Efficacy of modified pterygium resection combined with conjunctival autograft transplantation in the treatment of pterygium / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM:To analyze the efficacy of modified pterygium resection combined with conjunctival autograft transplantation(CAT)in the treatment of pterygium.METHODS: A total of 140 patients(154 eyes)with pterygium treated in the ophthalmology department of our hospital from January 2018 to January 2021 were selected and grouped according to random number table method. In the observation group, 70 cases(76 eyes)were treated with modified pterygium excision combined with CAT, and improved iris restorer was used during the operation. In the control group, 70 patients(78 eyes)were treated with conventional pterygium excision combined with CAT, during which traditional iris restorer was used. Follow up for 1a, the postoperative vision, subjective symptoms, conjunctival signs(conjunctival congestion and chemosis), corneal epithelial healing, postoperative complications and recurrence rate were compared between the two groups.RESULTS: Compared with pre-operation, vision of the two groups decreased significantly on 1, 3 and 5d after operation(P<0.05), while there was no statistically significant difference between the groups(P>0.05). Compared with 1d after operation, the scores on subjective symptoms, conjunctival hyperemia and edema in the two groups decreased significantly on 3, 5 and 14d after operation(P<0.05), and those scores of the observation group on 3, 5 and 14d after operation were significantly lower than those of control group(P<0.05).The corneal fluorescein staining(FL)scores of the observation group on 3, 5 and 14d after operation were significantly lower than those of the control group(P<0.05). The proportion of repair time of corneal epithelial defect ≤5d in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05). The incidence rates of conjunctival granuloma, symblepharon, and the recurrence rate in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: Modified pterygium resection combined with CAT is effective in the treatment of pterygium, which can alleviate postoperative irritative symptoms, conjunctival congestion and edema, and it is more conducive to postoperative corneal epithelial reconstruction, reduction of postoperative complications and recurrence rate.

Neutralizing Antibody Responses against Five SARS-CoV-2 Variants and T Lymphocyte Change after Vaccine Breakthrough Infections from the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 Variant in Tianjin, China: A Prospective Study / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate whether Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infection after receiving the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine could create a strong immunity barrier.@*METHODS@#Blood samples were collected at two different time points from 124 Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infected patients and 124 controls matched for age, gender, and vaccination profile. Live virus-neutralizing antibodies against five SARS-CoV-2 variants, including WT, Gamma, Beta, Delta, and Omicron BA.1, and T-lymphocyte lymphocyte counts in both groups were measured and statistically analyzed.@*RESULTS@#The neutralizing antibody titers against five different variants of SARS-CoV-2 were significantly increased in the vaccinated population infected with the Omicron BA.1 variant at 3 months after infection, but mainly increased the antibody level against the WT strain, and the antibody against the Omicron strain was the lowest. The neutralizing antibody level decreased rapidly 6 months after infection. The T-lymphocyte cell counts of patients with mild and moderate disease recovered at 3 months and completely returned to the normal state at 6 months.@*CONCLUSION@#Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infection mainly evoked humoral immune memory in the original strain after vaccination and hardly produced neutralizing antibodies specific to Omicron BA.1. Neutralizing antibodies against the different strains declined rapidly and showed features similar to those of influenza. Thus, T-lymphocytes may play an important role in recovery.

A medium-and long-term comparative observation on volumetric changes of cervical disc herniation after symmetrically or asymmetrically decompression and conservative treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy / 中华外科杂志

