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BACKGROUND: Transcolonic endoscopic appendectomy (TEA) is rapidly evolving and has been reported as a minimally invasive alternative to appendectomy. We aimed to characterize the feasibility and safety of a novel unassisted single-channel TEA. METHOD: We retrospectively investigated 23 patients with appendicitis or appendiceal lesions who underwent TEA from February 2016 to December 2022. We collected clinicopathological characteristics, procedurerelated parameters, and followup data and analyzed the impact of previous abdominal surgery and traction technique. RESULTS: The mean age was 56.0 years. Of the 23 patients with appendiceal lesions, fourteen patients underwent TEA and nine underwent traction-assisted TEA (T-TEA). Eight patients (34.8%) had previous abdominal surgery. The En bloc resection rate was 95.7%. The mean procedure duration was 91.1 ± 45.5 min, and the mean wound closure time was 29.4 ± 18.6 min. The wounds after endoscopic appendectomy were closed with clips (21.7%) or a combination of clip closure and endoloop reinforcement (78.3%), and the median number of clips was 7 (range, 3-15). Three patients (13.0%) experienced major adverse events, including two delayed perforations (laparoscopic surgery) and one infection (salvage endoscopic suture). During a median follow-up of 23 months, no residual or recurrent lesions were observed, and no recurrence of abdominal pain occurred. There were no significant differences between TEA and T-TEA groups and between patients with and without abdominal surgery groups in each factor. CONCLUSION: Unassisted single-channel TEA for patients with appendiceal lesions has favorable short- and long-term outcomes. TEA can safely and effectively treat appendiceal disease in appropriately selected cases.
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The underlying mechanisms of diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS) remain unclear, limiting the development of effective therapeutic strategies. Remarkably, cellular senescence, a biological phenomenon observed in cultured fibroblasts in vitro, is a crucial intrinsic mechanism that influences homeostasis of the brain microenvironment and contributes to the onset and progression of CNS diseases. Cellular senescence has been observed in disease models established in vitro and in vivo and in bodily fluids or tissue components from patients with CNS diseases. These findings highlight cellular senescence as a promising target for preventing and treating CNS diseases. Consequently, emerging novel therapies targeting senescent cells have exhibited promising therapeutic effects in preclinical and clinical studies on aging-related diseases. These innovative therapies can potentially delay brain cell loss and functional changes, improve the prognosis of CNS diseases, and provide alternative treatments for patients. In this study, we examined the relevant advancements in this field, particularly focusing on the targeting of senescent cells in the brain for the treatment of chronic neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis) and acute neurotraumatic insults (e.g., ischemic stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury).
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Objective: To analyze the factors affecting the long-term clinical efficacy and quality of life in the treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods: This is a retrospective study. One hundred children with ALL were collected before June, 2018 at The First Affiliated Hospital of Yangtze University and followed up for five years. Not only were their five-years survival rates analyzed, but univariate and multivariate analyses were also performed for factors that might affect their five-year survival rates. The MOS 36-Item Short Form of Health Survey (SF-36) was utilized to investigate the surviving children after five years in order to analyze the factors that may affect the quality of life of the children. Results: The five-years survival rate of one hundred children with ALL after treatment was 91.00% (91/100). Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed on the factors that may affect the long-term efficacy of pediatric ALL. The results showed that white blood cell count at first diagnosis, prednisone response test, treatment compliance and recurrence were independent risk factors for the long-term efficacy of pediatric ALL(p<0.05). The SF-36 survey of 91 surviving children after five years showed that prednisone response test and treatment compliance were independent risk factors affecting the quality of life of pediatric ALL(p<0.05). Conclusion: In the initial diagnosis of pediatric ALL, sufficient attention and control should be given to the factors that may affect the long-term clinical efficacy and quality of life, and appropriate treatment plans should be adopted. Meanwhile, the treatment compliance of children should be improved during treatment to improve the survival rate and quality of life of pediatric ALL.
