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BACKGROUND:Thromboelastography plays an important role in identifying the hypercoagulable state of blood and thrombosis in humans.Recent studies have shown a correlation between an increase in mean platelet volume and thrombosis.We can therefore ask whether the combined diagnosis of thromboelastography and mean platelet volume is a more accurate predictor of thrombosis. OBJECTIVE:To predict the status of blood and the occurrence of thrombosis after total knee arthroplasty by means of mean platelet volume combined with thromboelastography. METHODS:One hundred and twenty patients who underwent unilateral total knee arthroplasty between May 2015 and March 2022 were collected.Patients were divided into 60 patients in the thrombosis group and 60 patients in the control group based on ultrasound findings on postoperative day 7.Whole blood cell and thromboelastography were performed 1 day before,1 and 7 days after surgery,respectively.Multifactorial analysis was used to investigate independent predictors of thrombosis after total knee arthroplasty.The receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve were measured in the subjects. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Mean platelet volume correlated most strongly with maximum amplitude,followed by coagulation angle.Mean platelet volume and coagulation angle on postoperative day 1 were independent predictors of thrombosis.Mean platelet volume tended to rise and then fall in patients with thrombosis.The best critical value for mean platelet volume to predict thrombosis was 10.73 fL.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of subjects was 0.665(95%CI:0.568-0.762,P<0.05];whereas the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for subjects using mean platelet volume combined with coagulation angle was 0.815(95%CI:0.750-0.879,P<0.05).In addition,the maximum amplitude,coagulation angle,coagulation index and mean platelet volume were significantly higher in the thrombosis group than in the control group postoperatively(P<0.05).The results suggest that the mean platelet volume can reflect the hypercoagulable state of blood after surgery,and the combination of mean platelet volume and coagulation angle on day 1 after total knee arthroplasty can improve the prediction of thrombosis.
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BACKGROUND:Previous studies on the effects of valgus and varus angles of tibial component on short-term postoperative outcomes after mobile bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty have been reported in and outside China.However,there are few reports on the effect of the valgus and varus angles of tibial component on short-term postoperative outcomes after fixed bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of valgus and varus angles of tibial component on short-term clinical outcomes in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis undergoing fixed bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. METHODS:120 patients(122 knees)who underwent fixed bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty for medial knee osteoarthritis in Department of Orthopedic Surgery,Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from August 2020 to January 2023 were selected as the study subjects.Two physicians measured the varus angle of femoral prosthesis,valgus and varus angles of tibial prosthesis,flexion and extension angles of femoral prosthesis,and posterior inclination angle of tibial prosthesis after unicompartmental knee arthroplasty based on postoperative X-ray.After excluding the influence of the other three angles,the measurement results of the tibial component varus angle were divided into three groups:<-2°,-2° to 2°,>2°,which were denoted as groups 1,2,and 3,respectively.The range of knee motion,the hospital for special surgery knee score,the American knee society score,and forgotten joint score were recorded and compared before and after the operation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 120 patients(122 knees)were enrolled in this study.They were divided into three groups according to the size of the valgus and varus angles of the tibial prosthesis after operation:37 patients in the first group,60 patients in the second group,and 23 patients in the third group.There was no significant difference between the three groups in terms of baseline information such as age,gender,and side of surgery(P>0.05).(2)Patients were followed up for 3-30 months after arthroplasty.(3)The hospital for special surgery knee score of the second group was higher than that of the first group(P=0.015)and the third group(P=0.012).The American knee society score of the second group was significantly higher than that of the first group(P=0.014)and the third group(P<0.001).The forgotten joint score of the second group was higher than that of the first group(P=0.033)and the third group(P=0.016).(4)After fixed bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty,when the valgus angle of tibial prosthesis was-2° to 2°,which can achieve better short-term clinical results,the degree of prosthesis self-realization is higher.
