Assessing artificial intelligence enabled liquid-based cytology for triaging HPV-positive women: a population-based cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Cytology-based triaging is commonly used to manage the care of women with positive human papillomavirus (HPV) results, but it suffers from subjectivity and a lack of sensitivity and reproducibility. The diagnostic performance of an artificial intelligence-enabled liquid-based cytology (AI-LBC) triage approach remains unclear. Here, we compared the clinical performance of AI-LBC, human cytologists and HPV16/18 genotyping at triaging HPV-positive women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: HPV-positive women were triaged using AI-LBC, human cytologists and HPV16/18 genotyping. Histologically confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 or higher (CIN2+/CIN3+) were accepted as thresholds for clinical performance assessments. RESULTS: Of the 3514 women included, 13.9% (n = 489) were HPV-positive. The sensitivity of AI-LBC was comparable to that of cytologists (86.49% vs 83.78%, P = 0.744) but substantially higher than HPV16/18 typing at detecting CIN2+ (86.49% vs 54.05%, P = 0.002). While the specificity of AI-LBC was significantly lower than HPV16/18 typing (51.33% vs 87.17%, P < 0.001), it was significantly higher than cytologists at detecting CIN2+ (51.33% vs 40.93%, P < 0.001). AI-LBC reduced referrals to colposcopy by approximately 10%, compared with cytologists (51.53% vs 60.94%, P = 0.003). Similar patterns were also observed for CIN3+. CONCLUSIONS: AI-LBC has equivalent sensitivity and higher specificity compared with cytologists, with more efficient colposcopy referrals for HPV-positive women. AI-LBC could be particularly useful in regions where experienced cytologists are few in number. Further investigations are needed to determine triaging performance through prospective designs.

Improving the Accuracy and Efficiency of Abnormal Cervical Squamous Cell Detection With Cytologist-in-the-Loop Artificial Intelligence.

Population-based cervical cytology screening techniques are demanding and laborious and have relatively poor diagnostic accuracy. In this study, we present a cytologist-in-the-loop artificial intelligence (CITL-AI) system to improve the accuracy and efficiency of abnormal cervical squamous cell detection in cervical cancer screening. The artificial intelligence (AI) system was developed using 8000 digitalized whole slide images, including 5713 negative and 2287 positive cases. External validation was performed using an independent, multicenter, real-world data set of 3514 women, who were screened for cervical cancer between 2021 and 2022. Each slide was assessed using the AI system, which generated risk scores. These scores were then used to optimize the triaging of true negative cases. The remaining slides were interpreted by cytologists who had varying degrees of experience and were categorized as either junior or senior specialists. Stand-alone AI had a sensitivity of 89.4% and a specificity of 66.4%. These data points were used to establish the lowest AI-based risk score (ie, 0.35) to optimize the triage configuration. A total of 1319 slides were triaged without missing any abnormal squamous cases. This also reduced the cytology workload by 37.5%. Reader analysis found CITL-AI had superior sensitivity and specificity compared with junior cytologists (81.6% vs 53.1% and 78.9% vs 66.2%, respectively; both with P < .001). For senior cytologists, CITL-AI specificity increased slightly from 89.9% to 91.5% (P = .029); however, sensitivity did not significantly increase (P = .450). Therefore, CITL-AI could reduce cytologists' workload by more than one-third while simultaneously improving diagnostic accuracy, especially compared with less experienced cytologists. This approach could improve the accuracy and efficiency of abnormal cervical squamous cell detection in cervical cancer screening programs worldwide.

All-Organic PTFE Coated PVDF Composite Film Exhibiting Low Conduction Loss and High Breakdown Strength for Energy Storage Applications.

Plastic film capacitors are widely used in pulse and energy storage applications because of their high breakdown strength, high power density, long lifetime, and excellent self-healing properties. Nowadays, the energy storage density of commercial biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) is limited by its low dielectric constant (~2.2). Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) exhibits a relatively high dielectric constant and breakdown strength, making it a candidate material for electrostatic capacitors. However, PVDF presents significant losses, generating a lot of waste heat. In this paper, under the guidance of the leakage mechanism, a high-insulation polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating is sprayed on the surface of a PVDF film. The potential barrier at the electrode-dielectric interface is raised by simply spraying PTFE and reducing the leakage current, and then the energy storage density is increased. After introducing the PTFE insulation coating, the high-field leakage current in the PVDF film shows an order of magnitude reduction. Moreover, the composite film presents a 30.8% improvement in breakdown strength, and a 70% enhancement in energy storage density is simultaneously achieved. The all-organic structure design provides a new idea for the application of PVDF in electrostatic capacitors.