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Background: Acteoside, an active ingredient found in various medicinal herbs, is effective in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease (DKD); however, the intrinsic pharmacological mechanism of action of acteoside in the treatment of DKD remains unclear. This study utilizes a combined approach of network pharmacology and experimental validation to investigate the potential molecular mechanism systematically. Methods: First, acteoside potential targets and DKD-associated targets were aggregated from public databases. Subsequently, utilizing protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, alongside GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses, we established target-pathway networks to identify core potential therapeutic targets and pathways. Further, molecular docking facilitated the confirmation of interactions between acteoside and central targets. Finally, the conjectured molecular mechanisms of acteoside against DKD were verified through experimentation on unilateral nephrectomy combined with streptozotocin (STZ) rat model. The underlying downstream mechanisms were further investigated. Results: Network pharmacology identified 129 potential intersected targets of acteoside for DKD treatment, including targets such as AKT1, TNF, Casp3, MMP9, SRC, IGF1, EGFR, HRAS, CASP8, and MAPK8. Enrichment analyses indicated the PI3K-Akt, MAPK, Metabolic, and Relaxin signaling pathways could be involved in this therapeutic context. Molecular docking revealed high-affinity binding of acteoside to PIK3R1, AKT1, and NF-κB1. In vivo studies validated the therapeutic efficacy of acteoside, demonstrating reduced blood glucose levels, improved serum Scr and BUN levels, decreased 24-hour urinary total protein (P<0.05), alongside mitigated podocyte injury (P<0.05) and ameliorated renal pathological lesions. Furthermore, this finding indicates that acteoside inhibits the expression of pyroptosis markers NLRP3, Caspase-1, IL-1ß, and IL-18 through the modulation of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway. Conclusion: Acteoside demonstrates renoprotective effects in DKD by regulating the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway and alleviating pyroptosis. This study explores the pharmacological mechanism underlying acteoside's efficacy in DKD treatment, providing a foundation for further basic and clinical research.
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Diabetes Mellitus Experimental , Nefropatias Diabéticas , Glucosídeos , Simulação de Acoplamento Molecular , Farmacologia em Rede , Fenóis , Polifenóis , Estreptozocina , Nefropatias Diabéticas/tratamento farmacológico , Nefropatias Diabéticas/metabolismo , Animais , Ratos , Glucosídeos/farmacologia , Glucosídeos/química , Diabetes Mellitus Experimental/tratamento farmacológico , Diabetes Mellitus Experimental/metabolismo , Masculino , Fenóis/farmacologia , Fenóis/química , Ratos Sprague-DawleyRESUMO
Different from the traditional frequency-mixing technique which employs a contacting transducer, the laser-induced acoustic nonlinear frequency-mixing detection technique utilizes a laser source to instigate crack motion and generate acoustic waves. Thus, apart from the temperature oscillation induced by the pump laser, the "basic temperature" originating from the probe laser can also influence the crack. This additional variable complicates the contact state of the crack, yielding a more diverse range of nonlinear acoustic signal attributes. In light of this, our study enhances the conventional opto-acoustic nonlinear frequency mixing experimental setup by integrating an independent heating laser beam. This modification isolates the impact of the "basic temperature" on crack width while also dialing down the probe laser power to mitigate its thermal effects. To amplify the sensitivity of crack detection, we deliberated on the optimal laser source parameters for this setup. Consequently, our revamped system, paired with fine-tuned parameters, captures nonlinear acoustic signals with an enriched feature set. This investigation can provide support for the non-contact opto-acoustic nonlinear frequency mixing technique in the detection and evaluation of micro-cracks.
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Introduction: Ubiquitination is a crucial biological mechanism in humans, essential for regulating vital biological processes, and has been recognized as a promising focus for cancer therapy. Our objective in this research was to discover potential enzymes associated with ubiquitination that may serve as therapeutic targets for individuals with esophageal carcinoma (ESCA). Methods: To identify genes linked to the prognosis of ESCA, we examined mRNA sequencing data from patients with ESCA in the TCGA database. Further investigation into the role of the candidate gene in ESCA was conducted through bioinformatic analyses. Subsequently, we carried out biological assays to assess its impact on ESCA development. Results: Through univariate Cox regression analysis, we identified Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzyme E2 B (UBE2B) as a potential gene associated with the prognosis of ESCA. UBE2B exhibited significant upregulation and was found to be correlated with survival outcomes in ESCA as well as other cancer types. Additionally, UBE2B was observed to be involved in various biological pathways linked to the development of ESCA, including TNF-a signaling via NF-κB, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, inflammatory response, and hypoxia. Moreover, immune-related pathways like B cell activation (GO: 0042113), B cell receptor signaling pathway (GO: 0050853) and B cell mediated immunity (GO:0019724) were also involved. It was found that high expression of UBE2B was correlated with the increase of several kinds of T cells (CD8 T cells, Th1 cells) and macrophages, while effector memory T cell (Tem) and Th17 cells decreased. Furthermore, UBE2B showed potential as a prognostic biomarker for ESCA, displaying high sensitivity and specificity. Notably, proliferation and migration in ESCA cells were effectively suppressed when the expression of UBE2B was knocked down. Conclusions: To summarize, this study has made a discovery regarding the importance of gaining new insights into the role of UBE2B in ESCA. UBE2B might be an oncogene with good ability in predicting and diagnosing ESCA. Consequently, this discovery highlights the feasibility of targeting UBE2B as a viable approach for treating patients with ESCA.