Objective: To compare the volumetric changes of cervical disc herniation (CDH) after cervical microendoscopic laminoplasty(CMEL),expansive open-door laminoplasty (EOLP) and conservative treatment. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted involving 101 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy(CSM),at the Department of Orthopaedics,the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from April 2012 to April 2021. The patients included 52 males and 49 females with an age of (54.7±11.8) years(range:25 to 86 years). Among them, 35 patients accepted CMEL treatment,33 patients accepted EOLP treatment,while 33 patients accepted conservative treatment. Volume data of CDH were measured by three-dimensional analysis of the initial and follow-up MRI images. The absorption rate and reprotrusion rate of CDH were calculated. The happening of resorption or reprotrusion was defined when the ratio was greater than 5%. The clinical outcomes and quality of life were evaluated by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and the neck disability index (NDI).Quantitative data was analyzed by one-way ANOVA with post LSD-t test (multiple comparison) or Kruskal-Wallis test. Categorical data was analyzed by χ2test. Results: The follow-up time of the CMEL group,EOLP group and the conservative treatment group were (27.6±18.8)months,(21.6±6.9)months and(24.9±16.3)months respectively with no significant difference(P>0.05). Changes of CDH volume in patients:(1) There were 96 CDH of 35 patients in the CMEL group,among which 78 showed absorption. The absorption frequency was 81.3%(78/96) and the absorption rate was ranged 5.9% to 90.9%;9 CDH showed reprotrusion,the reprotrusion frequency was 9.4% (9/96) and the reprotrusion rate was 5.9% to 13.3%;(2) There were 94 CDH of 33 patients in the EOLP group,of which 45 showed absorption. The absorption prevalence was 47.9% (45/94) and the absorption rate was 5.0% to 26.7%;20 CDH showed reprotruded,with the reprotrusion frequency of 21.3% (20/94) and the reprotrusion rate was 5.8% to 28.3%;(3) There were 102 CDH in 33 patients of the conservative group. Among them, 5 showed absorption. The absorption frequency was 4.9% (5/102),and the absorption rate was 7.2% to 14.3%;58 CDH showed reprotruded with the re-protrusion ratio of 56.9% (58/102) and the re-protrusion rate was 5.4% to 174.1%. The absorption ratio and reprotrusion ratio of the CMEL group were statistically different from EOLP group or the conservative group (P<0.01).The absorption ratio and reprotrusion ratio of the EOLP group was different from conservative group (P<0.01). In terms of clinical outcomes, the excellent/good rate of the JOA score and NDI scores in the CMEL group were different from that of conservative group (P<0.01) but not from that of the EOLP group(P>0.05). Conclusions: CMEL is an effective method for the treatment of CSM,making CDH easier to resorption compared to the EOLP or conservative treatment,thus making a better decompression effect on the nerves. This study enlightened on a new strategy for the clinical treatment of CSM.

Self-assembling, pH-responsive nanoflowers for inhibiting PAD4 and neutrophil extracellular trap formation and improving the tumor immune microenvironment

Self-assembling carrier-free nanodrugs are attractive agents because they accumulate at tumor by an enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect without introduction of inactive substances, and some nanodrugs can alter the immune environment. We synthesized a peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) molecular inhibitor, ZD-E-1M. It could self-assembled into nanodrug ZD-E-1. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy, we observed its cellular colocalization, PAD4 activity and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation. The populations of immune cells and expression of immune-related proteins were determined by single-cell mass cytometry. ZD-E-1 formed nanoflowers in an acidic environment, whereas it formed nanospheres at pH 7.4. Accumulation of ZD-E-1 at tumor was pH-responsive because of its pH-dependent differences in the size and shape. It could enter the nucleus and bind to PAD4 to prolong the intracellular retention time. In mice, ZD-E-1 inhibited tumor growth and metastasis by inhibiting PAD4 activity and NETs formation. Besides, ZD-E-1 could regulate the ratio of immune cells in LLC tumor-bearing mice. Immunosuppressive proteins like LAG3 were suppressed, while IFN-γ and TNF-α as stimulators of tumor immune response were upregulated. Overall, ZD-E-1 is a self-assembling carrier-free nanodrug that responds to pH, inhibits PAD4 activity, blocks neutrophil extracellular traps formation, and improves the tumor immune microenvironment.

Establishment and Validation of A Prognostic Nomogram for Pediatric Ependymoma Based on SEER Database / 肿瘤防治研究

Objective To establish and validate a Nomogram for predicting the survival of patients with pediatric ependymoma based on SEER database. Methods We collected the clinicopathological data from 1975 to 2016 in the SEER database. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to identify potential predictors. A Nomogram was constructed to predict 5- and 10-year overall survival of patients with pediatric ependymoma. The consistency index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic curve and calibration curve were used to verify the discrimination and accuracy of the Nomogram. The decision curve analysis was performed to verify the clinical applicability of the Nomogram. Results A Nomogram model was established based on multivariate Cox proportional hazards model of training set. C-index values of the Nomogram were 0.713 (95%CI: 0.680-0.747) and 0.734 (95%CI: 0.681-0.787) in the training and validation sets, respectively. ROC curves also showed good discrimination in the training set. The calibration curves showed satisfactory consistency between Nomogram and ideal models. The decision curve analysis demonstrated the considerable clinical usefulness of the Nomogram. Conclusion The Nomogram model is constructed based on age at diagnosis, gender, race, primary tumor sites, tumor grade, surgery treatment and SEER registry to predict the survival of patients with pediatric ependymoma. It has good discrimination and accuracy degree, providing useful guidance to make more accurate and personalized survival prediction for patients in clinic.

