Frequency-dependent Alterations in Amplitude of Low-frequency Fluctuations in Resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Post Stroke Aphasia / 中国康复理论与实践

Objective:To explore the characteristics of local brain neural activity in post stroke aphasia (PSA) patients in different frequency bands and the relationship between Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) scores and specific frequency bands. Methods:From March, 2015 to May, 2018, 15 PSA patients, and 15 healthy adults as controls matched for age, gender and education were recruited. They were assessed with WAB and scaned with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) on the frequency bands of 0.01-0.08 Hz, 0.027-0.073 Hz, and 0.01-0.027 Hz were calculated. The ALFF and fALFF in different frequency bands were extracted and the correlation with the WAB scores in the patients were analyzed. Results:On 0.01-0.08 Hz, ALFF increased in the right precentral gyrus in the patients. On 0.027-0.073 Hz, ALFF increased values in the right precentral gyrus, and fALFF decreased in the right cerebellar Crus2 region; fALFF in the right cerebellar Crus2 region negatively correlated with the scores of information content (r = -0.576, P = 0.025), auditory comprehension (r = -0.658, P = 0.008), repetition (r = -0.616, P = 0.014) and aphasia quotient (r = -0.611, P = 0.016) of WAB. On 0.01-0.027 Hz, the fALFF decreased in the left inferior parietal limbic gyrus, and positively correlated with the scores of information content (r = 0.538, P = 0.039) and aphasia quotient (r = 0.526, P = 0.044). Conclusion:Resting-state fALFF abnormalities in PSA patients are frequency-dependent, which associate with some frequency-specific neurofunctional alterations.

A clinical analysis of children with invasive pulmonary fungal infections after biliary atresia surgery / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical features of invasive pulmonary fungal infections (IPFIs) after biliary atresia (BA) surgery and related risk factors.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 49 children with IPFIs after BA surgery, including clinical features, lung imaging findings, and pathogenic features. The risk factors for IPFIs after BA surgery were also analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The most common pathogens of IPFIs after BA surgery was Candida albicans (17 strains, 45%), followed by Candida tropicalis (7 strains, 18%), Aspergillus (6 strains, 16%), Candida krusei (3 strains, 8%), Candida glabrata (3 strains, 8%), and Candida parapsilosis (2 strains, 5%). Major clinical manifestations included pyrexia, cough, and shortness of breath, as well as dyspnea in severe cases; the incidence rate of shortness of breath reached 78%, and 35% of all children had no obvious rale. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age at the time of surgery, time of glucocorticoid application, cumulative time of the application of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and recurrent cholangitis were major risk factors for IPFIs after BA surgery.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The three most common pathogens of IPFIs after BA surgery are Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, and Aspergillus. It is important to perform surgery as early as possible, avoid recurrent cholangitis, and shorten the course of the treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics and glucocorticoids for decreasing the risk of IPFIs.</p>

Deep Learning and Its Applications in Biomedicine / 基因组蛋白质组与生物信息学报·英文版

Advances in biological and medical technologies have been providing us explosive volumes of biological and physiological data, such as medical images, electroencephalography, genomic and protein sequences. Learning from these data facilitates the understanding of human health and disease. Developed from artificial neural networks, deep learning-based algorithms show great promise in extracting features and learning patterns from complex data. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of deep learning techniques and some of the state-of-the-art applications in the biomedical field. We first introduce the development of artificial neural network and deep learning. We then describe two main components of deep learning, i.e., deep learning architectures and model optimization. Subsequently, some examples are demonstrated for deep learning applications, including medical image classification, genomic sequence analysis, as well as protein structure classification and prediction. Finally, we offer our perspectives for the future directions in the field of deep learning.

Identification of endophytic bacteria BZJN1 and research on biological control of root rot of Atractylodes macrocephala / 中国中药杂志

In this study， an endophytic bacteria strain BZJN1 was isolated from Atractylodes macrocephala， and identified as Bacillus subtilis by physiological and biochemical tests and molecular identification. Strain BZJN1 could inhibit the growth of mycelia of Ceratobasidium sp. significantly， and the inhibition rate was more than 70%. The mycelium growth deformity with bulge as spherical and partially exhaustible in apex or central with microscopic observation. The inhibitory rates under 3% and 6% concentrations of the cell free fermentation were 22.7% and 38.7% expectively. The field test proved that the control efficacy of treatment of 1×10⁸ cfu·mL⁻¹ is 75.27% and 72.37% after 10 and 20 days. All the treatments of strain BZJN1 was able to promote the growth of A. macrocephala， the treatment of 1×10⁸ cfu·mL⁻¹ could able to increase the yield to 14.1%.