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Carcinoma , Neoplasias Esofágicas , Humanos , Prognóstico , Oncogenes , Linfócitos B , Neoplasias Esofágicas/genética , Biomarcadores , Enzimas de Conjugação de Ubiquitina/genéticaRESUMO
Fungal diseases form perforated disease spots in tobacco plants, resulting in a decline in tobacco yield and quality. The present study investigated the antagonistic effect of Bacillus subtilis CTXW 7-6-2 against Rhizoctonia solani, its ability to promote the growth of tobacco seedlings, and the expression of disease resistance-related genes for efficient and eco-friendly plant disease control. Our results showed that CTXW 7-6-2 had the most vigorous growth after being cultured for 96 h, and its rate of inhibition of R. solani growth in vitro was 94.02%. The volatile compounds produced by CTXW 7-6-2 inhibited the growth of R. solani significantly (by 96.62%). The fungal growthinhibition rate of the B. subtilis CTXW 7-6-2 broth obtained after high-temperature and no-high-temperature sterile fermentation was low, at 50.88% and 54.63%, respectively. The lipopeptides extracted from the B. subtilis CTXW 7-6-2 fermentation broth showed a 74.88% fungal growth inhibition rate at a concentration of 100 mg/l. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed some organelle structural abnormalities, collapse, shrinkage, blurring, and dissolution in the R. solani mycelia. In addition, CTXW 7-6-2 increased tobacco seedling growth and improved leaf and root weight compared to the control. After CTXW 7-6-2 inoculation, tobacco leaves showed the upregulation of the PDF1.2, PPO, and PAL genes, which are closely related to target spot disease resistance. In conclusion, B. subtilis CTXW 7-6-2 may be an efficient biological control agent in tobacco agriculture and enhance plant growth potential.
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Bacillus subtilis , Nicotiana , Bacillus subtilis/genética , Resistência à Doença , RhizoctoniaRESUMO
Photo-thermal modulation-based nonlinear opto-acoustic frequency-mixing technique is an effective method for detecting micro-cracks. When using this technique for micro-crack detection, the selection of laser source parameters is particularly crucial. Compared to traditional piezo-transducer-based mixing techniques, the characteristic of using a laser as the detection source is the presence of thermal effects. The thermal effect caused by laser irradiation on the sample surface can not only generate acoustic waves but also affect the crack state, thus influencing nonlinear signals. In this paper, an experimental setup using photo-thermal modulation-based nonlinear opto-acoustic frequency-mixing technique has been set up to investigate the thermal effects of the probe laser source. In addition, a corresponding physical model has been established to discuss the physical mechanisms revealed by the experimental results. This study provides a basis for selecting appropriate probe source parameters and scanning positions of laser sources when detecting micro-cracks using the photo-thermal modulation-based nonlinear opto-acoustic frequency-mixing technique.
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Few studies were performed on the impact of exposure to gaseous pollutants on the risk of knee osteoarthritis (KOA). We conducted this study to analyze the association between short-term exposure to gaseous pollutants and the risk of hospitalizations for KOA. A total of 2952 KOA hospitalizations derived from two hospitals in Hefei, and the relationship between gaseous pollutants and KOA hospitalizations was analyzed by a distributed lag non-linear model combined with a generalized linear model. We found that the decreased risk of hospitalizations for KOA were both related to exposure to NO2 (RR = 0.993, lag19 day) and O3 (RR = 0.984, lag0 day), while exposure to CO could increase the risk of hospitalizations for KOA (RR = 1.076, lag2 day). Stratified analyses suggested that the KOA patients < 65 years were more susceptible to O3 exposure, and the female, male, patients ≥ 65 years, and patients < 65 years were both more sensitive to CO exposure. Our findings demonstrated that exposure to NO2, O3 resulted in a decreased risk for KOA hospitalizations, and CO exposure might increase the risk of KOA hospitalizations.
