Vitamin C, vitamin E, ß-carotene and risk of Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the relationship between the intake of vitamin C, vitamin E and ß-carotene, and the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane library, CNKI, and WanFang databases were searched from inception to 29 August 2022 for observational studies reporting the odds ratios (ORs) or relative risks (RRs) or hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of PD by Vitamin C/Vitamin E/ß-carotene intake. Random-effects models, publication bias assessment, subgroup, sensitivity and dose-response analyses were performed, using.Stata version 12.0. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies were included. There was no significant association between high-dose vitamin C intake and the risk of PD compared with low-dose vitamin C intake (RR = 0.98, 95%CI:0.89,1.08). Compared with low-dose intake, high-dose intake of vitamin E can prevent the risk of PD (RR = 0.87, 95%CI:0.77,0.99). Compared with lower ß-carotene intake, there was a borderline non-significant correlation between higher intake and PD risk (RR = 0.91, 95%CI:0.82,1.01), and high dose ß-carotene intake was found to be associated with a lower risk of PD in women (RR = 0.78, 95%CI:0.64,0.96). CONCLUSION: This study shows that vitamin E intake can reduce the risk of PD and play a preventive role.

Diverticular peroral endoscopic myotomy (D-POEM) for symptomatic oesophageal diverticulum: a multicentre cohort study with a minimum follow-up of 3 years.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the medium- and long-term outcomes of diverticular peroral endoscopic myotomy (D-POEM) for symptomatic oesophageal diverticulum. METHODS: Consecutive patients with symptomatic oesophageal diverticulum who underwent D-POEM from 1st May 2016 to 1st April 2020 in 6 centres were extracted and researched. Symptoms assessed by the modified Eckardt score were registered pre- and post-D-POEM at 1, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. RESULTS: A total of 34 patients with Zenker's diverticulum (ZD, n = 12), mid-oesophageal diverticulum (MED, n = 12), and epiphrenic diverticulum (ED, n = 10) were included. Complete septotomy was achieved in a mean of 39.15 min, with 100% technical success. No severe intraoperative or postoperative complications were observed. Five patients exhibited subcutaneous emphysema, while 1 had mucosal injury. The mean Eckardt score was 8.59 preoperatively and 2.56 at 1 month, 2.09 at 6 months, 2.21 at 12 months, 2.15 at 24 months, and 2.21 at 36 months postoperatively. The total clinical success rates at 1, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months postoperatively were 97.1%, 97.1%, 94.1%, 91.2%, and 88.2%, respectively. With a median follow-up of 47.2 months, four patients suffered symptom relapse, with a total clinical success rate of 88.2%. A long disease duration, a high Eckardt score, and coexistence of achalasia were identified as risk factors for symptomatic recurrence by multivariable Cox analysis. CONCLUSIONS: D-POEM is an effective and durable treatment for patients with symptomatic oesophageal diverticulum.

Application of digital-intelligence technology in the processing of Chinese materia medica.

Processing of Chinese Materia Medica (PCMM) is the concentrated embodiment, which is the core of Chinese unique traditional pharmaceutical technology. The processing includes the preparation steps such as cleansing, cutting and stir-frying, to make certain impacts on the quality and efficacy of Chinese botanical drugs. The rapid development of new computer digital technologies, such as big data analysis, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and cloud computing artificial intelligence, has promoted the rapid development of traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing industry with digitalization and intellectualization. In this review, the application of digital intelligence technology in the PCMM was analyzed and discussed, which hopefully promoted the standardization of the process and secured the quality of botanical drugs decoction pieces. Through the intellectualization and the digitization of production, safety and effectiveness of clinical use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction pieces were ensured. This review also provided a theoretical basis for further technical upgrading and high-quality development of TCM industry.

Tirofiban for Stroke without Large or Medium-Sized Vessel Occlusion.

