In vitro study on cyclic fatigue resistance of three types of nickel titanium files in preparation for bending root canals / 口腔疾病防治

Objective@#The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the anti cyclic fatigue performance of Woride KS (WKS), Proteper Gold (PTG), and Hyflex CM (HCM) nickel titanium instruments with different tip diameters in curved root canal models, and to provide reference for the targeted selection of suitable nickel titanium instruments in clinical preparation of curved root canals.

Analysis of 50 cases of bloodstream infection with Listeria monocytogenes / 中国热带医学

@#Abstract: Objective　To analyze the characteristics of bloodstream infection of Listeria monocytogenes and provide basis for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Methods　We retrospectively analyzed the cases of Listeria monomyrhosi bloodstream infection in Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) from April 2012 to April 2022. The age, sex, onset time, underlying disease, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the patients were analyzed, as well as the changes of white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, lymphocytes, and C-reactive protein (CRP) before and after anti-infection treatment. Results　Fifty cases of Listeria monocytogenes bloodstream infection confirmed by blood culture were involved. The age of patients ranged from 0 to 82 (43.7±20.0) years old, among whom 20.0% were over 60 years old. The onset time of patients was the highest in spring (44.0%), followed by winter (24.0%), and relatively fewer in summer and autumn (14.0%-18.0%). The median diagnosis time was 3 days (1-60 days). After the etiological diagnosis, 45 patients (90.0%) had underlying diseases or pregnancy status, and 45 patients were adjusted to the target antibacterial treatment mainly with carbapenems (48.9%) and penicillins (44.4%). The level of WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, and CRP after treatment were significantly lower than those pre-treatments (P<0.05). Among all patients, 36 cases (72.0%) were treated according to the Antimicrobial Treatment Guidelines for Fever Sanford, of which 26 cases (72.2%) were discharged from the hospital, two cases died, one case was transferred to other hospitals, and 7 cases had a poor prognosis. Conclusions　Autoimmune diseases, tumor diseases, pregnant patients are susceptible to Listeria monocytogenes infection. Penicillins are the first choice for effective empiric therapy. For the patients allergic to penicillins, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole or meropenem could be used.

Bioinformatics analysis of sterol O⁃acyltransferase 1 gene related to hepatocellular carcinoma / 中国生物制品学杂志

@#Abstract：Objective To predict the structure and function of sterol O⁃acyltransferase 1（SOAT1）related to hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC）by using bioinformatics tools，in order to understand its mechanism as the marker and therapeutic target of S⁃Ⅲ subtype. Methods The structure，function and protein interaction of SOAT1 were predicted and analyzed by using databases or softwares such as NCBI，STRING，Protscale，SignalP，TMHMM，PSORT，SOPMA，SWISS ⁃ MODEL， NetNGlyc，NetOGlyc，Netphos and ProtParam. Results The protein encoded by SOAT1 was a hydrophobic protein with good stability，which was a nonclassical pathway protein with 8 transmembrane regions，mainly distributed among the cell membrane. SOAT1 was expressed in many tissues，while most of them in the adrenal gland，which showed multiple phosphorylation sites and was mainly involved in the synthesis and catabolism of cholesterol. Conclusion Bioinformatics analysis of structure and function of SOAT1 showed that SOAT1 lipid synthesis and catabolism pathways played an important role，and lipid expression was closely related to the development of cancer，indicating that the treatment of HCC may be achieved by regulating the expression of SOAT1 gene.

Comparative efficacy & safety of buparlisib plus fulvestrant, fulvestrant plus dalpiciclib, and ribociclib plus letrozole for postmenopausal, hormone receptor-positive, and HER2-negative breast cancer

Abstract Objectives: This study aimed to compare progression-free survival, overall survival, clinical benefits, and adverse effects in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer who received buparlisib plus fulvestrant against those of women who received dalpiciclib plus fulvestrant, considering ribociclib plus letrozole treatment as the reference standard. Methods: Women received buparlisib plus fulvestrant (BF cohort, n = 108), dalpiciclib plus fulvestrant (DF cohort, n = 132), or ribociclib plus letrozole (RL cohort, n = 150) until unacceptable toxicity was observed. Results: A total of 117 (89 %), 80 (74 %), and 84 (56 %) women in the BF, DF, and RL cohorts, respectively, had clinical benefits. After treatment, the clinical benefits for women and after 42 months of follow-up progression-free survival and overall survival were higher in the DF cohort than in the BF and RL cohorts (p < 0.05 for all). Neutropenia, vomiting, constipation, nausea, diarrhea, and anorexia were reported higher in women of the DF and BF cohorts than in women of the RL cohort. Leukopenia and increased levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were reported to be higher in women in the RL cohort than in women in the DF and BF cohorts. Depression, anxiety, and increased levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were reported to be higher in women in the BF cohort than in women in the DF and RL cohorts. Conclusions: Dalpiciclib plus fulvestrant is effective and comparatively safe in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancers. Dalpiciclib, buparlisib, fulvestrant, and ribociclib cause neutropenia, severe depression, adverse gastroenterological effects, and adverse hepatological effects, respectively.