An Accurate and Robust Method for Absolute Pose Estimation with UAV Using RANSAC.

In this paper, we proposed an accurate and robust method for absolute pose estimation with UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) using RANSAC (random sample consensus). Because the artificial 3D control points with high accuracy are time-consuming and the small point set may lead low measuring accuracy, we designed a customized UAV to efficiently obtain mass 3D points. A light source was mounted on the UAV and used as a 3D point. The position of the 3D point was given by RTK (real-time kinematic) mounted on the UAV, and the position of the corresponding 2D point was given by feature extraction. The 2D-3D point correspondences exhibited some outliers because of the failure of feature extraction, the error of RTK, and wrong matches. Hence, RANSAC was used to remove the outliers and obtain the coarse pose. Then, we proposed a method to refine the coarse pose, whose procedure was formulated as the optimization of a cost function about the reprojection error based on the error transferring model and gradient descent to refine it. Before that, normalization was given for all the valid 2D-3D point correspondences to improve the estimation accuracy. In addition, we manufactured a prototype of a UAV with RTK and light source to obtain mass 2D-3D point correspondences for real images. Lastly, we provided a thorough test using synthetic data and real images, compared with several state-of-the-art perspective-n-point solvers. Experimental results showed that, even with a high outlier ratio, our proposed method had better performance in terms of numerical stability, noise sensitivity, and computational speed.

[Material basis and molecular mechanism of Angelicae Sinensis Radix in activating blood:based on computer-aided drug design].

Angelicae Sinensis Radix excels in activating blood, but the scientific mechanism has not been systematically analyzed, thus limiting the development of the medicinal. This study employed the computer-aided drug design methods, such as structural similarity-based target reverse prediction, complex network analysis, molecular docking, binding free energy calculation, cluster analysis, and ADMET(absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) calculation, and enzyme activity assay in vitro, to explore the components and mechanism of Angelicae Sinensis Radix in activating blood. Target reverse prediction and complex network analysis yielded 40 potential anticoagulant targets of the medicinal. Gene Ontology(GO) term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis indicated that the targets mainly acted on the complement and coagulation cascade signaling pathway to exert the anticoagulant function. Among them, the key enzymes thrombin(THR) and coagulation factor Xa(FXa) in coagulation cascade and thrombosis were the drug targets for thromboembolic diseases. At the same time, molecular docking and cluster analysis showed that the medicinal had high selectivity for FXa. According to binding free energy score, 8 potential active components were selected for enzyme activity assay in vitro. The results demonstrated that 8 components inhibited THR and FXa, and the inhibition was stronger on FXa than on THR. The pharmacophore model of 8 active compounds was constructed, which suggested that the components had the common pharmacophore AAHH. The ADMET calculation result indicated that they had good pharmacokinetic properties and were safe. Based on target reverse prediction, complex network analysis, molecular docking and binding free energy calculation, anticoagulant activity in vitro, spatial binding conformation of molecules and targets, pharmacophore model construction, and ADMET calculation, this study preliminarily clarified the material basis and molecular mechanism of Angelicae Sinensis Radix in activating blood from the perspective of big data, and calculated the pharmacology and toxicology parameters of the active components. Our study, for the first time, revealed that the medicinal had obvious selectivity and pertinence for different coagulation proteins, reflecting the unique effect of different Chinese medicinals and the biological basis. Therefore, this study can provide clues for precision application of Angelicae Sinensis Radix and the development of the blood-activating components with modern technology.

BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 escape antibodies elicited by Omicron infection