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Objective To introduce a partially nested design based on the characteristics of TCM in treating the same disease with different treatments and syndrome differentiation and treatment.Methods Partially nested design was used for standardized treatment of complex interventions.The TCM group was divided into multiple subsets according to"syndrome type-treatment method-prescription"(with nested structure),while the control group was treated with standardized Western medicine(without nested structure);taking a case study of"different treatments for the same disease"data for ulcerative colitis,this design type was applied and analyzed using a multi-level model.Results The partially nested design was consistent with the feature of TCM of"different treatments for the same disease"and met the methodological requirements for evidence-based evaluation.Multilevel models allowed analyses with this type of data.Conclusion The use of partially nested design enables the evaluation of the comprehensive effectiveness of"different treatments for the same disease",which can provide a methodological reference for the assessment of clinical effectiveness of TCM.
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Objective:To evaluate whether additional radical surgery is necessary following non-curative endoscopic resection of early colorectal cancer.Method:Clinicopathological data in 104 patients following non-curative endoscopic resection of early colorectal coucer at the Department of General Surgery, Peking University First Hospital between Jan 2011 and Dec 2021.Results:Lymph node metastasis and/or residual cancer was found in 23 patients (22%), including 12 cases of lymph node metastasis, 7 cases of residual cancer and 4 patients with both residual cancer and lymph node metastasis. Univariate analysis indicated that vascular infiltration, positive vertical margin, and female gender were risk factors for lymph node metastasis. Risk factors for residual cancer were tumors ≥2 cm in size, negative lift sign, infiltration depth of ≥1 000 μm, and positive horizontal and vertical margins. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that vascular invasion, positive vertical margins, and being female were independent risk factors for lymph node metastasis, while positive vertical margins was independent risk factor for residual cancer. Salvage surgery lasted for a median of 184 (156-233) minutes, with an estimated blood loss of 50 (20-100) ml and an average postoperative hospital stay of 9 (8-11) days. Seven cases of Clavein-Dindo Ⅱ or higher complications were observed, including pulmonary embolism in 1 case , anastomotic leakage in one, lymphatic fistula in one, bowel obstruction in 2 cases and urinary tract infection in 2 cases.Conclusion:Salvage surgery is mandatory for early endoscopic non-curative resection of colorectal cancer.
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Objectives:To explore the relationship between insomnia symptoms and neuroticism in patients with COVID-19,and to explore the role of anxiety and psychological capital in the relationship.Methods:Totally 687 patients with COVID-19 were recruited from Shanghai Fangcang Hospital.The Athens Insomnia Scale(AIS),Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Scale for Chinese Neuroticism Subscale(EPQ-RSC-N),Self-Rat-ing Anxiety Scale(SAS)and Psychological Capital Questionnaire(PCQ)were used to measure insomnia symp-toms,neuroticism personality trait,anxiety symptoms and psychological capital levels.The deviation-corrected per-centile Bootstrap method was used to test the mediating effect,and the PROCESS program was used to test the moderated effect.Results:The detection rate of insomnia symptoms was 49.93％.The AIS scores were lower in male patients than in female patients(P＜0.01).The SAS scores partly mediated the relationship between neuroti-cism scores and AIS scores,with an effect size of 0.03,accounting for 18.29％of the total effect.With the im-provement of PCQ scores,the predictive effect of SAS scores on AIS scores gradually decreased(β=-0.01,t=-4.41,P＜0.001).Conclusions:Anxiety symptoms in patients with COVID-19 play a partial mediating role in the positive relationship between insomnia symptoms and neuroticism.The psychological capital moderates the relation-ship between insomnia and anxiety symptoms.
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@#This study focused on various databases and literatures related to drug metabolism, collated and analyzed the information related to bacterial and human drug metabolic enzymes, and compared the similarities and differences between the information included in the database of bacterial and human drug metabolic enzymes. Results found more bacterial drug metabolic enzymes than human drug metabolic enzymes (9 703 vs 964), but much less than the total number of bacterial enzymes in BRENDA database (9 703 vs 20 835 235), indicating that the influence of bacteria on drug metabolism could have been greatly underestimated, and that further systematic research is needed.We summarized the progress and shortcomings of the current research on the influence of intestinal flora on drug metabolism, and proposed a research idea, that is, to predict through artificial intelligence whether intestinal bacterial proteins have the ability to metabolize drugs, to verify their biological functions by in vitro/in vivo experiments and gene editing, and to establish a database of drug metabolic enzymes from intestinal bacteria with complete annotation functions, in an attempt to provide a solid theoretical basis for further exploration of the effects of intestinal flora on drug metabolism.
