Effect of gamete aging on fertilization success of the sea urchin Arbacia dufresnii (Arbacioida: Arbaciidae) / Efecto del envejecimiento de los gametos sobre el éxito en la fecundación del erizo de mar Arbacia dufresnii (Arbacioida: Arbaciidae)

Abstract Introduction: Short-term gametes storage is an inexpensive and simple technique that allows the use of the same batch of eggs or sperm at different times, maximizing the application of research protocols and the use of gametes in production. Arbacia dufresnii is a sea urchin species with proven aquaculture potential and already used in the nutraceutical industry. Aging of its gametes is unknown and is a needed information to scale up the production. Objective: Determine the effect of male and female gamete aging on the fertilization success of Arbacia dufresnii. This will allow optimizing the use of gametes after collection decoupling spawning from fertilization. Methods: A. dufresnii individuals were induced to spawn and gametes were kept at 12 ± 1 °C throughout each bioassay. Sperm was separated into two treatments: activated sperm in seawater (AS), and dry sperm (DS). Two bioassays were made: Bioassay 1 evaluated the effect of time on fertility by performing fertilization tests at 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h after spawning. Bioassay 2 evaluated the contribution of each type of aged gamete on fertility, combining aged gametes (96 h) with fresh gametes (0 h). Results: Bioassay 1: the fertilization success obtained by combining eggs (E) with AS or DS presented important differences. While the fertilization success remained acceptable (greater than 50 %) for up to 72 h using ExDS, it only remained acceptable for up to 48 h using ExAS. Bioassay 2: acceptable fertilization success was found by combining aged E (96 h) with fresh sperm, or aged DS (96 h) with fresh E, but not using aged AS with fresh E. Conclusions: The findings of this work show that fertilization success in A. dufresnii gametes remains relatively unchanged for up to 48 h after spawning when combining ExAS, and for up to 72 h when combining ExDS. However, when combining aged E or aged DS with a fresh gamete, post-collection fertilization can be extended up to 96 h. In this work, the first steps have been taken to understand the conservation time of A. dufresnii gametes with minimum intervention.

Resumen Introducción: El almacenamiento de gametos a corto plazo es una técnica económica y sencilla que permite utilizar el mismo lote de óvulos o espermatozoides en diferentes momentos, maximizando la aplicación de protocolos de investigación y el uso de gametos en la producción. Arbacia dufresnii es una especie con probado potencial acuícola como fuente de gametos para la industria nutracéutica. Sin embargo, se desconoce el envejecimiento de sus gametos y es una información necesaria para escalar la producción. Objetivo: Determinar el efecto del envejecimiento de los gametos masculinos y femeninos en el éxito de la fecundación de Arbacia dufresnii con el fin de optimizar el aprovechamiento de los gametos después de la recolecta desincronizando el desove de la fecundación. Métodos: Se indujo el desove de individuos de A. dufresnii y los gametos se mantuvieron a 12 ± 1 °C durante cada bioensayo. El esperma se separó en dos tratamientos: esperma activado en agua de mar (AS) y esperma seco (DS). Se realizaron dos bioensayos: El Bioensayo 1 evaluó el efecto del tiempo sobre la fertilidad realizando pruebas de fecundación a las 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h y 96 h después del desove. El bioensayo 2 evaluó la contribución de cada tipo de gameta envejecida (96 h) sobre la fertilidad, combinando gametos envejecidas (96 h) con gametos frescas (0 h). Resultados: Bioensayo 1: el éxito de fecundación obtenido combinando huevos (E) con AS o DS presentó diferencias importantes. Si bien el éxito de la fecundación se mantuvo aceptable (más del 50 %) durante un máximo de 72 h con ExDS, solo permaneció aceptable hasta 48 h con ExAS. Bioensayo 2: se encontró un éxito de fecundación aceptable combinando E envejecidos (96 h) con esperma fresco, o DS envejecido (96 h) con E fresco (0 h), pero no usando AS envejecido con E fresco (0 h). Conclusiones: Los hallazgos de este trabajo muestran que el éxito de la fecundación en los gametos de A. dufresnii permanece relativamente sin cambios hasta 48 h después del desove cuando se combina ExAS, y hasta 72 h cuando se combina ExDS. Sin embargo, cuando se combina E envejecido o DS envejecido con un gameto fresco, el tiempo entre la recolección y la fecundación puede extenderse hasta 96 h. En este trabajo se han dado los primeros pasos para entender el tiempo de conservación de los gametos de A. dufresnii con mínima intervención.