BACKGROUND: The effects of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitor tirofiban in patients with acute ischemic stroke but who have no evidence of complete occlusion of large or medium-sized vessels have not been extensively studied. METHODS: In a multicenter trial in China, we enrolled patients with ischemic stroke without occlusion of large or medium-sized vessels and with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 5 or more and at least one moderately to severely weak limb. Eligible patients had any of four clinical presentations: ineligible for thrombolysis or thrombectomy and within 24 hours after the patient was last known to be well; progression of stroke symptoms 24 to 96 hours after onset; early neurologic deterioration after thrombolysis; or thrombolysis with no improvement at 4 to 24 hours. Patients were assigned to receive intravenous tirofiban (plus oral placebo) or oral aspirin (100 mg per day, plus intravenous placebo) for 2 days; all patients then received oral aspirin until day 90. The primary efficacy end point was an excellent outcome, defined as a score of 0 or 1 on the modified Rankin scale (range, 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]) at 90 days. Secondary end points included functional independence at 90 days and a quality-of-life score. The primary safety end points were death and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. RESULTS: A total of 606 patients were assigned to the tirofiban group and 571 to the aspirin group. Most patients had small infarctions that were presumed to be atherosclerotic. The percentage of patients with a score of 0 or 1 on the modified Rankin scale at 90 days was 29.1% with tirofiban and 22.2% with aspirin (adjusted risk ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 1.53, P = 0.02). Results for secondary end points were generally not consistent with the results of the primary analysis. Mortality was similar in the two groups. The incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 1.0% in the tirofiban group and 0% in the aspirin group. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial involving heterogeneous groups of patients with stroke of recent onset or progression of stroke symptoms and nonoccluded large and medium-sized cerebral vessels, intravenous tirofiban was associated with a greater likelihood of an excellent outcome than low-dose aspirin. Incidences of intracranial hemorrhages were low but slightly higher with tirofiban. (Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; RESCUE BT2 Chinese Clinical Trial Registry number, ChiCTR2000029502.).

Deep Transfer Learning Approach for Localization of Damage Area in Composite Laminates Using Acoustic Emission Signal.

Intelligent composite structures with self-aware functions are preferable for future aircrafts. The real-time location of damaged areas of composites is a key step. In this study, deep transfer learning was used to achieve the real-time location of damaged areas. The sensor network obtained acoustic emission signals from different damaged areas of the aluminum alloy plate. The acoustic emission time-domain signal is transformed into the input image by continuous wavelet transform. The convolutional neural network-based model automatically localized the damaged area by extracting features from the input image. A small amount of composite acoustic emission data was used to fine-tune some network parameters of the basic model through transfer learning. This enabled the model to classify the damaged area of composites. The accuracy of the transfer learning model trained with 900 samples is 96.38%, which is comparable to the accuracy of the model trained directly with 1800 samples; the training time of the former is only 17.68% of that of the latter. The proposed method can be easily adapted to new composite structures using transfer learning and a small dataset, providing a new idea for structural health monitoring.

Time-Dependent Endovascular Treatment Effect According to Collateral Status in Basilar Artery Occlusion.

Prior studies on anterior circulation stroke have demonstrated that the benefits of endovascular treatment (EVT) may be absent in patients with poor collaterals. Our study focused on patients with basilar artery occlusion (BAO) to investigate time-dependent EVT effects according to the posterior circulation collateral score (PC-CS). The BASILAR study was a nationwide prospective Chinese registry of consecutive BAO patients. Patients were divided into groups receiving standard medical therapy alone (SMT group) or SMT plus EVT (EVT group). Restricted cubic spline analyses (RCSA) were performed to explore the nonlinear and linear relationships between EVT time and outcomes for different PC-CS. We included 828 patients with acute BAO. Compared with the poor collateral (PC-CS 0-3), the adjusted odds ratio of favorable outcome was 1.311 in patients with moderate (PC-CS 4-5) (95% CI, 0.781-2.201) and 1.899 with good (PC-CS 6-10) collateral (1.125-3.207) for EVT. RCSA revealed that in patients with PC-CS 0-3, the favorable outcome probability after EVT significantly decreased to 10% within 6 h and stabilized thereafter (Pnonlinearity = 0.035), while in patients with moderate and good collateral, the probability was maintained at approximately 30% and 40% respectively, even beyond 6 h (all Pnonlinearity > 0.05). Among patients with BAO, good collateral circulation was independently associated with improved outcomes along with the usage of thrombectomy. Patients with poor collaterals should receive EVT as early as possible, especially within 6 h of symptom onset, while the time window may be extended in patients with moderate and good collaterals. Unique identifier: ChiCTR1800014759.

