Diagnostic Value of Delayed Contrast-Enhanced Cardiac Computed Tomography for Detecting Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Objective: Delayed enhancement cardiac CT is a reliable tool for the diagnosis of left atrial appendage thrombus but limited for scanning heterogeneity. We aimed to explore the improvement of the 1 and 3-min delay phase at the diagnostic level to detect left atrial appendage thrombus, in order to set up a reasonable CT scanning scheme. Materials and Methods: A total of 6,524 patients were continuously retrieved from January 2015 to September 2020 retrospectively. The patients had undergone Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and cardiac CT with complete period include the arterial enhancement phase, 1 and 3-min delay phase, TEE were used as the reference standard. The final study included 329 patients. Three experienced radiologists independently assessed each phase of the cardiac CT images for thrombus diagnosis. We explored the improvement of the diagnostic ability of different delayed contrast-enhanced phases for left atrial appendage thrombus detection. Multiple logistic regression analysis were used for further high-risk stratification to avoid an additional 1-min delayed scan. Results: In total, 29 thrombosis were detected at TEE. For all cardiac CT phases, sensitivity and negative predictive were 100%. The specificity were 0.54, 0.93, and 1.00, respectively; The positive predictive values (PPV) were 0.17, 0.57, and 1.00, respectively; Area under curve (AUC) were 0.75, 0.95, and 0.98, respectively. High risk factors that cannot be clearly diagnosed with 1-min delay phase included reduced cardiac function, increased CHA2DS2-VAScscore and left atrial enlargement. Compared with the arterial enhanced phase, increased radiation doses in the 1 and 3-min delay phases were 1.7 ± 1.3 msv and 1.5 ± 0.8 msv (mean ± standard deviation). Conclusion: Using TEE as the reference standard, early contrast-enhanced CT scanning with 1 and 3-min delay is necessary for the diagnosis of left appendage thrombus, which could significantly improve the diagnostic efficiency. Patients with high-risk stratification are suitable for direct 3-min delayed scanning.

Ceria Doped Zinc Oxide Nanoflowers Enhanced Luminol-Based Electrochemiluminescence Immunosensor for Amyloid-ß Detection.

In this work, ceria doped ZnO nanomaterials with flower-structure (Ce:ZONFs) were prepared to construct a luminol-based electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor for amyloid-ß protein (Aß) detection. Herein, carboxyl groups (-COOH) covered Ce:ZONFs were synthesized by a green method with lysine as reductant. After that, Ce:ZONFs-based ECL nanocomposite was prepared by combining the luminophore of luminol and Ce:ZONFs via amidation and physical absorption. Luminol modified on Ce:ZONFs surface could generate a strong ECL signal under the assistance of reactive oxygen species (ROSs) (such as OH(•) and O2(•-)), which were produced by a catalytic reaction between Ce:ZONFs and H2O2. It was worth noticing that a quick Ce(4+) ↔ Ce(3+) reaction in this doped material could increase the rate of electron transfer to realize the signal amplification. Subsequently, the luminol functionalized Ce:ZONFs (Ce:ZONFs-Lum) were covered by secondary antibody (Ab2) and glucose oxidase (GOD), respectively, to construct a novel Ab2 bioconjugate (Ab2-GOD@Ce:ZONFs-Lum). The wire-structured silver-cysteine complex (AgCys NWs) with a large number of -COOH, which was synthesized by AgNO3 and l-cysteine, was used as substrate of the immunosensor to capture the primary antibody (Ab1). Under the optimal conditions, this proposed ECL immunosensor had exhibited high sensitivity for Aß detection with a wide linear range from 80 fg/mL to 100 ng/mL and an ultralow detection limit of 52 fg/mL. Meanwhile, this biosensor had good specificity for Aß, indicating that the provided strategy had a promising potential in the detection of Aß.

Electrochemiluminescence immunosensor based on multifunctional luminol-capped AuNPs@Fe3O4 nanocomposite for the detection of mucin-1.

In this work, a novel and multifunctional nanocomposite of luminol capped gold modified Fe3O4 (Lu-AuNPs@Fe3O4) was utilized as the carrier of secondary antibody (Ab2) to fabricate a sandwiched electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection of mucin-1 (MUC1). Herein, the luminol capped gold nanoparticles (Lu-AuNPs) were synthesized with HAuCl4 and luminol by the help of NaBH4 at room temperature, and then Lu-AuNPs were adsorbed on the Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to form the nanocomposite of Lu-AuNPs@Fe3O4 via electrostatic interaction. Fe3O4 MNPs in Lu-AuNPs@Fe3O4 exhibited excellent conductivity and admirable catalytic activity in H2O2 decomposition, which could enhance the ECL efficiency of luminol-H2O2 system. In addition, the substrates of gold coated ZnO nanoparticles (AuNPs@ZnO), providing large specific surface areas for primary antibody (Ab1) capturing, were modified on the electrode. As a result, a wide linear range of 7 orders of magnitude from 10 fg/mL to 10 ng/mL was obtained with an ultralow detection limit of 4.5 fg/mL for MUC1.

[Master of Chinese medicine: the career life of Professor HE Pu-Ren].

With his unique comprehension, theoretical contribution and technique of acupuncture, Professor HE Pu-ren has devoted himself into the career of Chinese Medicine for 70 years. Besides the professional contributions, his academic spirit and idea of humanities are also handed down to the next generation. And it is held that his success rests with the spirit of both imitation of the ancients and innovation as well as the practical idea and insistence.

[Professor He Pu-ren: the founder of Santong method of acupuncture and moxibustion].

Professor He Pu-ren, the founder of Santong method of acupuncture and moxibustion, is a well known acupuncturist at home and abroad. His main contributions include combined martial arts and Chinese medicine, showing obvious therapeutic effect; taking part in establishment of The Department of Acupuncture, Beijing Chinese Medicine Hospital; creating Santong method of acupuncture and moxibustion; advocating fire needle therapy; writing medical books and teaching students; advocating the culture of acupuncture; making the metal model of acupuncture and moxibustion, and others. His achievements have become an important part of acupuncture and moxibustion science.