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Poluentes Atmosféricos , Poluição do Ar , Poluentes Ambientais , Osteoartrite do Joelho , Humanos , Masculino , Feminino , Poluentes Atmosféricos/análise , Poluição do Ar/análise , Dióxido de Nitrogênio , Exposição Ambiental/análise , Osteoartrite do Joelho/epidemiologia , China/epidemiologia , Material Particulado/análiseRESUMO
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are an important part of adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses and regulate seed germination through positive or negative signaling. Seed adaptation to abiotic stress may be mediated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The effects of the ROS scavenger N,N'-dimethylthiourea (DMTU) on maize seed germination through endogenous H2O2 regulation is unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of different doses of DMTU on seed endogenous H2O2 and radicle development parameters using two maize varieties (ZD958 and DMY1). The inhibitory effect of DMTU on the germination rate and radicle growth was dose-dependent. The inhibitory effect of DMTU on radicle growth ceased after transferring maize seeds from DMTU to a water medium. Histochemical analyses showed that DMTU eliminated stable H2O2 accumulation in the radicle sheaths and radicles. The activity of antioxidant enzyme and the expression of antioxidant enzyme-related genes (ZmAPX2 and ZmCAT2) were reduced in maize seeds cultured with DMTU compared with normal culture conditions (0 mmol·dm-3 DMTU). We suggest the use of 200 mmol·dm-3 DMTU as an H2O2 scavenger to study the ROS equilibrium mechanisms during the germination of maize seeds, assisting in the future with the efficient development of plant growth regulators to enhance the seed germination performance of test maize varieties under abiotic stress.
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Antioxidantes , Germinação , Espécies Reativas de Oxigênio/metabolismo , Antioxidantes/farmacologia , Sementes , Zea mays , Oxigênio/farmacologia , Peróxido de Hidrogênio/farmacologia , Peróxido de Hidrogênio/metabolismoRESUMO
Cardiac hypertrophy, a kind of cardiomyopathic abnormality, might trigger heart contractile and diastolic dysfunction, and even heart failure. Currently, bisphenols (BPs) including bisphenol A (BPA), and its alternatives bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS) are ubiquitously applied in various products and potentially possess high cardiovascular risks for humans. However, the substantial experimental evidences of BPs on heart function, and their structure-related effects on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy are still urgently needed. DNA methylation, a typical epigenetics, play key roles in BPs-induced transcription dysregulation, thereby affecting human health including cardiovascular system. Thus, in this study, we performed RNA-seq and reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) to profile the landscapes of BPs-induced cardiotoxicity and to determine the key roles of DNA methylation in the transcription. Further, the capabilities of three BPA analogues, together with BPA, in impacting heart function and changing DNA methylation and transcription were compared. We concluded that similar to BPA, BPAF, BPF and BPS exposure deteriorated heart function in a mouse model, and induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in a H9c2 cell line. BPAF, BPF and BPS all played BPA-like roles in both transcriptive and methylated hierarchies. Moreover, we validated the expression levels of four cardiomyocyte hypertrophy related candidate genes, Psmc1, Piptnm2, Maz and Dusp18, which were all upregulated and with DNA hypomethylation. The findings on the induction of BPA analogues on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and DNA methylation revealed their potential detrimental risks in heart function of humans.
