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ObjectiveRice blast is considered as the most destructive disease that threatens global rice production and causes severe economic losses worldwide. The detection of rice blast in an early manner plays an important role in resistance breeding and plant protection. At present, most studies on rice blast detection have been devoted to its symptomatic stage, while none of previous studies have used solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) to monitor rice leaf blast (RLB) at early stages. This research was conducted to investigate the early identification of RLB infected leaves based on solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence at different leaf positions.MethodsGreenhouse experiments and field trials were conducted separately in Nanjing and Nantong in July and August, 2021, in order to record SIF data of the top 1th to 4th leaves of rice plants at jointing and heading stages with an Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) spectrometer coupled with a FluoWat leaf clip and a halogen lamp. At the same time, the disease severity levels of the measured samples were manually collected according to the GB/T 15790-2009 standard. After the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) of SIF spectra, separability assessment and feature selection were applied to SIF spectra. Wavelet features sensitive to RLB were extracted, and the sensitive features and their identification accuracy of infected leaves for different leaf positions were compared. Finally, RLB identification models were constructed based on linear discriminant analysis (LDA).Results and DiscussionThe results showed that the upward and downward SIF in the far-red region of infected leaves at each leaf position were significantly higher than those of healthy leaves. This may be due to the infection of the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, which may have destroyed the chloroplast structure, and ultimately inhibited the primary reaction of photosynthesis. In addition, both the upward and downward SIF in the red region and the far-red region increased with the decrease of leaf position. The sensitive wavelet features varied by leaf position, while most of them were distributed in the steep slope of the SIF spectrum and wavelet scales 3, 4 and 5. The sensitive features of the top 1th leaf were mainly located at 665-680 nm, 755-790 nm and 815-830 nm. For the top 2th leaf, the sensitive features were mainly found at 665-680 nm and 815-830 nm. For the top 3th one, most of the sensitive features lay at 690 nm, 755-790 nm and 815-830 nm, and the sensitive bands around 690 nm were observed. The sensitive features of the top 4th leaf were primarily located at 665-680 nm, 725 nm and 815-830 nm, and the sensitive bands around 725 nm were observed. The wavelet features of the common sensitive region (665-680 nm), not only had physiological significance, but also coincided with the chlorophyll absorption peak that allowed for reasonable spectral interpretation. There were differences in the accuracy of RLB identification models at different leaf positions. Based on the upward and downward SIF, the overall accuracies of the top 1th leaf were separately 70% and 71%, which was higher than other leaf positions. As a result, the top 1th leaf was an ideal indicator leaf to diagnose RLB in the field. The classification accuracy of SIF wavelet features were higher than the original SIF bands. Based on CWT and feature selection, the overall accuracy of the upward and downward optimal features of the top 1th to 4th leaves reached 70.13%、63.70%、64.63%、64.53% and 70.90%、63.12%、62.00%、64.02%, respectively. All of them were higher than the canopy monitoring feature F760, whose overall accuracy was 69.79%, 61.31%, 54.41%, 61.33% and 69.99%, 58.79%, 54.62%, 60.92%, respectively. This may be caused by the differences in physiological states of the top four leaves. In addition to RLB infection, the SIF data of some top 3th and top 4th leaves may also be affected by leaf senescence, while the SIF data of top 1th leaf, the latest unfolding leaf of rice plants was less affected by other physical and chemical parameters. This may explain why the top 1th leaf responded to RLB earlier than other leaves. The results also showed that the common sensitive features of the four leaf positions were also concentrated on the steep slope of the SIF spectrum, with better classification performance around 675 and 815 nm. The classification accuracy of the optimal common features, ↑WF832,3 and ↓WF809,3, reached 69.45%, 62.19%, 60.35%, 63.00% and 69.98%, 62.78%, 60.51%, 61.30% for the top 1th to top 4th leaf positions, respectively. The optimal common features, ↑WF832,3 and ↓WF809,3, were both located in wavelet scale 3 and 800-840nm, which may be related to the destruction of the cell structure in response to Magnaporthe oryzae infection.ConclusionsIn this study, the SIF spectral response to RLB was revealed, and the identification models of the top 1th leaf were found to be most precise among the top four leaves. In addition, the common wavelet features sensitive to RLB, ↑WF832,3 and ↓WF809,3, were extracted with the identification accuracy of 70%. The results proved the potential of CWT and SIF for RLB detection, which can provide important reference and technical support for the early, rapid and non-destructive diagnosis of RLB in the field.

Objective: Preferred biomass hydrolysis for preparation of arabinose and its kinetic analysis during the hydrolysis process. Methods: Single factor experiment and response surface methodology were used to optimize the conditions for the preparation of arabinose from gum Arabic by dilute acid hydrolysis, and the kinetics of the hydrolysis process was studied. Results: The optimum hydrolysis conditions were as follows: reaction time 237 min, sulfuric acid concentration 0.16 mol/L, reaction temperature 91 ℃. Three parallel experiments were carried out under these conditions. The average concentration of L-arabinose in the hydrolysate was 35.45 g/L. The kinetic parameters of arabinose formation and degradation were obtained by Saeman model fitting. The hydrolysis of Arabic gum is an internal diffusion controlled reaction process. Conclusion: The hydrolysis process of gum Arabic is a continuous pseudo homogeneous first-order reaction process, and the Saeman model can better describe the hydrolysis process of gum Arabic to arabinose.