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 exhibit higher transmissibility over BA.21. The new variants receptor binding and immune evasion capability require immediate investigation. Here, coupled with Spike structural comparisons, we show that BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 exhibit comparable ACE2-binding affinities to BA.2. Importantly, BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 display stronger neutralization evasion than BA.2 against the plasma from 3-dose vaccination and, most strikingly, from post-vaccination BA.1 infections. To delineate the underlying antibody evasion mechanism, we determined the escaping mutation profiles2, epitope distribution3 and Omicron neutralization efficacy of 1640 RBD-directed neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), including 614 isolated from BA.1 convalescents. Interestingly, post-vaccination BA.1 infection mainly recalls wildtype-induced humoral memory. The resulting elicited antibodies could neutralize both wildtype and BA.1 and are enriched on non-ACE2-competing epitopes. However, most of these cross-reactive NAbs are heavily escaped by L452Q, L452R and F486V. BA.1 infection can also induce new clones of BA.1-specific antibodies that potently neutralize BA.1; nevertheless, these NAbs are largely escaped by BA.2/BA.4/BA.5 due to D405N and F486V, and react weakly to pre-Omicron variants, exhibiting poor neutralization breadths. As for therapeutic NAbs, Bebtelovimab4 and Cilgavimab5 can effectively neutralize BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5, while the S371F, D405N and R408S mutations would undermine most broad sarbecovirus NAbs. Together, our results indicate that Omicron may evolve mutations to evade the humoral immunity elicited by BA.1 infection, suggesting that BA.1-derived vaccine boosters may not achieve broad-spectrum protection against new Omicron variants.

Disease profile and plasma neutralizing activity of post-vaccination Omicron BA.1 infection in Tianjin, China: a retrospective study

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant BA.1 first emerged on the Chinese mainland in January 2022 in Tianjin and caused a large wave of infections. During mass PCR testing, a total of 430 cases infected with Omicron were recorded between January 8 and February 7, 2022, with no new infections detected for the following 16 days. Most patients had been vaccinated with SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccines. The disease profile associated with BA.1 infection, especially after vaccination with inactivated vaccines, is unclear. Whether BA.1 breakthrough infection after receiving inactivated vaccine could create a strong enough humoral immunity barrier against Omicron is not yet investigated. MethodsWe collected the clinical information and vaccination history of the 430 COVID-19 patients infected with Omicron BA.1. Re-positive cases and inflammation markers were monitored during the patients convalescence phase. Ordered multiclass logistic regression model was used to identify risk factors for COVID-19 disease severity. Authentic virus neutralization assays against SARS-CoV-2 wildtype, Beta and Omicron BA.1 were conducted to examine the plasma neutralizing titers induced after post-vaccination Omicron BA.1 infection, and were compared to a group of uninfected healthy individuals who were selected to have a matched vaccination profile. FindingsAmong the 430 patients, 316 (73.5%) were adults with a median age of 47 years, and 114 (26.5%) were under-age with a median age of 10 years. Female and male patients account for 55.6% and 44.4%, respectively. Most of the patients presented with mild (47.7%) to moderate diseases (50.2%), with only 2 severe cases (0.5%) and 7 (1.6%) asymptomatic infections. No death was recorded. 341 (79.3%) of the 430 patients received inactivated vaccines (54.3% BBIBP-CorV vs. 45.5% CoronaVac), 49 (11.4%) received adenovirus-vectored vaccines (Ad5-nCoV), 2 (0.5%) received recombinant protein subunit vaccines (ZF2001), and 38 (8.8%) received no vaccination. No vaccination is associated with a substantially higher ICU admission rate among Omicron BA.1 infected patients (2.0% for vaccinated patients vs. 23.7% for unvaccinated patients, P<0.001). Compared with adults, child patients presented with less severe illness (82.5% mild cases for children vs. 35.1% for adults, P<0.001), no ICU admission, fewer comorbidities (3.5% vs. 53.2%, P<0.001), and less chance of turning re-positive on nucleic acid tests (12.3% vs. 22.5%, P=0.019). For adult patients, compared with no prior vaccination, receiving 3 doses of inactivated vaccine was associated with significantly lower risk of severe disease (OR 0.227 [0.065-0.787], P=0.020), less ICU admission (OR 0.023 [0.002-0.214], P=0.001), lower re-positive rate on PCR (OR 0.240 [0.098-0.587], P=0.002), and shorter duration of hospitalization and recovery (OR 0.233 [0.091-0.596], P=0.002). At the beginning of the convalescence phase, patients who had received 3 doses of inactivated vaccine had substantially lower systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and C-reactive protein than unvaccinated patients, while CD4+/CD8+ ratio, activated Treg cells and Th1/Th2 ratio were higher compared to their 2-dose counterparts, suggesting that receipt of 3 doses of inactivated vaccine could step up inflammation resolution after infection. Plasma neutralization titers against Omicron, Beta, and wildtype significantly increased after breakthrough infection with Omicron. Moderate symptoms were associated with higher plasma neutralization titers than mild symptoms. However, vaccination profiles prior to infection, whether 2 doses versus 3 doses or types of vaccines, had no significant effect on post-infection neutralization titer. Among recipients of 3 doses of CoronaVac, infection with Omicron BA.1 largely increased neutralization titers against Omicron BA.1 (8.7x), Beta (4.5x), and wildtype (2.2x), compared with uninfected healthy individuals who have a matched vaccination profile. InterpretationReceipt of 3-dose inactivated vaccines can substantially reduce the disease severity of Omicron BA.1 infection, with most vaccinated patients presenting with mild to moderate illness. Child patients present with less severe disease than adult patients after infection. Omicron BA.1 convalescents who had received inactivated vaccines showed significantly increased plasma neutralizing antibody titers against Omicron BA.1, Beta, and wildtype SARS-CoV-2 compared with vaccinated healthy individuals. FundingThis research is supported by Changping Laboratory (CPL-1233) and the Emergency Key Program of Guangzhou Laboratory (EKPG21-30-3), sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Peoples Republic of China. Research in contextO_ST_ABSEvidence before this studyC_ST_ABSPrevious studies (many of which have not been peer-reviewed) have reported inconsistent findings regarding the effect of inactivated vaccines against the Omicron variant. On Mar 6, 2022, we searched PubMed with the query "(SARS-CoV-2) AND ((Neutralisation) OR (Neutralisation)) AND ((Omicron) OR (BA.1)) AND (inactivated vaccine)", without date or language restrictions. This search identified 18 articles, of which 13 were directly relevant. Notably, the participants in many of these studies have received only one or two doses of inactivated vaccine with heterologous booster vaccination; other studies have a limited number of participants receiving inactivated vaccines. Added value of this studyTo date, this is the first study to report on the protective effect of inactivated vaccines against the severe disease caused by the Omicron variant. We examine and compare the disease profile of adults and children. Furthermore, we estimate the effect of post-vaccination omicron infection on plasma neutralization titers against Omicron and other SARS-COV-2 variants. Specifically, the disease profile of Omicron convalescents who had received two-dose primary series of inactivated vaccines with or without a booster dose prior to infection is compared with unvaccinated patients. We also analyzed the effect of infection on neutralizing activity by comparing vaccinated convalescents with vaccinated healthy individuals with matched vaccination profiles. Implications of all the available evidenceCompared with adults, child patients infected with Omicron tend to present with less severe disease and are less likely to turn re-positive on nucleic acid tests. Receipt of two-dose primary series or three doses of inactivated vaccine is a protective factor against severe disease, ICU admission, re-positive PCR and longer hospitalization. The protection afforded by a booster dose is stronger than two-dose primary series alone. Besides vaccination, infection with Omicron is also a key factor for elevated neutralizing antibody titers, enabling cross-neutralization against Omicron, wildtype (WT) and the Beta variant.