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Incarvillea younghusbandii Sprague is a traditional tonic herb. The roots are used as herbal medicine for nourishing and strengthening, as well as treating postpartum milk deficiency and weakness. In this study, the chloroplast genome of I. younghusbandii was sequenced and assembled by the high-throughput sequencing technology. The sequence characteristics, sequence repeats, codon usage bias, phylogenetic relationships and estimated divergence time of I. younghusbandii were analyzed. The 159 323 bp sequence contained a large single copy (80 197 bp), a small single copy (9 030 bp) and two inverted repeat sequences (35 048 bp). It contained 120 genes, including 77 protein coding genes, 8 ribosomal RNA genes and 35 transfer RNA genes. AAA was the most frequent codon in the chloroplast coding sequence of I. younghusbandii. A total of 42 simple sequence repeats were identified in the chloroplast genome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed I. younghusbandii was mostly like its taxonomically close relative Incarvillea compacta. The divergence between I. younghusbandii and I. compacta was dated to 4.66 million years ago. This study was significant for the scientific conservation and development of resources related to I. compacta. It also provides a basic genetic resource for the subsequent species identification of the genus Incarvillea, and the population genetic diversity study of Bignoniaceae.
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Phylogeny , Molecular Sequence Annotation , Genome, Chloroplast , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Whole Genome SequencingABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the clinical features and genetic features of combined oxidative phosphorylation deficiency 32 (COXPD32) caused by MRPS34 gene variation. Methods: The clinical data and genetic test of a child with COXPD32 hospitalized in the Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, Capital Institute of Pediatrics in March 2021 were extracted and analyzed. A literature search was implemented using Wanfang, China biology medicine disc, China national knowledge infrastructure, ClinVar, human gene mutation database (HGMD) and Pubmed databases with the key words "MRPS34" "MRPS34 gene" and "combined oxidative phosphorylation deficiency 32" (up to February 2023). Clinical and genetic features of COXPD32 were summarized. Results: A boy aged 1 year and 9 months was admitted due to developmental delay. He showed mental and motor retardation, and was below the 3rd percentile for height, weight, and head circumference of children of the same age and gender. He had poor eye contact, esotropia, flat nasal bridge, limbs hypotonia, holding instability and tremors. In addition, Grade Ⅲ/6 systolic murmur were heard at left sternal border. Arterial blood gases suggested that severe metabolic acidosis with lactic acidosis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple symmetrical abnormal signals in the bilateral thalamus, midbrain, pons and medulla oblongata. Echocardiography showed atrial septal defect. Genetic testing identified the patient as a compound heterozygous variation of MRPS34 gene, c.580C>T (p.Gln194Ter) and c.94C>T (p.Gln32Ter), with c.580C>T being the first report and a diagnosis of COXPD32. His parents carried a heterozygous variant, respectively. The child improved after treatment with energy support, acidosis correction, and "cocktail" therapy (vitaminB1, vitaminB2, vitaminB6, vitaminC and coenzyme Q10). A total of 8 cases with COXPD32 were collected through 2 English literature reviews and this study. Among the 8 patients, 7 cases had onset during infancy and 1 was unknown, all had developmental delay or regression, 7 cases had feeding difficulty or dysphagia, followed by dystonia, lactic acidosis, ocular symptoms, microcephaly, constipation and dysmorphic facies(mild coarsening of facial features, small forehead, anterior hairline extending onto forehead,high and narrow palate, thick gums, short columella, and synophrys), 2 cases died of respiratory and circulatory failure, and 6 were still alive at the time of reporting, with an age range of 2 to 34 years. Blood and (or) cerebrospinal fluid lactate were elevated in all 8 patients. MRI in 7 cases manifested symmetrical abnormal signals in the brainstem, thalamus, and (or) basal ganglia. Urine organic acid test were all normal but 1 patient had alanine elevation. Five patients underwent respiratory chain enzyme activity testing, and all had varying degrees of enzyme activity reduction. Six variants were identified, 6 patients were homozygous variants, with c.322-10G>A was present in 4 patients from 2 families and 2 compound heterozygous variants. Conclusions: The clinical phenotype of COXPD32 is highly heterogenous and the severity of the disease varies from development delay, feeding difficulty, dystonia, high lactic acid, ocular symptoms and reduced mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme activity in mild cases, which may survive into adulthood, to rapid death due to respiratory and circulatory failure in severe cases. COXPD32 needs to be considered in cases of unexplained acidosis, hyperlactatemia, feeding difficulties, development delay or regression, ocular symptoms, respiratory and circulatory failure, and symmetrical abnormal signals in the brainstem, thalamus, and (or) basal ganglia, and genetic testing can clarify the diagnosis.
