Clinical Efficacy of Modified Weijingtang and Maxing Shigan Tang Combined with Half-dose Hormones on Refractory Mycoplcasma Pneumoniae Pneumonia in Children Caused by Toxic Heat Closing Lung / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To observe the clinical efficacy of modified Weijingtang and Maxing Shigan Tang combined with half-dose hormones in the treatment of mycoplcasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children caused by toxic heat closing lung. Method::Totally 120 cases were randomly divided into control group and observation group, with 60 cases in each group. In addition to the basic therapy, control group was given Lianhua Qingwen granules + methanilone (10 mg·kg-1, 2 times/day), while observation group was given modified Weijingtang and Maxing Shigan Tang + methanilone (10 mg·kg-1, 1 time/day) for 14 days. Lung function indicators [maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), time of peak tidal expiratory flow (TPTEF), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), volume peak time expiratory flow (VPTEF)], plasma myocardial enzyme profile [creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CKMB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), hydroxybutyric acid dehydrogenase (HBDH)], immune function [immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM), erythrocyte immune complex (RBC-ICR), erythrocyte C3b receptor (RBC-C3bR)], inflammatory factors [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), gamma-interferon (IFN-γ), interleukin-13 (IL-13), interleukin-17A (IL-17A)], clinical efficacy and adverse reactions were observed before and after treatment. Result::Four cases fell off during the study period. The total effective rate in observation group was 96.6%(57/59), which was higher than that in control group 84.2%(48/57, P<0.05). Compared with control group after treatment, lung function, RBC-C3bR and IL-13 were increased in observation group (P<0.05), while myocardial enzyme spectrum, IgG, IgM, RBC-ICR, TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-17A were decreased in observation group (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in observation group was, lower than that in control group(P<0.05). Conclusion::Modified Weijingtang and Maxing Shigan Tang combined with half-dose hormones can improve lung function, myocardial enzyme profile, immune function and inflammatory factor levels of refractory mycoplasma pneumoniae in children caused by toxic heat closing lung, with a incidence of adverse reactions.

Mechanisms of cross-species transmission of H7N9 avian influenza virus and its pathological features in airway epithelium: Research progress / 解放军医学杂志

H7N9 avian influenza is a new subtype of avian influenza, first found in the Yangtze River Delta at the end of February 2013. H7N9 avian influenza, infection in human is transmitted through the respiratory airway, causing acute respiratory infectious disease. Due to the species barrier, H7N9 avian influenza virus only infect human via birds occasionally under very specific circumstances, and at present, there is no exact evidence of H7N9 avian influenza virus transmission between humans. However, H7N9 avian influenza remains a continuous public health threat. So far, China has had six outbreaks of H7N9 avian influenza. A total of 1567 cases of H7N9 influenza virus infection have been reported to WHO, including 615 deaths. When H7N9 avian influenza virus infects the human body, their primary target of infection is the respiratory mucosal epithelial cells. Therefore, the respiratory epithelium plays a key role in the process of virus transmission and infection. Hence, the main purpose of this review is to collate the current understanding of immune responses and their corresponding molecular mechanisms of mucosal damage caused by H7N9 avian influenza infection, and how it contributes to cross species human infection.

Epidemiological survey and risk factor analysis of asthma in children in urban districts of Zhengzhou, China / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the epidemiological features, treatment status, and risk factors for asthma in children in Zhengzhou, China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Questionnaires for primary screening were issued using the method of multi-stage stratified sampling. Suspected asthmatic children were given a second questionnaire, physical examination, medical history review, and auxiliary examination to confirm the diagnosis. Age- and sex-matched non-asthmatic children were randomly recruited to the control group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The number of valid questionnaires was 10 616 (5 444 males and 5 172 females). There were 308 confirmed asthma cases and the overall prevalence was 2.90%. The prevalence in boys was higher than that in girls (3.4% vs 2.4%). The prevalence in children under 3 years of age was 10.2%, which was higher than that in other age groups. The top three triggers for asthma attack in children were respiratory infection (94.2%), weather changes (89.0%), and exercise (35.1%). The most common asthma attack was moderate (71.8%), followed by mild (22.7%). Inhaled corticosteroids, systemic corticosteroids, and antibiotics were applied to 94.8% (292 cases), 74.7% (230 cases), and 90.9% (280 cases) of all patients, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated the following major risk factors for asthma: history of allergic rhinitis (OR=150.285, 95% CI: 31.934-707.264), history of eczema (OR=10.600, 95% CI: 1.054-106.624), history of atopic dermatitis (OR=31.368, 95% CI: 3.339-294.683), food allergies (OR=27.373, 95% CI: 2.670-280.621), method of birth (OR=2.853, 95% CI: 1.311-6.208), age of first antibiotic use (OR=0.384, 95% CI: 0.172-0.857), frequency of antibiotic use within 1 year of age (OR=9.940, 95% CI: 6.246-15.820), use of wall decorating materials (OR=2.108, 95% CI: 1.464-3.036), and use of heat supply in winter (OR=6.046, 95% CI: 1.034-35.362).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The prevalence of childhood asthma is associated with age and gender in Zhengzhou. Most asthma attacks are moderate, often triggered by respiratory infection. Treatment of asthma has been standardized, but still needs further improvement. History of allergic rhinitis, eczema, atopic dermatitis and food allergies, cesarean delivery, frequent use of antibiotics within 1 year of age, use of decorating materials on the wall, and use of heating in winter may increase risk for asthma, and use of antibiotics in older age is a protective factor against asthma in children.</p>