A nonlocal spectral similarity-induced material decomposition method for noise reduction of dual-energy CT images / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To propose a nonlocal spectral similarity-induced material decomposition network (NSSD-Net) to reduce the correlation noise in the low-dose spectral CT decomposed images.@*METHODS@#We first built a model-driven iterative decomposition model for dual-energy CT, optimized the objective function solving process using the iterative shrinking threshold algorithm (ISTA), and cast the ISTA decomposition model into the deep learning network. We then developed a novel cost function based on the nonlocal spectral similarity to constrain the training process. To validate the decomposition performance, we established a material decomposition dataset by real patient dual-energy CT data. The NSSD-Net was compared with two traditional model-driven material decomposition methods, one data-based material decomposition method and one data-model coupling-driven material decomposition supervised learning method.@*RESULTS@#The quantitative results showed that compared with the two traditional methods, the NSSD-Net method obtained the highest PNSR values (31.383 and 31.444) and SSIM values (0.970 and 0.963) and the lowest RMSE values (2.901 and 1.633). Compared with the datamodel coupling-driven supervised decomposition method, the NSSD-Net method obtained the highest SSIM values on water and bone decomposed results. The results of subjective image quality assessment by clinical experts showed that the NSSD-Net achieved the highest image quality assessment scores on water and bone basis material (8.625 and 8.250), showing significant differences from the other 4 decomposition methods (P < 0.001).@*CONCLUSION@#The proposed method can achieve high-precision material decomposition and avoid training data quality issues and model unexplainable issues.

Performance of low-dose CT image reconstruction for detecting intracerebral hemorrhage: selection of dose, algorithms and their combinations / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the performance of different low-dose CT image reconstruction algorithms for detecting intracerebral hemorrhage.@*METHODS@#Low-dose CT imaging simulation was performed on CT images of intracerebral hemorrhage at 30%, 25% and 20% of normal dose level (defined as 100% dose). Seven algorithms were tested to reconstruct low-dose CT images for noise suppression, including filtered back projection algorithm (FBP), penalized weighted least squares-total variation (PWLS-TV), non-local mean filter (NLM), block matching 3D (BM3D), residual encoding-decoding convolutional neural network (REDCNN), the FBP convolutional neural network (FBPConvNet) and image restoration iterative residual convolutional network (IRLNet). A deep learning-based model (CNN-LSTM) was used to detect intracerebral hemorrhage on normal dose CT images and low-dose CT images reconstructed using the 7 algorithms. The performance of different reconstruction algorithms for detecting intracerebral hemorrhage was evaluated by comparing the results between normal dose CT images and low-dose CT images.@*RESULTS@#At different dose levels, the low-dose CT images reconstructed by FBP had accuracies of detecting intracerebral hemorrhage of 82.21%, 74.61% and 65.55% at 30%, 25% and 20% dose levels, respectively. At the same dose level (30% dose), the images reconstructed by FBP, PWLS-TV, NLM, BM3D, REDCNN, FBPConvNet and IRLNet algorithms had accuracies for detecting intracerebral hemorrhage of 82.21%, 86.80%, 89.37%, 81.43%, 90.05%, 90.72% and 93.51%, respectively. The images reconstructed by IRLNet at 30%, 25% and 20% dose levels had accuracies for detecting intracerebral hemorrhage of 93.51%, 93.51% and 93.06%, respectively.@*CONCLUSION@#The performance of reconstructed low-dose CT images for detecting intracerebral hemorrhage is significantly affected by both dose and reconstruction algorithms. In clinical practice, choosing appropriate dose level and reconstruction algorithm can greatly reduce the radiation dose and ensure the detection performance of CT imaging for intracerebral hemorrhage.