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Humans , Male , Infant , Acidosis, Lactic , Brain , Brain Stem , Dystonia , Dystonic Disorders , Mitochondrial DiseasesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES@#To study the clinical features of children with febrile seizures after Omicron variant infection.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of children with febrile seizures after Omicron variant infection who were admitted to the Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, from December 1 to 31, 2022 (during the epidemic of Omicron variant; Omicron group), and the children with febrile seizures (without Omicron variant infection) who were admitted from December 1 to 31, in 2021 were included as the non-Omicron group. Clinical features were compared between the two groups.@*RESULTS@#There were 381 children in the Omicron group (250 boys and 131 girls), with a mean age of (3.2±2.4) years. There were 112 children in the non-Omicron group (72 boys and 40 girls), with a mean age of (3.5±1.8) years. The number of children in the Omicron group was 3.4 times that in the non-Omicron group. The proportion of children in two age groups, aged 1 to <2 years and 6-10.83 years, in the Omicron group was higher than that in the non-Omicron group, while the proportion of children in two age groups, aged 4 to <5 years and 5 to <6 years, was lower in the Omicron group than that in the non-Omicron group (P<0.05).The Omicron group had a significantly higher proportion of children with cluster seizures and status convulsion than the non-Omicron group (P<0.05). Among the children with recurrence of febrile seizures, the proportion of children aged 6-10.83 years in the Omicron group was higher than that in the non-Omicron group, while the proportion of children aged 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years in the Omicron group was lower than that in the non-Omicron group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Children with febrile seizures after Omicron variant infection tend to have a wider age range, with an increase in the proportion of children with cluster seizures and status convulsion during the course of fever.
Subject(s)
Male , Female , Humans , Child , Infant , Child, Preschool , Seizures, Febrile/etiology , Retrospective Studies , Seizures , Fever , Epidemics , Epilepsy, GeneralizedABSTRACT
@#Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a class of small molecule peptides with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.Their unique antimicrobial mechanism can effectively treat infectious diseases, with rare drug resistance.However, though AMPs with antimicrobial activity can be screened by traditional methods, the whole process is complicated.The artificial intelligence (AI) screening method is faster and more convenient, with great potential in exploring new natural antimicrobial peptides.In this paper, strategies related to AMPs screening by AI were summarized and compared, including data sources applied to model training, artificial intelligence machine model and omics data applied to model screening of novel antimicrobial peptides.The application prospects and advantages were reviewed, in hope of providing new ideas for identification, research and development of antimicrobial peptides.
