[Feasibility and perioperative safety of transoral robotic surgery with da Vinci Xi platform].

Objective: To explore the feasibility and perioperative safety of transoral robotic surgery with da Vinci Xi platform for pharyngolaryngeal tumors. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 55 consecutive cases with resection of pharyngolaryngeal tumors by transoral robotic surgery with da Vinci Xi platform from July 27, 2020 to October 31, 2021 in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Fudan University Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, including 44 males and 11 females, aged 25-79 years. There were 41 cases of oropharyngeal tumors, 9 cases of parapharyngeal space tumors, 2 cases of laryngeal tumors, 2 cases of hypopharyngeal tumors and 1 case of retropharyngeal space tumor. Operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, perioperative tracheotomy, nasal feeding, hemorrhage and other complications were analyzed. Results: Of the 55 patients, 54 received resection of pharyngolaryngeal tumors by da Vinci robot through oral approach, and only 1 case of pyriform sinus carcinoma underwent a conversion to open surgery due to poor exposure of lower margin. The average surgical time for the patients with transoral robotic surgeries was 64.4 min, the average blood loss was 24.8 ml, the average postoperative hospital stay was 6.9 d, and the average oral feeding time was 11.1 d. Seventeen patients (30.9%) underwent preventive tracheotomy during surgery. Among 38 cases of laryngeal cancer, 28 underwent simultaneously neck dissection. No serious complications occurred in all patients during and after operation. The follow-up time was 1-15 months. Aside from 1 patient had a relapse 10 months after surgery, other patients had no recurrence or metastasis. Conclusion: Transoral robotic surgery with da Vinci Xi is safe, effective and minimally invasive for resection of pharyngolaryngeal tumors under reasonable indications.

[Analysis on awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) status and related knowledge in patients with COPD in China, 2014-2015].

Objective: To understand the awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) status and awareness of COPD-related knowledge and its influencing factors in COPD patients aged ≥40 years in China in 2014-2015. Methods: The study subjects were selected through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from 125 COPD surveillance points in 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) in China. The number of the subjects was 75 107. The relevant variables about COPD diagnosis and COPD-related knowledge awareness were collected by electronic questionnaire in face to face interviews. A total of 9 134 participates with post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC<70% were diagnosed with COPD. Based on the complex sampling design, the awareness rate of COPD status and related knowledge were estimated, and the influencing factors were analyzed. Results: A total of 9 132 COPD patients were included in the analysis. Among COPD patients aged ≥40 years in China, 0.9% were aware of their COPD status (95%CI: 0.6%-1.1%), and 5.7% were aware of COPD related knowledge (95%CI: 4.8%-6.6%), and 3.4% were aware of pulmonary function test (95%CI: 2.8%-4.0%). The COPD status awareness rate was 3.9% in the patients with history of chronic respiratory disease (95%CI: 2.9%-4.8%), 2.4% in the patients with respiratory symptoms (95%CI: 1.7%-3.1%), and 7.1% in the patients with COPD related knowledge awareness (95%CI: 4.5%-9.8%) respectively. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that chronic respiratory disease history, respiratory symptoms, occupational dust and/or harmful gas exposure and COPD related knowledge awareness had influences on the awareness rate of COPD status. Educational level and chronic respiratory disease history had influences on the awareness rate of COPD related knowledge. And ethnic groups, educational level and history of chronic respiratory diseases had influences on the awareness rate of pulmonary function test. Conclusions: The awareness rates of COPD status, COPD-related knowledge and pulmonary function test in COPD patients in China were low. The comprehensive intervention of COPD should be carried out to improve the level of diagnosis and the awareness COPD status of COPD patients.

Effects of phyto-oestrogen quercetin on productive performance, hormones, reproductive organs and apoptotic genes in laying hens.

Quercetin, a polyphenolic flavonoid with diverse biological activities including anti-inflammatory and antiviral, inhibits lipid peroxidation, prevents oxidative injury and cell death. The purpose of the research was to investigate the effect of quercetin on productive performance, reproductive organs, hormones and apoptotic genes in laying hens between 37 and 45 weeks of age, because of the structure and oestrogenic activities similar to 17ß-oestradiol. The trial was conducted using 240 Hessian laying hens (37 weeks old), housed in wire cages with two hens in each cage. These hens were randomly allotted to four treatments with six replicates, 10 hens in each replicate and fed with diets containing quercetin as 0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 g/kg feed for 8 weeks. The results showed that dietary quercetin significantly increased (p < .05) the laying rate and was higher in group supplemented with 0.4 g/kg, and feed-egg ratio was decreased (p < .05) by quercetin. Dietary quercetin has no effect (p > .05) on average egg weight and average daily feed intake. Compared with control, secretion of hormones, oestradiol (E2 ), progesterone (P4), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), insulin-like growth factors-1 (IGF-1) and growth hormone (GH), was found to be significantly higher (p < .05) in quercetin-supplemented groups. Also ovary index, uterus index and oviduct index were not significantly influenced (p > .05) by quercetin, whereas magnum index, isthmus index, magnum length, isthmus length and follicle numbers were significantly increased (p < .05) with quercetin supplementation. Additionally, expression of apoptotic genes was significantly (p < .05) up-regulated or down-regulated by quercetin. These results indicated that quercetin improved productive performance, and its mechanism may be due to the oestrogen-like activities of quercetin.

