An exploratory study of delayed flash visual evoked potential P2 wave latency in subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cognitive dysfunction may present with significantly prolonged the P2 wave latency of flash visual evoked potential. However, no studies have been reported on whether the P2 wave latency of flash visual evoked potential is prolonged in patients with subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE). OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between flash visual evoked potential P2 wave latency (FVEP-P2 wave latency) and cognitive impairment in patients with SAE. METHODS: Overall, we recruited 38 SAE patients as the observation cohort (OC) and 34 healthy volunteers as the control cohort (CC). We measured the FVEP-P2 wave latency for both groups. The SAE patients' cognitive abilities were evaluated via mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and the association between the latency of FVEP-P2 and MMSE score was explored by Pearsons´s correlation test. RESULTS: There is no significant difference between OC (21 males and 17 females; 68.6 ± 6.7 years of age and 9.6 ± 2.8 years of education) and CC (19 males and 15 females; 65.3 ± 5.9 years of age and 10.1 ± 2.6 years of education) in gender and age composition and education level. The FVEP-P2 wave latency of the CC group was (108.80 ± 16.70) ms and the OC FVEP-P2 wave latency was (152.31 ± 20.70) ms. The OC FVEP-P2 wave latency was significantly longer than the CC (P < 0.05). In terms of MMSE scores, the MMSE scores of CC was (28.41 ± 2.34), and that of OC was (9.08 ± 4.39). Compared to the CC, the OC MMSE score was significantly lower (P < 0.05). In addition, the FVEP-P2 wave latency was inversely related to the MMSE (r = -0.4465, P < 0.05) in SAE patients. CONCLUSION: The FVEP-P2 wave latency wave latency was significantly prolonged in SAE patients and strongly associated with the degree of cognitive dysfunction.

BCAS3 accelerates glioblastoma tumorigenesis by restraining the P53/GADD45α signaling pathway.

As in many other cancers, highly malignant proliferation and disordered cell division play irreplaceable roles in the exceedingly easy recurrence and complex progression of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM); however, mechanistic studies of the numerous regulators involved in this process are still insufficiently thorough. The role of BCAS3 has been studied in other cancers, but its role in GBM is unclear. Here, our goal was to investigate the expression pattern of BCAS3 in GBM and its potential mechanism of action. Using TCGA database and human GBM samples, we found that BCAS3 expression was up-regulated in GBM, and its high expression predicted poor prognosis. To further investigate the relationship between BCAS3 and GBM characteristics, we up-regulated and down-regulated BCAS3 expression in GBM to detect its effect on cell proliferation and cell cycle. At the same time, we established U87 cells stably overexpressing BCAS3 and generated an intracranial xenograft model to investigate the Potential role of BCAS3 in vivo. Finally, based on in vitro cell experiments and in vivo GBM xenograft models, we observed that BCAS3 significantly regulates GBM cell proliferation and cell cycle and that this regulation is associated with p53/GADD45α Signaling pathway. Taken together, our findings suggest that BCAS3 is inextricably linked to the progression of GBM and that targeting BCAS3 may have therapeutic effects in GBM patients.

Evaluation of the Clinical Efficacy of Heart Valve Surgery in Patients with a Cardiac Disorder and the Factors Contributing to Poor Patient Prognosis.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of heart valve surgery in patients with heart disease and the factors contributing to poor patient prognosis. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 172 patients with heart disease treated in Peking University International Hospital between January 2019 and December 2021, with surgical treatment in the study group (86 patients) and conservative treatment in the control group (86 patients), by comparing factors such as patient age, preoperative cardiac function status, type and degree of valve lesion, surgical method and time of aortic block and perioperative treatment in both groups with clinical cure rate. The risk factors for early postoperative death were analyzed by single-factor and multi-factor logistic regression methods. Results: Regression analysis showed that age, peripheral artery disease (PAD), diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), dietary habits and medical compliance were prognostic factors in patients after heart valve surgery. The incidence of complications was lower in the study group than in the control group (P < .05). The left anterior descending artery (LAD), left ventricular end-diastolic internal diameter (LVEDD), cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) and left ventricular end-systolic internal diameter (LVDS) was decreased in both groups, whereas the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and peak early diastolic flow rate/peak late diastolic flow rate (E/A) were increased. The changes were greater in the study group than in the control group (P < .05); life function scores and survival rates were higher in the study group than in the control group (P < .05). Conclusions: The analysis of relevant clinical risk factors identified some independent prognostic factors affecting early death after valve replacement. These can be used for preoperative risk assessment, identification of high-risk surgical patients and guiding daily clinical work. Rationalizing the indications for surgery, choosing the timing of surgery, myocardial protection and appropriate surgical approach can further reduce the rate of surgical morbidity and mortality and complications in this patient population.