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Objective:To explore the relation of plasma Elabela with 3-month prognoses in large vessel occlusion-acute ischemic stroke (LVO-AIS) patients accepted endovascular thrombectomy (EVT).Methods:A prospective study was performed; 94 LVO-AIS patients aceepted EVT in Department of Neurology, Anhui Provincal Hospital, Anhui Medical University from August 2020 to August 2022 were selected. Plasma Elabela was detected before EVT, and 24 and 72 h after EVT. Modified Rankin scale (mRS) was used to evaluate the prognoses of the patients 3 months after EVT; differences in clinical data and plasma Elabela level between the good prognosis group and poor prognosis group were compared. Independent influencing factors for prognoses of LVO-AIS patients 3 months after EVT were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the efficacy of Elabela in predicting prognoses of patients with LVO-AIS 3 months after EVT.Results:Compared with the poor prognosis group, the good prognosis group had significantly lower percentages of patients with stroke history and diabetes, and lower NIHSS scores at admission ( P<0.05). Elabela level in the good prognosis group was significantly higher than that in the poor prognosis group 72 h after EVT ( P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that stroke history ( OR=0.148, P=0.037, 95% CI: 0.025-0.889), diabetes mellitus ( OR=0.148, P=0.037, 95% CI: 0.025-0.889), hypertension history ( OR=3.488, P=0.024, 95% CI: 1.177-10.339), and Elabela level 72 h after EVT ( OR=1.064, P=0.005, 95% CI: 1.019-1.111) were independent influencing factors for prognoses of LVO-AIS patients 3 months after EVT. ROC curve showed that area under ROC curve of plasma Elabela level 72 h after EVT in predicting prognosies of LVO-AIS patients 3 months after surgery was 0.718 ( P<0.001, 95% CI: 0.614-0.822). Conclusion:Plasma Elabela level 72 h after EVT may be a potential prognostic biomarker for LVO-AIS patients after EVT.
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Objective: To summarize the clinical characteristics of epileptic seizure associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Methods: From January 2017 to July 2023 at Children's Hospital Capital Institute of Pediatrics, medical records of patients with both NF1 and epileptic seizure were reviewed in this case series study. The clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis were analyzed retrospectively. Results: A total of 15 patients(12 boys and 3 girls) were collected. Café-au-lait macules were observed in all 15 patients. There were 6 patients with neurodevelopmental disorders and the main manifestations were intellectual disability or developmental delay. The age at the first epileptic seizure was 2.5 (1.2, 5.5) years. There were various seizure types, including generalized tonic-clonic seizures in 8 patients, focal motor seizures in 6 patients, epileptic spasm in 4 patients, tonic seizures in 1 patient, absence in 1 patient, generalized myoclonic seizure in 1 patient and focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizure in 1 patient. Among 14 patients whose brain magnetic resonance imaging results were available, there were abnormal signals in corpus callosum, basal ganglia, thalamus or cerebellum in 6 patients, dilated ventricles of different degrees in 3 patients, blurred gray and white matter boundary in 2 patients, agenesis of corpus callosum in 1 patient and no obvious abnormalities in the other patients. Among 13 epilepsy patients, 8 were seizure-free with 1 or 2 antiseizure medications(ASM), 1 with drug resistant epilepsy was seizure-free after left temporal lobectomy, and the other 4 patients who have received 2 to 9 ASM had persistent seizures. One patient with complex febrile convulsion achieved seizure freedom after oral administration of diazepam on demand. One patient had only 1 unprovoked epileptic seizure and did not have another seizure without taking any ASM. Conclusions: The first epileptic seizure in NF1 patients usually occurs in infancy and early childhood, with the main seizure type of generalized tonic-clonic seizure and focal motor seizure. Some patients have intellectual disability or developmental delay. Most epilepsy patients achieve seizure freedom with ASM.
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Male , Female , Humans , Child, Preschool , Child , Neurofibromatosis 1/diagnosis , Retrospective Studies , Intellectual Disability , Electroencephalography , Epilepsy/etiology , Seizures/etiologyABSTRACT
Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) is commonly used to deliver mRNA vaccines. Currently, LNP optimization primarily relies on screening ionizable lipids by traditional experiments which consumes intensive cost and time. Current study attempts to apply computational methods to accelerate the LNP development for mRNA vaccines. Firstly, 325 data samples of mRNA vaccine LNP formulations with IgG titer were collected. The machine learning algorithm, lightGBM, was used to build a prediction model with good performance (R 2 > 0.87). More importantly, the critical substructures of ionizable lipids in LNPs were identified by the algorithm, which well agreed with published results. The animal experimental results showed that LNP using DLin-MC3-DMA (MC3) as ionizable lipid with an N/P ratio at 6:1 induced higher efficiency in mice than LNP with SM-102, which was consistent with the model prediction. Molecular dynamic modeling further investigated the molecular mechanism of LNPs used in the experiment. The result showed that the lipid molecules aggregated to form LNPs, and mRNA molecules twined around the LNPs. In summary, the machine learning predictive model for LNP-based mRNA vaccines was first developed, validated by experiments, and further integrated with molecular modeling. The prediction model can be used for virtual screening of LNP formulations in the future.