Development of ultrasonic viscoelasticity detection system by shear wave dispersion ultrasound vibration / 医用生物力学

Objective To establish an ultrasonic viscoelastic detection system to measure the viscoelasticity of in vitro tissues. Methods Based on the method of shear wave dispersion ultrasound vibration (SDUV), this system applied acoustic radiation force to excite harmonic vibration in soft tissues. The propagation of shear waves induced by the vibration was detected and the tissue viscoelasticity properties were calculated. The standard phantom and rat liver experiment were conducted using this system, and preliminary assessment of the system was completed. Results The measured result of standard phantom was close to the calibration value. The viscous and elastic coefficient of rat liver were (1.12±0.41) Pa•s and (0.81±0.40) kPa, respectively. Conclusions The results about the standard phantom and rat liver experiment approved feasibility of the system for viscoelasticity measurement on in vitro animal experiment, which is a preliminary exploration for the realization of liver fibrosis detection of human body.

Reconstruction and visualization of human gastrointestinal tract.

BACKGROUND: Converting the two-dimensional (2D) cross-sectional photographs into an intuitive three-dimensional (3D) model is a basic task for medical imaging data for auxiliary disease-linked diagnosis purpose. METHODS: Reconstruction and visualization process of gastrointestinal cross-sectional photographs includes image preparation, image registration, image segmentation, 3D surface-rendering reconstruction, and implementation of 3D digital visualization. RESULTS: Using the visualization toolkit (VTK), we implemented 3D digital reconstruction and visualization of gastrointestinal tract, whose visualized model can be zoomed, paned, and rotated, including the stomach, the small intestine, and the large intestine.

Analysis of pathological type and clinical features of lymphoma cell leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the pathological type and clinical features of patients with lymphoma cell leukemia (LML).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to the 2008 WHO classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissue, the pathological type and clinical features of 127 LML cases were analyzed retrospectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 15 kinds of NHL developed LML. The incidence in frequent order of them was B-lymphoblastic lymphoma, CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) and T-lymphoblastic lymphoma. The LML of T and B cell subtypes were 45 and 74, respectively. There was a significant difference in overall survival between T-LML and B-LML (P < 0.01). Eighty one patients presented LML at the same time of the NHL diagnosis and 46 during the course (1 - 88 months) of disease. Primary nodal and extranodal NHLs developed LML were 96 and 31 cases, respectively. The clinical manifestations of LBL and SLL patients differed from that of ALL and CLL patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>LML is not a rare manifestation of NHL. Pathological types of NHL developed LML are 15 kinds in our patients. The clinical features of LML patients are somewhat special, especially for primary extranodal LML patients.</p>

Adaptive subject-based feature extraction in brain-computer interfaces using wavelet packet best basis decomposition.

In this paper we discuss a subject-based feature extraction method using wavelet packet best basis decomposition (WPBBD) in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). The idea is to employ the wavelet packet best basis algorithm to adapt to each subject separately. Firstly, original electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are decomposed to a given level by wavelet packet transform. Secondly, for each subject, the best basis algorithm is used to find the best-adapted basis for that particular subject. Finally, subband energies contained in the best basis are used as effective features. Adaptive and specific features of a subject are so obtained. Three different motor imagery tasks of six subjects are discriminated using the above features. Experiment results show that the subject-based adaptation method yields significantly higher classification performance than the non-subject-based adaptation and non-adaptive approaches.

Feature extraction for EEG-based brain-computer interfaces by wavelet packet best basis decomposition.

A method based on wavelet packet best basis decomposition (WPBBD) is investigated for the purpose of extracting features of electroencephalogram signals produced during motor imagery tasks in brain-computer interfaces. The method includes the following three steps. (1) Original signals are decomposed by wavelet packet transform (WPT) and a wavelet packet library can be formed. (2) The best basis for classification is selected from the library. (3) Subband energies included in the best basis are used as effective features. Three different motor imagery tasks are discriminated using the features. The WPBBD produces a 70.3% classification accuracy, which is 4.2% higher than that of the existing wavelet packet method.

[A review of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)].

This paper introduces the general constitutions and principle of BCI systems. In addition, some characteristics and limitations of different research methods are discussed and compared. Finally, this paper points out the existing problems and future trends of BCIs. brain-computer interface (BCI), human-computer Interface (HCI), electroencephalography (EEG).