Twenty-four-hour National Institute of Health Stroke Scale predicts short- and long-term outcomes of basilar artery occlusion after endovascular treatment.

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the 24-h National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) for short- and long-term outcomes of patients with basilar artery occlusion (BAO) after endovascular treatment (EVT) in daily clinical routine. Methods: Patients with EVT for acute basilar artery occlusion study registry with the 24-h NIHSS, and clinical outcomes documented at 90 days and 1 year were included. The NIHSS admission, 24-h NIHSS, NIHSS delta, and NIHSS percentage change, binary definitions of early neurological improvement [ENI; improvement of 4/(common ENI)/8 (major ENI)/10 (dramatic ENI)] NIHSS points were compared to predict the favorable outcomes and mortality at 90 days and 1 year. The primary outcome was defined as favorable if the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score was 0-3 at 90 days. Results: Of the 644 patients treated with EVT, the 24-h NIHSS had the highest discriminative ability for favorable outcome prediction [receiver operator characteristic (ROC)NIHSS 24 h area under the curve (AUC): 0.92 (0.90-0.94)] at 90 days and 1 year [(ROCNIHSS 24 h AUC: 0.91 (0.89-0.94)] in comparison to the NIHSS score at admission [ROCNIHSS admission AUC at 90 days: 0.73 (0.69-0.77); 1 year: 0.74 (0.70-0.78)], NIHSS delta [ROCΔ NIHSS AUC at 90 days: 0.84 (0.81-0.87); 1 year: 0.81 (0.77-0.84)], and NIHSS percentage change [ROC%change AUC at 90 days: 0.85 (0.82-0.89); 1 year: 0.82 (0.78-0.86)]. Conclusion: The 24-h NIHSS with a threshold of ≤23 points was the best surrogate for short- and long-term outcomes after EVT for BAO in the clinical routine.

Endoscopic debulking resection with additive chemoradiotherapy: Optimal management of advanced inoperable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: There is no remedial strategy other than definitive chemoradiotherapy for patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who are not eligible to undergo surgical treatment. AIM: To introduce a novel therapy called endoscopic debulking resection (EdR) followed by additive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and evaluate its efficacy and safety. METHODS: Advanced, inoperable ESCC patients between 1 January 2015 and 30 December 2019 were investigated retrospectively. Patients who received EdR followed by CRT were deemed the EdR + CRT group and those without CRT were deemed the EdR group. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and adverse events were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients were enrolled. At a median follow-up of 36 mo (range: 1-83), the estimated 1-, 2-, and 3-year cumulative OS rates of patients who underwent EdR plus additive CRT were 92.6%, 85.2%, and 79.5%, respectively, which were higher than those of patients who underwent EdR alone (1-year OS, 83.3%; 2-year OS, 58.3%; 3-year OS, 50%; P = 0.05). The estimated 2-year cumulative PFS rate after EdR + CRT was 85.7%, while it was 61.5% after EdR (P = 0.043). According to the univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, early clinical stage (stage ≤ IIB) and additive CRT were potential protective factors for cumulative OS. No severe adverse events were observed during the EdR procedure, and only mild to moderate myelosuppression and radiation pneumonia were observed in patients who underwent additive CRT after EdR. CONCLUSION: EdR plus CRT is an alternative strategy for selective advanced inoperable ESCC patients.

Endovascular treatment for distal basilar artery occlusion stroke.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of endovascular treatment (EVT) for distal basilar artery occlusion (BAO) and compare them with the outcomes of standard medical treatment (SMT) in daily clinical practice. Methods: Patients with distal BAO enrolled in the BASILAR study from January 2014 to May 2019 were included. Differences in clinical outcomes were analyzed using Pearson's chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 90 days, the mortality at 90 days, and the occurrence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 48 h. Results: Among the 267 patients with distal BAO (222 patients in the EVT group and 45 patients in the SMT group), compared with the SMT group, the EVT group was associated with a favorable outcome (mRS 0-3; 40.1 vs. 15.6%; aOR 5.44; 95% CI, 1.68-17.66; P = 0.005) and decreased mortality (44.6 vs. 71.1%, aOR 0.32, 95% CI, 0.13-0.77; P = 0.012). In the EVT group, multivariable analysis showed that the initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and posterior circulation-Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (pc-ASPECTS) were associated with favorable functional outcomes and mortality. Conclusion: Our study suggests that, compared with SMT, EVT is technically feasible and safe for patients with distal BAO.