Cardiac electrical and mechanical synchrony of super-responders to cardiac resynchronization therapy / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Super-responders (SRs) to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) regain near-normal or normal cardiac function. The extent of cardiac synchrony of SRs and whether continuous biventricular (BIV) pacing is needed remain unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiac electrical and mechanical synchrony of SRs.@*METHODS@#We retrospectively analyzed CRT recipients between 2008 and 2016 in 2 centers to identify SRs, whose left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction was increased to ≥50% at follow-up. Cardiac synchrony was evaluated in intrinsic and BIV-paced rhythms. Electrical synchrony was estimated by QRS duration and LV mechanical synchrony by single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging.@*RESULTS@#Seventeen SRs were included with LV ejection fraction increased from 33.0 ± 4.6% to 59.3 ± 6.3%. The intrinsic QRS duration after super-response was 148.8 ± 30.0 ms, significantly shorter than baseline (174.8 ± 11.9 ms, P = 0.004, t = -3.379) but longer than BIV-paced level (135.5 ± 16.7 ms, P = 0.042, t = 2.211). Intrinsic LV mechanical synchrony significantly improved after super-response (phase standard deviation [PSD], 51.1 ± 16.5° vs. 19.8 ± 8.1°, P < 0.001, t = 5.726; phase histogram bandwidth (PHB), 171.7 ± 64.2° vs. 60.5 ± 22.9°, P < 0.001, t = 5.376) but was inferior to BIV-paced synchrony (PSD, 19.8 ± 8.1° vs. 15.2 ± 6.4°, P = 0.005, t = 3.414; PHB, 60.5 ± 22.9° vs. 46.0 ± 16.3°, P = 0.009, t = 3.136).@*CONCLUSIONS@#SRs had significant improvements in cardiac electrical and LV mechanical synchrony. Since intrinsic synchrony of SRs was still inferior to BIV-paced rhythm, continued BIV pacing is needed to maintain longstanding and synchronized contraction.

Research progress in application and mechanism of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus for prevention and treatment of liver diseases / 中国中药杂志

Schisandra is the mature fruit of Schisandra chinensis(known as "north Schisandra") or S. shenanthera(known as "south Schisandra"). S. chinensis contains a variety of lignans, volatile oils, polysaccharides, organic acids and other chemical constituents; among them, lignans are recognized as the characteristic active components. Clinical studies have found that Schisandra and Schisandra-related products have a better effect in the prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis, drug-induced liver injury, liver cirrhosis, liver failure and other liver diseases. Modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated that Schisandra has a variety of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammation, antioxidation, anticancer, regulation of nuclear receptor, antivirus, regulation of cytochrome P450 enzyme, inhibition of liver cell apoptosis and promotion of liver regeneration. This paper reviews the studies about the applications and mechanism of Schisandra in the prevention and treatment of liver diseases, in the expectation of providing guidance for the development of hepatoprotective drugs from Schisandra and the clinical applications of Schisandra-related products.

An ultra-sensitive and easy-to-use assay for sensing human UGT1A1 activities in biological systems / 药物分析学报

The human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1), one of the most essential conjugative enzymes, is responsible for the metabolism and detoxification of bilirubin and other endogenous substances, as well as many different xenobiotic compounds. Deciphering UGT1A1 relevance to human diseases and characterizing the effects of small molecules on the activities of UGT1A1 requires reliable tools for probing the function of this key enzyme in complex biological matrices. Herein, an easy-to-use assay for highly-selective and sensitive monitoring of UGT1A1 activities in various biological matrices, using liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (LC-FD), has been developed and validated. The newly developed LC-FD based assay has been confirmed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, precision, quanti-tative linear range and stability. One of its main advantages is lowering the limits of detection and quantification by about 100-fold in comparison to the previous assay that used the same probe substrate, enabling reliable quantification of lower amounts of active enzyme than any other method. The precision test demonstrated that both intra- and inter-day variations for this assay were less than 5.5％. Further-more, the newly developed assay has also been successfully used to screen and characterize the regu-latory effects of small molecules on the expression level of UGT1A1 in living cells. Overall, an easy-to-use LC-FD based assay has been developed for ultra-sensitive UGT1A1 activities measurements in various biological systems, providing an inexpensive and practical approach for exploring the role of UGT1A1 in human diseases, interactions with xenobiotics, and characterization modulatory effects of small mole-cules on this conjugative enzyme.