[Application of disparity discriminating accuracy test in evaluating the stereopsis of postoperative intermittent exotropia].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the application of disparity discriminating accuracy test in evaluating the stereopsis of postoperative intermittent exotropia. METHODS: Patients with intermittent exotropia who underwent surgery during July 2011 to June 2013 were followed up. The stereoacuity was examined by Titmus Stereotest, Randot Stereotest and Frisby Stereotest. Twenty adult cases whose stereoacuity reached normal were chosen as experimental group. Twenty healthy adults were selected as normal control group. Both groups were examined with disparity discriminating accuracy test. Discriminating accuracy of the two groups were analyzed with Two-Way ANOVA method. Test-retest reliability was analyzed with Intraclass Correlation Coefficient analysis. RESULTS: The test-retest reliability of disparity discriminating accuracy test is excellent (ICC=0.99, P<0.01) . Discriminating accuracy under different disparities in experimental group were 0.56±0.09, 0.67±0.14, 0.77±0.15, 0.82±0.14, 0.85±0.11, 0.85±0.14, 0.87±0.10, 0.84±0.16, while those in control group were 0.77±0.09, 0.88±0.09, 0.93±0.08, 0.91±0.09, 0.95±0.08, 0.96±0.05, 0.97±0.06, 0.96±0.04. There were statistically significant differences between them (F=38.06, P<0.01) . The discriminating ability of group grating in both groups was affected by the size of disparity. Under situation of small disparity, a large difference was found between the experimental group (0.67±0.12)and control group(0.86±0.07) (F=4.84, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Stereoscopic function can be evaluated comprehensively with disparity discriminating accuracy test. Use this test, a certain degree of dysfunction in stereopsis can still be found in postoperative intermittent exotropic patients who reached normal stereoacuity examined with traditional stereotests. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2016, 52: 584-588).

De novo assembly and characterization of farmed blue fox (Alopex lagopus) global transcriptome using Illumina paired-end sequencing.

The blue fox (Alopex lagopus), a coat-color variant of the Arctic fox, is a domesticated fur-bearing mammal. In the present study, transcriptome data generated from a pool of nine different tissues were obtained with Illumina HiSeq2500 paired-end sequencing technology. After filtering from raw reads, 32,358,290 clean reads were assembled into 161,269 transcripts and 97,252 unigenes by the Trinity fragment assembly software. Of the assembled unigenes, 37,967 were annotated in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Non-Redundant (NR) protein database and 26,264 in the Swiss-Prot database. Among the annotated unigenes, 24,839 and 24,267 were assigned using the Gene Ontology (GO) and euKaryotic Orthologous Groups (KOG) databases, respectively. Altogether, 17,057 unigenes were mapped onto 227 pathways using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database. In addition, 6394 simple sequence repeats were identified by examining 12,965 unigenes (>1 kb), which could contribute to the development of molecular markers. This study generated transcriptome data for the blue fox that will promote further progress in expression profiling studies, and provide a good annotation basis for genomic studies.

Growth and viability of Liaoning Cashmere goat hair follicles during the annual hair follicle cycle.

Here, we studied hair follicle development of Liaoning Cashmere goats. Every month for 1 year, skin samples were collected from five 1.5-year-old female goats, and made into paraffin sections. A number of parameters were measured of primary and secondary hair follicles via microscopic observation including follicle depth, hair bulb width, dermis and epidermis thickness, changes in follicle activity, and histology. The results showed the presence of three phases in the annual hair cycle: anagen, catagen, and telogen. Primary and secondary hair follicle depth varied across the months; however, no significant difference was obtained between adjacent months (P>0.05). Primary hair follicles had a bigger hair bulb width compared to secondary hair follicles; however, this difference declined during hair follicle developed in anagen. As hair follicle growth slowed, the hair bulb broadened, and hair root depth became shallower. During the entire hair cycle, hair follicle depth and dermis thickness were positively correlated; however, this relationship was not significant (P>0.05) for primary and secondary hair follicle density and the ratio of secondary hair follicle density and primary hair follicle density (S/P ratio). In addition, new and old primary hair follicles coexisted with secondary hair follicles. Finally, secondary hair follicles had a higher activity rate compared to primary hair follicle in adult Liaoning Cashmere goats in certain months.

On three-dimensional dose calculation of photon beam with wedge filters.