Association between Dietary Nitrate, Nitrite Intake, and Site-Specific Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: People consume nitrates, nitrites, nitrosamines, and NOCs compounds primarily through processed food. Many studies have yielded inconclusive results regarding the association between cancer and dietary intakes of nitrates and nitrites. This study aimed to quantify these associations across the reported literature thus far. METHODS: We performed a systematic review following PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. A literature search was performed using Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane library, and google scholar up to January 2020. STATA version 12.0 was used to conduct meta-regression and a two-stage meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 41 articles with 13 different cancer sites were used for analysis. Of these 13 cancer types/sites, meta-regression analysis showed that bladder and stomach cancer risk was greater, and that pancreatic cancer risk was lower with increasing nitrite intakes. Kidney and bladder cancer risk were both lower with increasing nitrate intakes. When comparing highest to lowest (reference) categories of intake, meta-analysis of studies showed that high nitrate intake was associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.77). When pooling all intake categories and comparing against the lowest (reference) category, higher nitrite intake was associated with an increased risk of glioma (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.22). No other associations between cancer risk and dietary intakes of nitrates or nitrites were observed. CONCLUSION: This study showed varied associations between site-specific cancer risks and dietary intakes of nitrate and nitrite. Glioma, bladder, and stomach cancer risks were higher and pancreatic cancer risk was lower with higher nitrite intakes, and thyroid cancer risk was higher and kidney cancer risk lower with higher nitrate intakes. These data suggest type- and site-specific effects of cancer risk, including protective effects, from dietary intakes of nitrate and nitrite.

A Hybrid Assembly with Nickel Poly-Pyridine Polymer on CdS Quantum Dots for Photo-Reducing CO2 into Syngas with Controlled H2 /CO Ratios.

A hybrid photocatalytic assembly with Ni poly-pyridine polymers binding on CdS quantum dots was developed via thiophene immobilization. The fabricated hybrid assembly facilitated efficient charge separation, and each component endowed great synergy. As a result, a high syngas production rate was achieved over 5500 µmol gcat -1 h-1 from photocatalytic CO2 reduction under visible-light irradiation, accompanied by an adjustable H2 /CO ratio ranging from 4 : 1 to 1 : 3. A novel hybrid assembly was described for syngas synthesis with boosted activity and controlled selectivity, which provides a profile to ingeniously understand molecular-level design for photocatalysts.

Drinking-water nitrate and cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nitrate is an inorganic compound that occurs naturally in all surface and groundwater, although higher concentrations tend to occur only where fertilizers are used on the land. The regulatory limit for nitrate in public drinking water supplies was set to protect against infant methemoglobinemia, but other health effects were not considered. Risk of specific cancers and congenital disabilities may be increased when the nitrate is ingested, and nitrate is reduced to nitrite, which can react with amines and amides by nitrosation to form N-nitroso compounds which are known animal carcinogens. This study aims to evaluate the association between nitrate ingested through drinking water and the risk of developing cancers in humans. METHODS: We performed a systematic review following PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. A literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library databases, Web of Science and Google Scholars in the time-frame from their inception to January 2020, for potentially eligible publications. STATA version 12.0 was used to conduct meta-regression and a two-stage meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 48 articles with 13 different cancer sites were used for analysis. The meta-regression analysis showed stomach cancer had an association with the median dosage of nitrate from drinking water (t = 3.98, p = 0.0001, and adjusted R-squared = 50.61%), other types of cancers didn't show any association. The first stage of meta-analysis showed there was an association only between the risk of brain cancer & glioma (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.24) and colon cancer (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.17) and nitrate consumption in the analysis comparing the highest ORs versus the lowest. The 2nd stage showed there was an association only between the risk colon cancer (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.23) and nitrate consumption in the analysis comparing all combined higher ORs versus the lowest. CONCLUSION: This study showed that there is an association between the intake of nitrate from drinking water and a type of cancer in humans. The effective way of controlling nitrate concentrations in drinking water is the prevention of contamination (water pollution). Further research work on this topic is needed.