The prenatal diagnosis and prognosis of fetal right aortic arch and double aortic arch malformation: A single-center study.

AIM: This study aimed to characterize the pathological types, diagnosis, chromosomal abnormalities, and postnatal clinical manifestations of right and double aortic arch malformations in fetuses. METHODS: In this retrospective study, all fetuses diagnosed with right or double aortic arch anomalies for whom conventional two-dimensional echocardiography combined with spatio-temporal image correlation was performed at our tertiary referral center between December 2012 and December 2021 were included. RESULTS: In total, 234 fetuses with aortic arch abnormalities were identified. Forty-one cases lost to follow-up. One hundred ninety-three cases were included in this study. One hundred eighty-seven cases with right aortic arch. Six cases with double aortic arch. Most cases of right aortic arch with aberrant left subclavian artery (77/101, 76.2%) were isolated lesions, whereas most of those with mirror-image branching (45/75, 60%) were associated with intracardiac or extracardiac anomalies. Chromosomal abnormalities were screened prenatally in 113 fetuses with right aortic arch, among whom three with aberrant left subclavian artery (3/63, 4.8%) and eight with mirror-image branching (8/50, 16%) had chromosome anomalies (p < 0.05). Furthermore, three cases had microdeletion 22q11.2 and these were significantly associated with intracardiac malformations. CONCLUSIONS: Most cases of isolated right aortic arch do not present with clinical symptoms except isolated left subclavian artery and isolated left brachiocephalic trunk. In addition, the risk of chromosomal abnormalities in patients with isolated right aortic arch is very low. We recommend that pregnant women should be informed of the risks and benefits of undergoing invasive prenatal chromosomal detection.

A 1p/19q Codeletion-Associated Immune Signature for Predicting Lower Grade Glioma Prognosis.

Lower grade gliomas (LGGs) with codeletion of chromosomal arms 1p and 19q (1p/19 codeletion) have a favorable outcome. However, its overall survival (OS) varies. Here, we established an immune signature associated with 1p/19q codeletion for accurate prediction of prognosis of LGGs. The Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases with RNA sequencing and corresponding clinical data were dichotomized into training group and testing group. The immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with 1p/19q codeletion were screened using Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. A prognostic signature was established using dataset from CGGA and tested in TCGA database. Subsequently, we explored the correlation between the prognostic signature and immune response. Thirteen immune genes associated with 1p/19q codeletion were used to construct a prognostic signature. The 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates of the low-risk group were approximately 97%, 89%, and 79%, while those of the high-risk group were 81%, 50% and 34%, respectively, in the training group. The nomogram which comprised age, WHO grade, primary or recurrent types, 1p/19q codeletion status and risk score provided accurate prediction for the survival rate of glioma. DEGs that were highly expressed in the high-risk group clustered with many immune-related pathways. Immune checkpoints including TIM3, PD1, PDL1, CTLA4, TIGIT, MIR155HG, and CD48 were correlated with the risk score. VAV3 and TNFRFSF11B were found to be candidate immune checkpoints associated with prognosis. The 1p/19q codeletion-associated immune signature provides accurate prediction of OS. VAV3 and TNFRFSF11B are novel immune checkpoints.