A Safe and Efficacious Alternative to Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass for the Treatment of Morbid Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes - One Anastamosis / Mini Gastric Bypass

Roux-en-y gastric bypass (RYGB) is currently used to treat obesity and metabolic syndrome. It is however technically challenging with a steep learning curve and long operating times. Laparoscopitc mini-gastric bypass (LMGB) is another surgical method that is acclaimed to achieve similar efficacy and yet safe with acceptable complication rates. We reviewedcurrent literature on LMGB on its efficacy and safety profile. Comprehensive search of available literature using a combination of key words was performed, looking out for efficacy and safety end points. Efficacy end points include excess weight loss, change in body mass index (BMI), resolution of metabolic syndrome or T2DM remission. Safety end points include mortality and morbidity rates, short and long term complications. 18 studies were selected with a total of 9392 patients. Follow up range was from 1 year to 6 years with majority of studies achieving 57%-92% excess weight loss (%EWL) within 1 year. Remission of T2DM rates were mostly more than 84%. Several studies reported better %EWL and T2DM remission when compared to SG and RYGB. Overall mortality rate was 0.152%. Morbidity rates vary from 2.7%-12.5%. Some studies reported lower mortality and complication rates in LMGB when compared to SG and RYGB. In summary, MGB is a safe and effective metabolic-bariatric procedure in treating morbid obesity and T2DM. It should be considered an alternative to standard RYGB. Risk of bile reflux, marginal ulcer and anemia needs to be explained to the patient when counselling for such procedure.

Cognitive behavior survey on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in individuals living in Ningxia / 中华健康管理学杂志

Objective To investigate current status of cognitive behavior on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to provide evidence for targeted intervention.Methods A questionnaire survey on COPD was conducted at 12 settings of 4 prefectures that were sampled from Ningxia Province using multistage stratified cluster random sampling method,and 4268 residents at least 40 years old were interviewed.Multivariate linear regression method was used for data analysis.Results A total of 4056 valid questionnaires were returned from 4200 participants with an effective response rate of 96.57％.Only 6.51％(264/4056) had an idea of COPD,13.88％ (563/4056) regarded cigarette smoking as a risk factor of chronic bronchitis and emphysema,and 6.39％ (259/4056) knew pulmonary function tests.Home income,living area,education level and ethnicity were main factors influencing COPD awareness.The percentage of current cigarette smoking was 28.80％ (1168/4056) with 20.40％ in Hui (Muslim) ethnic group and 34.63％ in Han ethnic group (P ＜ 0.05 ) ; smoking index and severe smokers were not significantly different between the two groups ( P ＞ 0.05 ).Conclusion Our data suggest a considerably poor knowledge and prevention awareness of COPD in Ningxia Province.In spite of relatively lower cigarette smoking rate,the problem that Hui (Muslim) ethnic people are lack of COPD awareness should not to be neglected.

Human CD96 gene cloning, expression and identification / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To construct and express human CD96 gene outer membrane domain (hCD96om) in prokaryotic cells and prepare rabbit polyclonal antibody of hCD96om.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>hCD96om was amplified by RT-PCR from the peripheral blood of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and inserted into prokaryotic expression vector pET32a(+) to construct the recombinant plasmid pET32-CD96. The expression of hCD96om was induced by IPTG in BL21(DE3) cells, and the expression product was identified by Western blotting. The anti-hCD96 polyclonal antibody was prepared by immunization of rabbits with the fusion protein. The specificity of anti-hCD96 antibody was determined by Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>hCD96om protein was expressed in E.coli BL21(DE3) cells in the form of inclusion body, with a relative molecular mass around 37 kD. Western blotting showed a specific reaction of the prepared antiserum with the 70 kD protein extracted from human leukemia cell line HL-60 cells and with the 37 kD hCD96om fusion protein.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The CD96 gene of human has been successfully cloned and expressed in BL21(DE3) cells, and its rabbit polyclonal antibody has been obtained.</p>

Identification of antiviral activity of Toddalia asiatica against influenza type A virus / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify antiviral activity of Toddalia asiatica against influenza virus type A in vitro.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>More than two hundred Chinese medicinal herb extracts were screened for antiviral activities against influenza A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) virus using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay for virus induced cytopathic effect (CPE) in a primary screening. Positive samples were picked up and were subjected to quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to quantify reduction of H1N1 virus genomic RNA.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Toddalia asiatica showed potent antiviral activities against H1N1 virus, with 50% effective concentration (EC50) value of 4.7 mg x L(-1) in MTS assay and 0.9 mg x L(-1) in quantitative PCR assay respectively. The cytotoxicity test of Toddalia asiatica generated a CC50 value of 187.2 mg x L(-1) and a selective index (SI) larger than 206 in quantitative PCR. Although the best antiviral activity of Toddalia asiatica was observed with co-treatment of influenza virus infection, it remained effective even when administrated 24 h before and after the initiation of infection.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results suggested that Toddalia asiatica compound extract could be a candidate for anti-H1N1 virus agent in the treatment of influenza.</p>