Characteristics of the spatial distribution of myopia prevalence for Chinese children and adolescents aged 7-18 years from 2005 to 2014 / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the spatial distribution pattern and characteristics of myopia prevalence for Chinese children and adolescents aged 7-18 years old from 2005 to 2014, and to provide scientific basis for regional myopia prevention and control.@*Methods@#Using data from the National Survey on the Constitution and Health of Chinese Students from 2005 to 2014,children and adolescents aged 7-18 yeaer old with Han and Tibetan ethnicity were included into analysis by using the Arc-GIS 10.2 software.@*Results@#From 2005 to 2014, the overall Moran’s index were 0.13,0.02,-0.06(P>0.05), there was no spatial autocorrelation. Local autocorrelation analysis showed that Shandong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang Province were "high" aggregation areas, while Hainan and Guangxi Province were "low" aggregation areas.@*Conclusion@#The myopia prevalence of children and adolescents in 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions shows significant local spatial autocorrelation, most of which are positive correlation; the number of high-high aggregation gradually decreases, while the number of low-low and low-high aggregation gradually increases.

The progress on the relationship between P2X7 receptor and pancreatic cancer / 医学研究生学报

Pancreatic cancer is one of the cancers with poor prognosis at present, which has high resistance to various anti-tumor drugs as a result of the interaction among pancreatic cancer cells, cancer stem cells, and the tumor microenvironment. P2X7 receptors are extracellular adenosine triphosphate(ATP)-gated nonselective cation channels, which have many biological functions including being involved in cell signal transduction and cytokine secretion, mediate cell survival and growth. Studies have shown that P2X7 receptor is highly expressed in pancreatic cancer and promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells by supporting proliferation of pancreatic stellate cells and regulating the expressed of the MMP2/MMP9 protein. The paper reviews the recent research advances of P2X7 receptor in pancreatic cancer.

Middle-term clinical and radiological outcomes of self-locking and zero-profile cages in treating multi-segmental cervical spondylosis in elderly patients / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective To investigate the middle-term clinical and radiological outcomes of self-locking and zero-profile cages for the treatment of multi-segmental cervical spondylosis in elderly patients through anterior decompression and fusion approach.Methods A total of 39 old patients with multi-segmental cervical spondylosis who received anterior cervical decompression and internal fixation with self-locking and zero-profile cages from January 2013 to January 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.The operation time,intraoperative bleeding volume and post-operational complications were recorded.The functions of cervical spine before and 1-month,1-year,the last follow-up after treatment were evaluated by using the neck pain visual analogue scale(VAS) score,the Japanese orthopedic association (JOA)score and neck disability index (NDI)score.The subjective satisfaction at the final follow-up was evaluated by using Odom's criteria.The whole cervical spine curvature,the range of motion of cervical spine,the height of fused segment,Cobb angle of fused segment,C2～C7 line of force at sagittal view,Cage sedimentation rate and fusion rate before and 1-month and 1-year and the last follow-up after treatment were evaluated by using X-ray and CT and compared between the two groups.Results All patients were followed up,and the mean follow-up time was(35.0±5.3)months(24-48 months).The average operation time was(110.0±21.3)min(85-180 min).The average intraoperative bleeding volum was (50.3 ± 10.6)ml (20-150 ml).There were significant differences in JOA and NDI scores before versus at 1-month,1-year and the final follow-up after treatment(F=9.93 and 28.21,P=0.001 and 0.001).The VAS score of neck pain was lower at 1-month,1-year follow-up than at pre-treatment(P＜0.05),while there were no significant differences in VAS score before treatment versus at the final treatment(P＞0.05).The fineness rate by the Odom criteria was 84.6 ％ (33/39 cases)at the final follow-up.The whole cervical spine curvature,the height of fused segment,the Cobb angle of fused segment and C2-C7 line of force at sagittal view were significantly improved at 1-month,1-year and the final follow-up versus pre-treatment(P＜0.05).The improvements in whole cervical spine curvature and the height of fused segment were lost in some degree with the time extension of follow-up,and the degree of improvements losing was higher at the final follow-up than at 1-year follow-up.At last follow up and in all of patients,the rate of segment fusion were 87.2 ％ (102/117 cases) and Cage sedimentation rate was still 21.4 ％ (25/117 cases).Conclusions Self-locking and zero-profile cages can shorten the operation time,reduce the incidence of postoperative dysphagia,and have good clinical efficacy and fusion rate.But the improvements in cervical spine curvature and the height of fused segement are gradually lost,and the cage has a subsidence in some degree in the middle-term follow-up.Thus,a comprehensive consideration is still needed when choosing self-locking and zero-profile cages for clinical application.