A New Method for Absolute Pose Estimation with Unknown Focal Length and Radial Distortion.

Estimating the absolute pose of a camera is one of the key steps for computer vision. In some cases, especially when using a wide-angle or zoom lens, the focal length and radial distortion also need to be considered. Therefore, in this paper, an efficient and robust method for a single solution is proposed to estimate the absolute pose for a camera with unknown focal length and radial distortion, using three 2D-3D point correspondences and known camera position. The problem is decomposed into two sub-problems, which makes the estimation simpler and more efficient. The first sub-problem is to estimate the focal length and radial distortion. An important geometric characteristic of radial distortion, that the orientation of the 2D image point with respect to the center of distortion (i.e., principal point in this paper) under radial distortion is unchanged, is used to solve this sub-problem. The focal length and up to four-order radial distortion can be determined with this geometric characteristic, and it can be applied to multiple distortion models. The values with no radial distortion are used as the initial values, which are close to the global optimal solutions. Then, the sub-problem can be efficiently and accurately solved with the initial values. The second sub-problem is to determine the absolute pose with geometric linear constraints. After estimating the focal length and radial distortion, the undistorted image can be obtained, and then the absolute pose can be efficiently determined from the point correspondences and known camera position using the undistorted image. Experimental results indicate this method's accuracy and numerical stability for pose estimation with unknown focal length and radial distortion in synthetic data and real images.

Deep learning-based single-shot autofocus method for digital microscopy.