Automatic detection and classification of disease in citrus fruit and leaves using a customized CNN based model / Detección y clasificación automática de enfermedades en frutas y hojas de cítricos utilizando un modelo basado en CNN personalizado

India's commercial advancement and development depend heavily on agriculture. A common fruit grown in tropical settings is citrus. A professional judgment is required while analyzing an illness because different diseases have slight variati ons in their symptoms. In order to recognize and classify diseases in citrus fruits and leaves, a customized CNN - based approach that links CNN with LSTM was developed in this research. By using a CNN - based method, it is possible to automatically differenti ate from healthier fruits and leaves and those that have diseases such fruit blight, fruit greening, fruit scab, and melanoses. In terms of performance, the proposed approach achieves 96% accuracy, 98% sensitivity, 96% Recall, and an F1 - score of 92% for ci trus fruit and leave identification and classification and the proposed method was compared with KNN, SVM, and CNN and concluded that the proposed CNN - based model is more accurate and effective at identifying illnesses in citrus fruits and leaves.

El avance y desarrollo comercial de India dependen en gran medida de la agricultura. Un tipo de fruta comunmente cultivada en en tornos tropicales es el cítrico. Se requiere un juicio profesional al analizar una enfermedad porque diferentes enfermedades tienen ligeras variaciones en sus síntomas. Para reconocer y clasificar enfermedades en frutas y hojas de cítricos, se desarrolló e n esta investigación un enfoque personalizado basado en CNN que vincula CNN con LSTM. Al utilizar un método basado en CNN, es posible diferenciar automáticamente entre frutas y hojas más saludables y aquellas que tienen enfermedades como la plaga de frutas , el verdor de frutas, la sarna de frutas y las melanosis. En términos de desempeño, el enfoque propuesto alcanza una precisión del 96%, una sensibilidad del 98%, una recuperación del 96% y una puntuación F1 del 92% para la identificación y clasificación d e frutas y hojas de cítricos, y el método propuesto se comparó con KNN, SVM y CNN y se concluyó que el modelo basado en CNN propuesto es más preciso y efectivo para identificar enfermedades en frutas y hojas de cítricos.

Chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection is associated with decreased working memory performance in women / Infecção crônica por Toxoplasma gondii está associada à diminuição de desempenho da memória de trabalho em mulheres

Abstract Objective The present study sought to investigate changes in mood, inhibitory control, and working memory associated with T. gondii infection in a sample of Brazilian women. Method Twenty-eight female participants were equally distributed into two groups, according to the serology for chronic infection by T. gondii. The participants answered a Sociodemographic questionnaire, the CES-D, and performed Simon and N-Back tasks. Results Infected participants presented less accuracy and longer response time in N-Back tasks. No significant differences were found in the Simon task performance or in the depression levels. Conclusion Our findings suggest that chronic infection by T. gondii may result in impaired working memory and point out the importance of public policies aiming at preventing this infection.

Resumo Objetivo O presente estudo investigou alterações de humor, controle inibitório e memória de trabalho associadas à infecção por T. gondii em uma amostra de mulheres brasileiras. Método Vinte e oito participantes foram distribuídas igualmente em dois grupos de acordo com a sorologia para infecção crônica por T. gondii. As participantes responderam a um questionário sociodemográfico, à CES-D e realizaram as tarefas Simon e N-Back. Resultados As participantes infectadas apresentaram menor acurácia e maior tempo de resposta na tarefa N-Back. Nenhuma diferença significativa foi encontrada na tarefa Simon ou na escala de depressão. Conclusão Nossos achados sugerem que a infecção crônica por T. gondii pode resultar em comprometimento da memória de trabalho, e apontam para a importância de políticas públicas de prevenção dessa infecção.

The value of NLR in predicting the efficacy of preoperative nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for local advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma / 口腔疾病防治

Objective@#To investigate the value of the peripheral blood neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) before nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in predicting the short-term efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy for advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).@*Methods@#With the approval of the Ethics Committee and the informed consent of the patients, 59 patients with stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ OSCC who were admitted to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from September 2020 to June 2023 were enrolled. All the patients had complete clinical data, were pathologically diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, and received preoperative and received preoperative nimotuzumab + TP (docetaxel + cisplatin) neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The clinical data were analyzed, and the neutrophil and lymphocyte counts in peripheral blood were collected before and after nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The NLR was calculated, and the threshold value was calculated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Patients were divided into a high NLR group and a low NLR group according to the NLR threshold before nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with TP. The clinical efficacy after nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with TP was evaluated according to the evaluation criteria for solid tumor efficacy, and the correlation between the NLR and recent neoadjuvant therapy efficacy was analyzed. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in OSCC tissues before and after nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with TP and to analyze whether the expression of EGFR differed among the different NLR groups.@*Results@#A total of 59 patients with advanced OSCC were included. According to the ROC curve, the NLR threshold was 2.377, and the patients were divided into a <2.377 group (low NLR group), with 24 patients, and a>2.377 group (high NLR group), with 35 patients. The short-term neoadjuvant therapy effect was significantly greater in the lower NLR group than in the higher NLR group (P<0.05); EGFR expression in both the low NLR group and the high NLR group decreased after nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with TP, and the decrease in the low NLR group was significantly greater than that in the high NLR group (P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#A low NLR before nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with TP is associated with better neoadjuvant therapy outcomes, and such patients are more likely to benefit from preoperative nimotuzumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Short-term knee function after total knee arthroplasty and related factors / 中国康复理论与实践