Peroral endoscopic myotomy treatment for symptomatic esophageal diverticulum: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a rapidly evolving technique for the treatment of esophageal diverticulum. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature focusing on POEM for symptomatic esophageal diverticula, including an in-depth evaluation of its efficacy, safety, and limitations. A comprehensive literature search was completed to identify articles that examined the efficacy and safety of POEM for esophageal diverticula. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the I2 statistic. Meta-regression and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore the sources of heterogeneity and assess potentially important covariates influencing the main outcomes. Primary endpoints such as rates of success, adverse events, and recurrences were evaluated. P values of ≤0.05 were considered statistically significant. Nine studies with a total of 153 patients were enrolled. Pooled technical success, clinical success, adverse events, and recurrence rates were 99% [95% confidence interval (CI), 97-100%; I2 = 0%), 94% (95% CI, 89-97%; I2 = 24%), 2% (95% CI, 0-6%, I2 = 0%), and 0% (95% CI, 0-1%; I2 = 0%), respectively. The pooled perforation rate was 6% (95% CI, 1-11%; I2 = 0%). Meta-regression analysis indicated that esophageal diverticula types and motility disorders were not associated with the clinical success rate (P > 0.05). POEM is a feasible, safe, and effective treatment for symptomatic esophageal diverticula, with low adverse events and recurrence rates.

Analysis and simulation of fracture behavior in naturally occurring Bouligand structures.

Through natural selection processes, refined biological materials could be created that adapt to various environments and exhibit specific functions. Such materials include typical Bouligand structures that can be widely observed in marine creatures that have hard shells. Consisting of a helicoidal arrangement of aligned fibrils, layered single-twisted Bouligand-type structures (SBS) display exceptional fracture and damage resistance. A much more primitive and rarer type of this formation, the double-twisted Bouligand-type structures (DBS), has been discovered in ancient fish scales, and this architecture could provide added rigidity and significantly contribute to toughness when facing fracture risk. In this work, we describe a computational modeling approach to investigating fracture behaviors and toughening mechanisms in Bouligand structures. To achieve qualitative insights into the fracture behaviors of DBS and SBS, we applied these two configurations, which were identified from corresponding biological materials, to analyze load-displacement responses during single edge notched (SEN) tensile testing; the toughening mechanism is also discussed further. The results clearly show that the arrangement of helix fibrils and interlaminar properties play a major role in the resulting fracture behaviors of Bouligand architectures. This is of interest for the future design of engineering materials and structures that require composites with enhanced toughness, and could deepen our understanding of the structure-property relationship of Bouligand-type structures in bionic design. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In this work, a novel numerical modeling approach based on the extended finite element method (XFEM) has been established to evaluate the fracture behavior of a naturally-occurring Bouligand-type helicoidal structure subjected to the single edge notched (SEN) tensile loading. The roles of the biological features (i.e., layered arrangement of collagen fibrils and interbundle fibrils) on the fracture resistance and toughening mechanism of the Bouligand-type structures have been uncovered and analyzed quantitatively. This is of interest for future design of engineering materials and structures that require composites with enhanced toughness, and can deepen the understanding of the structure-property relationship of the Bouligand-type structure in bionic design.

Mechanism and Basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Against Obesity: Prevention and Treatment Strategies.