Low-dose helical CT projection data restoration using noise estimation / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To build a helical CT projection data restoration model at random low-dose levels.@*METHODS@#We used a noise estimation module to achieve noise estimation and obtained a low-dose projection noise variance map, which was used to guide projection data recovery by the projection data restoration module. A filtering back-projection algorithm (FBP) was finally used to reconstruct the images. The 3D wavelet group residual dense network (3DWGRDN) was adopted to build the network architecture of the noise estimation and projection data restoration module using asymmetric loss and total variational regularization. For validation of the model, 1/10 and 1/15 of normal dose helical CT images were restored using the proposed model and 3 other restoration models (IRLNet, REDCNN and MWResNet), and the results were visually and quantitatively compared.@*RESULTS@#Quantitative comparisons of the restored images showed that the proposed helical CT projection data restoration model increased the structural similarity index by 5.79% to 17.46% compared with the other restoration algorithms (P < 0.05). The image quality scores of the proposed method rated by clinical radiologists ranged from 7.19% to 17.38%, significantly higher than the other restoration algorithms (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The proposed method can effectively suppress noises and reduce artifacts in the projection data at different low-dose levels while preserving the integrity of the edges and fine details of the reconstructed CT images.

An adaptive CT metal artifact reduction algorithm that combines projection interpolation and physical correction / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To propose an adaptive weighted CT metal artifact reduce algorithm that combines projection interpolation and physical correction.@*METHODS@#A normalized metal projection interpolation algorithm was used to obtain the initial corrected projection data. A metal physical correction model was then introduced to obtain the physically corrected projection data. To verify the effectiveness of the method, we conducted experiments using simulation data and clinical data. For the simulation data, the quantitative indicators PSNR and SSIM were used for evaluation, while for the clinical data, the resultant images were evaluated by imaging experts to compare the artifact-reducing performance of different methods.@*RESULTS@#For the simulation data, the proposed method improved the PSNR value by at least 0.2 dB and resulted in the highest SSIM value among the methods for comparison. The experiment with the clinical data showed that the imaging experts gave the highest scores of 3.616±0.338 (in a 5-point scale) to the images processed using the proposed method, which had significant better artifact-reducing performance than the other methods (P < 0.001).@*CONCLUSION@#The metal artifact reduction algorithm proposed herein can effectively reduce metal artifacts while preserving the tissue structure information and reducing the generation of new artifacts.

Excavating and Analyzing Law of Syndrome and Treatment Based on TCM Master's Qi and Blood Treatment / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveBased on the medical cases of Qi and blood co-treatment of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） masters， to discover the syndrome and treatment rules and medication experience of Qi and blood co-treatment through data mining. MethodFrom December 1999 to November 2020， the Qi and blood treatment cases of TCM masters were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）. Frequency statistics， association rules， cluster analysis and other methods were used for data mining. ResultThe analysis of 591 medical cases of 57 national medical master found that blood stasis， Qi deficiency， Qi stagnation， blood deficiency and phlegm were the most common syndromes. The tongue was reddish， pale or dark， the moss was white or thin， and the pulse was thin， stringy， heavy and slippery. In the treatment of Qi and blood， the disease in the early stage is mostly in Qi and blood itself. At this time， the emphasis should be on regulating Qi and blood， or tonic or attack or both. At the same time， attention should be paid to invigorating the spleen， soothing the liver and tonifying the kidney. Core drugs include Danggui Buxuetang， Buyang Huanwutang， Huangqi Guizhi Wuwutang， Taohong Siwutang， Si Junzitang， Linggui Zhugantang， Xiaoyaosan， Danggui Shaoyaosan and other chemical cut. ConclusionWhen treating Qi and blood together， Chinese medical masters attach great importance to the relationship between Qi and blood and the development stage of diseases， and emphasize the precision and dynamic differentiation of treatment. Their theories and experience of diagnosis and treatment are worthy of clinical application and promotion.