To explore the therapeutic effect of metformin combined with single high-dose radiotherapy in mice with non-small cell lung cancer and the mechanism involved. In vitro cell test: the cytotoxicity of metformin under different oxygen and glucose contents was evaluated using cell survival curves. In vivo xenograft tumor test: NSCLC-A549 cells were injected into mice, which were then divided into the following five groups: control group, metformin group, single high-dose radiotherapy group, metformin 1 h before radiotherapy group, and metformin 24 h after radiotherapy group. Growth of the tumor was evaluated in each group, and the blood flow and histology of the tumor tissues were analyzed. According to the in vitro test results, metformin was the most cytotoxic under hypoxic and low-glucose conditions. The in vivo results showed that the tumor volume was the smallest in the mouse groups administered metformin 1 h before high-dose radiotherapy and 24 h after radiotherapy ((0.47±0.12) cm3 and (0.49±0.21) cm3, respectively). Blood flow analysis showed that single high-dose radiotherapy destroyed the micro-vessels of tumor tissue and reduced the perfusion of oxygen and glucose. Histological analysis revealed that cells in hypoxic and hypoglycemic area of the tumor tissue center were preferentially killed by metformin, whereas there were viable cells in the surrounding well perfused areas. Metformin combined with single high-dose radiotherapy enhanced the toxicity by changing tumor cell metabolism. These results provide theoretical and data support for the future use of metformin combined with stereotactic body radiotherapy.

This study was conducted to evaluate the application value of a degradable liquid fiducial marker (LFM) in image-guided radiotherapy. In vitro experiment: using a solid fiducial marker (SFM) as a reference, the visibility, artifact, and optimal injection volume of an LFM under different cone beam CT tube voltage conditions were evaluated. In vivo experiment: using the SFM as a reference, the stability and degradation status of the LFM in nude mice were evaluated. Nude mice implanted with tumor cells were randomly divided into four groups: single fraction radiotherapy group (16 Gy/fraction) without LFM injection, single fraction radiotherapy group (16 Gy/fraction) with LFM injection, 2 fractions radiotherapy group (8 Gy/fraction) with LFM injection, and 4 fractions radiotherapy group (4 Gy/fraction) with LFM injection. The impact of LFM on tumor growth was evaluated based on the irradiation results. Compared with SFM, the LFM artifacts were significantly smaller (all p

In this study, we explored the effects and principles of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in preventing acute radiodermatitis (RD) in breast cancer patients. Twenty patients with breast cancer, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and had undergone modified radical mastectomy, were selected and administered standard preventive radiotherapy. Fifteen days after the first radiotherapy dose, the patients were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group and subjected to additional LED exposure. Twenty-one days after LED illumination, the preventive effect of LED on RD was evaluated by statistically analyzing the RD scores of the two groups. The preventive effects were inferred by histological and gene expression analyses. The results showed that compared with the control group, the RD score of the experimental group did not change significantly, so that the prevention effect of LED was significant. Our results showed that LED exposure increased skin appendage (p=0.041), accelerated microvascular growth (p=0.007), and increased IL-10 and MMP-9 expression (p

In the era of big data,due to information overload,it is difficult for users to find interesting content from massive data.The birth of personalized recommendation system has greatly solved this problem.Collaborative filtering has been widely used in the field of personalized recommendation,but due to the limitations of the model,the recommendation effect has not been further improved.Most existing collaborative filtering introduce presentation learning methods to obtain better user representation vectors and item representation vectors or improve user item match functions to improve the performance of the recommendation system,but such work is devoted to extracting user-item interaction information from a single interaction.This paper proposes a multi-space interactive collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm,which maps user vectors and item vectors to multiple spaces,performs user-item interaction from multiple angles,and then uses a two-layer attention mechanism to aggregate the final user representation vector and item representation vector to make a score prediction.The multi-space interaction collaborative filtering(MSICF) was compared with baseline on the published real dataset,and the evaluation of the MSICF is better than baseline.

In order to obtain the curing reaction temperature parameters of E-glass fiber/epoxy resin prepreg, DSC was carried out. Kissinger and Crane equations were used to obtain the phenomenological nth-order reaction curing kinetic parameters of the prepreg. The optimal curing temperature of the prepreg was obtained by T-β extrapolation method, and the phenomenological curing kinetic model of the prepreg was established. Monolayer board and laminate of[0]10 were prepared by molding process. The dynamic thermodynamic properties of the prepreg were studied by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The results show that the apparent activation energy and the reaction order of the prepreg are 87.8 kJ/mol and 0.93, respectively. The glass transition temperature Tg of the laminates is 130-133℃. The loss factor tanδ of[0]10 laminate is higher than that of monolayer board.

BACKGROUND At present, iodine content in edible salt and kelp products is mainly determined as the form of total iodine content, but the speciation analysis of inorganic iodine and organic iodine mainly relies on the hyphenated techniques of large-scale instruments. OBJECTIVES To establish the determination method of iodine content in edible salt and kelp as well as the digestion method for the organic iodine in the closed PTFE bomb. METHODS Rapid determination of inorganic and organic iodine content in edible salt and kelp products by using crystal membrane electrode technique with a solid-state and no internal reference liquid crystal film electrode (Z-Ⅱ iodine probe) developed by silver sulfide iodide method, combined with PTFE bomb microwave digestion technique. RESULTS Table salt contained 20mg/kg of inorganic iodine, and 2mg/kg of organic iodine. The concentration of organic iodine was 2.9×103mg/kg in kelp. The linear correlation of inorganic and organic iodine contents in the range of 10-100mg/kg was good. The standard-addition recoveries were 97.1%-101.0%, and the detection limit was up to 1mg/kg. This method was applied to the determination of iodine content in actual edible salt and kelp on the market, the relative standard deviation of inorganic and organic iodine in the samples was less than 0.92% and 4.20%, respectively. The analytical results were in agreement with those of the national standard method and ultraviolet spectrophotometry method, which indicated that the established method was reliable. CONCLUSIONS The analytical method has the advantages of low reagent consumption, low cost and convenient operation, which can be used for the determination of inorganic and organic iodine contents.