In the last few decades, the incidences of obesity and related metabolic disorders worldwide have increased dramatically. Major pathophysiology of obesity is termed "lipotoxicity" in modern western medicine (MWM) or "dampness-heat" in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). "Dampness-heat" is a very common and critically important syndrome to guild clinical treatment in TCM. However, the pathogenesis of obesity in TCM is not fully clarified, especially by MWM theories compared to TCM. In this review, the mechanism underlying the action of TCM in the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders was thoroughly discussed, and prevention and treatment strategies were proposed accordingly. Hypoxia and inflammation caused by lipotoxicity exist in obesity and are key pathophysiological characteristics of "dampness-heat" syndrome in TCM. "Dampness-heat" is prevalent in chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, prone to insulin resistance (IR), and causes variant metabolic disorders. In particular, the MWM theories of hypoxia and inflammation were applied to explain the "dampness-heat" syndrome of TCM, and we summarized and proposed the pathological path of obesity: lipotoxicity, hypoxia or chronic low-grade inflammation, IR, and metabolic disorders. This provides significant enrichment to the scientific connotation of TCM theories and promotes the modernization of TCM.

Efficacy and cost of different treatment in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy: A network meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) is the most common pathological type of adult nephrotic syndrome. However, the treatments for IMN patients had not been compared from the perspectives of therapeutic effect and pharmacoeconomics. Therefore, a network meta-analysis and a cost-effectiveness analysis were conducted to find the optimum treatment for IMN patients. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which compared the treatments including cyclophosphamide (CTX), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), cyclosporine (CsA), tacrolimus (TAC), leflunomide (LEF), chlorambucil (CLB) and rituximab (RTX) for patients with IMN were reviewed. The complete and partial remission rates were extracted and then compared by network meta-analysis. The surface under the cumulative ranking area (SUCRA) was calculated to rank the remission rate for all treatments. Then, the cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to compared the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of different treatments. RESULTS: A total of 75 articles with 4806 participants were included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Compared with the glucocorticoids (GC) group, CTX + GC (95%RR 1.02,1.76), CsA + GC (95%RR 1.11,2.13) and TAC + GC (95%RR 1.44,2.59) were associated with a significantly higher rate of complete remission. TAC + GC were most likely to be ranked the best (SUCRA of 92.1%). From the perspective of the cost-effectiveness analysis in China, the ICER of LEF + GC to CTX + GC was $30616.336 per unit utility, and that of TAC + GC to CTX + GC was $670475.210 per unit utility. And the ICER of CTX + GC to LEF + GC in the UK was $-65680.879 per unit utility. CONCLUSIONS: CTX + GC was the cheapest treatment with obvious curative effect in China, while LEF + GC was a cost-effective alternative to CTX + GC. The remission rate of TAC + GC was highest despite the high single-dose cost.

[Development of a New-type Nail-fold Microcirculation Imaging Device].

At present, there are many problems in the nail-fold microcirculation detection devices, such as huge structure, inconvenience to carry. In addition, due to the patient's body shaking, the video is difficult to keep stable in collecting with the device, which brings great difficulties to the doctor's observation. We develop a small image acquisition device for nail-fold microcirculation based on the principle of SDF imaging principle and liquid lenses technology. An annular lighting device is fixed in front of the optical system, and the overall design of the system is based on the characteristics of human fingers. The device is small, easy to carry and conform to the fingertips. It can focus quickly through a controller. It can also achieve high quality images of the nail-fold microcirculation. This study can promote the usage of nail-fold microcirculation device at the bedside. It's an efficient tool for medical workers to observe the microcirculation of patients.