A wedge filter is one of the most commonly used beam modifying devices. The introduction of a wedge filter alters both the distribution of the primary photon fluence and the first and second scatter patterns. The effect of the wedge filter is normally expressed in terms of an exponential attenuation function that is used to modify the primary photon fluence. This paper describes a new three-dimensional (3-D) wedged field dose calculation algorithm. This algorithm automatically takes into account (1) the scatter distribution pattern correction due to the effect of wedge filters and (2) the fixed primary photon fluence correction, by utilizing a tissue maximum ratio table calculated from the measured percent depth dose of the wedge, a measured in-plane scan and a measured cross-plane scan of the largest rectangular wedge field size. As a result, the calculation accuracy achieved by this algorithm is better than the calculation accuracy achieved by other algorithms. The results show better than 1% accuracy of the wedge central axis percent depth dose calculation and better than 3% accuracy of the off-axis dose calculation when compared with measurements.

Preparation of (InGa)As/GaAs multilayered materials for TEM by one side non-rotation ion beam thinning.

A technique is described for the preparation of thin specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of (InGa)As/GaAs multilayered materials. In this technique, a shielding method is used for selective-area perforation by ion beam thinning. Thin cross-sectional specimen slices are mechanically pre-thinned to about 30 microns and then thinned by ion sputtering from one side of the specimen at a time without rotation of the specimen stage. No direct ion sputtering occurs at the growth surface of the specimen so that a specimen with thin areas containing the desired near-surface structures can be obtained. The recipe for this technique is given in detail. A patterning method for increasing the size of the thin area for TEM investigation is also described. It is shown that a smooth surface can be obtained by sputtering without rotating the stage if obstacles that produce redeposits onto the sputtered surface are removed.

First isolation of Xanthomonas campestris from the blood of a Chinese woman.

Xanthomonas campestris isolated from the blood of a patient with a fever was first reported. Xanthomonas campestris is a bacterium that can cause black rot of some vegetables, such as rape. Chinese cabbage, etc. Human infection due to X. campestris has not been reported so far. The characteristics of this organism, including morphology, staining, physiology and biochemistry were studied. We believe that X. campestris is also one of the opportunistic pathogens, which can infect compromised host.

Newly made antibacterial braided nylon sutures. I. In vitro qualitative and in vivo preliminary biocompatibility study.

A new type of braided nylon thread with a silver compound coating was made for the purpose of designing a biocidal suture material. The study used standard bacterial culture techniques to evaluate the antibacterial property of the new Ag-coated nylon thread. Seven types of bacterial species were tested; S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, S. dysenteriae, S. maruslens, and P. mirabilis. The commercial size 2/0 Nurolon suture from Ethicon served as the control. A weak direct current ranging from 0.4-400 microA was applied to the specimens to examine whether the biocidal property of silver could be enhanced by current. The antibacterial property was evaluated by the width and sterility of the clear zone in the bacterial culture plates. It was found that the new nylon thread exhibited very good to moderate bactericidal property toward these seven bacterial species. P. aeruginosa was the most sensitive species, while P. mirabilis was the least sensitive one. Application of direct current through the Ag-coated specimens positively enhanced their antibacterial property and the degree of enhancement depended on the direct current level. The material also exhibited an antibacterial property toward well-established bacterial colonies, but the effect was less strong than the case when direct current was applied simultaneously with incubation. Silver ions released from the coated nylon thread were responsible for the observed antibacterial property; and the application of a weak direct current to the material enhanced this effect. A preliminary biocompatibility study of this new material in rat gluteal muscle indicated that the new material caused less inflammatory reaction than the control Nurolon suture up to 60 days after implantation.

In vitro quantitative study of newly made antibacterial braided nylon sutures.

This study was done to examine quantitatively the antibacterial property of a newly made, silver compound coated braided nylon suture and to confirm the previously reported qualitative antibacterial data. Three representative bacterial species were used and they were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The suture specimens were embedded in a custom built plastic device filled with a fixed concentration of bacteria for predetermined periods of incubation. A direct current ranging from 0.4 to 40.0 microamperes was applied to the suture specimens. The bacterial suspension was periodically removed for a standard plate count in order to determine quantitatively the antibacterial capability of the suture specimens. The amounts of silver ions released to the medium under various direct current levels were also determined by a pH/ion meter. The antibacterial property of the suture was evident in the anode site of the material, and at a fixed current, the degree of bacteriostatic effect depended upon the type of bacterial species. For example, a difference of almost 10(3) in the number of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was observed within a period of six hours. The responses of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli to the silver compound coated nylon thread, however, were not as drastic as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These quantitative data were consistent with the previously reported qualitative observation of the width of clear zone in bacterial culture plates. The silver ion concentration in the medium increased with increasing either the current level or time, or both. At the end of six hours, the ion concentrations were 7.3 micrograms per milliliter at 0.4 microampere, 44.3 micrograms per milliliter at 4.0 microamperes and 305.7 micrograms per milliliter at 40.0 microampere.