BACKGROUND The eutrophication level in water is related to the phosphorus species in porewater and sediment closely. At present, as the one of the eutrophic elements, the vertical distribution characteristics of phosphorus species, the transfer and transformation behavior among phosphorus species and its influencing factors have made clear research progress. OBJECTIVES In order to further reveal the temporal and spatial characteristics of the transfer and transformation of different forms of phosphorus in porewaters and sediments, and assess the ecological restoration in the area by analyzing the soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), soluble unreactive phosphorus (SUP) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) in porewaters, and by analyzing total inorganic phosphorus (TIP), total phosphorus (TP), residual phosphorus (Res-P), exchangeable phosphorus (Exc-P), Fe-bound phosphorus(Fe-P), Al-bound phosphorus (Al-P) and Ca-bound phosphorus (Ca-P) in sediments in Jianyang section of Tuojiang River. And the results were compared with the records of phosphorus species in the same place ten years ago to discuss the change trend and influencing factors of phosphorus occurrence. METHODS SRP, SUP and TDP in porewaters were determined by phosphomolybdate blue spectrophotometry. TIP, TP, Res-P, Exc-P, Fe-P, Al-P and Ca-P in sediments were extracted by SMT method and the improved sequential extraction method. The concentration of the phosphorus species were determined by phosphomolybdate blue spectrophotometry. RESULTS The content of SRP, SUP and TDP in porewaters ranged from 0.004 to 0.36mg/L, 0.080 to 3.19mg/L and 0.056 to 3.28mg/L, respectively. The content of TP, TIP, Res-P, Exc-P, Al-P and Ca-P in sediment ranged from 1235.40 to 1646.94mg/kg, 860.00 to 1318.59mg/kg, 130.31 to 537.13mg/kg, 1.35 to 14.10mg/kg, 0.007 to 0.12mg/kg and 743.13 to 1109.91mg/kg, respectively. However, Fe-P in the sediment samples were not detected. Compared with the results of phosphorus species in sediment-water system ten years ago, it was found that although the content of SRP, SUP and TDP in porewaters were not significantly changed above -10cm, but they increased below -10cm due to the influence of exogenous phosphorus input, which also led to the increase of TP and TIP in sediments. The weak alkaline environment resulted in the release of Al-P, and the decrease of Exc-P was related to its transformation into stable forms of Ca-P or Res-P. CONCLUSIONS The sediment in Jianyang section of Tuojiang River presents the comprehensive pollution of exogenous input and endogenous release. Generally speaking, because most of the input phosphorus exist in the forms of stable Ca-P and Res-P in sediments finally, the part of phosphorus which can be directly used by organisms in the sediment-water interface has little changed. So the eutrophication degree in this area has not increased with the change of time and space. To maintain the weak alkalinity of the sedimentary environment is conducive to the effective conversion of Al-P and Exc-P to Ca-P, and to inhibit the river eutrophication.

BACKGROUND The serious water pollution accident that occurred in the Tuo River in February 2004 caused serious harm to the ecological environment. In recent years, the ecological environment of the Tuo River has suffered from some degrees of pollution through industrial, agricultural and the life of coastal residents, but the geochemical study of nitrogen in the Tuo River is scarce. BAOBJECTIVES To reveal the vertical distribution and temporal and spatial variation characteristics of nitrogen in river sediments and assess the ecological restoration in the area by analyzing the total nitrogen (TN), exchangeable ammonia nitrogen (AN) and organic nitrogen (ON) in the winter sediments of the Jintang Section of the Tuo River and to compare the results with the records of nitrogen species in the same sediments 10 years ago. METHODS Based on the method of Mackin's extraction method of adsorbed ammonia nitrogen in sediments and Smart's method for total nitrogen extraction in sediments, spectrophotometry is used to analyze the occurrence of TN, AN and ON in winter sediments in the Jintang area of the Lancang River Basin. RESULTS [JP3]The concentrations of TN range from 518.913 to 4386.899 mg/kg, whereas ON range from 101.531 to 3793.683 mg/kg. The concentrations of TN and ON were above -3 cm, and ON was the main form of TN. With the increased depth, the concentrations of TN and ON decreased rapidly, and the concentrations of AN decreased slightly. A comparison between the results of nitrogen species in sediments and the records of 10 years ago shows that the concentration of AN increased significantly and the concentrations of ON and TN increased significantly above -3 cm. CONCLUSIONS The nitrogen in the sediments of the Tuo River had been released upward to the porewaters and even overlying waters as endogenous nitrogen. Combined with external pollution in this area, the concentrations of ON and TN in the surface of the sediment have increased significantly.

