the experimental group were compared with control at the end of term. In addition, all students were interviewed using self -administered questionnaire to obtain their evaluation for PBL practice. SPSS13. 0 software was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The homogeneity test in baseline survey showed that the basic characteristics between the two groups of students were no significant differences, and were comparable (P>0. 05). Final exam results showed that in addition to the scores of the EBM basic knowledge indicated no significant difference between two groups of students (P>0. 05), for the 5 steps of EBM procedure, namely, asking questions, finding the best evidence, evaluating the evidence, using and practicing the evidence, re - evaluating the evidence, and the total scores between the two groups, there were significant statistically differences (P0. 05) in aspects of better understanding classroom knowledge, improving language expression ability, and writing skill exercises. And other residual items had a significant difference ( PCONCLUSION: PBL teaching mode can effectively improve teaching effectiveness and the quality of EBM teaching, so the this teaching mode is worth further popularizing.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To assess bony trabecular changes potentially caused by loading stress around dental implants using fractal dimension analysis. METHODS: Fractal dimensions were measured in 48 subjects by comparing radiographs taken immediately after prosthesis delivery with those taken 1 year after functional loading. Regions of interest were isolated, and fractal analysis was performed using the box-counting method with Image J 1.42 software. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze the difference in fractal dimension before and after implant loading. RESULTS: The mean fractal dimension before loading (1.4213+/-0.0525) increased significantly to 1.4329+/-0.0479 at 12 months after loading (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Fractal dimension analysis might be helpful in detecting changes in peri-implant alveolar trabecular bone patterns in clinical situations.
Subject(s)
Bone Remodeling , Dental Implants , Fractals , Prostheses and Implants , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:The measure and prediction of the shape of optic nerve head are the key issues for early diagnosis and duration prediction of glaucoma. Therefore, it is significant to research the shape variation of optic nerve head under high intraocular pressure. OBJECTIVE:To establish three-dimensional finite element model of optic nerve head and to analyze the deformation of optic nerve head and the change in retina thickness after acute high intraocular pressure. METHODS:Animal model of acute ocular hypertension was established by methods of anterior chamber perfusion. The tomographic images of the optic nerve head of a cat were obtained at the normal intraocular pressure and 5 320 Pa, 7 980 Pa, 10 640 Pa, 13 300 Pa, 15 960 Pa intraocular pressures using optical coherence tomography. Then, we measured the variation of retinal thickness at typical location. Basing on the tomographic images of optic nerve head of a cat at normal intraocular pressure, we obtained three-dimensional structure of retina and choroid using software MIMICS. Then three-dimensional model of optic nerve head was established by assembling the retina and choroid. The deformation of optic nerve head and the change in retinal thickness under high intraocular pressure were observed using software ABAQUS. The effectiveness of the model was verified by the experimental result. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:With the increase of intraocular pressure, the retinal thickness is thinner, the optic nerve head depth, width and the ratio of the depth to width are gradual y increased. It suggests that the acute high intraocular pressure causes retinal thinning, optic nerve head widening and deepening. It is feasible to establish optic nerve head modeling in vivo by using optical coherence tomography, mechanical analysis can be applied to predict the shape variation of optic nerve head, which is significant to further deduce the pathological process of glaucoma.
ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the clinical characteristics and treatment of methylmalonic acidemia(MMA) in order to improve our understanding of it.Methods We analyzed the clinical manifestations,laboratory examinations and treatments of 26 cases of methylmalonic acidemia in children.Results Twenty-four cases were involved in nervous system.Nine patients were involved in renal system.Eight cases of hematological involved.Liver enzyme elevated in 2 cases as well as the cardiac system were involved in 3 cases.One case was with pneumonia onset.The laboratory findings showed metabolic acidosis in 12 cases,hyperhomocysteinemia in 8 cases and remarkable elevation of urinary methylmalonic acid concentration in all cases.Some abnormalities in globus pallidus and cerebral white matter as well as diffuse cerebral atrophy were noted by the brain CT and MRI in 15 cases.Sixteen children have received therapy of vitamin B12,and supplementation of L-carnitine with restricted-protein diet.The follow-up for a period ranging from 3 months to 1.5 years( mean 8.5 months) of 15 cases with medical therapy showed a favorable outcome of nervous system improvement in 12 cases,however,2 patients died from severe metabolic acidosis.8 patients with renal involvement were normal in urine routine and renal function.Conclusion Methylmalonic acidemia has different clinical features,so early urine organic acids analysis by GC/MS method is essential Long-term and reasonable treatment after diagnosis is an effective way to improve the prognosis.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the psychological health states of practical nurse and to effectively conduct clinical psychological guidance.Methods 368 practical nurse were determined by SCL-90 and compared with normal control.Results There were significant differences between practical nurse and normal control,such as compulsion,sensitive interpersonal,depression,anxiety,terror crankiness(P<0.05~P<0.01),and no remarkable difference in other factors(P>0.05).Conclusion Nurse's gross mental health level were worse than normal control,especially in compulsion,sensitive interpersonal,depression,anxiety,terror crankiness. So, mental health education should be enhanced for them.
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the effect of phloretin (Ph) on the proliferation, activation, and cell-cycle distribution of mouse T lymphocytes and NO production and phagocytosis of macrophages. Carboxyfluorescein diacetatesuccinimidyl ester (CFDA-SE) staining plus flow cytometry assay was employed to obtain the proliferation-related index (PI) of lymphocytes. The expression levels of CD69 and CD25 on T lymphocytes stimulated with Con A were evaluated with flow cytometry after staining with fluorescent monoclonal antibody. Cell-cycle distribution of T lymphocytes was analyzed by propidium iodide staining. Griess kit was used to evaluate the NO production and fluorescent microbeads were used to analyze the phagocytosis ability of macrophages. Our results showed that phloretin (40, 60, and 80 micromol x L(-7)) significantly inhibited the proliferation of T lymphocytes and the PI reduced from 1.41 +/- 0.13 to 1.34 +/- 0.16, 1.19 +/- 0.12 and 1.07 +/- 0.06, respectively. Phloretin significantly inhibited the expression of CD69 and CD25 (P < 0.01). The cell cycle distribution analysis showed that phloretin could induce a cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. NO production of LPS +IFN-gamma group of macrophages was (26.72 +/- 3.57) micromol x L(-1), and was significantly reduced by phloretin (P < 0.01). And phagocytosis rate of macrophages was significantly reduced by phloretin (P < 0.01). The results demonstrate that phloretin might be developed into a new immuosuppressive drug.