[Study of appropriate cut-off for diagnosis of primary aldosteronism by seated saline suppression test based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry].

Objective: To investigate the appropriate cut-off for diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA) by seated saline suppression test (SSST) based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients who underwent SSST for suspected PA in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2018 to March 2022 were evaluated. Briefly, 300 patients with PA and 119 with essential hypertension (EH) were included. Plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) after SSST was determined by LC-MS/MS. Primary aldosteronism confirmatory testing (PACT) score was used as the reference standard for diagnosis of PA, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to explore the cut-off value. Results: The average age of the PA group was (50.8±10.5) years, and males accounted for 53.00% (n=159); the average age of the EH group was (49.4±11.2) years, and males accounted for 26.89% (n=32). The area under the ROC curve of PAC post-SSST was 0.819 (95%CI 0.775-0.862). When 40 pg/ml (110.8 pmol/L) was selected as the appropriate cut-off for diagnosis of PA, the sensitivity was 83.67% (95%CI 78.88%-87.56%) and specificity was 60.50% (95%CI 51.10%-69.21%). Thus, 95.09% (155/163) of patients with unilateral PA could be identified. Conclusion: PAC after SSST determined by LC-MS/MS has high efficacy for diagnosis of PA, and 40 pg/ml is recommended as the appropriate cut-off value.

[Comparison of long-term clinical outcomes between transvaginal mesh and pelvic floor reconstruction with native tissue repair in the treatment of advanced pelvic organ prolapse].

Objective: To study the long-term clinical effect of transvaginal mesh (TVM) and pelvic floor reconstruction with native tissue repair (NTR) in the treatment of advanced pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Methods: Totally 207 patients with advanced POP who were treated in Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital from Jan. 2016 to Sep. 2019 were enrolled. The patient's pelvic organ prolapse quantification were all at degree Ⅲ or above, and they all complained for different degree of symptoms. They were divided into two groups according to the different surgical methods, TVM group and NTR group. In TVM group, the mesh was implanted through the vagina for pelvic floor reconstruction, while in NTR group, the traditional transvaginal hysterectomy combined with uterosacral ligament suspension and anterior and posterior wall repair, as well as perineal body repair were performed. The median follow-up time was 60 months, during the follow up time, 164 cases (79.2%, 164/207) had completed follow-up, including 76 cases in TVM group and 88 cases in NTR group. The perioperative data and complication rates of the two groups were compared, and the subjective and objective outcomes of the two groups at 1, 3 and 5 years were observed, respectively. The objective efficacy was evaluated by three composite criteria, namely: (1) the distance from the farthest end of the prolapse of the anterior and posterior wall of the vagina to the hymen is ≤0 cm, and the descending distance of the top is ≤1/2 of the total length of the vagina; (2) determine the disappearance of relevant POP symptoms according to "Do you often see or feel vaginal mass prolapse？"; (3) no further operation or pessary treatment was performed due to prolapse. If the above three criteria were met at the same time, the operation is successful; otherwise, it was recurrence. The subjective efficacy was evaluated by the pelvic floor distress inventory-short form 20 (PFDI-20) and pelvic floor impact questionnaire-short form 7 (PFIQ-7). Results: The median follow-up time of the two groups was 60 months (range: 41-82 months). Five years after the operation, the subjective and objective cure rates of TVM group were 89.5% (68/76) and 94.7% (72/76), respectively. The subjective and objective cure rates in NTR group were 80.7% (71/88) and 85.2% (75/88), respectively. There were significant differences in the subjective and objective cure rates between the two groups (χ2=9.869, P=0.002; χ2=3.969, P=0.046). The recurrence rate of TVM group was 5.3% (4/76), and that of NTR group was 14.8% (13/88). There was a significant difference between the two groups (P=0.046). The postoperative PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 scores of the two groups were significantly lower than those before surgery, and there were significant differences of the two groups before and after surgery (all P<0.05). Postoperative mesh exposure in TVM group was 1.3% (1/76). Conclusions: The long-term outcomes between the two groups show that the subjective and objective outcomes of pelvic floor reconstruction in TVM group are significantly higher than those in NTR group, and the recurrence rate is significantly lower than that in NTR group. TVM has certain advantages in the treatment of advanced POP.

Lactobacillus coryniformis subsp. torquens inhibits bone loss in obese mice via modification of the gut microbiota.