Generation and phenotypic analysis of Fbxo22 knockout mice / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

Objective · To establish the Fbxo22 knockout mouse model and study the biological function of FBXO22. Methods · The Fbxo22 knockout mice were generated by CRISPR-Cas9 technology. The number, appearance, weight of different embryos and mice were measured. Meanwhile, the food intake and survival of Fbxo22-/- mice were analyzed. Results · Although the Fbxo22-/- embryos were present at approximately Mendelian ratios on embryonic day 17.5/18.5, most of them died within 48 hours of birth. Furthermore, those surviving Fbxo22-/- mice showed reduced body size and food intake and decreased life span. Conclusion · FBXO22 is an important, albeit not essential, protein for early postnatal survival and normal development.

Percutaneous curved vertebroplasty in the treatment of thoracolumbar osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a prospective study / 中华骨科杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of percutaneous curved vertebroplasty in the treatment of thoracolum?bar osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs). Methods All of 85 patients with single thoracolumbar vertebral OVCFs who met the admission criteria from January 2017 to July 2018 were divided into three groups according to the random dig?its table method. They were treated with percutaneous curved vertebroplasty, routine unipedicular PVP and routine bipedicular PVP respectively. There were 25 patients in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group, 6 males and 19 females; aged 56-80 years, with an average age of 70.6±9.7 years. Fracture vertebral body distribution:T10 2 cases,T11 4 cases,T12 3 cases, L1 9 cases, L2 3 cases, L3 1 case, L4 1 case and L5 2 cases. There were 32 patients in the routine unipedicular PVP group, 6 males and 26 fe? males; aged 58-75 years, with an average age of 69.5±9.3 years. Fracture vertebral body distribution: T10 2 cases, T11 4 cases, T12 5 cases, L1 11 cases, L2 6 cases, L3 1 case, L4 1 case and L5 2 cases. There were 28 patients in the routine bipedicular PVP group, 5 males and 23 females; aged 59-81 years, with an average age of 69.8±8.8 years. Fracture vertebral body distribution: T10 2 cases, T11 4 cases, T12 4 cases, L1 10 cases, L2 4 cases, L3 1 case, L4 1 case and L5 2 cases. The operation time, injected cement volume, in?traoperative blood loss were recorded and analyzed. Preoperative, postoperative 1 week and 3 months visual analogue scale scores and oswestry disability index were adopted to value the clinical improvements. Preoperative, postoperative 1 week and 3 months relative vertebral height and kyphosis correction, and the cement leakage rate were measured and analyzed. Results There was no significant difference in the data of gender, age, VAS scores, ODI and distribution of fracture vertebrae among the three groups (P>0.05), and the baseline data was comparable. The average VAS score in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group was 2.3±0.5 at 1 week after surgery, that of the routine unipedicular PVP group was 2.4±0.4 and that of the routine bipe?dicular PVP group was 2.4±0.4; the average ODI in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group was 19.8%±3.9%, that of the routine unipedicular PVP group was 20.0%±4.1% and that of the routine bipedicular PVP group was 19.9%±3.8%; they were lower than the preoperative data, which were statistically significant (P<0.001). The average relative vertebral height in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group was 48.99%±9.23% at 3 months after surgery, that of the routine unipedicular PVP group was 47.11%±10.12% and that of the routine bipedicular PVP group was 46.71%±11.16%; the average kyphosis cor?rection in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group was 6.21%±1.94%, that of the routine unipedicular PVP group was 5.22%±2.07% and that of the routine bipedicular PVP group was 5.97%±2.09%; there was 1 cement leakage case in the per?cutaneous curved vertebroplasty group; those of the routine unipedicular PVP group were 4 cases and those of the routine bipe?dicular PVP group were 6 cases; there was no significant difference among the three groups (P>0.05). Operation time 39.10± 2.00 min vs 38.70±1.70 min, injected cement volume 3.60±0.11 ml vs 3.50±0.13 ml and blood loss 5.10±0.30 ml vs 5.00±0.40 ml of the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group and the routine unipedicular PVP group were less than those of the routine bipedicular PVP group, which were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclution Percutaneous curved vertebroplasty could achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes for OVCFs, with advantages of less operation time, less blood loss, limited X?ray expo?sure, less injected cement volume, and more balanced augmentation for stabilization of the affected vertebrae and total verte?bral column.