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Objective:To summarize clinical features, outcome and prognosis of anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein IgG associated disorders (MOGAD) in children, and to explore the markers of recurrent MOGAD.Methods:The clinical features, imaging, serum and cerebrospinal fluid immune markers, treatments and outcomes were analyzed and compared between children with monophasic and recurrent MOGAD, who were hospitalized in the Department of Neurology, Children′s Hospital Affiliated to the Capital Institute of Pediatrics from January 2019 to February 2020.Results:A total of 22 children were included, of whom 8 patients (36.4%) had a recurrent course and 14 patients (63.6%) had a monophasic course. There was no statistically significant difference in sex, age of onset, clinical symptoms, modified Rankin Scale score, location of lesions and serum anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-IgG (MOG-IgG) titer, overall duration of total immunotherapy, positive antinuclear antibody and history of precursory infection between the two groups ( P>0.05). The serum MOG-IgG titer in the recurrent course group was more likely to remain unchanged or increased, and even increased after treatment, while there was no increase in the serum MOG-IgG titer in the monophasic course group, and the proportion of the patients with serum MOG-IgG titer decreased was higher in the monophasic course group (the monophasic course group: 6/8, the recurrent course group: 2/8), and there was statistically significant difference between the two groups ( P=0.030). The positive rate of MOG-IgG in cerebrospinal fluid in the recurrent course group was significantly higher than that in the monophasic course group at the first attack, the difference being statistically significant (the monophasic course group: 1/10, the recurrent course group: 4/6, P=0.036). The both groups were effecive to first-line immunotherapy, and the clinical symptoms and imaging were completely or partially recovered compared to the acute phase. Seven of 8 patients with recurrent MOGAD were treated with mycophenolate mofetil, and the recurrence rate decreased significantly [annual recurrence rate before treated with mycophenolate mofetil: 2.06 (1.36, 2.34) times/year, annual recurrence rate after treated with mycophenolate mofetil: 0 (0, 0) time/year, Z=-3.26, P=0.001]. The humoral immune status of children treated with mycophenolate mofetil was monitored regularly, and no obvious adverse reactions were found during the follow-up. Conclusions:At least one third of children with MOGAD were recurrent, and the serum MOG-IgG titer of children with recurrent MOGAD continued to be high, and even increased after treatment. Positive MOG-IgG in cerebrospinal fluid at the first attack was found to be a high risk factor for recurrence. The maintenance treatment of mycophenolate mofetil in patients with recurrent MOGAD can significantly reduce the annual recurrence rate and was well tolerated.
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The "triple combination" review system provides an opportunity for the transformation of human use experience into new Chinese drugs. However, there are some methodological and technical limitations in the assessment of human experience. Hence, the efficacy and safety evaluation methods should be established in accordance with the characteristics of Chinese herbs. This study summarized some evidence-based methodology to promote the transformation of human use experience to new Chinese drugs, mainly including the individualized pragmatic randomized controlled trial(RCT), cluster RCT, single-case RCT, single arm RCT with objective performance criteria, and partially nested RCT. As the real world data can be used to support the transformation of human experience, attention should be paid to convenient and efficient collection of data, prudent selection of design types, and adoption of appropriate ana-lysis methods to deal with confounding bias, including multi-factor regression model and propensity score. The newly proposed mixed research method can also be utilized to assess the human use experience, which is suitable for mining the theory of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and expert experience from different aspects. Meanwhile, considering the study design requirements and TCM cha-racteristics, this study put forward the common problems and solutions in the development of new Chinese drugs based on human use experience, including how to select the feasible outcome indicators, how to collect prescription data in the case of herb and dosage adjustment, and how to evaluate the comprehensive effectiveness of TCM from the perspective of "combination of disease and syndrome".