ObjectiveTo investigate the short-term knee function recovery of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) after discharge and analyze its related factors. MethodsFrom December, 2022 to April, 2023, 140 adult patients who underwent TKA in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital and being about to be discharged were selected as the survey subjects using convenient sampling. Potential influencing factors were selected based on a literature review. They were investigated with general information questionnaire, Rehabilitation Exercise Compliance Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale for Rehabilitation Exercise (SER), Visual Analog Scale for pain (VAS), and joint range of motion measurements before discharge, and were investigated with the Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score (HSS) one month after discharge. ResultsA total of 130 patients finished follow-up. One month after discharge, the HSS score ranged from 40 to 82, with an average of (70.89±6.26). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that Body Mass Index (B = -0.423, 95%CI -0.622 to -0.224, P < 0.001), pre-discharge VAS (B = -1.016, 95%CI -1.198 to -0.113, P = 0.028), rehabilitation exercise compliance (B = 0.267, 95%CI 0.121 to 0.413, P < 0.001), SER (B = 0.478, 95%CI 0.315 to 0.642, P < 0.001), and knee joint flexion contracture angle (B = -0.251, 95%CI -0.414 to -0.088, P = 0.003) could influence HSS score one month after discharge (R2 = 0.615, F =17.106, P < 0.001). ConclusionPatients after TKA have recovered well in short time after discharge, however, there is still significant room for improvement. Clinical healthcare providers should design and implement appropriate interventions based on related factors to improve the function.

Short-term effectiveness of arthroscopic repair via modified subacromial viewing portal in treatment of Lafosse Ⅰ subscapularis tendon tears / 中国修复重建外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate short-term effectiveness of arthroscopic repair via modified subacromial viewing portal (hereinafter referred to as modified viewing portal) in treatment of LafosseⅠsubscapularis tendon tears.@*METHODS@#A clinical data of 52 patients with LafosseⅠsubscapularis tendon tears, who underwent the arthroscopic repair via modified viewing portal between October 2020 and November 2022 and met the selective criteria, was retrospectively analyzed. There were 15 males and 37 females with an average age of 63.4 years (range, 41-76 years). Twelve patients had trauma history and the other 40 patients had no obvious inducement. The main clinical symptom was shoulder pain and the hug resistance tests were positive in all patients. The interval between symptom onset and admission ranged from 3 to 26 months (mean, 7.2 months). The shoulder pain and function were evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS) score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score before operation and at 12 months after operation. The shoulder range of motion (ROM) of forward flexion, abduction, and external rotation and the internal rotation strength were measured before operation and at 3 and 12 months after operation. MRI was performed at 3-6 months after operation to assess the tendon healing and the structural integrity and tension of reattached tendon. Patient's satisfactions were calculated at last follow-up.@*RESULTS@#All incisions healed by first intention, no complication such as incision infection or nerve injury occurred. All patients were followed up 12-37 months (mean, 18.5 months). The VAS, UCLA, and ASES scores at 12 months after operation significantly improved when compared with those before operation ( P<0.05). The ROMs of abduction and forward flexion and the internal rotation strength at 3 and 12 months significantly improved when compared with those before operation ( P<0.05); and the ROMs at 12 months significantly improved compared to that at 3 months ( P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference ( P>0.05) in the ROM of external rotation at 3 months compared to that before operation; but the ROM at 12 months significantly improved compared to that before operation and at 3 months after operation ( P<0.05). Thirty-one patients underwent MRI at 3-6 months, of which 28 patients possessed intact structural integrity, good tendon tension and tendon healing; 3 patients underwent tendon re-tear. At last follow-up, 41 patients (78.8%) were very satisfied with the effectiveness, 7 were satisfied (13.5%), and 4 were dissatisfied (7.7%).@*CONCLUSION@#Arthroscopic repair via modified viewing portal for Lafosse Ⅰsubscapularis tendon tears, which can achieve the satisfactory visualization and working space, can obtain good short-term effectiveness with low overall re-tear risk.