Since the "121" project in 1963, Sinoma Snythetic Crystals Co., Ltd. participated in the research of the first synthetic diamond in China, and went through a difficult and glorious days of 60 years in the research of high temperature and high pressure synthesis of diamond, including belt press, diamond tools and chemical vapor deposition diamond. Through the efforts of several generations of hard works, great achievements have been made in the technology of diamond systhesis and the application of diamond tools in China. Researchers made great contributions to the diamond course in China. Reviewing the 60 years of development of diamond technology of Sinoma Snythetic Crystals Co., Ltd. it is expected to provide inspiration and reference for researchers in the new era in terms of the external environment responds to policy trends, scientific research, transformation of technological achievements, and developmental ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to realize the sealing of the wooden vacuum packaging box cover of cultural relics. A simulation model of snap on seal based on the finite element method was established to simulate the snap on displacement pressing the sealing gasket, and the von Mises stress, contact width, and contact pressure on the sealing surface were obtained. Then, the leakage rate was calculated by A. Roth's vacuum leakage theory, and finally the sealing effect was evaluated. When the unit length pressure of O-shaped, D-shaped, and rectangular gaskets increased to 44.756, 48.676, and 52.852 N/mm, respectively, the open part of the package can be completely sealed. Under one-way seal, D-shaped seal was better; under low preload of two-way seal, O-shaped seal was better; and under high preload of two-way seal, rectangular seal was better. When the packaging box was completely sealed, the hourly leakage rate of the three gaskets was 2.850 8 x 10-6, 2.564 9 x 10-6, 2.296 1 x 10-6 h-1, respectively, which all could meet the level 1 seal. When the three gaskets were reduced from level 1 to level 4 seal, and the leakage rate increased from 0.667 1 x 10-8, 0.600 2 x 10-8, 0.537 3 x 10-8 Pa·L/s to 0.840 5, 0.842 3, 0.842 3 Pa·L/s, respectively, and the seal can last for 3.9, 4.4, and 4.9 years, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was to explore the effect of different energy level diets on growth performance, serum biochemical index, rumen fermentation parameters and rumen microflora of Gobi Short-tail pregnant ewe. Sixty healthy Gobi Short-tail pregnant ewes with similar age, body condition and weight (43.64 ± 2.19) kg were selected and randomly divided into three groups, with four replicates in each group and five ewes in each replicate. Ewes in each group were fed diets with different energy levels. The metabolic energy of control group was 7.98 MJ/kg. Metabolic energy of test group 1 was 6.37 MJ/kg. The metabolic energy of test group 2 was 4.77 MJ/kg. The pre trial period was 15 d, and the trial period was 45 d. The results showed that the final weight and average daily gain of ewes in test group 2 were extremely lower than those in other two groups (P<0.01). The serum ALB content of ewes in test group 1 and test group 2 was significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.05), the serum BUN content was extremely lower than that in control group (P<0.01), and ALT activity of ewes in test group 2 was significantly higher than that in other groups (P<0.05). The rumen ammonia nitrogen content of ewes in test group 1 and test group 2 was extremely lower than that in control group (P<0.01). The relative abundances of Bacteroides, Verrucomicrobiota and Rikenellaceae in rumen of test group 1 and test group 2 were extremely higher than those in control group (P<0.01), the relative abundances of Erysipelotrichaceae UCG-002 were extremely lower than those in control group (P<0.01), and the relative abundances of Firmicutes and Prevotella were significantly lower than those in control group (P<0.05). Rumen Bacteroides of ewes in test group 1 were extremely lower than those in other two groups (P<0.01). The study indicates that proper reduction of dietary energy level can ensure the normal life activities of pregnant ewes, reduce the feeding cost of shed feeding in winter and spring, improve the breeding efficiency of farmers and herdsmen, excessive reduction of dietary energy level will have a negative impact on pregnant ewes to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methylmercury is the most toxic form among mercury compounds in the aquatic ecosystem, and poses health risks to organisms through the food chain.The effective control of methylation processes of mercury is an active research field in environmental chemistry and toxicology.Selenium(Se) has a significant suppression effect on the methylation processes of mercury(Hg).Therefore, it will be beneficial to the prevention and control of mercury contamination to clarify the speciation characteristic of mercury and the interaction mechanisms between mercury and selenium in the aquatic ecosystem.Mercury toxicity is closely associated with the levels of selenium in organisms, the interaction between Hg and Se are mainly embodied in the formation of insoluble compounds to contribute mercury demethylation or methylmercury directly ruled out by inhibition of biological a selenium related enzyme, which inhibits the toxic effect of mercury.In this paper, the speciation and distribution characteristics of mercury and selenium in the aquatic ecosystem and their interaction mechanisms were reviewed.Meanwhile, the reasonable addition of selenium compounds into water will be an effective way to inhibit the methylation processes of mercury in organisms.The development direction for the studies of interaction mechanisms between mercury and selenium and its physical effects in organisms were also reviewed.

Objective To analyze the application of hybrid treatment for complicated carotid artery stenosis and occlusion and explore its clinical significance. Methods The clinical data of 12 patients, including 8 carotid artery occlusion patients and 4 multilevel carotid artery stenosis patients, who received hybrid treatment during the surgery were analyzed, and the efficacy and safety of combined surgical techniques were explored. Results For 8 carotid artery occlusion patients, 7 procedures were successful. For 4 multilevel carotid artery stenosis patients, all procedures were successful. They underwent both carotid endartertectomy (CEA) and common carotid artery angioplasty during the surgery. There was no neurological morbidity or mortality after operation. Conclusions Intraoperative angioplasty combined with CEA (hybrid treatment) is an effective and safe method for carotid artery occlusion or multilevel carotid artery stenosis. doi：10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2014.02.005

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2010.04.008

Objective To observe the effect of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 130/0.4 on global cerebral ischemia ⁃ reperfusion in rats, and to investigate the underlying mechanism of HES130/0.4. Methods Forty ⁃ eight Sprague ⁃ Dawley (SD) rats were divided randomly into 4 groups, namely sham operation group (S group), ischemia⁃reperfusion group (IR group), normal saline (NS) + IR group (NS group) and HES130/0.4 + IR group (HES group). The blood gas analysis was performed during the experiment. The content of tumor necrosis factor⁃α (TNF⁃α), evans blue (EB), brain water content and nuclear factor⁃κB (NF⁃κB) activity in brain tissue were determined at 12 h after the experiment. Results No significant differences of arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) in every group were seen at different observation time before and after operation (P > 0.05, for all). NF⁃κBp65 expression and Immunohistochemical Score (IHS) of brain tissue were all increased in IR group, NS group and HES group (P = 0.000, for all), while NF⁃κBp65 expression and IHS score in HES group were lower than those in other 2 groups (P = 0.000, for all). After ischemia⁃reperfusion injury, brain water content and blood⁃brain barrier (BBB) permeability in IR group and NS group were all significantly higher than those in HES group (P = 0.000, for all), while the 2 indices in HES group were all nearly approaching to normal range (P > 0.05, for all). Conclusion HES130/0.4 can alleviate ischemia ⁃ reperfusion BBB injury in ischemia⁃reperfusion rats. HES130/0.4 has cerebral protective effect, and the underlying mechanism may concerned with the decrease of TNF⁃α and NF⁃κB expression and attenuation of inflammatory injury. DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2010.04.014