Digital pathology is being transformed by artificial intelligence (AI)-based pathological diagnosis. One major challenge for correct AI diagnoses is to ensure the focus quality of captured images. Here, we propose a deep learning-based single-shot autofocus method for microscopy. We use a modified MobileNetV3, a lightweight network, to predict the defocus distance with a single-shot microscopy image acquired at an arbitrary image plane without secondary camera or additional optics. The defocus prediction takes only 9 ms with a focusing error of only ∼1/15 depth of field. We also provide implementation examples for the augmented reality microscope and the whole slide imaging (WSI) system. Our proposed technique can perform real-time and accurate autofocus which will not only support pathologists in their daily work, but also provide potential applications in the life sciences, material research, and industrial automatic detection.

Material basis and molecular mechanism of Angelicae Sinensis Radix in activating blood:based on computer-aided drug design / 中国中药杂志

Angelicae Sinensis Radix excels in activating blood, but the scientific mechanism has not been systematically analyzed, thus limiting the development of the medicinal. This study employed the computer-aided drug design methods, such as structural similarity-based target reverse prediction, complex network analysis, molecular docking, binding free energy calculation, cluster analysis, and ADMET(absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) calculation, and enzyme activity assay in vitro, to explore the components and mechanism of Angelicae Sinensis Radix in activating blood. Target reverse prediction and complex network analysis yielded 40 potential anticoagulant targets of the medicinal. Gene Ontology(GO) term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis indicated that the targets mainly acted on the complement and coagulation cascade signaling pathway to exert the anticoagulant function. Among them, the key enzymes thrombin(THR) and coagulation factor Xa(FXa) in coagulation cascade and thrombosis were the drug targets for thromboembolic diseases. At the same time, molecular docking and cluster analysis showed that the medicinal had high selectivity for FXa. According to binding free energy score, 8 potential active components were selected for enzyme activity assay in vitro. The results demonstrated that 8 components inhibited THR and FXa, and the inhibition was stronger on FXa than on THR. The pharmacophore model of 8 active compounds was constructed, which suggested that the components had the common pharmacophore AAHH. The ADMET calculation result indicated that they had good pharmacokinetic properties and were safe. Based on target reverse prediction, complex network analysis, molecular docking and binding free energy calculation, anticoagulant activity in vitro, spatial binding conformation of molecules and targets, pharmacophore model construction, and ADMET calculation, this study preliminarily clarified the material basis and molecular mechanism of Angelicae Sinensis Radix in activating blood from the perspective of big data, and calculated the pharmacology and toxicology parameters of the active components. Our study, for the first time, revealed that the medicinal had obvious selectivity and pertinence for different coagulation proteins, reflecting the unique effect of different Chinese medicinals and the biological basis. Therefore, this study can provide clues for precision application of Angelicae Sinensis Radix and the development of the blood-activating components with modern technology.

An Efficient Closed Form Solution to the Absolute Orientation Problem for Camera with Unknown Focal Length.

In this paper we propose an efficient closed form solution to the absolute orientation problem for cameras with an unknown focal length, from two 2D-3D point correspondences and the camera position. The problem can be decomposed into two simple sub-problems and can be solved with angle constraints. A polynomial equation of one variable is solved to determine the focal length, and then a geometric approach is used to determine the absolute orientation. The geometric derivations are easy to understand and significantly improve performance. Rewriting the camera model with the known camera position leads to a simpler and more efficient closed form solution, and this gives a single solution, without the multi-solution phenomena of perspective-three-point (P3P) solvers. Experimental results demonstrated that our proposed method has a better performance in terms of numerical stability, noise sensitivity, and computational speed, with synthetic data and real images.

[The relationships between different surgical approaches for maxillary sinus augmentation and implant failure and complications: a retrospective cohort study].