A Delphi survey-based development and validation of cognitive-communication assessment tool for Indian preschoolers

ABSTRACT Purpose To address the need for a standardized assessment tool for assessing cognitive-communication abilities among Indian preschoolers, the current study aimed at describing a Delphi based development and validation process for developing one such tool. The objectives of the research were to conceptualize and construct the tool, validate its content, and assess its feasibility through pilot testing. Methods The study followed a Delphi approach to develop and validate the tool across four phases i.e. conceptualization; construction; content validation; and pilot testing. The first three phases were performed with a panel of six experts including speech-language pathologists and preschool teachers while the pilot testing was done with 20 typically developing preschoolers. A literature review was also conducted with the Delphi rounds to support the developmental process. Results The first two rounds of the Delphi aided in the construction of a culturally and linguistically suitable story-based cognitive-communication assessment tool with the memory (free recall, recognition, and literary recall) and executive function (reasoning, inhibition, and switching) related tasks relevant for preschoolers. The content validation of the tool was continued with the experts till the revisions were satisfactory and yielded an optimum Content Validity Index. The pilot test of the finalized version confirmed its feasibility and appropriateness to assess developmental changes in the cognitive-communication abilities of preschoolers. Conclusion The study describes the Delphi-based conceptualization, construction, content validation, and feasibility check of a tool to assess cognitive-communication skills in preschool children.

Acousto-optic stimuli to promote coherent 40-Hz frequency entrainment effect / Estímulos acústico-ópticos para promover efeito de arrastamento de frequência coerente de 40 Hz

Abstract Background Research has shown that a fundamental frequency of 40 Hz in continuous neural oscillation is indicative of normal brain activity; in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients, these oscillations either disappear or are significantly interrupted. Research has also indicated that the degenerative impacts of AD in mice were mitigated by the synchronization of 40-Hz acousto-optic stimulation (AOS). Objective To examine the impact of employing a 40-Hz AOS intervention on the induction of a substantial 40-Hz frequency entrainment and improvement in working memory performance among a sample of young individuals in good health. We conduct an analysis of event-related potentials (ERPs) derived from electroencephalogram (EEG) data following the presentation of AOS. Methods We recruited 20 healthy volunteers (median age: 25 years; 8 female subjects). Following the administration of various stimuli, including no stimuli, 40-Hz AOS, pink noise, and 40Hz acoustic stimuli (AS), the participants were required to complete a working memory task. A total of 62 electrodes were used to record EEG data, which was subsequently analyzed to investigate the impact of AOS on the activity of working memory. We also aimed to determine if AOS lead to a more pronounced 40-Hz frequency entrainment. Results Following the administration of AOS, a notable enhancement in the 40-Hz power of pertinent cerebral areas was observed, accompanied by a substantial improvement in the performance of the subjects on working memory tests subsequent to the stimulation. Conclusion The findings unequivocally establish the efficacy of using AOS to enhance the 40-Hz power and working memory.

Resumo Antecedentes A pesquisa mostrou que uma frequência fundamental de 40 Hz em oscilação neural contínua é indicativa de atividade cerebral normal. Em pacientes com doença de Alzheimer (DA), essas oscilações desaparecem ou são significativamente interrompidas. A pesquisa também indicou que os impactos degenerativos da DA em camundongos foram mitigados pela sincronização da estimulação acústico-óptica (EAO) de 40 Hz. Objetivo Examinar o impacto do emprego de uma intervenção EAO de 40 Hz na indução de um arrastamento substancial de frequência de 40 Hz e na melhoria do desempenho da memória de trabalho entre uma amostra de jovens com boa saúde. Conduzimos uma análise de potenciais relacionados a eventos (PREs) derivados de dados de eletroencefalograma (EEG) após a apresentação de EAO. Métodos Recrutamos 20 voluntários saudáveis (idade média: 25 anos; 8 mulheres). Após a administração de vários estímulos, incluindo nenhum estímulo, EAO de 40 Hz, ruído rosa e estímulos acústicos (EA) de 40 Hz, os participantes foram obrigados a completar uma tarefa de memória de trabalho. Um total de 62 eletrodos foram utilizados para registrar dados de EEG, que foram posteriormente analisados. para investigar o impacto do AOS na atividade da memória de trabalho. Também pretendemos determinar se o AOS leva a um arrastamento de frequência de 40 Hz mais pronunciado. Resultados Após a administração de AOS, foi observado um aumento notável na potência de 40 Hz de áreas cerebrais pertinentes, acompanhado por uma melhoria substancial no desempenho dos sujeitos em testes de memória de trabalho subsequentes à estimulação. Conclusão Os resultados estabelecem inequivocamente a eficácia do uso do AOS para melhorar a potência de 40 Hz e a memória de trabalho.

Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery : A Narrative Review

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) Surgery is considered the standard treatment for revascularization in Coronary Artery Disease. The Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (OPCAB) which evades the use of Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) became a popular CABG procedure, due to the adverse effect of CPB. Hypothetically, OPCAB may improve the rates of perioperative Myocardial Injury, Neurocognitive Impairment, Stroke and Mortality. However, some studies showed no superior outcomes for OPCAB compared to on-pump CABG. This study aims to evaluate the short-term and long-term outcomes of OPCAB versus On-Pump CABG. The results showed that OPCAB is probably a safe procedure for patients, especially for those with high-risk conditions. OPCAB procedure showed superior short-term outcomes in terms of Myocardial Infarction, Systemic Inflammatory Response, Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction, Renal Failure, Stroke, Pulmonary Complication, Postoperative Transfusion, Hospital stay length and infection than On-pump CABG. However, regarding long-term outcomes, Off-Pump CABG had a higher rate of incomplete revascularization and repeat revascularization and a higher risk of long-term mortality as well as lower graft patency. Furthermore, the result showed that the higher experience of the surgeons in OPCAB improves the outcome of the Surgery.

Safety and efficacy of short-term dual antiplatelet therapy combined with intensive rosuvastatin in acute ischemic stroke

Abstract Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of short-term (7-day) Dual Antiplatelet Therapy (DAPT) with intensive rosuvastatin in Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS). Methods: In this study, patients with AIS in the emergency department of the hospital from October 2016 to December 2019 were registered and divided into the control group (Single Antiplatelet Therapy [SAPT] + rosuvastatin) and the study group (7-day DAPT + intensive rosuvastatin) according to the therapy regimens. The generalized linear model was used to compare the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores between the two groups during the 21-day treatment. A Cox regression model was used to compare recurrent ischemic stroke, bleeding events, Statin-Induced Liver Injury (SILI), and Statin-Associated Myopathy (SAM) between the two groups during the 90-day follow-up. Results: Comparison of NIHSS scores after 21-day treatment: NIHSS scores in the study group decreased significantly, 0.273-times as much as that in the control group (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.273; 95% Confidence Interval [95% CI] 0.208-0.359; p < 0.001). Comparison of recurrent ischemic stroke during the 90-day follow-up: The therapy of the study group reduced the risk of recurrent stroke by 65% (7.76% vs. 22.82%, Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.350; 95% CI 0.167-0.730; p = 0.005). Comparison of bleeding events: There was no statistical difference between the two groups (7.79% vs. 6.71%, HR = 1.076; 95% CI 0.424-2.732; p = 0.878). No cases of SILI and SAM were found. Conclusions: Short-term DAPT with intensive rosuvastatin effectively relieved the clinical symptoms and significantly reduced the recurrent stroke for patients with mild-to-moderate AIS within 90 days, without increasing bleeding events, SILI and SAM.

Construction and Validation of A Predictive Model Including TCM Pathogenic Syndrome for Short-term Efficacy of PD-1 Inhibitors in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer / 肿瘤防治研究

Objective To evaluate predictive factors affecting the short-term efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to construct a prediction model. Methods From October 2019 to November 2021, 221 patients with advanced NSCLC who met the inclusion criteria and were treated with PD-1 inhibitors were prospectively enrolled. Patients who were enrolled before May 1st, 2021 were included inthe modeling group (n=149), whereas those who enrolled thereafter were included in the validation group (n=72). The general clinical data of patients, information of the four TCM diagnoses were collected, and TCM syndrome elements were identified. R software version 4.0.4 was used in constructing a nomogram clinical prediction model of objective response rate. The predictive ability and discrimination of the model were evaluated and externally validated by using a validation group. Results After two to four cycles of PD-1 inhibitor therapy in 221 patients, the overall objective response rate was 44.80%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of the modeling group showed that the TPS score (OR=0.261, P=0.001), number of treatment lines (OR=3.749, P=0.002), treatment mode (OR=2.796, P=0.019), qi deficiency disease syndrome elements (OR=2.296, P=0.043), and syndrome elements of yin deficiency disease (OR=3.228, P=0.005) were the independent predictors of the short-term efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors. Based on the above five independent predictors, a nomogram prediction model for the short-term efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors was constructed. The AUC values of the modeling and validation groups were 0.8317 and 0.7535, respectively. The calibration curves of the two groups showed good agreement between the predicted and true values. The mean absolute errors were 0.053 and 0.039, indicating that the model has good predictive performance. Conclusion The nomogram model constructed on the basis of the syndrome elements of Qi-deficiency disease and Yin-deficiency syndrome of TCM, as well as TPS score, number of treatment lines and treatment mode, is a stable and effective tool for predicting the short-term efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Clinical analysis of perioperative safety and short-term prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer patients with preoperative arrhythmia / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To analyze the perioperative safety and the short-term prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with preoperative arrhythmia. Methods    The clinical data of NSCLC patients treated in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from August 2020 to March 2021 were collected and observed. The patients were divided into an arrhythmia group and a control group according to whether there was arrhythmia in the 24 h ambulatory electrocardiogram examination report before operation. The incidence of intraoperative and postoperative cardiovascular events and short-term prognosis were compared between the two groups. Results     A total of 466 patients were included in this study, including 338 patients in the arrhythmia group, 176 males and 162 females, with a median age of 68.0 (63.0, 72.0) years, and 128 patients in the control group, 59 males and 69 females, with a median age of 66.5 (60.0, 72.0) years. A total of 26 patients (7.7%) in the arrhythmia group were placed with temporary pacemakers before operation. There was no significant difference in the incidence of cardiovascular related events between the two groups [100 (29.6%) vs. 28 (21.9%), P=0.096]. The incidence of postoperative arrhythmia events in the arrhythmia group was higher than that in the control group [112 (33.1%) vs. 11 (8.6%), P<0.001]. The average postoperative ICU stay in the arrhythmia group was longer than that in the control group (1.1±0.7 d vs. 1.0±0.6 d, P=0.039). Conclusion    Preoperative arrhythmia does not increase the risk of intraoperative cardiovascular events in NSCLC patients, but increases the incidence of postoperative arrhythmia events and prolongs ICU stay.