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2010.04.007

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2010.04.001

Objective To analyze the application of hybrid treatment for complicated carotid artery stenosis and occlusion and explore its clinical significance. Methods The clinical data of 12 patients, including 8 carotid artery occlusion patients and 4 multilevel carotid artery stenosis patients, who received hybrid treatment during the surgery were analyzed, and the efficacy and safety of combined surgical techniques were explored. Results For 8 carotid artery occlusion patients, 7 procedures were successful. For 4 multilevel carotid artery stenosis patients, all procedures were successful. They underwent both carotid endartertectomy (CEA) and common carotid artery angioplasty during the surgery. There was no neurological morbidity or mortality after operation. Conclusions Intraoperative angioplasty combined with CEA (hybrid treatment) is an effective and safe method for carotid artery occlusion or multilevel carotid artery stenosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum (Al) stress is one of the most important factors affecting the plant growth on acid soil. Currently, global soil acidification further intensifies the Al stress. Plants can detoxify Al via the chelation of ionic Al and organic acids to store the ionic Al in vacuoles and extrude it from roots. The Al extrusion is mainly performed by the membrane-localized anion channel proteins Al3+- activated malate transporter (ALMT) and multi-drug and toxin extrusion (MATE). The genes encoding ABC transporter and zinc-finger protein conferred plant Al tolerance have also been found. The identification of these Al-resistant genes makes it possible to increase the Al resistance of crop plants and enhance their production by the biological methods such as gene transformation and mark-associated breeding. The key problems needed to be solved and the possible directions in the researches of plant Al stress resistance were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of reparative membrane as a barrier in nerve regeneration during parotidectomy in rats. METHODS: The bilateral parotids of 40 male SD rats were resected partially. The left parotids of rats were used as experimental sides, in which reparative membranes were sutured on the surface of remaining parotids during parotidectomy; the right parotids were performed as control, in which the remaining parotids were covered with subcutaneous tissue and skin directly. The rats were divided into group A and B. Facial nerves were protected carefully in group A and the buccal branch of facial nerve was cut off in group B. 4 rats were sacrificed in each group at 1 week, 2-week, 4-week, 3-month and 6-month postoperatively. The tissue blocks in the bilateral parotid -masseter region were obtained to perform hematoxylin-eosin staining and PGP9.5 immunostaining. The healing process of operative regions was examined. Paired sample t test in SPSS 13.0 software package was used to compare the intraepidermal nerve fiber density and dermis nerve fiber density between the left and right sides in all rats, rats in group A and group B, respectively. RESULTS: The inflammation cells infiltrated more severely in the experimental sides than in the control sides during healing process. The reparative membranes were replaced by tissue at 4- week after surgery. Neuroma formation could be observed in group B at 1 week, 2-week and 4-week after surgery. The dermis nerve fiber density of group B was less than that of group A, which had significant difference (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: By mimicking parotidectomy in rats, this study found that the inserted reparative membrane could reduce the dermis nerve fiber density of the rat whose facial nerve was cut off. The results showed that the reparative membrane could prevent nerve growing to a certain extent, and be used as a barrier in nerve regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is the malignant tumor with the highest morbidity and mortality in China. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the main pathological subtype of lung cancer. On April 13, 2023, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) released the third edition of the 2023 NCCN Oncology Clinical Practice Guidelines: Non-small Cell Lung Cancer, which reflects the latest advances in international lung cancer research. This article will interpret the main updated contents of the new edition of the guidelines, and compare it with the third edition of the NCCN guidelines in 2022, so as to provide references about the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC for clinical medical personnel in China.
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To reveal the hydrochemical characteristics of karst wetland located in a subtropical area and at lower elevations in China, 27 surface water samples were collected during three periods (wet, normal, and dry) in the Huixian karst wetland to investigate the distributions, pollution, and irrigation application of 12 inorganic ions and 10 heavy metals. Based on their concentrations, the Nemerow index and the four evaluation systems of the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), sodium concentration (SC), permeability index (PI), and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were applied to evaluate the pollution characteristics and irrigation application. It was found that the water type in this area was Ca 2+ -HCO 3 - exceeded the Chinese standards for drinking water with an exceedance rate of 25.93%, and the exceedance rates of Al, Mn, and Hg were 11.11%, 44.44%, and 37.04%, respectively. The spatiotemporal scaling effect on inorganic ions was lower than that of heavy metals, and the distributions of the inorganic ions and heavy metals were in the order of wet period > normal period > dry period. However, the surface water quality in the Huixian karst wetland was generally well-protected based on the pollution assessment. The Nemerow index ranged from 0.75 to 2.69, which recognized the main pollution contributors as NH 4 + exceeded the Chinese standards for drinking water with an exceedance rate of 25.93%, and the exceedance rates of Al, Mn, and Hg were 11.11%, 44.44%, and 37.04%, respectively. The spatiotemporal scaling effect on inorganic ions was lower than that of heavy metals, and the distributions of the inorganic ions and heavy metals were in the order of wet period > normal period > dry period. However, the surface water quality in the Huixian karst wetland was generally well-protected based on the pollution assessment. The Nemerow index ranged from 0.75 to 2.69, which recognized the main pollution contributors as NH 4 + , Mn, Al, and Hg with the contamination grade from slight pollution to moderate pollution, especially in the core area during the wet period. According to the limits of standards for irrigation water quality and environmental quality for surface water, as well as the evaluation results of the SAR, SC, PI, and RSC, the surface water in the Huixian karst wetland was generally suitable for irrigation, and the water quality in the dry period was better than that in the wet and normal periods. The surface water from site PH1 during the normal period with 19.1 μg·L -1 of Hg and site FH8 during the wet period with 13.7 mg·L -1 of NH 4 + were not suitable for agricultural irrigation.