TMZ magnetic temperature-sensitive liposomes-mediated magnetothermal chemotherapy induces pyroptosis in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most fatal and common type of primary malignant tumors in central nervous system. Chemotherapy drugs are difficult to reach the encephalic region effectively due to blood-brain barrier (BBB), but functional nanoparticle drug carriers can help to solve the problem. Herein, we developed a controllable drug carrier called temozolomide magnetic temperature-sensitive liposomes (TMZ/Fe-TSL) to investigate its feasibility and molecular mechanisms on GBM. Our research found TMZ/Fe-TSL exposed to alternating magnetic field (AMF) could induce significantly GBM cell death and promote the production of ROS. It also showed that the expression of NLRP3, CASP1 and N-GSDMD was upregulated compared to the control group, while the expression of CASP3 showed a reverse change. The results indicated that TMZ/Fe-TSL exposed to the AMF was capable of inducing GBM cells death. And the way and mechanisms of cell death may involve in ROS and pyroptosis, but not apoptosis.

Liraglutide Plus Dapagliflozin for High Uric Acid and Microalbuminuria in Diabetes Mellitus Complicated With Metabolic Syndrome.

Context: Diabetes mellitus (DM) represents an emerging epidemic, poses serious threats to human health, and can seriously compromise patients' quality of life (QoL). Currently, no cure exists for DM. Some studies have found that both liraglutide and dapagliflozin have great therapeutic potential in preventing and treating DM and its complications. Objective: The study aimed to examine the impact of liraglutide plus dapagliflozin on high uric acid (UA) and microalbuminuria (MAU) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) complicated with metabolic syndrome (MS). Design: The research team designed a randomized controlled trial. Setting: The study took place at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Participants: Participants were 125 patients with DM complicated with MS who were treated in the outpatient clinic of the endocrinology department at the hospital between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, with 68 in the intervention group and 57 in the control group. Intervention: The intervention and control groups both received 0.6 mg of liraglutide. The intervention group also received 5 mg of dapagliflozin once a day. The dosages were increased at one week after baseline based on the participant's condition. Outcome Measures: Therapeutic effects, glycolipid metabolism, inflammation, uric acid (UA), microalbuminuria (MAU), cardiac function, and quality of life (QoL) were compared between the two groups. Results: Postintervention, the clinical efficacy was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group. The intervention group had significantly lower glycolipid metabolism and inflammatory-factor levels than the control group UA and MAU had declined in both groups but were significantly lower in the intervention group. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) increased and the left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDd) decreased in both groups, but the intervention group had significantly greater changes as compared with those in the control group. The intervention group was also superior to the control group in patients' QoL. Conclusions: Liraglutide plus dapagliflozin has highly therapeutic effect for patients with DM complicated with MS and can effectively reduce UA and MAU levels. The current research team will launch a more comprehensive analysis as soon as possible to obtain the most accurate results.

Perioperative Use of Pituitrin after Cardiac Defect Repair in Adult Patients with Severe Pulmonary Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Vasopressin can constrict peripheral arteries without constricting the pulmonary artery. Theoretically, vasopressin is suitable for the perioperative treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Few studies have investigated the use of pituitrin (a substitute for vasopressin) after cardiac defect repair surgery. This study aimed to analyze the effect of pituitrin on hemodynamics and to determine whether pituitrin can be used after surgical repair in adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension-congenital heart disease (PAH-CHD). METHODS: A pulmonary artery catheter was used in all the patients for hemodynamic monitoring. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded before and at 0.5 h, 1 h, 6 h, 12 h and 24 h after pituitrin administration. The changes in the hemodynamic parameters before and after pituitrin use were analyzed through repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: A total of 110 patients with PAH-CHD underwent repair surgery; 23 patients were included in further analysis, including 11 with atrial septal defect, 9 with ventricular septal defect, and 3 with patent ductus arteriosus. Ten (43.5%) were men, with a mean age of 29.4 ± 6.8 years. Hemodynamic parameters before and after the oxygen test were as follows: radial artery oxygen saturation, 91.5% ± 4.4 vs. 97.9 ± 2.4%; pulmonary vascular resistance, 10.5 ± 1.8 Wood units (wu) vs. 5 ± 1.2 wu; systemic-pulmonary blood flow ratio (QP/QS), 1.1 ± 0.2 vs. 2.1 ± 0.9. With prolonged use, the systolic blood pressure of the radial artery increased significantly (P = 0.001), that of the pulmonary artery decreased significantly (P = 0.009), and RP/s decreased significantly (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Pituitrin as an alternative to vasopressin can increase arterial pressure, decrease pulmonary artery pressure, and reduce the pulmonary artery pressure/arterial pressure ratio after repair surgery in adult patients with PAH-CHD.