PURPOSE: To investigate the 5-year survival and complication rates of implants placed in grafted sinuses with different surgical approaches and analyze the causes for failure. METHODS: This study retrospectively observed the prognosis of patients who underwent maxillary sinus augmentation by means of lateral window technique(LWT) or transalveolar osteotomy technique (TOT) and simultaneously installed implants performed, in Hefei Stomatological Hospital. The primary predictor variables were surgical approaches, including LWT and TOT. The primary outcome measurement was the 5-year implant survival rate, complication rates and failure causes. Potential confounders included diabetes, age at surgery, gender, smoking habit, oral hygiene, tooth position, length and diameter of implants and type of prosthesis. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed with SPSS 21.0 software package. RESULTS: Fifty-nine patients (31 males and 28 females), installed with 93 implants, with a mean age of (61.3±10.1) years old, were enrolled. Over (5±1.2) years of follow-up, five implants failed, with a total survival rate of 94.6%. In detail, there were 3 failed implants in the LWT group and 2 failed implants in the TOT group, for a survival rate of 85.7% and 97.2%, respectively. Chi-square test showed that smoking habit (P=0.010), oral hygiene(P=0.037) as well as operative approach(P=0.040) were significantly associated with the final survival rates, multivariate logistic regression analysis displayed that smoking habit (OR=0.030, 95%CI: 0.002-0.493, P=0.014) was still associated with the finial survival rates. Surgical approach(P=0.025) was markedly related to causes for the failed implants. Of which, three (100%) failed implants in the LWT group was due to poor osseointegration and implant mobility 3 months after sinus augmentation, and 2(100%) in the TOT group was because of persistent peri-implantitis and loss of the graft or alveolar bone 4 years after sinus augmentation. Smoking habit was also significantly relevant to complication rates(P=0.014), and the occurrence incidence of controllable peri-implantitis in patient having a smoking habit was relatively higher, accounting for 6.8%(6/88), compared with patients without smoking habit. Significant relationship between surgical approaches and implant complications was not observed(P=0.051). CONCLUSIONS: Different surgical approaches for maxillary sinus augmentation do not significantly correlate with implant survival rates and implant complications. However, surgical approach is markedly related to the causes of failed implants. Smoking will lead to a decreased implant survival rate and controllable peri-implantitis.

Cervical cytology screening facilitated by an artificial intelligence microscope: A preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cytology screening is usually laborious with a heavy workload and poor diagnostic consistency. The authors have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) microscope that can provide onsite diagnostic assistance for cervical cytology screening in real time. METHODS: A total of 2167 cervical cytology slides were selected from a cohort of 10,601 cases from Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, and the training data set consisted of 42,073 abnormal cervical epithelial cells. The recognition results of an AI technique were presented in a microscope eyepiece by an augmented reality technique. Potentially abnormal cells were highlighted with binary classification results in a 10× field of view (FOV) and with multiclassification results according to the Bethesda system in 20× and 40× FOVs. In addition, 486 slides were selected for the reader study to evaluate the performance of the AI microscope. RESULTS: In the reader study, which compared manual reading with AI assistance, the sensitivities for the detection of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions were significantly improved from 0.837 to 0.923 (P < .001) and from 0.830 to 0.917 (P < .01), respectively; the κ score for atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) was improved from 0.581 to 0.637; the averaged pairwise κ of consistency for multiclassification was improved from 0.649 to 0.706; the averaged pairwise κ of consistency for binary classification was improved from 0.720 to 0.798; and the averaged pairwise κ of ASCUS was improved from 0.557 to 0.639. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that an AI microscope can provide real-time assistance for cervical cytology screening and improve the efficiency and accuracy of cervical cytology diagnosis.

[Different concentration of lidocaine used for an exodontia of the impacted mandibular third molar].

PURPOSE: To investigate the anesthesia outcomes of 1% lidocaine with 1∶100 000 epinephrine (EPI) for inferior alveolar nerve, lingual nerve and buccal nerve block, compared with 2% lidocaine with 1∶100 000 EPI. METHODS: A study with a cross-over design, with each patient also serving as their own control, was implemented to estimate the clinical outcomes. Predictor variable was 1% lidocaine with 1∶100 000 EPI versus 2% lidocaine with 1∶100 000 EPI. Outcome variables were patients' responses to pain on injection, onset time of anesthetizing, efficacy of anesthesia, and the time to sensation return for the lower lip and tongue. Patients reported pain level at every experimental stage with a 10-point Numerical Rating Scale(NRS). Three weeks later, the patients were tested with the alternate drug combinations. The same outcomes were assessed. A verification of treatment difference was performed using SPSS 17.0 software package. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were recruited and completed the study protocol. Sixty-two percent of the patients were women and 38% were men with a median age of 24 years [interquartile range (IQR), 20-30 yr]. Patients reported significantly lower pain scores with 1% lidocaine (1.09,95%CI，0.77-1.41) on injection, compared with 2% lidocaine (1.66, 95%CI, 1.33-1.99) (P=0.010). Patients undergoing 1% lidocaine with 1∶100 000 EPI (52-63 s) had a markedly quicker onset time of anesthetizing than those using 2% lidocaine with 1∶100 000 EPI (259-335 s, P=0.000). The efficacy of anesthesia between 2 groups was not significantly different (P=0.751). Among the patients with the pain values of 1~3, there were 9 patients(100%) perceiving slight pain when splitting teeth was performed in 1% lidocaine group, while 4 patients(57%) felt slight pain when elevating soft flaps was performed and 3 patients(43%) perceived mild pain when splitting teeth was performed in 2% lidocaine group (P=0.019). The time to sensation return for the lower lip and tongue was significantly different between the 2 drug formulations (P=0.000), with an extended period of average 61 min (52-69 min) in 2% lidocaine group. CONCLUSIONS: 1% lidocaine with EPI plays a similar role in clinical outcomes for inferior alveolar nerve, lingual nerve and buccal nerve block as 2% lidocaine with EPI, which produces lower pain on injection as well as a relatively short time to sensation return. The reasons for slight pain during surgical operation are a relative lower efficacy of anesthesia on the inferior alveolar nerve in 1% lidocaine group, and on the buccal nerve anesthesia in 2% lidocaine group.