High-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity results in bone loss associated with an imbalanced gut microbiota and altered immune status. Probiotics are live microorganisms that are beneficial to the host and are important in maintaining bone health and gut homeostasis. In this study, the probiotic Lactobacillus coryniformis subsp. torquens (T3L) was isolated from traditional yak milk cheese produced in Lhasa and showed distinct acid and bile salt resistance as potential probiotics. Our data indicated that T3L not only reversed HFD-induced gut dysbiosis, as indicated by decreased Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratios but also reduced bone loss. The anti-obesity, microbiome-modulating, and bone-protective effects were transmissible via horizontal faeces transfer from T3L-treated mice to HFD-fed mice. The protective effects of T3L on bone mass were associated with regulatory T (Treg) cell-mediated inhibition of osteoclast differentiation. Our data indicate that T3L is a regulator of the gut microbiota and bone homeostasis in an animal model.

[Re-evaluation of the diagnostic value and optimal cutoff point of captopril challenge test in diagnosis of primary aldosteronism].

Objective: The aim of the present study was to re-evaluate the diagnostic value and optimal cutoff point of captopril challenge test (CCT) in diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA). Methods: This is a retrospective study. All patients with a high risk for PA underwent screening test, and then proceeded to CCT and fludrocortisone suppression test (FST) on different days. The FST was used as a reference standard for PA. The plasma renin concentration (PRC) and plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) were measured with an automated chemiluminescence immunoassay. Random number method was performed in the patients with unilateral primary aldosteronism (UPA), in order to make the proportion of the analyzed UPA in PA was 35%. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to compare diagnostic accuracy. Results: A total of 543 patients with 400 PA patients and 143 essential hypertension (EH) patients were enrolled. The diagnostic value of post-CCT PAC was significantly higher than that of the post-CCT plasma aldosterone-renin ratio (ARR), and that of the PAC suppression percentage, respectively. The area under the ROC curve (AUCROC) was 0.86 (0.83, 0.89) for PAC, 0.78 (0.74, 0.82) for ARR, and 0.62 (0.56, 0.67) for the PAC suppression percentage (all P<0.01), respectively. The optimal cutoff point of post-CCT PAC for PA was 110 ng/L, in which the sensitivity and specificity were 73.25% and 79.02%, respectively. The diagnostic efficiency of post-CCT PAC was not improved either in combination with PAC suppression percentage or in combination with post-CCT ARR. Conclusions: CCT is a useful test for the confirmation of PA. PAC level of 110 ng/L at 2 h after 50 mg of captopril is recommended as an optimal cutoff point for the diagnosis of PA.

[A case of oculocutaneous albinism with cataract].

A female patient with totally white hair and pink skin had gradual visual loss to hand motion in the right eye within one year. Upon her visit to the Department of Ophthalmology, she was found to have a totally white cataract and a family history of intermarriage, and was finally diagnosed with oculocutaneous albinism and complicated cataract in the right eye. The best corrected visual acuity of her right eye increased to 0.15 at 6 months after phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation. Clear choroidal vessels could be seen in the ultra-widefield color fundus image and autofluorescence image. No macular fovea structure was found on optical coherence tomography of the fundus. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2021, 57: 787-790).