A Diuretic Response is Associated with the Early Prognosis of Patients Undergoing Repeat Tricuspid Valve Surgery Due to Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation After Left-Sided Valvular Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors affecting the early prognosis of patients undergoing repeat tricuspid valve surgery due to severe tricuspid regurgitation after left-sided valvular surgery. METHOD: We retrospectively analyzed 76 patients undergoing repeat tricuspid valve surgery due to severe tricuspid regurgitation after left-sided valvular surgery at Peking University International Hospital between October 2017 and February 2021. Patients were divided into two groups, according to preoperative weight control and whether the adjusted diuretic dose exceeded 40 mg of furosemide (or the equivalent dose). The factors affecting the early prognosis were analyzed through postoperative follow up. RESULTS: Thirty-five male patients (46.1%), aged 57±13 years, were enrolled in the study. For the patients who received a preoperative same dose of furosemide ≥40 mg/day and a same dose of furosemide <40 mg/day, the baseline data basically were the same. There were 76 patients (100%) who were followed up. Endpoint events during the follow up were as follows: Six patients (7.9%) died, two patients (2.6%) were admitted to the hospital or transferred to the intensive care unit due to cardiac insufficiency, and other conditions such as severe tricuspid regurgitation on repeat ultrasound, bilateral lower extremity edema, and inability to reduce or stop diuretics were found in five cases (6.6%). Compared with the group with the same dose of furosemide <40 mg/day group, the ≥40 mg/day group had a higher incidence of endpoints (12, 27.3% vs. 1, 3.1%, P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing repeat tricuspid valve surgery due to severe tricuspid regurgitation after left-sided valvular surgery, a diuretic response was associated with surgical prognosis. Compared with the low-dose furosemide group, the high-dose group (≥40 mg/) had a significantly increased incidence of early events.

Preparation, Properties, and Mechanism of Flame-Retardant Poly(vinyl alcohol) Aerogels Based on the Multi-Directional Freezing Method.

In this work, exfoliated α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) and phosphated cellulose (PCF) were employed to synthesize poly(vinyl alcohol) composite aerogels (PVA/PCF/α-ZrP) with excellent flame retardancy through the multi-directional freezing method. The peak heat release rate (PHRR), total smoke release (TSR), and CO production (COP) of the (PVA/PCF10/α-ZrP10-3) composite aerogel were considerably decreased by 42.3%, 41.4%, and 34.7%, as compared to the pure PVA aerogel, respectively. Simultaneously, the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value was improved from 18.1% to 28.4%. The mechanistic study of flame retardancy showed evidence that PCF and α-ZrP promoted the crosslinking and carbonization of PVA chains to form a barrier, which not only served as insulation between the material and the air, but also significantly reduced the emissions of combustible toxic gases (CO2, CO). In addition, the multi-directional freezing method further improved the catalytic carbonization process. This mutually advantageous strategy offers a new strategy for the preparation of composite aerogels with enhanced fire resistance.

Effects of Betulinic Acid Derivative on Lung Inflammation in a Mouse Model of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Induced by Particulate Matter 2.5.

