Hematoma evacuation based on active strategies versus conservative treatment in the management of moderate basal ganglia hemorrhage: A retrospective study.

Objective: The internal capsule of the basal ganglia is vulnerable to direct pressure from the hematoma and to secondary damage from toxic products of hemorrhage. Our study evaluated the risk and benefits of active strategies including ultra-early surgery and hematoma evacuation through a transsylvian-transinsular approach for moderate basal ganglia hemorrhage. Methods: We retrospectively collected patients with moderate basal ganglia hemorrhage in two hospitals. The conservative group contained 51 patients who had the best medical treatment, and the surgery group contained 36 patients who were treated with hematoma evacuation through a transsylvian-transinsular approach within 6 h from ictus. Motor function of upper and lower limbs recorded with the motor sub-score of NIHSS (m-NIHSS) at the baseline, 7 days, 30 days, and 90 days, the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and Barthel Index (BI) scores at 30 and 90 days were compared between the two groups. Good recovery was defined as an m-NIHSS of 0-2 and poor recovery as 3-4. Favorable prognosis was defined as an mRS of 0-3 and unfavorable prognosis as 4-5. Results: The mean time from ictus to surgery was 250.3 ± 57.3 min. The good recovery proportions of upper and lower limbs in the surgery group were significantly higher than that in the conservative group (p < 0.05) at 7 days after hemorrhage. The good recovery proportion of upper limbs was significantly higher in the surgery group than in the conservative group (p < 0.05) at 3 months after hemorrhage. Living ability using BI scores was significantly higher in the surgery group than the conservative group (p < 0.05) at 3 months after hemorrhage. The favorable prognosis proportion had no statistically significant difference between the two groups at 3 months after hemorrhage. Conclusions: Ultra-early hematoma evacuation through a transsylvian-transinsular approach are active strategies for moderate basal ganglia hemorrhage and have potential advantages in improving motor function recovery and daily living. The postoperative rebleeding rate does not increase simultaneously.

"Cutoff Clipping" Technique as a Tentative Clipping Alternative for Large Aneurysms: A Preliminary Study.

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative rupture of an aneurysm is potentially devastating. The thin-walled regions (TIWRs) of an aneurysm are associated with rupture risk. This study aimed to describe the feasibility and concerns of the "cutoff clipping" technique for TIWRs disposition of certain complex aneurysms. METHODS: Three cases were reported to illustrate the "cutoff clipping" technique which was applied to clip a large aneurysm. This study emphasized the exposure and clipping of the aneurysm fundus. The fundus was dissected according to the TIWRs size threshold the author proposed and was clipped transversely by a temporary clip to achieve size reduction and blood flow disconnection. The authors called this the "cutoff clipping" technique. After the cutoff clip was placed, the neck of the aneurysm was further dissected and clipped. RESULTS: After successfully placing the cutoff clip, the surgeon achieved to reduce the size of the fundus, decrease the TIWRs proportion, and disconnect the blood flow from the neck to the distal thin-walled dome. Sequentially, three aneurysms were clip-ligated without complications. CONCLUSION: The "cutoff clipping" technique applied under suitable conditions is a potential choice to dissect and clip a complex aneurysm with an adhesive neck and thin-walled dome.

Systematic Microwave-Assisted Postsynthesis of Mn-Doped Cesium Lead Halide Perovskites with Improved Color-Tunable Luminescence and Stability.

The metal doping at the Pb2+ position provides improved luminescence performance for the cesium lead halide perovskites, and their fabrication methods assisted by microwave have attracted considerable attention due to the advantages of fast heating and low energy consumption. However, the postsynthetic doping strategy of the metal-doped perovskites driven by microwave heating still lacks systematic research. In this study, the assembly of CsPbBr3/CsPb2Br5 with a strong fluorescence peak at 523 nm is used as the CsPbBr3 precursor, and through the optimization of the postsynthetic conditions such as reaction temperatures, Mn2+/Pb2+ feeding ratios, and Mn2+ sources, the optimum Mn2+-doped product (CsPb(Cl/Br)3:Mn) is achieved. The exciton fluorescence peak of CsPb(Cl/Br)3:Mn is blueshifted to 437 nm, and an obvious fluorescence peak attributing to the doped Mn2+ ions at 597 nm is obtained. Both the CsPbBr3 precursor and CsPb(Cl/Br)3:Mn have high PLQY and stability because there are CsPb2Br5 microcubic crystals to well disperse and embed the CsPbBr3 nanocrystals (NCs) in the precursor, and after Mn2+-doping, this structure is maintained to form CsPb(Cl/Br)3:Mn NCs on the surface of their microcrystals. The exploration of preparation parameters in the microwave-assisted method provides insights into the enhanced color-tunable luminescence of the metal-doped perovskite materials.