[Comparison of clinical and immunological features between clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis and typical dermatomyositis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the differences between clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) and typical dermatomyositis (DM) on clinical and immunological features. METHODS: By collecting clinical data of 106 CADM patients and 158 DM patients from January 2010 to June 2019 in the department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital, the clinical characteristics and immunological features in the two groups were compared, and the distribution characters and the clinical meanings of myositis autoantibodies were discussed in the two groups respectively. Myositis autoantibodies were measured by immunoblotting according to the manufacturers' instructions. RESULTS: In the aspects of clinical manifestations, CADM presented more with onset of interstial lung diseases (ILD) compared with DM (20.7% vs. 7.6%, P=0.002), and CADM-ILD was more likely to be acute ILD (58.3% vs. 26%, P < 0.001), and there were no differences between CADM and DM in cutaneous manifestations, accompanied with connective tissue disease (CTD) and malignancy. In CADM, the positive rate of rheumatoid factors and antinuclear antibodies was lower in DM. The most common myositis specific autoantibodies (MSAs) in CADM were anti-MDA5 (36%), anti-PL-7 (11.2%) and anti-TIF-1γ (10.1%). The most common MSAs in DM were anti-Jo-1 (19.2%), anti-TIF-1γ (11.5%) and anti-MDA5 (11.5%). Anti-MDA5 was correlated with acute ILD and skin ulceration both in CADM and DM; in CADM, skin ulceration was not associated with the titer of anti-MDA5; while in DM, skin ulceration was associated with high titer of anti-MDA5. In DM, anti-TIF-1γ was correlated with heliotrope eruption, V/shawl neck sign, perionychia erythma and malignancy, and higher rate of malignancy was seen in all titers of the anti-TIF-1γ positive patients. In CADM, anti-TIF1-γ showed no correlation with clinical manifestations. The most common myositis associated autoantibody was anti-Ro-52 both in CADM and DM. In CADM, anti-Ro-52 was associated with Raynaud's phenomenon and chronic ILD, while in DM, anti-Ro-52 was associated with mechanic's hands, noninfectious fever and accompanied CTD. CONCLUSION: Compared with DM, ILD is more likely to be acute in CADM. It is different between CADM and DM about the distribution of myositis autoantibodies and the clinical significance of the same myositis antibody, and the clinical significance of some myositis antibodies is related to titers.

lncRNA SNHG3 accelerates the proliferation and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer by downregulating miR-340-5p.

Small nucleolar RNA host genes (SNHGs) as a subset of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) act critical roles in tumor progression. The present study aimed to elucidate the role and mechanisms of SNHG3 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The correlation of SNHG3/miR-340-5p/HOXA10 with the clinicopathological features and outcomes in NSCLC was analyzed by TCGA cohort. In vitro and in vivo functional experiments were conducted to assess the role of SNHG3 in NSCLC cells. Bioinformatic analysis and luciferase gene reporter were used to estimate the interaction between miR-340-5p and SNHG3/HOXA10 3'UTR. The effects of SNHG3 and (or) miR-340-5p on HOXA10 expression were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. As a consequence, the elevated expression of SNHG3 and HOXA10 or lowered expression of miR-340-5p was related to the lymph node infiltration, distant metastases and unfavorable prognosis in NSCLC. Ectopic expression of SNHG3 boosted the proliferation and invasion of NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo, whereas downregulation of SNHG3 reversed these effects. Moreover, SNHG3 could bind with miR-340-5p and reduce its expression levels, and miR-340-5p attenuated SNHG3-induced tumor proliferation and HOXA10 expression in NSCLC cells. Our findings unveiled that SNHG3 might be an oncogenic factor in NSCLC by downregulating miR-340-5p.

Long noncoding RNA LINC00858 promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells via the miR-363-3p/FOXP4 axis.

OBJECTIVE: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) LINC00858 has been found to exert oncogenic activity in several types of cancers, except gastric cancer (GC). In the present study, we aimed to explore the potential role of LINC00858 in GC and the underlying molecular mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression patterns of LINC00858 were determined using qRT-PCR in GC samples and cell lines. Cell proliferation was examined utilizing CCK-8 assay. Cell migration and invasion were evaluated using transwell assays. We used the bioinformatics software StarBase and TargetScan to predict lncRNA-miRNA and miRNA-mRNA interactions. RESULTS: Our findings revealed that LINC00858 expression was markedly upregulated in GC tissues and cell lines. Loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that LINC00858 silencing inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of GC cells. Bioinformatics analysis showed that there were several complementary binding sites between LINC00858 and microRNA (miR)-363-3p, and further Luciferase reporter assay confirmed the interaction between LINC00858 and miR-363-3p. In addition, forkhead box P4 protein (FOXP4) was found to be a target gene of miR-363-3p in GC cells. FOXP4 overexpression reversed the inhibitory effects of miR-363-3p mimics on cell proliferation, migration and invasion of BGC-823 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, LINC00858 acted as an oncogene in GC via regulating miR-363-3p/FOXP4 axis, which indicated that LINC00858 might be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of GC.

[Prevalence and clinical characteristics of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with primary hyperaldosteronism].