Short-term clinical outcomes of adult cardiac surgery in patients with prior COVID-19 in a single center / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective     To provide experience for clinical diagnosis and treatment through exploring the perioperative characteristics and short-term treatment outcomes of adult cardiac surgery in patients with prior coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Methods    A retrospective analysis was performed on patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or valve surgery in the Department of Cardiac Surgery of Beijing Anzhen Hospital from December 26, 2022 to December 31, 2022, and previously diagnosed with COVID-19 before surgery. Results    Finally 108 patients were collected, including 81 males and 27 females, with an average age of 60.73±8.66 years. Two (1.9%) patients received emergency surgery, and the others received elective surgery. The 86.1% of patients had been vaccinated, and the duration of COVID-19 was 5.0 (4.0, 7.0) days. The time from COVID-19 to operation was 15.0 (12.0, 17.8) days. Eighty-nine patients received CABG, of which off-pump CABG was dominant (92.1%). Nineteen patients received valve surgery. The rate of delayed extubation of ventilator was 17.6%. The ICU stay was 21.0 (17.3, 24.0) hours, and the postoperative hospital stay was 7.0 (6.0, 8.0) days. Three (2.8%) patients were treated with intra-aortic balloon  pump (IABP), one (0.9%) patient was treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), one (0.9%) patient was treated with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) due to acute renal insufficiency, three (2.8%) patients were treated with temporary pacemaker, and one (0.9%) patient underwent rethoracotomy. In terms of postoperative complications, the incidence of cerebrovascular accident, acute renal insufficiency, gastrointestinal bleeding and septicemia was 0.9%, respectively, and the incidence of acute heart failure, lung infection, and liver insufficiency was 1.9%, respectively. All patients recovered and were discharged from hospital, and no in-hospital death occurred. Conclusion     The utilization rate of postoperative IABP, ECMO, CRRT, temporary pacemaker and the incidence of serious complications in patients with prior COVID-19 are not higher than those of normal patients, and the short-term treatment outcome is good.

Clinical report of two dose fractionation modes using carbon ion beam therapy in the lymph node drainage area for lung cancer / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To compare the adverse reactions, efficacy and survival rate of carbon ion beam irradiation in the elective lymph node (ENI) drainage area of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) with relative biological effect (RBE) dose of 48 Gy using 16 and 12 fractions.Methods:A total of 72 patients with pathologically confirmed LA-NSCLC admitted to Wuwei Heavy Ion Center of Gansu Wuwei Tumor Hospital from June 2020 to December 2021 were enrolled and simple randomly divided into groups A and B, with 36 patients in each group. Patients in groups A and B were treated with carbon ion beam irradiation to the lymph node drainage area with 48 Gy (RBE) using 16 and 12 fractions. The acute and chronic adverse reactions, efficacy and survival rate were observed. The survival curve was drawn by Kaplan-Meier method. Difference test was conducted by log-rank test.Results:The median follow-up time was 13.9 (8.8-15.7) months in group A and 14.6 (6.3-15.9) months in group B. Sixteen (44.4%) patients were effectively treated in group A and 9 (25%) patients in group B. Thirty-four (94.4%) cases achieved disease control in group A and 30 (83.3%) cases in group B. Statistical analysis showed that the overall survival rate in group B was similar to that in group A ( χ2=1.192, P=0.275). Comparison of planning parameters between two groups showed CTV volume, D mean, V 5 Gy(RBE), V 20 Gy(RBE) and V 30 Gy(RBE) of the affected lung, cardiac V 20 Gy(RBE), V 30 Gy(RBE) and D mean, esophageal V 30 Gy(RBE), V 50 Gy(RBE), D max and D mean, D max of the trachea and spinal cord had no significant difference (all P>0.05). No grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions occurred in the enrolled patients during treatment and follow-up. No statistical differences were observed in the acute radiation skin reaction ( χ2=5.134, P=0.077), radiation esophagitis ( χ2=1.984, P=0.371), and advanced radiation pneumonia ( χ2=6.185, P=0.103) between two groups. Conclusions:The two dose fractionation modes of carbon ion therapy system are equally safe in the mediastinal lymphatic drainage area of LA-NSCLC, and the adverse reactions are controllable. The long-term efficacy still needs further observation.