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of cupping treatment combined with antibiotics and antibiotics alone for bacterial pneumonia in children., Methods: A total of 72 children with bacterial pneumonia were randomly divided into an observation group (36 cases, 1 case dropped off) and a control group (36 cases). The children in the control group were treated with intravenous drip of cefodizine sodium [80 mg/(kg•d)] for 7 days. Based on the treatment of the control group, the children in the observation group were treated with cupping treatment on the bladder meridian of the back on the first day and the fourth day of antibiotic treatment; each cupping treatment was given for 5-10 min; the treatment of observation group was given for 7 days. The days for complete fever reduction, TCM syndrome scores and Canadian acute respiratory illness flu scale (CARIFS) scores before and after treatment were observed, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated., Results: The days for complete fever reduction in the observation group were shorter than that in the control group ( P <0.05). After treatment, the TCM syndrome scores and CARIFS scores in the two groups were reduced ( P <0.05), and the cough score, expectoration score, lung auscultation score of TCM syndrome and cough score, runny nose score and sore throat score of CARIFS in the observation group were lower than those in the control group ( P <0.05). The cured rate in the observation group was 97.1% (34/35), which had no significant difference with 91.7% (33/36) in the control group ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: Cupping treatment combined with antibiotics has similar efficacy with antibiotics alone for bacterial pneumonia in children, but shows better effect in shortening the duration of fever and improving pulmonary symptoms.

To identify and verify the active ingredients from Astragalus membranaceus on hypertensive cardiac remodeling based on network pharmacology and heart RNA-sequencing data. The monomers of A. membranaceus and their intervention target database were established by using network pharmacology. The genes associated to cardiac remodeling were then screened by analyzing cardiac RNA-sequencing data. An overlap between genes related to cardiac remodeling and targets of ingredients form A. membranaceus was collected to obtain monomers with protective effect on hypertensive cardiac remodeling. Angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ)-induced mouse cardiac remodeling model was used to validate the protective effect of active ingredients from A. membranaceus on hypertensive cardiac remodeling. Finally, a total of 81 monomers and 1 197 targets were enrolled in our database. Mouse RNA-sequencing data showed that 983 genes were significantly up-regulated and 465 genes were down-regulation in myocardial tissues of the cardiac remodeling mice as compared with blank group mice, respectively. Ninety-two genes were found via overlapping between genes related to cardiac remodeling and targets, involving 59 monomers from A. membranaceus. Further research found that vanillic acid(VA) could intervene 27 genes associated with hypertensive cardiac remodeling, ranking top 1. Meanwhile, VA could significantly inhibit AngⅡ-induced increase in ratio of heart weight to body weight and heart weight to tibial length, ANP and BNP mRNA levels in myocardial tissues, myocardial tissue damage, cardiac fibrosis level and cardiac hypertrophy level in vivo. Those results showed that network pharmacology screen-based VA has protective effect on AngⅡ-induced cardiac remodeling.

Objective: To explore the application value of elastic ultrasound (EUS) and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in detecting the changes of testicular blood supply after blockage of the vas deferens artery., Methods: This study included 11 cases of microscopic varicocele ligation. We obtained the EUS and CEUS values of the patients before and after blocking the vas deferens artery and analyzed the data by paired comparison., Results: After the blockage of the vas deferens artery, the testicular hardness was reduced across the tunica albuginea and within the testis, with Ave decreased from 11.44 ± 2.52 before to 6.21 ± 1.16 after the blockage of the vas deferens artery across the tunica albuginea (P < 0.01) and from 3.99 ± 1.03 before to 3.27 ± 0.70 after the blockage within the testis (P = 0.012). The AUC in the epididymis was reduced from 80.98 ± 60.74 before to 42.82 ± 16.01 after the blockage (P = 0.021), and the AWi in the central testis from 17.19 ± 11.09 before to 11.03 ± 8.58 after the blockage (P = 0.034). No statistically significant differences, however, were observed in the values obtained close to the tunica albuginea or in the Awi and Awo in the testis after the blockage (P > 0.05)., Conclusions: Elastic ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography play important roles in evaluating the changes of testicular blood supply in different states.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common male condition, which is closely related with cardiovascular diseases. With the increasing incidence of cardiovascular events, arteriogenic ED (AED) is becoming more prevalent in recent years. Despite the variety of therapies for ED, no effective treatment has been found for this arteriogenic type. Based on the experience in the successful treatment of cardiovascular diseases by endovascular therapy, some scholars are carrying out clinical researches on this therapy for AED, which has shed some new light on its management. This review outlines recent advances in the studies of endovascular therapy for AED.

Precipitable water vapor (PWV) shows great significance in remote sensing quantitative application and ecological research. Aiming at solving the problems of traditional methods, an Improved Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio (ICIBR) algorithm was proposed based on the ratios of apparent reflectance of multi-channels in this paper. The ICIBR algorithm considers the absorption characteristics of water vapor absorption in three MODIS near infrared channels (Bands 17, 18 and 19) and the relationship between the PWV and the ICIBRs of above three channels were simulated by using the MORTRAN model. Then the PWV retrieval model for MODIS data was constructed. Texas, Oklahoma region, a typical arid/semi-arid areas, located in North South America were selected as the study area and four different MODIS 1B data were obtained to perform PWV retrieval experiments using the ICIBR algorithm. Last, the corresponding GPS PWV ground observation data provided by SuomiNet and the MODIS PWV product (MOD05) were obtained to verify the experiment results. Evaluation and comparison results showed that the PWV retrievals showed a higher consistency (r=0.967) with the GPS ground measured PWV data with smaller RMSE~0.276 cm and a total of 71.08% of observation points falling within PWV Expected Errors (EE~±0.05+0.15PWVgps). Moreover, the ICIBR algorithm showed an obviously great improvement in PWV estimation, which can effectively reduce 61% overestimation of PWV retrievals than MOD05 PWV products. This new algorithm is more simple and practical with an overall more reliable retrieval accuracy.