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Humans , China , Drug Development , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Research DesignABSTRACT
The paper introduces the placebo acupuncture simulation devices commonly used in clinical trial of acupuncture therapy. These devices are composed of Streitberger, Park, Takakura, Foam and Phantom acupuncture. Because acupuncture therapy is a kind of complex intervention, there are the controversies in methodology for the acupuncture placebo control of clinical trial. Placebo acupuncture may be an effective control, with a certain of specific therapeutic effect. The blinding effect of placebo acupuncture is highly questioned, specially, the sensation of deqi is hardly imitated during acupuncture. On these grounds, in this research, the suggestions has been proposed on the selection and the setting of placebo control in clinical trial of acupuncture therapy.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture , Acupuncture Therapy/methods , SensationABSTRACT
A micro silicone oil liquid spring was designed and manufactured in this article. The performance of the liquid spring was studied by simulation analysis and mechanical test. A self-force source power-assisted knee orthosis was designed based on the liquid spring. This power-assisted knee orthosis can convert the kinetic energy of knee flexion into the elastic potential energy of liquid spring for storage, and release elastic potential energy to generate assisted torque which drives the knee joint for extension. The results showed that the average maximum reset force of the liquid spring was 1 240 N, and the average maximum assisted torque for the knee joint was 29.8 N·m. A musculoskeletal multibody dynamic model was used to analyze the biomechanical effect of the knee orthosis on the joint during knee bending (90°knee flexion). The results showed that the power-assisted knee orthosis could effectively reduce the biomechanical load of the knee joint for the user with a body weight of 80 kg. The maximum forces of the femoral-tibial joint force, patellar-femoral joint force, and quadriceps-ligament force were reduced by 24.5%, 23.8%, and 21.2%, respectively. The power-assisted knee orthosis designed in this article provides sufficient assisted torque for the knee joint. It lays a foundation for the subsequent commercial application due to its small size and lightweight.
Subject(s)
Biomechanical Phenomena , Knee Joint , Femur , Ligaments , Orthotic DevicesABSTRACT
Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 9 (CARD9) gene deficiency associated invasive candidiasis, and report a novel mutation in CARD9 gene.Methods:The clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, treatment and the outcome of follow-up in a boy with invasive candidiasis were described. The boy′s main clinical manifestations were central nervous system infection and retroperitoneal mass. Whole-exome sequencing was performed and Sanger sequencing was verified to identify the CARD9 gene mutations in the patient and his parents. A literature search for “CARD9”and “invasive candidiasis”was conducted in PubMed, Wanfang and CNKI databases from their establishment to May 2020.Results:A 10-year-old boy suffered onset symptom of chronic diarrhea, which lasted for two months. The symptom was followed by progressive neurological symptoms such as headache, vomiting, seizures and disorder of consciousness. His unusual medical history was absent. Candida albicans were cultured several times in cerebrospinal fluid and blood, and yeast-like fungi were found in the stool high power field of vision. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging indicated obstructive hydrocephalus and abdominal CT scan showed retroperitoneal mass and thickening of the intestinal wall. The whole-exome sequencing analyses of blood samples from the boy and his parents were performed. The results showed that there was a homozygous mutation of c.952-12_956delinsAG in the CARD9 gene, which was an unreported pathogenic mutation. This was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. There was no significant relief from intravenous combined antifungal medications. After lateral ventricular drainage surgery and injection of amphotericin B into the lateral ventricle, improvement of clinical symptoms and cerebral spinal fluid abnormalities was observed after nine weeks, and the retroperitoneal mass shrank. At follow-up after four-month oral combined antifungal medications, the child had no complaint except fatigue. However, cerebral spinal fluid analysis showed increased protein level and decreased glucose. Persistent hydrocephalus and periventricular white matter abnormal signals were revealed on the brain magnetic resonance imaging and the smaller retroperitoneal mass than before on the abdominal CT scan. In addition to this case, totally 21 cases with CARD9 gene deficiency associated invasive candidiasis have been reported worldwide, most of which featured central nervous system infections.Conclusions:CARD9 gene deficiency is an autosomal recessive primary immunodeficiency that confers human susceptibility to fungal disease. The associated invasive candidiasis often affects the central nervous system and makes the patient severely ill. Adequate systemic antifungal therapies should be given, and patients with hydrocephalus need surgical treatment. A novel mutation is reported that expands the variant diversity of CARD9 gene. For patients with unexplained invasive candidiasis, including those without a history of previous recurrent infection, genetic testing is recommended for primary immunodeficiency including CARD9 gene deficiency.