Objective: To explore the proportion of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in primary aldosteronism (PA) in Chinese population and compare the clinical characteristics between PA patients with OSA and those without. Methods: A total of 96 patients diagnosed with PA from September 2015 to November 2018 were recruited in this study. OSA was screened by cardio-respiratory polygraphy. According to the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), the patients were divided into PA with OSA group (AHI ≥5 times) and PA without OSA group (AHI<5 times). Results: Among all patients (96), 69 (71.9%) were with OSA, among them 22 patients (22.9%) were with mild OSA, 17 patients (17.7%) were with moderate OSA and 30 patients (31.3%) were with severe OSA. Compared with the patients without OSA, the patients with OSA were elder, and had higher levels of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), creatinine (CR) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) (P<0.05), but lower concentrations of plasma aldosterone (PAC), supine aldosterone renin concentration ratio(ARR) and the PAC after the diagnosis test (P<0.05). Spearman correlation analyses showed that BMI, WC, HC, CR and HbA1c were positively correlated with AHI (P<0.05), while high-density lipoproteincholesterol (HDL-C), supine-PAC and saline infusion test(SIT)-post PAC were negatively correlated with AHI (P<0.05). Conclusions: The proportion of OSA in PA patients is relatively high (71.9%). Metabolic abnormalities are more common in PA patients with OSA, indicating that screening for OSA should be carried out routinely in PA patients.

[A clinical performance study of modified CT angiography in detecting bronchial artery-pulmonary artery fistula].

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of modified computed tomography angiography(CTA) in detecting bronchial artery-pulmonary artery fistula(BPF). Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on 246 patients with hemoptysis admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from July 2017 to December 2018, who underwent modified CTA and DSA examination at the same time. CT was performed with Toshiba Aquilion one 320 row 640-slice spiral CT scanner. All modified CTA images were read blindly by two radiologists above the attending doctors. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the modified CTA in diagnosing BPF were calculated with the DSA results as the reference,and the consistency of the two tests was analyzed. Results: DSA detected 186 cases of positive and 60 cases of negative, modified CTA detected 160 cases of positive and 86 cases of negative. The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of modified CTA for BPF diagnosis was 85.5%(159/186),98.3%(59/60), 88.6%(218/246) respectively, and they were with high consistency with DSA examination results (kappa=0.73,P<0.01). Conclusion: Modified CTA has high diagnostic specificity for BPF,which can be used as the preferred method for non-invasive screening of suspected BPF patients.

Scalable and cost-effective Ag nanowires flexible transparent electrodes.

Flexible transparent electrodes (TEs) are important for new electronic devices. This paper reports a scalable, cost effective Ag nanowires (AgNWs) TE, which is made of a SnO2·xH2O and AgNWs composite layer and a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottom layer by a solution method at room temperature. The AgNWs/SnO2·xH2O composite TEs reveal a significant reduction of four orders in magnitude of sheet resistance, from 90 kΩ sq-1 to 12 Ω sq-1, while retaining transmittance of about 92% at 550 nm. This could be owing to the significant reduction of contact resistance for the weld-like junction of bound AgNWs. Compared with others, this method is characterized by filling gaps of the silver nanowire network with SnO2·xH2O. In addition, the adhesive forces between the AgNWs and the substrate are improved. This could be attributed to strong adhesion of SnO2·xH2O with the substrate. Moreover, this foldable transparent electrode is applicable for any non-planar surfaces and ultimately for future wearable optoelectronic devices.

[CT perfusion analysis on the association of permeability surface with hematoma and edema volume in acute spontaneous putaminal and thalamic hematoma].

Objective: To discuss the correlation of permeability surface (PS) with hematoma and edema volume in acute spontaneous putaminal and thalamic hematoma using CT perfusion imaging. Methods: A total of 48 acute spontaneous putaminal and thalamic hemorrhage patients were enrolled in this study during October 2015 and December 2016 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. At the image slice with maximum size of hematoma, PS was measured by drawing various regions of interest (ROI) including"hot spots", perihematomal regions, outward regions, hemisphere regions and contralateral mirror regions. The relative PS (rPS) was calculated as the ratio of ipsilateral to contralateral PS value in each ROI. Hematoma and edema volumes were traced and obtained with commercial software. Results: The"hot spots"PS ((2.8±1.5) ml·100 g(-1)·min(-1)) and perihematomal PS ((2.1±1.4) ml·100 g(-1)·min(-1)) were both significantly higher than the PS of the contralateral mirror regions ((1.1±0.5) ml·100 g(-1)·min(-1)) (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in outward regions PS and contralateral mirror regions PS (P>0.05), nor in hemisphere regions PS and contralateral mirror regions PS (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in"hot spots"rPS and perihematomal rPS (P=0.218). The"hot spots"rPS and Perihematomal rPS were both higher than the rPS of the outward and hemisphere regions (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the outward and hemisphere regions (P<0.01). The median hematoma volume was 12.63 ml and the median edema volume was 12.36 ml. The edema volume had a positive association with the hematoma volume(r=0.799, P<0.001) and perihematomal PS(r=0.465, P=0.001). Perihematomal PS had a positive association with the hematoma volume (r=0.386, P=0.007). Conclusion: The damage of blood-brain barrier around acute spontaneous hematoma can be measured via CT perfusion imaging. Perihematomal PS was associated with the hematoma and edema volume.