The research progress of PROTACs for breast cancer treatment / 药学学报

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women worldwide. In breast cancer tumor tissues, a variety of targets related to the occurrence and development of breast cancer have been observed, and many drugs have been used in clinical applications for these targets. However, most of these drugs are small molecule inhibitors. With the long-term use of these drugs, acquired drug resistance often occurs in breast cancer patients. To overcome the drug resistance, the development of more efficient drugs is highly desirable in the treatment of breast cancer. Proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology is a new kind of targeted protein degradation technology, which has shown broad prospect of applications in the field of drug development. The use of PROTAC technology to target the degradation of relevant targets in breast cancer has become a feasible strategy for breast cancer treatment.

Chinese medicine master -' creative viewpoint on acupuncture-moxibustion and acupoints of Zhejiang school / 中国针灸

The creative viewpoint of -, the master of Zhejiang school of Chinese medicine is introduced regarding the theories of acupuncture-moxibustion and acupoints. It is stated by master that the five-tissue needling methods are applicable not only for physical disorders, but also for disorders. Of these methods, the nearby bone needling method presents an instructive significance in treatment of pain disorder. The "reinforcing in the upper and reducing in the lower" needling method supplements the reinforcing and reducing theory of acupuncture. Master has put forward the theory of flexible selection of acupoint, the phenomenon of acupoint groups and the application of transverse acupoint composition, as well as the measures for intensifying needling induction, promoting regulation of acupuncture and improving clinical effect. Besides, the seven Chinese characters are used to summarize acupoint composition, meaning "main point, supplementary point, nearby point, corresponding point, back- point, front- point and extra point" separately. This creative viewpoint provides a clearer and more feasible mode in treatment with acupuncture-moxibustion and is instructive proactively in clinical practice.

Effect of Evodia on Lipid Metabolism in Hyperlipidemia Mice / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To study the effect of evodia on lipid metabolism and low-density lipoprotein-receptor(LDL-R) mRNA expression in hyperlipidemia mice. Method::Kunming mice (n=80) were randomly divided into normal control group (n=20) and model group (n=60). Serum lipids of the model group were measured after 3 weeks.After successful modeling, the mice can be randomly divided into 5 groups (with 10 in each group): model group (equivalent normal saline), positive control group (simvastatin, 5 mg·kg-1·d-1), drug group (evodia of 5.25, 10.5, 21 mg·kg- 1·d- 1). The mice were given drugs for 3 weeks.Htoxylin-eosin(HE) staining was used to observe the liver cell structure and the change of aortic arch atherosclerosis in the mice.The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kit was used to test the contents of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total serum adiponectin (ADPN) in serum of the mice.The expression of LDL-R mRNA in liver of each group was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Result::Liver HE staining showed hepatocyte swelling with steatosis in the model group, and alleviated liver steatosis in high-dose, medium-dose evodia and simvastatin groups.HE staining showed damages on the aortict arch wall in the model group, with obvious intima thickening and inflammatory cell infiltration.The intima was thickened obviously in the low-dose group, and the structure of aortic vessel wall was clear in the high-dose group.Compared with the normal group, TC, TG and HDL-C levels in serum of the model group were increased, while HDL-C level was decreased (P<0.01). Serum TC and TG levels of mice in the medium and high-dose groups decreased, whereas LDL-C and HDLl-C levels increased in low, medium and high-dose groups (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the normal group, the adiponectin level in the model group was decreased, while the serum adiponectin levels in medium and high-dose groups were significantly increased (P<0.01). The LDL-R mRNA expression in the liver of mice in the model group was significantly reduced compared with the normal group (P<0.01). The LDL-R mRNA expression in medium and high-dose evodia groups was significantly increased compared with the model group (P<0.01). Conclusion::Evodia can improve the tendency of hepatic lesions and aortic atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemia mice, which may be related to the regulation of adiponectin level, the reduction of lipid content in mice and the up-regulation of LDL-R mRNA expression in mice liver.