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Epigênese Genética , Epigenoma , Humanos , Animais , Camundongos , Transcriptoma , Miócitos Cardíacos , HipertrofiaRESUMO
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) activation-induced hepatomegaly is accompanied by hepatocyte hypertrophy around the central vein (CV) area and hepatocyte proliferation around the portal vein (PV) area. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this spatial change of hepatocytes remains unclear. In this study, we examined the characteristics and possible reasons for the zonation distinction of hypertrophy and proliferation during PPARα activation-induced mouse liver enlargement. Mice were injected with corn oil or a typical mouse PPARα agonist WY-14643 (100 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.p.) for 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 days. At each time point, the mice were sacrificed after the final dose, and liver tissues and serum were harvested for analysis. We showed that PPARα activation induced zonal changes in hepatocyte hypertrophy and proliferation in the mice. In order to determine the zonal expression of proteins related to hepatocyte hypertrophy and proliferation in PPARα-induced liver enlargement, we performed digitonin liver perfusion to separately destroy the hepatocytes around the CV or PV areas, and found that PPARα activation-induced increase magnitude of its downstream targets such as cytochrome P450 (CYP) 4 A and acyl-coenzyme A oxidase 1 (ACOX1) levels around the CV area were higher compared with those around the PV area. Upregulation of proliferation-related proteins such as cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and cyclin A1 (CCNA1) after WY-14643-induced PPARα activation mainly occurred around the PV area. This study reveals that the zonal expression of PPARα targets and proliferation-related proteins is responsible for the spatial change of hepatocyte hypertrophy and proliferation after PPARα activation. These findings provide a new insight into the understanding of PPARα activation-induced liver enlargement and regeneration.
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Hepatócitos , PPAR alfa , Animais , Camundongos , Proliferação de Células , Hepatócitos/metabolismo , Hepatomegalia/induzido quimicamente , Hepatomegalia/metabolismo , Hipertrofia/induzido quimicamente , Hipertrofia/metabolismo , Fígado/metabolismo , Camundongos Knockout , PPAR alfa/agonistasRESUMO
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) poses the leading threats to human health and life, and their occurrence and severity are associated with exposure to environmental pollutants. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of widely used industrial chemicals, are characterized by persistence, long-distance migration, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. Some PFAS, particularly perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), have been banned, leaving only legacy exposure to the environment and human body, while a number of novel PFAS alternatives have emerged and raised concerns, such as polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic and carboxylic acid (PFESA and PFECA) and sodium p-perfluorous nonenoxybenzene sulfonate (OBS). Overall, this review systematically elucidated the adverse cardiovascular (CV) effects of legacy and emerging PFAS, emphasized the dose/concentration-dependent, time-dependent, carbon chain length-dependent, sex-specific, and coexposure effects, and discussed the underlying mechanisms and possible prevention and treatment. Extensive epidemiological and laboratory evidence suggests that accumulated serum levels of legacy PFAS possibly contribute to an increased risk of CVD and its subclinical course, such as cardiac toxicity, vascular disorder, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The underlying biological mechanisms may include oxidative stress, signaling pathway disturbance, lipid metabolism disturbance, and so on. Various emerging alternatives to PFAS also play increasingly prominent toxic roles in CV outcomes that are milder, similar to, or more severe than legacy PFAS. Future research is recommended to conduct more in-depth CV toxicity assessments of legacy and emerging PFAS and explore more effective surveillance, prevention, and treatment strategies, accordingly.
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Ácidos Alcanossulfônicos , Doenças Cardiovasculares , Poluentes Ambientais , Fluorocarbonos , Masculino , Feminino , Humanos , Ácidos Alcanossulfônicos/toxicidade , Alcanossulfonatos , Poluentes Ambientais/toxicidade , Fluorocarbonos/toxicidade , Doenças Cardiovasculares/induzido quimicamenteRESUMO
Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and absorption (EIA) are two phenomena that can be observed in whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical microresonators. Transition from EIT to EIA has potential applications in optical switching, filtering and sensing. In this paper an observation of the transition from EIT to EIA in a single WGM microresonator is presented. A fiber taper is used to couple light into and out of a sausage-like microresonator (SLM) that contains two coupled optical modes with significantly different quality factors. By stretching the SLM axially the resonance frequencies of the two coupled modes are tuned to the same, a transition from EIT to EIA is then observed in the transmission spectra when the fiber taper is moved closer to the SLM. It is the special spatial distribution of the optical modes of the SLM that provide a theoretical basis for the observation.