Relationship between self-harm with depression and anxiety in college students / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To examine the status of self-harm, depression and anxiety and to analyze the relation of self-harm with depression and anxiety in college students.@*Methods@#Totally 9 638 college students were randomly selected from five universities in Anhui province using stratified cluster sampling and were surveyed with basic demographic characteristics, Depression Self Rating Scale (SDS), Self-evaluation of Anxiety Scale (SAS) and self-harm behavior questionnaire.@*Results@#The detection rate of self-harm among college students was 22.94%(2 211), boys (24.51%) were higher than girls(21.72%), the difference was statistically significant(χ2=10.46, P<0.05). The detection rate of depression was 28.57%(2 754). The detection rate of anxiety was 11.11%(1 071). The detection rate of self-harm in the depression group was 33.48%, which was significantly higher than those without depression group(18.72%)(χ2=242.22, P<0.01). The similar results were found in the anxiety analysis, students with anxiety showed higher detection rate in self-harm (48.74%) than those without anxiety (19.72%)(χ2=453.66, P<0.01). Both depression and anxiety were positively associated with self-harm behaviors(r=0.24, 0.27, P<0.01). Multivariate Logistic regression model found that after covariates controlled, depression(OR=1.48) and anxiety (OR=2.84) were positively associated with self-harm of college students(P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#Self-harm, depression and anxiety among college students in Anhui Province are at a high level, and a positive correlation between self-harm behaviors and depression and anxiety is observed. Attention should be paid to the mental health education of college students.

Sleep quality and influencing factors of college students returning to school during COVID-19 epidemic / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the sleep quality and influencing factors of the first batch of college students returning to school during COVID-19 epidemic, so as to provide scientific basis for taking corresponding measures.@*Methods@#An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among the first batch of college students returning from a certain university by cluster sampling, which included general demographic characteristics, Trait Coping Style Questionnaire (TCSQ) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI).@*Results@#The detection rate of sleep disorders was 19.33%(522/2 701). The mother s education level was high school or technical secondary school or below(OR=2.24, 95%CI=1.47-3.41), never eat breakfast(OR=3.25, 95%CI=1.86-5.68), families were damaged during the outbreak (OR=1.48, 95%CI=1.17-1.87) and negative coping (OR=1.15, 95%CI=1.12-1.17) were risk factors for sleep disorders(P<0.05). Compared to having a very poor relationship with parents, the relationship between parents was average(OR=0.23, 95%CI=0.06-0.89), better(OR=0.23, 95%CI=0.06-0.87), very good (OR=0.19, 95%CI=0.05-0.74) were protective factors for sleep disorders(P<0.05). Exercise once or twice a week during the epidemic(OR=0.76, 95%CI=0.58-1.00), positive coping (OR=0.93, 95%CI=0.91-0.96) were protective factors for sleep disorders(P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#In this COVID-19 epidemic, the sleep quality of returning college students was affected to different extent, and the relationship between parents, sports, mother s education, breakfast habits, and family damage during the COVID-19 were factors affecting their sleep quality. Targeted psychological intervention measures should be given to returning college students in the early stage.

Regulatory T Cells: A New Target of Chinese Medicine in Treatment of Atherosclerosis / 中国结合医学杂志

Inflammation and immune disorders are integral to the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis (AS). With the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in immune regulation attracting attention, it has been widely accepted that Treg decrease and dysfunction are involved in AS pathogenesis. Chinese medicine (CM) has the advantages of being dual-directional, multi-targeted, and having minimal side effects in immune regulation. The anti-atherosclerosis effects of CM via Treg modulation have been revealed in clinical and animal studies. Therefore, this article reviews existing research on Tregs, the relationship between Tregs and AS, and the progress of CM for treating and prevention of atherosclerotic cardio-cerebrovascular diseases by regulating Tregs. Although the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated, CM treatment targeting Treg cells might provide a promising and novel future approach for prevention and treatment of AS.

Association of homocysteine with ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with autoimmune diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis (AS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Current findings regarding plasma/serum homocysteine (HCY) levels in AS patients are inconsistent. This study aims to systematically evaluate the association between circulating HCY levels and AS. Methods: Online electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, ScienceDirect, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang data) were used to retrieve all relevant articles published up to May 7, 2020. The pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using the random-effect model, Stata16 software. Results: Nine articles containing 778 AS patients and 522 controls were included in this meta-analysis. No significant differences in HCY levels were found between AS and control groups (pooled SMD = 0.46, 95% CI = − 0.30 to 1.23, P = 0.23). However, subgroup analysis suggested that HCY levels were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the AS group treated with methotrexate (MTX) compared with the control group. In contrast, HCY levels were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in the AS group receiving anti-TNF-α treatment compared with the control group. No significant differences were detected between HCY levels and disease activity scores (Bath AS disease activity index, BASDAI), and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotype. Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicates that HCY levels are similar between AS and controls, and do not correlate with disease activity. However, different medical treatments cause fluctuations of circulating HCY levels in AS patients. Further and larger-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings. Trial registration: This study was registered at international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO), registration number: CRD42020184426.(AU)

