[Clinical manifestation and imaging diagnostic analysis of fat embolism syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To explore characteristics of clinical and imaging findings in patients with fat embolism syndrome. METHODS: From January 2021 to October 2022,clinical manifestations of 13 patients with fat embolism due to fracture or orthopaedic surgery were retrospectively analyzed,including 11 males and 2 females,aged from 17 to 60 years old. Mental and respiratory abnormalities and changes in vital signs occurred after admission or after surgery,and patient's chest and brain imaging results were abnormal. The patient's mental and respiratory abnormalities,vital signs,chest and brain imaging results were continuously monitored. RESULTS: The main clinical manifestations of fat embolism syndrome were abnormal pulmonary respiration in 13 patients,abnormal central nervous function in 7 patients,and spotted rash in 2 patients. Chest CT showed diffuse distribution of ground glass shadows in 13 patients,and severe symptoms were "snowstorm". Nine patients with ground glass fusion consolidation,5 patients with multiple nodules and 4 patients accompanied by bilateral pleural effusion. Head CT findings of 5 patients were negative,and head MRI findings of 1 patient showed multiple T1WI low signal,T2WI high signal shadow,DWI high signal shadow,and "starry sky sign" in basal ganglia,radiative crown,hemioval center,thalamus,frontal parietal cortex and subcortex. CONCLUSION: Fat embolism syndrome has a high mortality rate. Clinical manifestations of respiratory system and nervous system are not specific,and the skin spot rash has a characteristic manifestation. The "blizzard" sign is the specific manifestation of chest X-ray and CT examination of fat embolism,and the "starry sky" sign is the typical manifestation of diffusion-weighted sequence of brain MRI examination of fat embolism.

Abnormal expression of PRKAG2-AS results in dysfunction of cardiomyocytes through regulating PRKAG2 transcription by interacting with PPARG.

The role of PRKAG2 in the maintenance of heart function is well established, but little is known about how PRKAG2 is regulated in cardiomyocytes. In this study, we investigated the role of the lncRNA PRKAG2-AS, which is present at the PRKAG2 promoter, in the regulation of PRKAG2 expression. PRKAG2-AS expression was predominantly nuclear, as determined by RNA nucleoplasmic separation and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Knockdown of PRKAG2-AS in the nucleus, but not the cytoplasm, significantly decreased the expression of PRKAG2b and PRKAG2d. Interestingly, we found that PRKAG2-AS and its target genes, PRKAG2b and PRKAG2d, were reduced in the hearts of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, suggesting a potential role for PRKAG2-AS in myocardial ischemia. Indeed, knockdown of PRKAG2-AS in the nucleus resulted in apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. We further elucidated the mechanism by which PRKAG2-AS regulates PRKAG2 transcription by identifying 58 PRKAG2-AS interacting proteins. Among them, PPARG was selected for further investigation based on its correlation and potential interaction with PRKAG2-AS in regulating transcription. Overexpression of PPARG, or its activation with rosiglitazone, led to a significant increase in the expression of PRKAG2b and PRKAG2d in cardiomyocytes, which could be attenuated by PRKAG2-AS knockdown. This finding suggests that PRKAG2-AS mediates, at least partially, the protective effects of rosiglitazone on hypoxia-induced apoptosis. However, given the risk of rosiglitazone in heart failure, we also examined the involvement of PRKAG2-AS in this condition and found that PRKAG2-AS, as well as PRKAG2b and PRKAG2d, was elevated in hearts with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and that overexpression of PRKAG2-AS led to a significant increase in PRKAG2b and PRKAG2d expression, indicating that up-regulation of PRKAG2-AS may contribute to the mechanism of heart failure by promoting transcription of PRKAG2. Consequently, proper expression of PRKAG2-AS is essential for maintaining cardiomyocyte function, and aberrant PRKAG2-AS expression induced by hypoxia or other stimuli may cause cardiac dysfunction.

A Reconfigurable Differential-to-Single-Ended Autonomous Current Adaptation Buffer Amplifier Suitable for Biomedical Applications.

A reconfigurable differential-to-single-ended autonomous current adaptation buffer amplifier (ACABA) is proposed. The ACABA, based on floating-gate technologies, is a capacitive circuit, of which output DC level and bandwidth can be adjusted by programming charges on floating nodes. The gain is variable by switching different amounts of capacitors without altering the output DC level. Without extra sensing and control circuitries, the current consumption of the proposed ACABA increases spontaneously when the input signal is fast or large, achieving a high slew rate. The supply current dwindles back to the low quiescent level autonomously when the output voltage reaches equilibrium. Therefore, the proposed ACABA is power-efficient and suitable for processing physiological signals. A prototype ACABA has been designed and fabricated in a [Formula: see text] CMOS process occupying an area of [Formula: see text]. When loaded by a [Formula: see text] capacitor, it consumes [Formula: see text] to achieve a unity-gain bandwidth of [Formula: see text] with a measured IIP2 value of [Formula: see text] and a slew rate of [Formula: see text].

[Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling of the MKK gene family in Arabidopsis pumila].

Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK or MKK) is an important component of the MAPK cascade, which plays important roles in plant growth and development as well as in various stress responses. At present, the MKK gene family has been identified in a variety of plants, but there has been no systematic study in Cruciferous plant Arabidopsis pumila. To explore the evolution and function of the MKK gene family in Arabidopsis pumila, 16 ApMKK genes were identified from the Arabidopsis pumila genome by genome-wide analysis, and they were distributed on 10 chromosomes of Arabidopsis pumila. According to phylogenetic analysis and multiple sequence alignment, these putative genes were divided into five known subfamilies, i.e, Groups A, B, C, D, and E, which includes 5, 2, 4, 3, 2 members, respectively. Evolutionary and syntenic analysis showed that there are seven pairs of duplication genes in Arabidopsis pumila: ApMKK1-1/1-2, ApMKK2-1/2-2, ApMKK3-1/3-2, ApMKK4-1/4-2, ApMKK5-1/5-2, ApMKK9-1/9-2, and ApMKK10-1/10-2. Ka/Ks and Tajima analysis indicated that evolution of ApMKK1-1/1-2 was accelerated after the duplication event. Combining the distribution of cis-element in the promoter region of ApMKKs and the expression profile of ApMKKs in mature leaves, stems, flowers and fruits as well as under salt stress, we found that the expressions of paralogous genes (duplication genes) were tissue-specific and their functions were diversified. The expression patterns of some duplicated genes in tissues were different, but the expression patterns under salt stress were basically the same. These results lay the foundation for analyzing the complex mechanisms of MKK-mediated growth and development and abiotic stress signal transduction pathways in Arabidopsis pumila.

Enrichment behavior of contemporary PAHs and legacy PCBs at the sea-surface microlayer in harbor water.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the sea-surface microlayer (SML) and sub-surface water (SSW) were analyzed in and around Kaohsiung Harbor. The results confirm SML enrichments for PAHs, but PCBs less significantly, since PAHs are still produced while PCBs had banned years ago. However, PCBs still leak to the environment from contaminated sites. The results showed the sources and transport of PAHs and PCBs were different, but both are enriched in the SML. Total particulate PAHs at most sites are below the toxicity thresholds, with a few individual PAHs between the effects range-low and effect range-median even higher than the effect range-median. Total particulate PCBs might cause occasionally adverse effects in sensitive species and pose a risk to the organisms. The particulate phase in the SML poses a higher risk to the marine ecosystem than in the SSW although not all organisms will make direct use of the microlayer. Principal component analysis (PCA) of PAHs indicated the important contribution of traffic engine emission in the particulate samples of the SML and SSW and revealed that probably the petroleum pollutants are a predominant source for the dissolved phase. Cluster analysis revealed that PAH-PCB patterns in the river and anchorage channels were different to those in the wetlands and open harbor. However, PCA of PCBs showed differences in the congener profiles for the two phases, with highly chlorinated PCBs more abundant in particles, while less chlorinated PCBs were more abundant in dissolved.

Surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer and sub-surface water at estuarine locations: Their concentration, distribution, enrichment, and relation to physicochemical characteristics.

Samples of sea-surface microlayer (SML) and sub-surface water (SSW) were collected from two areas-Kaohsiung City (Taiwan) and the southwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia to study the influence of SML on enrichment and distribution and to compare SML with the SSW. Anionic surfactants (MBAS) predominated in this study and were significantly higher in Kaohsiung than in Malaysia. Industrial areas in Kaohsiung were enriched with high loads of anthropogenic sources, accounted for higher surfactant amounts, and pose higher environmental disadvantages than in Malaysia, where pollutants were associated with agricultural activities. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC), MBAS, and cationic surfactant (DBAS) concentrations in the SML correlated to the SSW, reflecting exchanges between the SML and SSW in Kaohsiung. The relationships between surfactants and the physiochemical parameters indicated that DOC and saltwater dilution might affect the distributions of MBAS and DBAS in Kaohsiung. In Malaysia, DOC might be the important factor controlling DBAS.

Distribution and source differentiation of PAHs and PCBs among size and density fractions in contaminated harbor sediment particles and their implications in toxicological assessment.

Sediment samples collected from Kaohsiung Harbor (Taiwan) were analyzed for 15 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 118 individual polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in various particle size fractions and two density fractions. The PAHs in the low density fraction were a much more sensitive and effective indicator of the PAH source than those in the sediment as a whole. Hierarchical cluster analysis of PAH analytes in the low density sediments revealed significant differences in compositional patterns between locations and among size fractions. In the sediment samples from both study sites, the low density fraction particles had up to 155 and 150 times higher concentrations of PAHs and PCBs, respectively, than those in the corresponding high density fractions. In addition, the total toxic benzo[a]pyrene and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD, dioxin) equivalents in the sediment low density fractions were much higher (up to 170 and 273 times, respectively) than the corresponding high density fractions.