Association between vitamin D deficiency and age-related macular degeneration / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#AIM: To explore the correlation between vitamin D(Vit-D)deficiency and age-related macular degeneration(ARMD).<p>METHODS: A total of 423 cases of middle-aged and aged outpatients(age>45 years)who participated in the physical examination in ophthalmology clinic of Yuncheng First Hospital during February 2018 to February 2019 were included in the cross-sectional study. The clinical information(including sex, age, family history of ARMD, <i>etc.</i>)and biochemical indices(including 25-hydroxyvitamin D \〖25(OH)D\〗, <i>etc.</i>)were collected. The correlations between serum 25(OH)D level and clinical information, as well as biochemical indices, were analyzed. The outpatients were divided into ARMD group(231 cases)and non-ARMD group(192 cases)according to the ARMD situation in the study. The correlation between Vit-D deficiency and ARMD was analyzed.<p>RESULTS: Serum 25(OH)D level was positively correlated with the male, duration of outdoor light exposure(<i>P</i><0.05), and negatively correlated with age, smoking and drinking(<i>P</i><0.05). Binary Logistic regression analysis showed that Vit-D deficiency was a risk factor associated with ARMD(<i>OR</i>=1.980, 95% <i>CI</i>: 1.829-2.201, <i>P</i><0.01). Other associated factors included age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), and duration of outdoor light exposure >5h/d, which were also risk factors associated with ARMD.<p>CONCLUSION: Nutritional imbalance due to Vit-D deficiency might be associated with the occurrence of ARMD. Appropriate sun exposure or vit-D supplements could contribute to preventing the development of ARMD.

A novel phenotype with splicing mutation identified in a Chinese family with desminopathy / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Desminopathy, a hereditary myofibrillar myopathy, mainly results from the desmin gene (DES) mutations. Desminopathy involves various phenotypes, mainly including different cardiomyopathies, skeletal myopathy, and arrhythmia. Combined with genotype, it helps us precisely diagnose and treat for desminopathy.@*METHODS@#Sanger sequencing was used to characterize DES variation, and then a minigene assay was used to verify the effect of splice-site mutation on pre-mRNA splicing. Phenotypes were analyzed based on clinical characteristics associated with desminopathy.@*RESULTS@#A splicing mutation (c.735+1G>T) in DES was detected in the proband. A minigene assay revealed skipping of the whole exon 3 and transcription of abnormal pre-mRNA lacking 32 codons. Another affected family member who carried the identical mutation, was identified with a novel phenotype of desminopathy, non-compaction of ventricular myocardium. There were 2 different phenotypes varied in cardiomyopathy and skeletal myopathy among the 2 patients, but no significant correlation between genotype and phenotype was identified.@*CONCLUSIONS@#We reported a novel phenotype with a splicing mutation in DES, enlarging the spectrum of phenotype in desminopathy. Molecular studies of desminopathy should promote our understanding of its pathogenesis and provide a precise molecular diagnosis of this disorder, facilitating clinical prevention and treatment at an early stage.