Safety assessment of multiple repeated percutaneous punctures for the collection of cerebrospinal fluid in rats

The objective of this study was to examine the safety of multiple repeated percutaneous punctures of cisterna magna for collecting cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and preliminarily determine the optimal time interval and volume at each collection. Sixty Wistar rats were randomly assigned to six groups: 10 d-0 μL, 10 d-100 μL (100 μL CSF collected at an interval of 10 days), 10 d-150 μL, 15 d-0 μL, 15 d-100 μL, and 15 d-150 μL. CSF was collected by percutaneous puncture of the cisterna magna at four time-points. Simultaneously, locomotor activity, cisterna magna pressure, and acetylcholine levels in the CSF were monitored. Compared with the 10 d-0 μL group, the escape latency by Morris water maze was significantly prolonged in the 10 d-100 μL and 10 d-150 μL groups (P<0.05). Compared with the 15 d-0 μL group, the indices of 15 d-100 μL and 15 d-150 μL groups had no significant differences. When compared with that at the first training, the exception of the 10 d-150 μL and 15 d-150 μL groups, significant differences in escape latency were found at the 6th attempt (P<0.05). Compared with baseline readings for each group, the cisterna magna pressure in the 10 d-150 μL group began to decrease significantly from the third measurement (P<0.05). The optimal time interval during four CSF collections (100 μL per collection) via cisterna magna percutaneous puncture was determined to be 15 days. The procedure did not significantly affect learning processes, performance, or other related indices.

An integrated strategy toward comprehensive characterization and quantification of multiple components from herbal medicine: An application study in Gelsemium elegans / 中草药·英文版

Objective: To develop a powerful integrated strategy based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) systems for the comprehensive characterization and quantification of multiple components of herbal medicines. Methods: Firstly, different mobile phase additives, analysis time, and MS acquisition modes were orthogonally tested with liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF/MS) in order to detect as many components of Gelsemium elegans as possible with high peak intensity. Secondly, several data mining strategies, including database searching, diagnostic ion filtering and neutral loss filtering, were utilized to perform chemical profiling. Subsequently, this study focused on the quantification and validation of the performance of a liquid chromatography-triple mass spectrometry (LC-QqQ/MS) assay based on derivative multiple reaction monitoring (DeMRM). Results: A total of 147 components from G. elegans were characterized, among them 116 nontarget components were reported for the first time. A sensitive and reproducible LC-QqQ/MS method was successfully developed and validated for the simultaneous relative quantification of 41 components of G. elegans. This LC-QqQ/MS method was then applied to compare the contents of components in the roots, stems and leaves. Conclusion: The present integrated strategy would significantly contribute to chemical studies on herbal medicine, and its utility could be extended to other research fields, such as metabolomics, quality control, and pharmacokinetics.

Relationship of IL-37 in the serum and peritoneal fluid to TNF-α and IFN-γ in endometriosis patients / 解放军医学杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) to interleukin-37 (IL-37) in the serum and peritoneal fluid, and investigate the pathogenesis of IL-37 in endometriosis (EMT) patients. Methods Thirty-six EMT patients, admitted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from Jul, 2018 to Jan. 2019, and confirmed by laparoscopic operation and pathology, were selected as the EMT group, of which 13 cases were in stage I and II, and 23 cases in stage III and IV. The other 28 women with simple ovarian cyst, teratoma or hysteromyoma were selected as the control group. ELISA was performed to detect the levels of IL-37, TNF-α and IFN-γ in serum and abdominal fluid of the two groups. And then the levels of IL-37, TNF-α and IFN-γ were compared between the two groups and their relationship was analyzed. Results The serum levels of IL-37 and TNF-α were significantly higher in EMT group than those in control group [(101.78±31.58) pg/ml vs. (63.50±14.48) pg/ml and (30.68±16.22) pg/ml vs. (18.09±1.27) pg/ml, respectively]. The levels of IL-37 and TNF-α in peritoneal fluid were significantly higher in EMT group than those in control group [(133.94±47.07) pg/ml vs. (68.43±12.60) pg/ml and (24.23±6.12) pg/ml vs. (16.63±3.13) pg/ml, respectively]. The levels of IFN-γ in serum and peritoneal fluid were significantly lower in EMT group than that in control group [(18.81±3.20) pg/ml vs. (20.52±1.38) pg/ml and (15.93±2.58) pg/ml vs. (20.32±7.03) pg/ml, respectively]. The differences were statistically significant (P0.05). Conclusion The levels of IL-37 in serum and peritoneal fluid are increased significantly in EMT patients, implying that IL-37 may play a certain role in occurrence and progression of EMT by promoting secretion of TNF-α and inhibiting secretion of IFN-γ.