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is mainly induced by the increased content of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the atmosphere. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of betulinic acid derivative on lung inflammation in a mouse model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease induced by particulate matter 2.5. MATERIAL AND METHODS The mice were given a PM2.5 (25 µl) suspension for 7 days by the intranasal route to establish a COPD model. The content of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in the BALF samples was measured by commercially available ELISA kits. RESULTS The PM2.5-induced higher LDH and ACP levels were significantly alleviated in mouse lung tissues by treatment with betulinic acid derivative. Treatment with betulinic acid derivative also suppressed PM2.5-induced increase in AKP and ALB levels in mouse lung tissues. Betulinic acid derivative reversed PM2.5-mediated suppression of SOD activity and elevation of NOS level in mouse BALF. Moreover, the PM2.5-induced excessive NO and MDA levels in mouse BALF were significantly reduced (P.

Agricultural land-use change exacerbates the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes via surface runoffs in Lake Tai Basin, China.

Agricultural runoff is an important antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) dissemination pathway from farmlands to water environment, however few studies have focused on the influence of agricultural land-use change on the pattern of ARGs in runoff and assess the health risk to public. Lake Tai Basin which experiences agricultural land-use change was selected to elucidate this concern. Our findings revealed that the pattern of ARGs was more diverse and the gene abundance was higher in orchard runoffs by comparison with conventional cropland runoffs. Co-occurrence network analysis between mobile genetic elements and ARGs demonstrated that after agricultural land-use change, ARG dissemination via runoffs became more threatened. In addition, this study illustrated the correlations between the antibiotic resistome and microbiome in runoffs, finding that non-dominant microbial taxa were the limiting factor which determined the pattern of ARGs in surface runoffs. In summary, the pattern and dissemination risk of ARGs in the surface runoff after agricultural land-use change in Lake Tai Basin were clarified via this study.

Early Predictive Value of Procalcitonin for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Infections after Off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac surgery can cause similar inflammatory reactions with infection; antibacterial treatment may be inappropriately used. Early and accurate diagnosis of infection still is a difficult problem worldwide. Procalcitonin (PCT) helps to identify sepsis caused by bacterial infections. However, its application in the diagnosis of pulmonary infections after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) has not been well studied. We investigated the early predictive value of PCT for the diagnosis of pulmonary infections after OPCABG. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data, including conditions in the intensive care unit, postoperative complications, mortality rate, plasma PCT in the morning on the first postoperative day, routine white blood cell (WBC) count, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels of patients who underwent elective OPCABG. Patients were divided into an infection group and a noninfection group, according to the occurrence of pulmonary infections. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of PCT for the diagnosis of postsurgical infections. RESULTS: In total, 131 patients who underwent OPCABG were included, of whom 23 (17.6%) developed pulmonary infections. The plasma PCT level significantly was higher in the infection group than in the noninfection group (6.0 ± 6.3 ng/ml vs. 2.0 ± 2.2 ng/ml, P = 0.007). WBC and hs-CRP values were not significantly different between the infection group and the noninfection group (12.3 ± 3.9×109/L vs. 11.1 ± 2.8×109/L, P = 0.171 and 12.4 ± 0.7 mg/L vs. 12.4 ± 0.8 mg/L, P = 0.903, respectively). The area under the ROC for predicting pulmonary infections after OPCABG by plasma PCT was 0.783 (P < 0.001, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.674-0.893), with a cut-off value of 3.55 ng/ml, a sensitivity of 0.609, and a specificity of 0.861. CONCLUSION: From our study results, we postulate that PCT has a high early predictive value for the diagnosis of pulmonary infections after OPCABG.

SAP-Net: A Simple and Robust 3D Point Cloud Registration Network Based on Local Shape Features.

Point cloud registration is a key step in the reconstruction of 3D data models. The traditional ICP registration algorithm depends on the initial position of the point cloud. Otherwise, it may get trapped into local optima. In addition, the registration method based on the feature learning of PointNet cannot directly or effectively extract local features. To solve these two problems, this paper proposes SAP-Net, inspired by CorsNet and PointNet++, as an optimized CorsNet. To be more specific, SAP-Net firstly uses the set abstraction layer in PointNet++ as the feature extraction layer and then combines the global features with the initial template point cloud. Finally, PointNet is used as the transform prediction layer to obtain the six parameters required for point cloud registration directly, namely the rotation matrix and the translation vector. Experiments on the ModelNet40 dataset and real data show that SAP-Net not only outperforms ICP and CorsNet on both seen and unseen categories of the point cloud but also has stronger robustness.