Short-term efficacy of camrelizumab combined with induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect and safety of camrelizumab combined with induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods:A total of 24 patients with stage Ⅲ-IV A NPC were recruited prospectively to receive two cycles of camrelizumab combined with induction chemotherapy (docetaxel 75 mg/m 2+ cisplatin 25 mg/m 2 for three consecutive days) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (prescription doses: 6 996 cGy in 33 fractions for PGTV and PGTV nd, 6 006 cGy in 33 fractions for PTV 1, 5 096 cGy in 28 fractions for PTV 2, and concurrent cisplatin chemotherapy with a dose of 75 mg/m 2). The short-term efficacy and adverse reactions were evaluated. Results:After induction therapy, nasopharyngeal lesions showed an objective response rate (ORR) of 91.6%, including 45.8% of complete response (CR) and 45.8% of partial response (PR); cervical lymph nodes showed an ORR of 95.8% (CR: 4.2%; PR: 91.6%). Seventeen patients accepted a reexamination under a nasopharyngoscope, and the biting biopsy result indicated that 13 patients among them had complete pathologic response. After concurrent chemoradiotherapy, nasopharyngeal lesions and cervical lymph nodes showed CR rates of 83.3% and 91.7% and PR rates of 16.7% and 8.3%, respectively. After the induction therapy, 13 patients with stage IV A NPC had ORR (PR) rates of 92.4% and 92.4%, respectively, at nasopharyngeal lesions and cervical lymph nodes. After concurrent chemoradiotherapy, the patients with stage IV A NPC had CR rates of 84.6% and 92.3% and PR rates of 15.4% and 7.7%, respectively, at nasopharyngeal lesions and cervical lymph nodes. Major adverse reactions include leukopenia, granulopenia, anemia, radioactive acute oropharyngeal mucositis and dermatitis, digestive tract reaction, fatigue, hypothyroidism, aminotransferase elevation, and reactive capillary hyperplasia. Conclusions:Camrelizumab combined with induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy can achieve high short-term efficacy for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, without increasing the incidence of adverse reactions. Its long-term efficacy deserves further research.

Research progress on effects and mechanisms of short-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and its components on blood pressure / 环境与职业医学

Elevated blood pressure is one of the major contributors to cardiovascular disease and premature death. The exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is closely associated with changes in blood pressure, and even short-term exposure to PM2.5 can lead to an increase in blood pressure. PM2.5 is a complex mixture that exerts different toxicities and triggers increased blood pressure through various mechanisms. Therefore, in this article, we provided a comprehensive review of published studies on the effects of short-term exposure to PM2.5 and its components on blood pressure, and elaborated potential mechanisms from four aspects, including oxidative stress and inflammatory response, endothelial dysfunction, autonomic nervous system disorders and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activation, and epigenome alteration. Given the limitations of existing research, future prospective studies can be conducted on diverse populations, using more precise exposure measurement methods and multi-omics approaches, to further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the effects of PM2.5 and its various components on blood pressure. The findings would provide a theoretical foundation for effective protection of public health, particularly vulnerable groups.

Nutritional Status With Short-term Memory in School-aged Children

@#Introduction: The problem of double nutrition includes undernutrition and overnutrition, often found in elementary school children. Nutritional problems in childhood will cause disturbances in children’s cognitive abilities, especially in remembering. The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between nutritional status and shortterm memory in 5th grade school-aged children at one of the Elementary schools in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. Methods: This research design is non-experimental with a correlation method and cross-sectional approach. A total of 111 respondents were chosen with simple random sampling. Data collection used observation sheets for nutritional status and questionnaire sheets for short-term memory. Results: Chi-square test SPSS statistical test showed that p < 0.001 (α = 0.05) where H1 was accepted, meaning that there was a significant relationship between nutritional status and short-term memory in school-aged children at one of the Elementary schools in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. There were 65 respondents with normal nutritional status and 63 respondents with high short-term memory. Moreover, a good nutritional status of the child and a good neurological function of the child’s brain, impact the ability to remember. Conclusion: There is a correlation between nutritional status and short-term memory in school-aged children. Most of the respondents have nutritional status and short-term memory in the normal category and high category at the age of elementary school children. In line with the conclusion, the school is expected to periodically monitor nutritional status through UKS (School Health Unit).