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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The early diagnosis and intervention of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are particularly important because of the lack of effective therapies and poor prognosis. Comprehensive research on early ESCC at the single-cell level is rare due to the need for fresh and high-quality specimens obtained from ESD. This study aims to systematically describe the cellular atlas of human intramucosal ESCC. METHODS: Five paired samples of intramucosal ESCC, para-ESCC oesophageal tissues from endoscopically resected specimens and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were adopted for scRNA-seq analysis. Computational pipeline scMetabolism was applied to quantify the metabolic diversity of single cells. RESULTS: A total of 164 715 cells were profiled. Epithelial cells exhibited high intra-tumoural heterogeneity and two evolutionary trajectories during ESCC tumorigenesis initiated from proliferative cells, and then through an intermediate state, to two different terminal states of normally differentiated epithelial cells or malignant cells, respectively. The abundance of CD8+ TEX s, Tregs and PD1+ CD4+ T cells suggested an exhausted and suppressive immune microenvironment. Several genes in immune cells, such as CXCL13, CXCR5 and PADI4, were identified as new biomarkers for poor prognosis. A new subcluster of malignant cells associated with metastasis and angiogenesis that appeared at an early stage compared with progressive ESCC was also identified in this study. Intercellular interaction analysis based on ligand-receptor pairs revealed the subcluster of malignant cells interacting with CAFs via the MDK-NCL pathway, which was verified by cell proliferation assay and IHC. This indicates that the interaction may be an important hallmark in the early change of tumour microenvironment and serves as a sign of CAF activation to stimulate downstream pathways for facilitating tumour invasion. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the changes of cell subsets and transcriptional levels in human intramucosal ESCC, which may provide unique insights into the development of novel biomarkers and potential intervention strategies.
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Neoplasias Esofágicas , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas do Esôfago , Humanos , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas do Esôfago/genética , Leucócitos Mononucleares , Transcriptoma/genética , Células Epiteliais , Neoplasias Esofágicas/genética , Microambiente Tumoral/genéticaRESUMO
Background: To determine the reproducibility of measuring the gross total volume (GTV) of primary rectal tumor with manual and semi-automatic delineation on the diffusion-weighted image (DWI), examine the consistency of using the same delineation method on DWI images with different high b-values, and find the optimal delineation method to measure the GTV of rectal cancer. Methods: 41 patients who completed rectal MR examinations in our hospital from January 2020 to June 2020 were prospectively enrolled in this study. The post-operative pathology confirmed the lesions were rectal adenocarcinoma. The patients included 28 males and 13 females, with an average age of (63.3 ± 10.6) years old. Two radiologists used LIFEx software to manually delineate the lesion layer by layer on the DWI images (b=1000 s/mm2 and 1500 s/mm2) and used 10% to 90% of the highest signal intensity as thresholds to semi-automatically delineate the lesion and measure the GTV. After one month, Radiologist 1 performed the same delineation work again to obtain the corresponding GTV. Results: The inter- and intra-observer interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) of measuring GTV using semi-automatic delineation with 30% to 90% as thresholds were all >0.900. There was a positive correlation between manual delineation and semi-automatic delineation with 10% to 50% thresholds (P < 0.05). However, the manual delineation was not correlated with the semi-automatic delineation with 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% thresholds. On the DWI images with b=1000 s/mm2 and 1500 s/mm2, the 95% limit of agreement (LOA%) of measuring GTV using semi-automatic delineation with 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% thresholds were -41.2~67.4, -17.8~51.5, -16.1~49.3, -26.2~50.1, -42.3~57.6, -57.1~65.4, -67.3~66.5, -101.6~91.1, -129.4~136.0, and -15.3~33.0, respectively. The time required for GTV measurement by semi-automatic delineation was significantly shorter than that of manual delineation (12.9 ± 3.6s vs 40.2 ± 13.1s). Conclusions: The semi-automatic delineation of rectal cancer GTV with 30% threshold had high repeatability and consistency, and it was positively correlated with the GTV measured by manual delineation. Therefore, the semi-automatic delineation with 30% threshold could be a simple and feasible method for measuring rectal cancer GTV.
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The design simulation and fabrication results of a bandpass filter based on micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) switches are presented in this paper. The MEMS filter element consists of a MEMS capacitance switch and two resonant rings that are fixed onto coplanar waveguide lines through anchor points. The micromachine characteristics of the filter could be optimized to change the center frequency from 8.5 to 12 GHz by improving the geometrical parameters; other electrical parameters of the filter, such as stopband rejection, insertion loss, and return loss at each center frequency, were simulated and calculated. In order to evaluate the MEMS filter design methodology, a filter working at 10.5 GHz fabricated with an aluminum top electrode was used, and it displayed a low insertion loss of 1.12 dB and a high stopband rejection of 28.3 dB. Compared with the simulation results, these proposed filter showed better electrical performance. Our results demonstrated that the filter with the integrated RF MEMS switch not only provides the benefit of reduced size compared with a traditional filter, but also improves stopband rejection, insertion loss, and return loss.