The construction and application of an ultrasound and anatomical cross-sectional database of structural malformations of the fetal heart.

OBJECTIVES: Establish a fetal heart anatomical cross-sectional database that correlates with screening transverse ultrasound images suggested by international professional organizations to detect congenital heart defects. METHODS: Fetuses with suspected congenital heart defects identified using the following cardiac image sequences obtained from transverse slices beginning from the upper abdomen and ending in the upper thorax were the subjects of this study: (1) four-chamber view, (2) left ventricular outflow tract view, (3) three-vessel right ventricular outflow tract view, and (4) the three-vessel tracheal view. A database of digital two-dimensional images of the transverse sweep was created for fetuses with confirmed congenital heart defects. In addition, using four-dimensional ultrasound spatial-temporal image correlation, selected transverse ultrasound images were acquired as part of the database. Ultrasound-detected congenital heart defects were confirmed postnatally from pathological specimens of the heart and lungs using a cross-sectional technique that mirrored the ultrasound images described above. When anatomical specimens were not available, prenatal ultrasound-detected congenital heart defects were confirmed using postnatal echocardiography and/or following surgery. RESULTS: The four screening views described in the Methods section identified 160 fetuses that comprised the database. Forty-five datasets consisted of both ultrasound and anatomical cross-sectional images. Thirteen percent (6/45) only had abnormalities of the four-chamber view (eg, endocardial cushion defects). Twenty-four percent (11/45) had abnormalities of the four-chamber view as well as right and left outflow tracts (eg, complex malformations). Of these, 10 of 11 had an abnormal tracheal view. Sixteen percent (7/45) had an abnormal four-chamber view and abnormal right outflow tract (eg, pulmonary stenosis). Thirty-three percent (15/45) had a normal four-chamber view but had abnormal right and left outflow tracts as well as an abnormal tracheal view (eg, tetralogy of Fallot, D-transposition of the great arteries). CONCLUSIONS: Combining both ultrasound and anatomical imaging may be of assistance in training imagers to recognize cardiovascular pathology when performing the screening examination of the fetal heart.

Which is Better for Patients with Breast Cancer: Totally Implanted Vascular Access Devices (TIVAD) or Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC)?

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to compare the applications of totally implanted vascular access devices (TIVAD) and peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) in breast cancer patients. METHODS: We analyzed 4080 cases of TIVAD and 1433 cases of PICC at the Breast Center of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University. The success rate, operation time, and procedures of catheterization, as well as the catheterization-related complications, catheter indwelling-related complications, and the utilization conditions were compared between these two methods. RESULTS: Our results showed that the success rate of catheterization was relatively higher in PICC group (99.5%) than the TIVAD group (99.0%)(χ2 = 3.521, P = 0.038), and the operation time and the rate of catheterization-related complications were lower in PICC (18.65 ± 4.7603 min, 0.91%) compared to TIVAD (29.55 ± 4.0843 min, 1.59%)(t = 38.000, P < 0.01, χ2 = 3.578, P = 0.035). However, the rate of catheter indwelling-related complications was lower in TIVAD group (2.47%) than the PICC group (3.62%)(χ2 = 5.227, P = 0.016), and the catheter care was also better in TIVAD. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these analyses, we recommended TIVAD for the patients who need long-term and high-dose chemotherapy and PICC for the patients who need short chemotherapy cycle and live close to the hospital.

Bridge-Caging Strategy in Phosphorus-Substituted Rhodamine for Modular Development of Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probes.