Determination of Sugar,Fructose,Mannose and Glucose in Shenxiong Glucose Injection by UPLC-MS/MS / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To establish a method for determining arabinose, mannose, fructopyranose and amylaceum in Shenxiong glucose injection by UPLC-MS/MS, so as to provide the basis for the scientific evaluation of the quality of Shenxiong glucose injection, and lay a foundation for the safe use of drugs in clinic. Method: Domestic GDX-403 solid-phase extraction column was used to purify Waters ACQUITY UPLC BEH Xbridge Amide column (2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm)at the column temperature of 35℃, and the mobile phase was 0.1% ammonia, 0.1% acetonitrile-0.1% ammonia water and water 85:15. The contents of arabinose, mannose, fructose and glucose in Shenxiong glucose injection were determined by UPLC-MS/MS with a flow rate of 0.3 mL·min-1. Result: A method was established to determine arabinose, mannose, fructopyranose and amylaceum in Shenxiong glucose injection. The concentration range of arabinose, mannose, fructopyranose and amylaceum showed a good linear relationship with the peak area, with a good repeatability and precision. Recoveries were 98.43%, 102.13%, 100.72%, 101.75%, and RSD were 2.4%, 1.3%, 3.1%, 2.7%. Arabinose and mannose content were stable in five batches of Shenxiong glucose injection. Conclusion: The method is simple and specific. Compared with the determination of total sugar, the method is more scientific and stable, and can be used for the quality control of Shenxiong glucose injection.

Percutaneous curved vertebroplasty in the treatment of thoracolumbar osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a prospective study / 中华骨科杂志

Objective@#To investigate the clinical effect of percutaneous curved vertebroplasty in the treatment of thoracolum-bar osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs).@*Methods@#All of 85 patients with single thoracolumbar vertebral OVCFs who met the admission criteria from January 2017 to July 2018 were divided into three groups according to the random dig-its table method. They were treated with percutaneous curved vertebroplasty, routine unipedicular PVP and routine bipedicular PVP respectively. There were 25 patients in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group, 6 males and 19 females; aged 56-80 years, with an average age of 70.6±9.7 years. Fracture vertebral body distribution: T10 2 cases, T11 4 cases, T12 3 cases, L1 9 cases, L2 3 cases, L3 1 case, L4 1 case and L5 2 cases. There were 32 patients in the routine unipedicular PVP group, 6 males and 26 fe-males; aged 58-75 years, with an average age of 69.5±9.3 years. Fracture vertebral body distribution: T10 2 cases, T11 4 cases, T12 5 cases, L1 11 cases, L2 6 cases, L3 1 case, L4 1 case and L5 2 cases. There were 28 patients in the routine bipedicular PVP group, 5 males and 23 females; aged 59-81 years, with an average age of 69.8±8.8 years. Fracture vertebral body distribution: T10 2 cases, T11 4 cases, T12 4 cases, L1 10 cases, L2 4 cases, L3 1 case, L4 1 case and L5 2 cases. The operation time, injected cement volume, in-traoperative blood loss were recorded and analyzed. Preoperative, postoperative 1 week and 3 months visual analogue scale scores and oswestry disability index were adopted to value the clinical improvements. Preoperative, postoperative 1 week and 3 months relative vertebral height and kyphosis correction, and the cement leakage rate were measured and analyzed.@*Results@#There was no significant difference in the data of gender, age, VAS scores, ODI and distribution of fracture vertebrae among the three groups (P>0.05), and the baseline data was comparable. The average VAS score in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group was 2.3±0.5 at 1 week after surgery, that of the routine unipedicular PVP group was 2.4±0.4 and that of the routine bipe-dicular PVP group was 2.4±0.4; the average ODI in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group was 19.8%±3.9%, that of the routine unipedicular PVP group was 20.0%±4.1% and that of the routine bipedicular PVP group was 19.9%±3.8%; they were lower than the preoperative data, which were statistically significant (P<0.001). The average relative vertebral height in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group was 48.99%±9.23% at 3 months after surgery, that of the routine unipedicular PVP group was 47.11%±10.12% and that of the routine bipedicular PVP group was 46.71%±11.16%; the average kyphosis cor-rection in the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group was 6.21%±1.94%, that of the routine unipedicular PVP group was 5.22%±2.07% and that of the routine bipedicular PVP group was 5.97%±2.09%; there was 1 cement leakage case in the per-cutaneous curved vertebroplasty group; those of the routine unipedicular PVP group were 4 cases and those of the routine bipe-dicular PVP group were 6 cases; there was no significant difference among the three groups (P>0.05). Operation time 39.10±2.00 min vs 38.70±1.70 min, injected cement volume 3.60±0.11 ml vs 3.50±0.13 ml and blood loss 5.10±0.30 ml vs 5.00±0.40 ml of the percutaneous curved vertebroplasty group and the routine unipedicular PVP group were less than those of the routine bipedicular PVP group, which were statistically significant (P<0.05).@*Conclution@#Percutaneous curved vertebroplasty could achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes for OVCFs, with advantages of less operation time, less blood loss, limited X-ray expo-sure, less injected cement volume, and more balanced augmentation for stabilization of the affected vertebrae and total verte-bral column.