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Objective:To explore the influence of selective fetoscopic laser occlusion of chorioangiopagous vessels (FLOC) versus Solomon surgery in the management of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) on procedure-related complications, fetal survival rate, and residual anastomoses.Methods:A total of 59 pregnant women with TTTS who underwent FLOC in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from May 2018 to March 2020 were retrospectively enrolled and divided into Solomon ( n=33) and selective FLOC groups ( n=26) based on the FLOC operation method. Placentae of 25 pregnant women (15 in the Solomon group, 10 in the selective FLOC group) with both survival twins were perfused to observe the type and diameter of the residual anastomoses. Fetal survival rate, procedure-related complications, and the type and diameter of residual anastomoses were analyzed and compared between the two groups using two independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ2 test and Fisher's exact test. Results:(1) The operating time of Solomon was shorter than that of selective FLOC [74 min (60-90 min) vs 95 min (81-123 min), Z=2.906, P=0.004]. But no statistically significant differences in the gestational week at operation, time of pregnancy end, and the interval between operation and pregnancy end was observed between the two groups (all P>0.05). (2) There was no statistically significant difference in the survival rate of both twins, one fetus, at least one fetus, and the incidence of postoperative twin anemia-polycythemia sequence (TAPS) and recurrent TTTS in the Solomon group and selective FLOC group [64%(21/33) vs 50%(13/26), χ2=1.107; 15%(5/33) vs 35%(9/26), χ2=3.044; 79%(26/33) vs 85%(22/26), χ2=0.326; 3%(1/33) vs 12%(3/26), χ2=1.368; 0% (0/33) vs 4%(1/26), χ2=1.118; all P>0.05]. (3) There was no statistically significant difference in the number of placentae with residual anastomoses or the number of artery-to-vein, vein-to-artery, artery-to-artery, and vein-to-vein anastomoses between the two groups (7/15 vs 6/10, 2/8 vs 4/15, 3/8 vs 4/15, 2/8 vs 5/15, 1/8 vs 2/15; Fisher's exact test, all P>0.05), but the diameter of the residual anastomoses in the Solomon group was smaller than that in the selective FLOC group [(0.8±0.3) and (2.2±0.7) mm, t=0.764, P=0.034]. (4) Among the four pregnant women developed TAPS after operation, one patient had two residual artery-to-vein anastomoses in the placenta with diameter of 0.54 mm and 0.43 mm, respectively; one patient had one artery-to-vein anastomosis with a diameter of 0.64 mm; one had one artery-to-artery and one vein-to-vein anastomosis with diameter of 1.56 mm and 1.89 mm, respectively. Conclusions:Compared with selective FLOC, Solomon surgery can reduce the vessel diameter of residual anastomoses in women with TTTS, but does not reduce postoperative complications, nor improve the pregnancy outcomes.
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OBJECTIVE@#To observe the short-term and long-term effects of moxibustion on plaque psoriasis of blood stasis, and to compare the curative effect between moxibustion and calcipotriol ointment.@*METHODS@#A total of 80 patients with plaque psoriasis of blood stasis were randomly divided into an observation group (40 cases, 2 cases dropped off) and a control group (40 cases, 4 cases dropped off). Both groups were given routine medical vaseline topical emollient basic treatment. In the observation group, moxibustion was applied to @*RESULTS@#After treatment, the PASI scores in the both groups were lower than before treatment (@*CONCLUSION@#Both moxibustion and calcipotriol ointment have good short-term effects on plaque psoriasis of blood stasis. Moxibustion has more advantages in reducing the recurrence rate of psoriasis, improving the main clinical symptoms of TCM and quality of life.