Replacement of the bridging oxygen atom in rhodamine with phosphorus is one of the most efficient ways for bright near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores with wavelengths over 700 nm. However, the organophosphorus bridge is more versatile than just being a spectrum tuner, it is also a profound solubility booster and photostability enhancer, as proved by a series of phosphorus-substituted rhodamines (PRBs). A unique bridge-caging strategy for efficiently manipulating fluorescence has further been innovated in example PRB2. Consistent with theoretical calculations, the formation of organophosphinate by a caging group as a fluorescence-controller locks the spirolactone into a colorless and nonfluorescent form, whereas decaging, a process induced by a specific stimulus, results in a ring-opened form, which yields strong fluorescence. The bridge-caging strategy is feasible for the modular development of NIR probes. Efficient in vivo imaging of photoillumination, hydrogen peroxide, and enzyme have been achieved on the PRB2 scaffold as a photoactivatable fluorophore, PRB2-hν; fluorescent indicator, PRB2-H2 O2 ; and fluorogenic enzyme substrate, PRB2-NTR, respectively.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 using coaxial channel-based DNA extraction and microfluidic PCR.

In this study, a rapid and sensitive method for detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 using the coaxial channel-based DNA extraction and the microfluidic PCR was proposed and verified. The magnetic silica beads were first pumped into the coaxial channel, which was captured in the coaxial channel more uniformly by applying the multiring high-gradient magnetic field. After the E. coli O157:H7 cells were lysed with the lysis buffer to release the DNA, the improved coaxial channel was used to efficiently extract the DNA, followed by washing with ethanol to remove the residual proteins and eluting with a small volume of deionized water to obtain the purified and concentrated DNA. Finally, the obtained DNA was amplified and determined using the microfluidic PCR. This proposed bacteria detection method was able to detect E. coli O157:H7 as low as 12 cfu/mL when the large volume (10 mL) of bacterial sample was used, and the recovery of E. coli O157:H7 in the spiked milk samples ranged from 97.4 to 100.6%. This proposed bacteria detection method has shown great potential to detect lower concentration of E. coli O157:H7 from larger volumes of sample.

Correction to: Prenatal Ultrasonic Diagnosis and Prognostic Analysis of Isolated Left Subclavian Artery (ILSCA) and Left Brachiocephalic Trunk (ILBCT) Malformation.

The article Prenatal Ultrasonic Diagnosis and Prognostic Analysis of Isolated Left Subclavian Artery (ILSCA) and Left Brachiocephalic Trunk (ILBCT)Malformation, written by Yuntao Li, Xiaohong Zhang, Yani Yan and Qiuyan Pei, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on August 2018 with open access.

Prenatal Ultrasonic Diagnosis and Prognostic Analysis of Isolated Left Subclavian Artery (ILSCA) and Left Brachiocephalic Trunk (ILBCT) Malformation.

The purpose of the study was to explore the prognosis, as well as antenatal ultrasonic features of isolated left subclavian artery (ILSCA) and isolated left brachiocephalic trunk (ILBCT) malformations, in order to improve prognosis and provide guidance for prenatal diagnosis. The origin and routing of cephalic and cervical vessels were observed in patients diagnosed with right aortic arch or right arterial duct arch in our hospital from March 2015 to March 2017, and the spectrum features related to ILSCA and ILBCT were analyzed. Fetuses diagnosed as ILSCA, or, and ILBCT were followed up for 3 months after birth. At the same time, a literature review was carried out for ILBCT and ILSCA in Pubmed. In our study, two cases with ILSCA and ILBCT were both diagnosed prenatally. They are not accompanied by other congenital malformations or chromosome abnormalities. No abnormality was found during postnatal follow-up except that left radial pulsation was weakened and blood pressure of the left upper limb decreased in baby with ILSCA. In baby with ILBCT, in addition to these abnormal changes, the left common carotid artery pulse disappearance too. In pubmed, three of 12 ILSCA or ILBCT did not have other congenital malformation or chromosome abnormalities. They were not diagnosed until the age of 3, 10, and 47 because of school exams or atypical symptoms, such as headaches, chest pain. Symptom of ILBCT or ILSCA without other abnormality is silent, and therefore they cannot be diagnosed timely after birth prenatal diagnosis is necessary for they can be treated in time.