[Intraocular lens power calculation for high myopic eyes with cataract: comparison of three formulas].

Objective: To compare the accuracy of three different formulas for intraocular lens power calculation in high myopic eyes with cataract and analyze their influencial factors. Methods: One hundred and three high myopic patients of cataract (103 eyes), with average age of 60.2±8.8 years old (39.0-77.0), including 45 male and 54 female and with axial length ≥ 26 mm were enrolled in this retrospective case-series study. All of them underwent routine ocular examination and IOLMastermeasurement preoperatively and then underwent phacoemulsification through temporal clear-corneal incision with implantation of HumanOptic posterior chamber Intraocular lens (IOL). All analyses were conducted using SPSS version 19.0. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was applied to compare the refractive results one month postoperatively with the predicted IOL powers calculated by SRK/T, Holladay 1, or Haigis formula before surgery. The differences were further compared based on different grouping of axial length (AXL), corneal curvature (K) and corneal astigmatism (CA). The accuracies of the three formulas were analyzed using Bland-Altman analyses and the possible error sources of each formula were analyzed using multiple regression model. Results: The majority of patients enrolled had hyperopic shift after cataract surgery. The mean errors (ME) of the three formulas were SRK/T: 0.70±0.89D, Holladay 1: (1.20±0.88) D and Haigis: (0.60±0.88) D; the mean absolute errors (MAE) of the three formulas were (0.81±0.79) D, (1.23±0.84) D and (0.76±0.74) D, respectively. Both ME and MAE of Holladay formula were significantly greater than the other two formulas (F=86.31, P<0.01). Besides, the proportion of patients having a prediction error within 0.50 D was lower in those using Holladay formula (20.4%, 21/103) than the other two (SRK/T: 38.8%, 40/103, χ(2)=8.41, P<0.01, Haigis: 45.6%, 47/103, χ(2)=14.84, P<0.01). Bland-Altman analyses showed that the accuracies of all the three formulas were acceptable in patients of cataract with high myopia in clinical practice. ME and MAE tended to be larger with longer axial length, larger corneal curvature and astigmatism of the patients in all three formulas. However, in eyes with axial length> 30 mm or corneal curvature ≤43.00 D, the MAE of Haigis formula was lower than that of SRK/T formula (F=63.26,63.94, both P<0.01). The prediction error of SRK/T formula was positively correlated with axial length and corneal astigmatism (F=33.97, r=0.66, ß=0.48, P<0.01 and ß=0.42, P<0.01), while for Holladay and Haigis formulas, in addition to the previous two factors, the errors were also positively correlated with mean corneal curvature (Holladay 1: F=31.26, r=0.72, AXL: ß=0.52, P<0.01, K: ß=0.20, P<0.05 and CA: ß=0.37, P<0.01; Haigis: F=30.96, r=0.72, AXL: ß=0.33, P<0.01, K: ß=0.40, P<0.01 and CA: ß=0.37, P<0.01). Conclusions: In the selection of IOL formula for high myopic patients with cataract, Haigis or SRK/T would reduce the prediction error and serve as the more accurate formulas than Holladay 1. Haigis formula may be more accurate than SRK/T formula in case of AXL>30 mm or K≤43.00 D. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2017, 53: 260-265).

[Analysis of CT perfusion imaging in chronic cerebral circulatory insufficiency and its relationship with crossed cerebellar diaschisis].