Effectiveness of telemedicine for pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus: an updated meta-analysis of 32 randomized controlled trials with trial sequential analysis.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is now a global health problem. Poor blood glucose control during pregnancy may lead to maternal and neonatal/foetal complications. Recently, the development of information and communication technology has resulted in new technical support for the clinical care of GDM. Telemedicine is defined as health services and medical activities provided by healthcare professionals through remote communication technologies. This study aimed to update the systematic review of the effectiveness of telemedicine interventions on glycaemic control and pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with GDM. METHODS: We searched the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan-fang Database, China Biology Medicine and VIP Database for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to the effectiveness of telemedicine interventions for GDM from database inception to July 31st, 2019. Languages were limited to English and Chinese. Literature screening, data extraction and assessment of the risk of bias were completed independently by two reviewers. Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis were conducted in Stata 14.0 and TSA v0.9.5.10 beta, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 32 RCTs were identified, with a total of 5108 patients. The meta-analysis showed that telemedicine group had significant improvements in controlling glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) [mean difference (MD) = - 0.70, P < 0.01], fasting blood glucose (FBG) (MD = -0.52, P < 0.01) and 2-h postprandial blood glucose (2hBG) (MD = -1.03, P = 0.01) compared to the corresponding parameters in the standard care group. In the telemedicine group, lower incidences of caesarean section [relative risk (RR) = 0.82, P = 0.02], neonatal hypoglycaemia (RR = 0.67, P < 0.01), premature rupture of membranes (RR = 0.61, P < 0.01), macrosomia (RR = 0.49, P < 0.01), pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia (RR = 0.48, P < 0.01), preterm birth (RR = 0.27, P < 0.01), neonatal asphyxia (RR = 0.17, P < 0.01), and polyhydramnios (RR = 0.16, P < 0.01) were found. The trial sequential analyses conclusively demonstrated that the meta-analytic results of the change in HbA1c, the change in 2hBG, the change in FBG, the incidence rates of caesarean section, pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia, premature rupture of membranes, premature birth, neonatal asphyxia, and polyhydramnios were stable. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to standard care, telemedicine interventions can decrease the glycaemic levels of patients with GDM more effectively and reduce the risk of maternal and neonatal/foetal complications.

Seroprevalence of H7N9 infection among humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

In spring 2013, a novel avian-origin influenza A (H7N9) virus emerged in mainland China. The burden of H7N9 infection was estimated based on systematic review and meta-analysis. The systematic search for available literature was conducted using Chinese and English databases. We calculated the pooled seroprevalence of H7N9 infection and its 95% confidence interval by using Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation. Out of 16 890 records found using Chinese and English databases, 54 articles were included in the meta-analysis. These included studies of a total of 64 107 individuals. The pooled seroprevalence of H7N9 infection among humans was 0.122% (95% CI: 0.023, 0.275). In high-risk populations, the highest pooled seroprevalence was observed among close contacts (1.075%, 95% CI: 0.000, 4.357). The seroprevalence among general population was (0.077%, 95% CI: 0.011, 0.180). Our study discovered that asymptomatic infection of H7N9 virus did occur, even if the seroprevalence among humans was low.

[Screening and identification of GABA-producing microbes in fermentation process of Sojae Semen Praeparatum].

A high-content GABA was found in Sojae Semen Praeparatum(SSP), which is a famous traditional Chinese medicine and officially listed in Chinese Pharmacopoeia. To screen out and identify GABA-producing microbes from samples at different time points during the fermenting process of SSP, traditional microbiological methods combined with molecular biological methods were used to study the predominant GABA-producing microorganisms existing in the fermenting process of SSP. This study would lay a foundation for further studying the processing mechanism of SSP. The fermenting process of SSP was based on Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2010 edition), and samples were taken at different time points during the fermenting process of SSP. The bacteria and fungi from samples at different time points in the fermenting process of SSP were cultured, isolated and purified by selective medium, and dominant strains were selected. The dominant bacteria were cultured in the designated liquid medium to prepare the fermentation broths, and GABA in the fermentation broth was qualitatively screened out by thin-layer chromatography. The microbial fermentation broth with GABA spots in the primary screening was quantitatively detected by online pre-column derivatization and high performance liquid chromatography established in our laboratory. GABA-producing microorganisms were screened out from predominant strains, and their GABA contents in fermentation broth were determined. The DNA sequences of GABA-producing bacteria and fungi were amplified using 16S rDNA and 18S rDNA sequences by PCR respectively. The amplified products were sequenced, and the sequencing results were identified through NCBI homology comparison. Molecular biological identification was made by phylogenetic tree constructed by MEGA 7.0 software. Through the homology comparison of NCBI and the construction of phylogenetic tree by MEGA 7.0 software, nine GABA-producing microorganisms were screened out and identified in this study. They were Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium, E. avium, Aspergillus tamarii, A. flavus, A. niger, Cladosporium tenuissimum, Penicillium citrinum and Phanerochaete sordida respectively. For the first time, nine GABA-producing microorganisms were screened out and identified in the samples at different time points during the fermenting process of SSP in this study. The results indicated that multiple predominant GABA-producing microorganisms exist in the fermenting process of SSP and may play an important role in the formation of GABA.