Effect of functional exercises on patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effect of functional exercises on disease activity, joint function and quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).@*METHODS@#Randomized controlled trials were searched in Cochrane Library, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP database and Wanfang database with keywords being "rheumatoid arthritis/RA", "function exercise (training)/joint exercise (training)/physical exercise (training)/resistance movement (exercise)/isotonic and isometric/stretching exercise/muscle exercise", and "trials/clinical trials". Then literature selection, extraction and literature quality evaluation were carried out by two of the authors independently following the including and excluding standards. Then the outcome indicators were analyzed with Review Manager 5.3 software.@*RESULTS@#In the study, 2 173 articles were achieved by searching in databases, including 1 522 English papers and 651 Chinese papers. Then 913 duplicated papers were identified and removed using EndNote software. After reading the titles and abstracts, 1 194 papers were excluded that did not satisfy the including standards. Finally, the full texts of these papers were read and papers with insufficient data were excluded, resulting in 13 included papers for systematic review, including 8 English and 5 Chinese papers. A total of 812 cases were studied in these papers, including 426 in the experimental groups and 386 in the conventional groups. For the outcome index in these articles, disease activity score 28 (DAS28) was used in 5 of them, health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) was used in 8 articles, visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain was used in 6 articles, and morning stiffness duration was used in 3 articles. The meta-analysis showed that functional exercises could delay the development of the disease activity of RA patients (mean difference=-0.76; 95%CI: -1.13, -0.38; P<0.001), improve the joint function (mean difference=-0.36; 95%CI: -0.47, -0.24; P<0.001), alleviate the pain of joints (mean difference=-1.75; 95%CI: -1.98, -1.53; P<0.001), and reduce the duration of morning stiffness (mean difference=-17.65; 95%CI: -22.09, -13.21; P<0.001).@*CONCLUSION@#This study showed the positive effects of functional exercises on alleviating the pain of joints, reducing the morning stiffness duration, and delaying the disease exacerbation of RA patients. It has a positive effect on improving the joint function and improving the quality of life in patients with RA.

Effect of Body Weight Support Treadmill Training on Slope on Gait of Patients after Stroke / 中国康复理论与实践

@#Objective To apply the body weight support treadmill training (BWSTT) on slope for gait training in patients after stroke. Methods From March, 2015 to June, 2017, 46 patients after stroke were randomly divided into control group (n=23) and experimental group (n=23). Both groups accepted routine rehabilitation, and the experimental group accepted BWSTT on slope, while the control group accepted BWSTT on flat. They were assessed with Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Lower Extremities (FMA-LE), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Tinetti Gait Analysis (TGA) before and after treatment. Results The scores of FMA-LE, BBS and TGA improved after treatment (t>2.491, P<0.05), and were more in the experimental group than in the control group (t>2.195, P<0.05). Conclusion BWSTT is effective on gait in hemiplegic patients, and is more effective on slope.

The roles of Epac in ventricularar rhythmogenesis and chronic heart failure / 医学研究生学报

Epac acts as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the Raslike small G-proteins Rap1 and Rap2,which activates independently classical effector of cAMP,protein kinase A. Many studies have demonstrated that Epac modulates various cAMP-de-pendent cardiovascular functions,such as calcium handling and ion channel remodeling,which are involved in the development of ar-rhythmias and heart failure. The novel cAMP sensor may represent an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of several cardiovas-cular disorders,including cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure,because themodulation of Epac function is expected to enable morespe-cific regulation of particular cAMP-mediated signals than therapies targeting β-AR and Acs.