Medicine mulberry (Morus nigra) mainly distributed in southern areas of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and introduced by grafting, is a unique Morus species, whose plant number is little. As a traditional herbal medicine, medicine mulberry with high levels of secondary metabolites has important values of scientific research and utilization. In order to solve the introduction problems for medicine mulberry, we have established its rapid propagation system through tissue culture since 2011. The shoots of medicine mulberry through tissue culture were transplanted into the field to carry out an introduction experiment. Here, we firstly reported that the growth status and pest and disease occurrence of medicine mulberry in the field of Chongqing and found that the medicine mulberry through tissue culture had well-developed root system, it showed better growth than medicine mulberry by grafting technique, and Pseudodendrothrips moil was a major pest of medicine mulberry. The introduction technique for medicine mulberry established successfully in this study could lay the foundation for large-scale cultivation and high efficiency utilization of medicine mulberry., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Objective: To systematically assess the efficacy and safety of oral sildenafil citrate for post bilateral nerve-sparig radical prostatectomy (post-BNSRP) erectile dysfunction (ED)., Methods: The following keywords: sildenafil, radical prostatectomy were used to search in Medline, Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Database. The title, abstract and keywords of each article were independently screened by two reviewers. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) published between 1990 and 2014 were retrieved according to our inclusion and exclusion criteria. The efficacy and safety of oral sildenafil citrate for post-BNSRP ED were systematically assessed by meta-analysis., Results: Four RCTs with 320 cases were included after literature retrieval and filtering. The potency rates were 32.1% (35/109) and 11.3% (7/62) between sildenafil and placebo groups after meta-analysis and showed statistically significant differences (OR = 4.66, 95% CI: 1.79-12.11). IIEF-5 score in sildenafil group was significant higher than that in the placebo group (WMD: 4.73, 95% CI: 3.26-6.19). In subgroup meta-analysis, the potency rates in high-dose, low-dose sildenafil groups and placebo groups were 30.4% (14/46), 25.0% (10/40) and 4.5% (2/44), respectively. There were statistically significant differences between the high-dose subgroup and placebo group (OR = 9.32, 95% CI: 1.96-44.23), and the low-dose subgroup and placebo group (OR = 6.99, 95% CI: 1.43-34.22). But there was no significant difference between high-dose and low-dose subgroups (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 0.51-3.40)., Conclusions: Compared with placebo, sildenafil has considerable efficacy for erectile function rehabilitationas as a primary treatment for post-BNSRP ED. There is no significant difference between high-dose and low-dose schedule for its efficacy. However, further studies are required to optimize treatment.

Background and Objective: Diagnostic modes may play an important role in treatments, but minimal information is available regarding their relationship in patients with lung cancer. This study may contribute to decision making in clinics and public health centers., Methods: The records of 505 hospitalized surgical patients with lung cancer at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2013 to December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were categorized into physical examination group (PEG, 131 patients) and symptomatic group (SG, 374 patients). Surgical approach, pathological stage, and diagnostic mode were analyzed., Results: Low-dose computed tomography (46.6%, 61/131) and computed radiography (51.1%, 67/131) were used as key diagnosis methods in 131 patients in PEG. The percentage of hospitalized surgical patients with lung cancer detected via physical examination in the city (35.4%, 80/229) was also significantly higher than in the township (18.1%, 50/276) (P<0.001). The ratio of stage I lung cancer detected via physical examination in the city (46.8%, 59/126) was significantly higher than that in the township (27.3%, 33/121) (P=0.001). The proportion of patients who underwent VATS lobectomy was significantly higher in PEG (73.3%, 96/131) than that in SG (44.4%, 166/374) (P<0.001), and the ratio of patients at stage I was significantly higher in PEG (70.2%, 92/131) than that in SG (41.4%, 155/374) (P<0.001)., Conclusions: The use of physical examination is more prevalent in cities than that in towns, and its combination with mini-invasive surgical treatment contributes to early diagnosis of patients with lung cancer.

We used polylactic acid (PLA) and starch to develop a slow-release carbon source and biofilm carrier by blending and fusing techniques for removing nitrate contamination from groundwater, investigated the changes of nitrate, nitrite concentrations and COD in denitrification process supplied by the slow-release carbon source in different mass ratios [PLA/starch (P: S) were 8:2, 7:3, 6:4, 5:5, respectively]. The experimental results demonstrated that the best mass ratio of PLA/starch was 5:5, resulting in a nitrate removal rate of more than 99%. A high denitrification performance was achieved in continuous fixed-bed reactor, the effluent nitrate concentration was below 2 mg x L(-1). These experiments provide scientific basis for the development of environmentally-friendly and controllable slow-release carbon source.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of training anesthesiologists with hemodynamic models of miniature pigs., Methods: Eight miniature experimental pigs were chosen; ECG, SpO2, PetCO2, ABP, CVP, SV, SVV and PAP were monitored after anesthesia. The research was divided into two parts. Part one: the blood of pig was taken from its artery, air was injected into its body thought jugular vein, 15%KCl and 0.75% bupivacaine were given by peripheral vein respectively. The resuscitation would not be implemented unless the monitoring data changes were significantly and were recorded. Trainees looked on only during that time. Part two: Trainees were trained for placement of Swan-Ganz catheter after the sheath had been success- fully intubated into pig's right jugular vein. Trainees were trained for placement of femoral artery guided by ultrasound.Scores related to trainees' performance were written down., Results: (1) Monitoring data (ABP, SV, SVV, CVP, PetCO2, PAP, SpO2 , ECG) changes were significantly ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), which indicated that the models had been successfully established. The evaluation scale displays: 81.3% of trainees thought this research improved their under- standing of hemodynamic changes; 78.2% thought that it helped them know how to deal with these circumstances; 71.9% thought this training was meaningful. (2) It was improved for students' skill to place Swan-Ganz catheter (P < 0.05), whereas the skill for placement of artery catheter by ultrasound was not significantly improved (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: It was feasible to use a hemodynamic model of miniature pigs as an assisted teaching method to improve resident anesthesiologists' ability to understand and cope with clinical hemodynamic changes.