Design and development of compact coaxial to coplanar waveguide directional coupler for HPM measurement.

A compact, high-directivity, weak-coupling directional coupler with coaxial-coplanar waveguide structure and diamond-shaped coupling slot was developed at L band for a high-power microwave measurement by both theoretical analysis and experiments. The relation between the dimension of the coupling slot and the characteristic parameters of the coupler was studied by the small-hole coupling theory and the infinitesimal method. According to the analysis results, the directivity could be better than 20 dB while the length of the slot is just less than a single λ because of the use of the diamond coupling slot. For demonstration, a 45-dB L band coaxial-coplanar waveguide directional coupler was designed and verified by test. The experiment results and the theoretical analysis are in good agreement, which indicates that in the range of 1-2 GHz, the coupling was approximately -45 dB and the directivity was better than 17 dB. The power-handling capacity was demonstrated to reach 2 MW with a length (150 mm) of less than λ and a cross section (46 mm × 55 mm) of less than one-twelfth of the BJ-14 waveguide directional coupler.

Efficacy of Weitan Waifu patch on the postsurgical gastroparesis syndrome of gastrointestinal cancer: a multi-center trial / 中华肿瘤杂志

Objective@#To investigate the safety and efficacy of the Weitan Waifu patch on the postsurgical gastroparesis syndrome (PGS) of gastrointestinal cancer.@*Methods@#The multi-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted with superiority design. Patients with PGS of gastrointestinal cancer diagnosed in 4 AAA hospitals and the abdominal symptom manifested as cold syndrome by Chinese local syndrome differentiation were recruited. These patients were randomly divided into two groups according to 1∶1 proportion. Placebo or Weitan Waifu patch was applied in control group or intervention group, respectively, based on the basic treatments, including nutrition support, gastrointestinal decompression, promoting gastric dynamics medicine.Two acupuncture points (Zhongwan and Shenque) were stuck with placebo in control group or patch in treatment group. The intervention course was 14 days or reached the effective standard.@*Results@#From July 15, 2013 to Jun 3, 2015, 128 participants were recruited and 120 eligible cases were included in the full analysis set (FAS), and 60 cases in each group. 88 cases were included in the per-protocol set (PPS), including 45 cases in the treatment group and 43 cases in the control group. In the FAS, the clinical effective rate in the treatment group was 68.3%, significantly superior than 41.7% of the control group (P=0.003). The medium time of effective therapy in the treatment group was 8 days, significantly shorter than 10 days in the control group (P=0.017). In the FAS, 3 adverse events occurred in the treatment group, including mild to moderate decrustation, pruritus and nausea. The incidence rate of adverse events was 5.0% (3/60) and these symptoms were spontaneously remitted after drug withdrawal. No severe adverse events were observed in the control group. There was no significant difference between these two groups (P=0.244).@*Conclusion@#Weitan Waifu patch is a safely and effectively therapeutic method for patients with PGS (cold syndrome) of gastroenterological cancer.@*Trial registration@#International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Register, ISRCTN18291857

Campylobacter jejuni AhpC protein B cell antigen epitope prediction and antigenic analysis / 中国人兽共患病学报

To provide evidence for Campylobacter jejuni (C.jejuni) vaccine research,the B cell epitope of AhpC protein were predicted,and the antigenicity was analyzed.AhpC was found locating in outer membrane of C.jejuni without transmem brane structure and no signal peptide by bioinformatics software TMHMM Server V2.0,SignalP 4.1.There were seven B-cell linear epitopes in AhpC predicted by IEDB.Then,the AhpC protein and chemically synthesized antigenic epitopes of C.jejuni were used as antigens,and the AhpC antibody of C.jejuni was used as the primary antibody,the antigens of predominant linear B cell epitopes were detected by ELISA and dot blot.Results showed that one epitope of B cell epitopes (AhpC4-16) was able to recognize the antibodies of C.jejuni AhpC and had strong antigenicity,indicating that could be used in the follow-up vaccine research.