Objective: To investigate the change of cerebral microcirculation of chronic cerebral circulation insufficiency(CCCI) patients and the relationship between CCCI and crossed cerebellar diaschisis(CCD)by using 320-detector row of low-dose volume CT perfusion imaging. Methods: A total of 158 patients (103 males, 55 females, from 45 to 82 years old, the mean age was 62.9) with symptoms of CCCI were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from June 2013 to January 2016. Low-dose CTP imaging of whole brain was performed to them using 320-detector row volume CT scanner. The perfusion parameters such as cerebral blood flow(CBF), cerebral blood volume(CBV), mean transit time(MTT), time to peak(TTP) and DLY in both cerebral blood supply areas and cerebellum were got, so were the 4-dimensional CTA images, and rCBF, rCBV, rMTT and rTTP were calculated by ipsilateral/contralateral value. Comparative t-test and independent t-test were applied to analyzing these parameters quantitatively.Chi-square test and Logistic regression model were applied to analyzing the related clinical risk factors. Results: (1) All 108 patients in CCCI group showed asymmetric perfusion within two cerebral hemispheres in CTP images. The CBF, CBV of diseased side were lower than the contralateral mirror area (t(CBF)=-12.89, t(CBV)=-7.031, P(CBF, CBV)<0.001); the MTT of the diseased side was shorter than the contralateral mirror area (t(MTT) =13.310, P(MTT)<0.001); the TTP of the diseased side was longer than the contralateral mirror area (t(TTP)=-4.012, P(TTP)<0.001). The rCBF and rCBV of CCCI group were lower than that in non-CCCI group (t(rCBF)=3.079, t(rCBV)=2.760, P(rCBF, rCBV)<0.01), while the rTTP of CCCI group was longer than that in non-CCCI group (t(rTTP)=4.846, P(rTTP)<0.001). (2)The results of Chi-square test showed that the differences of gender (χ(2)=4.036, P=0.045), hyperlipidemia (χ(2)=7.687, P=0.006), as well as smoking (χ(2)=11.868, P=0.001) had statistical significance between CCCI group and non-CCCI group.Multi-factor Logistic regression analysis showed that hyperlipidemia (OR value=3.736, P=0.016) and smoking (OR value=4.641, P=0.01) were the risk factors of CCCI, while gender had no relationship with it.(3)The incidence of CCD was 18.5% in the CCCI group, and at the same time, the supratentorial corresponding blood supply areas were classified.A total of 10(34.5%) cases were in blood supply area of posterior cerebral artery, 6(20.7%) cases were in blood supply area of middle cerebral artery, 12(41.4%) cases were of anterior cerebral artery, while only 1(3.5%) case was of basal ganglia, in which 4 cases were in blood supply area of posterior cerebral artery, another 4 cases were middle cerebral artery, 7 cases were of anterior cerebral artery and no case of basal ganglia respectively leading CCD alone. Conclusions: CTP could display the microcirculation situation of abnormal brain tissue perfusion area intuitively and quantitatively. Additionally, it could reflect the degree of relationship between cerebral several blood supply areas and cerebellum.

[Clinical investigation of temporary heart pacemaker for emergency treatment of patients with acute and severe cardiovascular diseases].

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of temporary heart pacemaker for emergency treatment of patients with acute and severe cardiovascular diseases. Methods: The clinical data of 147 patients with cardiac arrest or bradyarrhythmia from August 2007 to December 2015, was analyzed retrospectively in Department of internal and Emergency Medicine, People's Hospital of Henan. Based on the rescue methods, all patients were divided into two groups: observation group (80 cases, among whom, 49 cases with cardiac arrest and 31 cases with bradyarrhythmia) and control group (67 cases, among whom 39 cases with cardiac arrest and 28 cases with bradyarrhythmia). Patients in observation group received temporary heart pacemaker, and patients in control group received traditional cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and drug treatment. The rate of rescue and complications were analyzed and compared in two groups. Results: The total rescue rate in observation group was 96.3%, which was significantly higher than that in control group (44.8 %) (P<0.05). Further analysis showed that the rescue rate of patients with cardiac arrest in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group (95.1% vs 45.1%) (P<0.05), and the rescue rate of patients with bradyarrhythmia in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group (97.4% vs 44.4%) (P<0.05). Complications were observed in 4 patients: pericardial effusion (1 case ), ventricular fibrillation (1 cases) and catheter dislocation (2 cases). Conclusion: Temporary heart pacemaker was safe and effective in the treatment of patients with acute and severe cardiovascular diseases with improved rescue rate.