A systematic analysis of the correlation between periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis / 口腔疾病防治

@#The local inflammatory response of the periodontium is a possible mechanism for systemic inflammation and the spread of infection. Both rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease are chronic inflammatory diseases. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, and periodontitis has an infectious etiology with a complex inflammatory response; their clinical features involve the destruction of connective tissue and bone tissue. Genetic factors control the host response to the two diseases; host susceptibility and behavioral risk factors such as smoking play an important role in the development of periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis. In this paper, certain aspects of their correlation, including their characteristics in epidemiology, bacterial infection, and inflammatory cytokines and genes, are reviewed.

A Retrospective Study of Culture-confirmed Mycobacterial Infection among Hospitalized HIV-infected Patients in Beijing, China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

A retrospective analysis was performed in two major HIV/AIDS referral hospitals in Beijing to evaluate the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections in HIV-infected patients. A total of 627 patients' data were reviewed, and 102 (16.3%) patients were diagnosed with culture-confirmed mycobacterial infection, including 84 with MTB, 16 with NTM, and 2 with both MTB and NTM. The most frequent clinical complication by mycobacterial infection was pulmonary infection (48/102, 47.1%). The overall rates of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) were 11.9% and 3.4%, respectively. This study underlines the urgent need to intensify screening for mycobacteria coinfection with HIV and to prevent the spread of drug-resistant TB among HIV-infected patients.

Clinical Observation of Scalp Acupuncture Combined with Electroacupuncture for Treatment of Aphasia After Ischemic Stroke / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of scalp acupuncture combined with electroacupuncture in the treatment of aphasia after ischemic stroke. Methods Totally 90 patients with aphasia after ischemic stroke were randomly divided into the control group and the treatment group, with 45 cases in each group. The control group received Schuell language training, 30 min each time, while the treatment group received scalp acupuncture plus electroacupuncture (Yifeng, Baihui, Houxi and Tongli), 20 min each time. The treatment for both group was 5 times a week and lasted for 16 weeks. The clinical efficacy was evaluated by aphasia degree, Chinese functional communication profile (CFCP) score and Western aphasia battery (WAB). Results There was statistical significance between the treatment group and the control group in the level of aphasia degree (P＜0.05). Compared with before treatment, the total scores of CFCP and WAB in both groups increased, with statistical significance (P＜0.05). The total scores of CFCP and WAB in treatment group were higher than control group, with statistical significance (P＜0.05). The total effective rate of the therapeutic effect was 91.11% (41/45) in the treatment group and 75.56% (34/45) in the control group, with statistical significance (P＜0.05). Conclusion Scalp acupuncture combined with electroacupuncture can obviously improve the language understanding and expression ability and language communication ability of aphasic patients after ischemic stroke.

Sevoflurane pretreatment inhibits the myocardial apoptosis caused by hypoxia reoxygenation through AMPK pathway: An experimental study

Objective To study whether sevoflurane pretreatment inhibits the myocardial apoptosis caused by hypoxia reoxygenation through AMPK pathway. Methods H9c2 myocardial cell lines were cultured and divided into control group (C group), hypoxia reoxygenation group (H/R group), sevoflurane pretreatment + hypoxia reoxygenation group (SP group) and sevoflurane combined with Compound C pretreatment + hypoxia reoxygenation group (ComC group), and the cell proliferation activity and apoptosis rate, myocardial enzyme levels in culture medium as well as the expression of apoptosis genes and p-AMPK in cells were determined. Results p-AMPK expression in cells of H/R group was significantly lower than that of C group, SP group was significantly higher than that of H/R group; cell proliferation activity value and Bcl-2 expression in cells of H/R group were significantly lower than those of C group, SP group were significantly higher than those of H/R group, ComC group were significantly lower than those of SP group; apoptosis rate, LDH, CK and AST levels as well as the Bax and Caspase-3 expression in cells of H/R group were significantly higher than those of C group, SP group were significantly lower than those of H/R group, ComC group were significantly higher than those of SP group. Conclusions Sevoflurane pretreatment can activate AMPK signaling pathway to inhibit the myocardial apoptosis caused by hypoxia reoxygenation.