Short-term voluntary exercise enhances the activation of endogenous neural stem cells inintracerebral hemorrhage mice with hyperlipidemia / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

【Objective】 To investigate the improvement of motor function recovery and the activation of endogenous neural stem cells (eNSCs) via voluntary exercise in mice with hyperlipidemia after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). 【Methods】 Four-month-old male Nestin-CreERT2: tdTomato transgenic mice were fed with high-fat diet (HFD) for eight weeks. Type Ⅳ collagenase was micro-injected into the corpus striatum to construct mouse ICH model with the help of stereotaxic apparatus. Voluntary exercise (wheel running) was initiated on the second day after ICH and monitored daily for seven days. Neurological severity score (NSS) and beam walking test were applied to evaluate motor function and coordination. Liver and brain tissues were collected at day 9 after ICH and sliced for staining. Then the Nestin-labeled cells, Ki67+, and doublecortin (DCX)+ in subventricular zone (SVZ) were counted to evaluate eNSCs activation. 【Results】 ① Compared with those of mice fed by chow diet (CD), the body weight, blood glucose level, concentration of lipid metabolism factors and the number of Nile Red positive cells in liver tissue were significantly higher in HFD-fed mice, confirming hyperlipidemia. ② Compared with the sham group, NSS score increased and the distance of cross-beam walking of ICH mice significantly decreased, showing the deficiency of motor function. It could be rescued by 7-day wheel running, as shown by a lower NSS score and a longer cross-beam walking distance. ③ Compared with the sham group, the number of Nestin+/Ki67+ cells decreased and Nestin+/DCX+ cells increased after ICH. After 7-day voluntary exercise, the number of Nestin+/Ki67+ cells decreased but that of Nestin+/DCX+ cells further increased significantly. However, compared with ICH, the increase of Nestin+/DCX+ cells in ICH+Ex was not significant. 【Conclusion】 Short-term voluntary exercise during the acute stage of ICH improved the recovery of motor function and enhance the proliferation of eNSCs in mice with hyperlipidemia. This provides a new idea for further developing ICH accelerated rehabilitation strategy based on eNSCs.

Construction of an epileptic seizure prediction model using a semi-supervised method of generative adversarial and long short term memory network combined with Stockwell transform / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To propose a semi-supervised epileptic seizure prediction model (ST-WGAN-GP-Bi-LSTM) to enhance the prediction performance by improving time-frequency analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, enhancing the stability of the unsupervised feature learning model and improving the design of back-end classifier.@*METHODS@#Stockwell transform (ST) of the epileptic EEG signals was performed to locate the time-frequency information by adaptive adjustment of the resolution and retaining the absolute phase to obtain the time-frequency inputs. When there was no overlap between the generated data distribution and the real EEG data distribution, to avoid failure of feature learning due to a constant JS divergence, Wasserstein GAN was used as a feature learning model, and the cost function based on EM distance and gradient penalty strategy was adopted to constrain the unsupervised training process to allow the generation of a high-order feature extractor. A temporal prediction model was finally constructed based on a bi-directional long short term memory network (Bi-LSTM), and the classification performance was improved by obtaining the temporal correlation between high-order time-frequency features. The CHB-MIT scalp EEG dataset was used to validate the proposed patient-specific seizure prediction method.@*RESULTS@#The AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of the proposed method reached 90.40%, 83.62%, and 86.69%, respectively. Compared with the existing semi-supervised methods, the propose method improved the original performance by 17.77%, 15.41%, and 53.66%. The performance of this method was comparable to that of a supervised prediction model based on CNN.@*CONCLUSION@#The utilization of ST, WGAN-GP, and Bi-LSTM effectively improves the prediction performance of the semi-supervised deep learning model, which can be used for optimization of unsupervised feature extraction in epileptic seizure prediction.

Research on migraine time-series features classification based on small-sample functional magnetic resonance imaging data / 生物医学工程学杂志

The extraction of neuroimaging features of migraine patients and the design of identification models are of great significance for the auxiliary diagnosis of related diseases. Compared with the commonly used image features, this study directly uses time-series signals to characterize the functional state of the brain in migraine patients and healthy controls, which can effectively utilize the temporal information and reduce the computational effort of classification model training. Firstly, Group Independent Component Analysis and Dictionary Learning were used to segment different brain areas for small-sample groups and then the regional average time-series signals were extracted. Next, the extracted time series were divided equally into multiple subseries to expand the model input sample. Finally, the time series were modeled using a bi-directional long-short term memory network to learn the pre-and-post temporal information within each time series to characterize the periodic brain state changes to improve the diagnostic accuracy of migraine. The results showed that the classification accuracy of migraine patients and healthy controls was 96.94%, the area under the curve was 0.98, and the computation time was relatively shorter. The experiments indicate that the method in this paper has strong applicability, and the combination of time-series feature extraction and bi-directional long-short term memory network model can be better used for the classification and diagnosis of migraine. This work provides a new idea for the lightweight diagnostic model based on small-sample neuroimaging data, and contributes to the exploration of the neural discrimination mechanism of related diseases.