[Determination of fipronil and its metabolites in livestock and poultry liver by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with dispersive solid phase extraction].

The residues of fipronil and its metabolites, namely fipronil-desulfinyl, fipronil-sulfone, and fipronil-sulfide, have attracted increasing attention since the European egg contamination incident. In this study, by optimizing the pretreatment method and chromatographic conditions, a simple extraction method coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of fipronil and its metabolites, including fipronil-desulfinyl, fipronil-sulfone, and fipronil-sulfide, in livestock and poultry liver. The optimal pretreatment method for fipronil and its metabolites was determined by comparing the recoveries obtained with different extraction solvents (methanol, acetonitrile, acetone, and ethyl acetate), and by purification with N-propyl ethylenediamine (PSA) and octadecylsilane (C18). The samples were extracted with 10 mL acetonitrile, then purified with 150 mg PSA and 100 mg C18, following which the extracted solutions were directly injected for analysis. Separation was performed on an Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 column (150 mm×2.1 mm, 3.5 µm) with gradient elution using acetonitrile and water as the mobile phases. The target compounds were detected by electrospray ionization (ESI) in the negative mode under multiple reaction monitoring, and quantified by the external standard method with matrix-matched standard correction curves. The results indicated that the linear ranges for the four compounds ranged from 0.1 µg/L to 10.0 µg/L with correlation coefficients (r2) higher than 0.995. The limit of detection was 0.2 µg/kg and limit of quantitation was 0.5 µg/kg. The average recoveries were between 81.1% and 99.8% at three spiked levels of 0.5, 1.0, and 10 µg/kg, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 6.1%-11.7%. The matrix effect experiment showed that fipronil and its metabolites had matrix inhibition effects. Matrix-matched standard curve correction was performed to eliminate matrix inhibition effects. The proposed method was used for the analysis of 99 liver samples, where fipronil-sulfone was detected in four samples with values of 1.25-2.82 µg/kg. The method is simple, sensitive, and accurate, and is suitable for the determination of fipronil and its metabolites in livestock and poultry liver.

Radar Emitter Recognition Based on the Energy Cumulant of Short Time Fourier Transform and Reinforced Deep Belief Network.

To cope with the complex electromagnetic environment and varied signal styles, a novel method based on the energy cumulant of short time Fourier transform and reinforced deep belief network is proposed to gain a higher correct recognition rate for radar emitter intra-pulse signals at a low signal-to-noise ratio. The energy cumulant of short time Fourier transform is attained by calculating the accumulations of each frequency sample value with the different time samples. Before this procedure, the time frequency distribution via short time Fourier transform is processed by base noise reduction. The reinforced deep belief network is proposed to employ the input feature vectors for training to achieve the radar emitter recognition and classification. Simulation results manifest that the proposed method is feasible and robust in radar emitter recognition even at a low SNR.

The value of red cell distribution width in patients with ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: The red cell distribution width (RDW) has attracted attention in the diagnosis of malignant tumors. In this study, we analyzed the correlation between the RDW and ovarian cancer by observing changes in the RDW in patients with ovarian cancer. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, China, from 2012 to 2016, were retrospectively analyzed. Patients diagnosed with ovarian benign tumors in our hospital during the same period comprised the control group. Differences in relevant indicators were compared between the ovarian cancer and control groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. Differences in the RDW at different stages of ovarian cancer were compared using one-way analysis of variance. Correlations between the RDW and experimental parameters in patients with ovarian cancer were analyzed by Spearman correlation. RESULTS: The RDW, absolute neutrophil count (N), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) concentration were significantly higher in the ovarian cancer than control group. The hemoglobin concentration (Hb) and absolute lymphocyte count (L) were significantly lower in the ovarian cancer than control group. The RDW was significantly different among 4 different stages of ovarian cancer. Correlation analysis demonstrated that the RDW was negatively correlated with the hemoglobin concentration (Hb). The RDW was positively correlated with the cancer stage, NLR, PLR, and CA-125 concentration. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of the RDW was 0.876 (95% confidence interval 0.829-0.923). CONCLUSION: The RDW is associated with ovarian cancer and is a potential marker of its progression.