Population structure analysis and association mapping of blast resistance in indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces.

Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most devastating rice diseases worldwide. To understand the genetic diversity of indica landrace accessions and identify simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that are associated with blast resistance, a population of 276 indica landraces from across the world was constructed. This population was then used to evaluate the blast-resistance phenotype through artificial inoculation under controlled conditions in 2012 and 2013. The genetic diversity and association of the population with resistance were analyzed by examining the phenotype for 160 SSR markers distributed on 12 rice chromosomes. The 276 accessions were classified into seven groups using model- and distance-based cluster analyses. Associations between SSR markers and blast resistance showed that 26 SSR markers were significantly associated with blast resistance in 2012 and 2013 (P < 0.01) and that the phenotypic variation ranged from 2.68 to 13.11%. Nineteen of the markers associated with blast resistance were located in regions where genes or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been previously reported, and seven were newly identified in this study. These results indicate that marker-trait association has potential advantages over classical linkage analysis and QTL mapping, and that these markers could be used for marker-assisted selection in rice blast-resistance-breeding programs.

Identification of quantitative trait loci conferring blast resistance in Bodao, a japonica rice landrace.

Bodao, a japonica landrace from the Taihu Lake region of China, is highly resistant to most Chinese isolates of Magnaporthe oryzea, a form of rice blast. To effectively dissect the influence of genetics on this blast resistance, a population of 155 recombinant inbred lines (F2:8) derived from a cross of Bodao x Suyunuo was inoculated with 12 blast isolates. Using a quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping approach, 13 QTL on chromosomes 1, 2, 9, 11, and 12 were detected from Bodao. Five QTL, including qtl11-1-1, qtl11-3-7, qtl11-4-9, qtl12-1-1, and qtl12-2-3, have not been previously reported. The qtl11-3-7 and qtl11-4-9 may be the two main effective QTL and resistant to 7 and 9 isolates, respectively. The results of the present study will be valuable for the fine mapping and cloning of these two new resistance genes.

EPHX1 Tyr113His and His139Arg polymorphisms in esophageal cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

Microsomal epoxide hydrolase 1 (EPHX1) is an important biological phase II metabolic enzyme that is extensively involved in the metabolism of diverse environmental carcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines. Many articles have reported the association between EPHX1 (Tyr113His and His139Arg) polymorphisms and esophageal cancer risk, but the results are controversial. This study aimed to identify the association between EPHX1 (Tyr113His and His139Arg) polymorphisms and esophageal cancer risk by meta-analysis. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was used to evaluate the strength of the associations. Heterogeneity was estimated by the chi-square-based Q-statistic test and the P value. Meanwhile, the random-effect or fixed-effect model was used according to the between-study heterogeneity. Begg's funnel plot and the Egger test were performed to assess the publication bias of articles. Finally, 8 case-control studies involving 1158 cases and 1868 controls for the Tyr113His polymorphism and 7 case-control studies involving 901 cases and 1615 controls for the His139Arg polymorphism were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that the Tyr113His polymorphism was a stronger power trend towards risk for esophageal cancer using a recessive model (CC versus CT+TT, OR = 1.204, 95%CI = 1.001-1.450, P = 0.049). However, no significant associated risk was found between the His139Arg polymorphism and esophageal cancer. These findings suggest that the Tyr113His polymorphism might be a stronger power trend towards risk for esophageal cancer. However, no evidence was found for the association between the EPHX1 His139Arg polymorphism and esophageal cancer risk.

Towards stable silicon nanoarray hybrid solar cells.

Silicon nanoarray hybrid solar cells benefit from the ease of fabrication and the cost-effectiveness of the hybrid structure, and represent a new research focus towards the utilization of solar energy. However, hybrid solar cells composed of both inorganic and organic components suffer from the notorious stability issue, which has to be tackled before the hybrid solar cells could become a viable alternative for harvesting solar energy. Here we show that Si nanoarray/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solar cells with improved stability can be fabricated via eliminating the water inclusion in the initial formation of the heterojunction between Si nanoarray and PEDOT:PSS. The Si nanoarray hybrid solar cells are stable against rapid degradation in the atmosphere environment for several months without encapsulation. This finding paves the way towards the real-world applications of Si nanoarray hybrid solar cells.