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BACKGROUND: Neer type II/bilateral distal clavicular fracture is an extremely rare injury combination, with few cases having been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: This paper reports a case of polytrauma in a 16-year-old female following a road traffic accident. The radiographs revealed distal fractures of the bilateral clavicles (Neer type II), and an open reduction and internal fixation procedure was performed. Initially, the distal fracture of the right clavicle was fixed with a six-hole hook plate before the fracture of the left clavicle was fixed using a pre-contoured lateral locking plate following reduction. At the two-year follow-up, the patient had an excellent constant score in terms of the bilateral shoulder joints. CONCLUSION: It is important to achieve stability and to aim for excellence in terms of full shoulder function in this rare combination injury.
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Fraturas Ósseas , Articulação do Ombro , Feminino , Humanos , Adolescente , Clavícula/diagnóstico por imagem , Clavícula/cirurgia , Clavícula/lesões , Fraturas Ósseas/diagnóstico por imagem , Fraturas Ósseas/cirurgia , Fixação Interna de Fraturas/métodos , Placas Ósseas , Resultado do Tratamento , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical features of children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant infection. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 201 children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who were hospitalized and diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection in Quanzhou First Hospital from March 14 to April 7, 2022. Among the 201 children, there were 34 children with asymptomatic infection and 167 with symptomatic infection. The two groups were compared in terms of clinical features, results of experimental examinations, and outcome. RESULTS: Of all the 201 children, 161 (80.1%) had a history of exposure to COVID-19 patients and 132 (65.7%) had a history of COVID-19 vaccination. Among the 167 children with symptomatic infections, 151 had mild COVID-19 and 16 had common COVID-19, with no severe infection or death. Among the 101 children who underwent chest CT examination, 16 had ground glass changes and 20 had nodular or linear opacities. The mean time to nucleic acid clearance was (14±4) days for the 201 children with Omicron variant infection, and the symptomatic infection group had a significantly longer time than the asymptomatic infection group [(15±4) days vs (11±4) days, P<0.05]. The group vaccinated with one or two doses of COVID-19 vaccine had a significantly higher positive rate of IgG than the group without vaccination (P<0.05). The proportions of children with increased blood lymphocyte count in the symptomatic infection group was significantly lower than that in the asymptomatic infection group (P<0.05). Compared with the asymptomatic infection group, the symptomatic infection group had significantly higher proportions of children with increased interleukin-6, increased fibrinogen, and increased D-dimer (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the children with Omicron variant infection have clinical symptoms, which are generally mild. The children with symptomatic infection are often accompanied by decreased or normal blood lymphocyte count and increased levels of interleukin-6, fibrinogen, and D-dimer, with a relatively long time to nucleic acid clearance. Some of them had ground glass changes on chest CT.
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COVID-19 , Ácidos Nucleicos , Criança , Humanos , Infecções Assintomáticas , COVID-19/diagnóstico , COVID-19/imunologia , COVID-19/virologia , Vacinas contra COVID-19 , Fibrinogênio , Interleucina-6 , Estudos Retrospectivos , SARS-CoV-2RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Disorders of sex development (DSDs) are congenital abnormalities in which chromosomal, gonadal, and anatomical sex development are atypical. One of these disorders, 46,XY DSD, is particularly difficult to diagnose and manage because its etiology and clinical phenotypes are highly heterogeneous. METHODS: We used a gene panel containing 141 genes implicated in DSDs to perform targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) in 50 patients with 46,XY DSD. RESULTS: Gene variants were detected in 23 patients (46%). Among them, 13 patients had previously reported pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, 9 patients had novel variants, and 1 patient had a previously reported variant of uncertain significance. Three of the novel variants were pathogenic, and the remaining were variants of uncertain significance; therefore, 16 patients had pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants according to ACMG guidelines, and the overall diagnostic rate of 46,XY DSD was 32%. The most common gene variants were SRD5A2 variants, followed by the AR variant. In addition, we analyzed the association between gene variants and clinical phenotypes. Most patients presented with multiple DSD phenotypes (i.e., two or more DSD phenotypes were observed, such as micropenis, hypospadias, and cryptorchidism), but the phenotype with the highest diagnostic rate was micropenis. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that targeted NGS can effectively detect pathogenic gene variants in patients with 46,XY DSD.