Prevalence of diabetes and determinants: evidence from a minority region in People's Republic of China.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and other categories of glucose intolerance (impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose) and explore the risk factors in an ethnic minority region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. METHODS: A population-based study enrolled 53,270 residents older than 5 years in Guangxi, People's Republic of China. The prevalence of diabetes was calculated using the 1999 World Health Organization (WHO) oral glucose tolerance test diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: Among 53,270 individuals, the prevalence of diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, and impaired fasting glucose was 5.96%, 7.36%, and 2.62%, respectively. Of the 3,173 individuals with diabetes mellitus, 696 (21.94%) were found to have a history of diabetes and 2,477 (78.06%) were newly diagnosed. A lower prevalence was found in Zhuang ethnic minority people compared with the majority of Han people. The prevalence was significantly associated with age, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, dyslipidemia, medical history of hypertension, and family history of diabetes. CONCLUSION: Guangxi shows a rapidly rising prevalence of diabetes. Weight control and blood lipid control are important to decrease the rapidly increasing prevalence of diabetes in Guangxi, an ethnic minority region.

The Effect of HBV Genotype C on the Development of HCC Differs Between Wild-Type Viruses and Those With BCP Double Mutations (T(1762)A(1764)).

BACKGROUND: Association of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development remains controversial. HBV basal core promoter (BCP) double mutations (T(1762)A(1764)) are very strong confounding factors of genotypes B and C in HCC development. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association of HBV genotype C with HCC development after controlling for BCP double mutations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred and two serum samples from patients with HCC, liver cirrhosis (LC) and chronic hepatitis (CH) and also from asymptomatic HBsAg carriers were analyzed. RESULTS: Genotypes B (31.1%), C (62.8%), and I (6.1%) were detected. With the severity of liver disease the prevalence of genotype B decreased, but genotype C increased. No trend was found for genotype I. The prevalence of BCP double mutations in genotypes C and I viruses was significantly higher than genotype B. BCP double mutations are risk factors for CH, LC and HCC. Genotype C was not identified as a particular risk factor for HCC prior to the stratification analysis but after that genotype C viruses with BCP double mutations were found to be a particular risk factor for HCC (P = 0.008, OR = 17.19 [95% CI: 2.10 - 140.41]), but those with the wild-type BCP were not. In the interaction analysis, genotype C and BCP double mutations were found to have a synergistic effect on HCC development (P < 0.0001, OR = 52.56 [95% CI: 11.49-240.52]). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of HBV genotype C on the development of HCC differs between wild-type viruses and those with BCP double mutations, suggesting that not all individuals infected with genotype C HBV are at increased risk of HCC.

[Validation of a Chinese version of the child perception questionnaire].

OBJECTIVE: To translate the original English version of the child perception questionnaire (CPQ(11-14)) into Chinese version and to test the psychometric properties of the Chinese version in order to use among the Chinese children. METHODS: The original English version of CPQ(11-14) was translated into Chinese, and pre-tested and cross-cultural adapted. Subsequently, the Chinese version with a general questionnaire was administered to 218 children aged from 11 to 14, clinical data on caries status and malocclusion were collected through oral health examination. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability was substantial (r=0.82, P<0.001). Cronbach's alpha of the translated scale was 0.79. The 16 items were divided into five domains by factor analysis. There was certain logical relation between the items in the same domains. There was highly significant association between perceived oral health status, perceived impact to quality of life by oral health and CPQ(11-14) score (P<0.0005). Significant relationships were identified between caries status and CPQ(11-14) scores (P<0.001), and between malocclusion and CPQ(11-14) scores in middle-school-group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The translated Chinese version of CPQ(11-14) demonstrated good reliability and validity. Its good psychometric properties provide the theoretical evidence for further use in Chinese population. It is available for use by researchers in oral health related quality of life studies in Chinese children.