Objective: To observe the sedative and analgesic effects of dexmedetomidine (Dex) and its influence on respiration and blood pressure, evaluate electrophysiological monitoring and explore the optimal dose of Dex for brain nuclei lesion in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients., Methods: Approved by hospital ethics committee, 60 PD patients undergoing brain nuclei lesion ablation were randomly allocated into 3 groups (n = 20 each). No sedative anesthetic was used in group A; In group B, Dex 0.3 µg/kg intravenously for initial bolus (duration 15 min) and then 0.3 µg·kg(-1)·h(-1) continuous infusion; In group C, Dex 0.5 µg/kg intravenously (duration 15 min) for initial load and then 0.3 µg·kg(-1)·h(-1) continuous infusion. The parameters of mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide (P ETCO2), respiratory rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), observer's assessment of alertness/sedation (OAA/S) and verbal rating score (VRS) were recorded at 0 min (baseline), 5 min (T1), 10 min (T2), 15 min (T3), 20 min (T4), 30 min (T5) and 60 min (T6) after the dosing of Dex., Results: HR and respiratory rate decreased in groups B and C compared with baseline. In group C, P ETCO2 was much higher, compared with baseline (P < 0.05). Blood pressures of three groups were well-controlled. The incidence of pain (VRS ≥ 1) in group A was significantly higher than those of groups B and C (P < 0.05). And the incidence of sedation (OAA/S > 1) in group C was much higher than those of groups A and B. The electrophysiological signal of two patients in group C was severely affected., Conclusion: At an initial intravenous dose of Dex 0.3 µg/kg and a maintenance dose of 0.3 µg ·kg(-1)·h(-1), electrophysiological monitoring for surgery is not affected in PD patients undergoing brain nuclei lesion ablation. With a minimal interference of breath, Dex has not only well-controlled effects on sedation, analgesia and blood pressure, but also makes patients comfortable.

Objective: To compare the blockage effect of multiple injection axillary brachial plexus blockage between ultrasound guidance alone and ultrasound guidance plus neurostimulation., Methods: Upon the approval of institutional ethical committee, a total of 166 patients underwent hand, forearm and distal arm operations under axillary brachial plexus blockage from January to May in 2011 at Department of Hand Surgery, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital. They were randomly allocated to receive either ultrasound guidance plus nerve stimulation (group US-NS, n = 83) or ultrasound guidance alone (group US, n = 83) for nerve localization. Ten milliliter ropivacaine 0.5% was administered separately on each nerve. Blockage time, needle frequency, success rate, onset of sensory and motor blocks, procedure-related complications (vascular puncture, acute nerve injury and tourniquet pain, etc.) and patient satisfaction were recorded., Results: The procedure time was shorter in US group than in US-NS group [(3.3 ± 1.5) vs (5.3 ± 2.0) min, P < 0.01]. The median (range) number of needle frequency of group US was lower than that of group US-NS [(4.3 ± 0.7) vs (5.6 ± 1.4) temps, P < 0.01]. No intergroup difference existed in success rate. The onset of complete block was shorter in group US-NS than that in group US [(10.6 ± 6.4) vs (12.7 ± 6.9) min, P < 0.05]. Vascular puncture proportion was higher in group US-NS than group US (16/83 vs 1/83, P < 0.01). There was no occurrence of tourniquet pain. Patient acceptance was similar in two groups., Conclusion: Multiple injection axillary blockage with ultrasound guidance yield similar success rates whether or not combined with nerve stimulation guidance. There appears to be a lower incidence rates of complications for ultrasound guidance alone versus ultrasound guidance plus neurostimulation.

Objective: To evaluate the value of wavelet index (WLI) in general anesthesia through a comparison of WLI with bispectral index (BIS)., Methods: A total of 53 patients scheduled for elective surgery with ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) I-II were selected to undergo general anesthesia. The monitoring probes of BIS, WLI and muscle relaxation were connected in awaking patients. The values of WLI and BIS were recorded at 10 min (T₁) entering OR (operating room), immediate before anesthesia induction (T₂), when the OAA/S (observer's assessment of alertness/sedation) score declined gradually to 5(T₃), 4(T₄), 3(T₅), 2(T₆), 1(T₇) after the infusion of propofol, after vecuronium given when the TOF value decreased to 100 (T₈), 75(T₉), 50 (T₁₀), 25 (T₁₁), 0 (T₁₂) after the injection of vecuronium, tracheal intubation (T₁₃), 1 min (T₁₄), 3 min (T₁₅) and 5 min (T₁₆) after the completion of tracheal intubation, immediate before initiating surgical procedure (T₁₇), beginning the operation (T₁₈), 1 min (T₁₉), 3 min (T₂₀), 5 min (T₂₁) post-operation, skin suturing (T₂₂), end of surgery (T₂₃), tracheal extubation (T₂₄), 1 min (T₂₅) and 5 min (T₂₆)cd post-extubation, immediate before exiting OR (T₂₇)., Results: The value of WLI at T₁₀-T₁₃, T₂₂-T₂₇ was more than BIS (P < 0.05). The Bland-Altman analysis showed that WLI was accepted comparing with BIS during the period of anesthesia. The bias was -2.99, 95% limits of agreement -29.97% to 21.56%. The correlation coefficients of OAA/S score with BIS and WLI were: r(BIS) = 0.884, r(WLI) = 0.757 (P = 0.000)., Conclusion: WLI index is feasible for monitoring the depth of general anesthesia.

Objective: To establish the cerebral hyper-perfusion model after chronic forebrain ischemia in rats., Methods: A total of 72 male rats were equally randomized into 2 modeling groups. The ligation of bilateral common carotid artery could induce chronic forebrain ischemia. And 36 rats were randomly grouped by ischemia duration: control group (n = 9), sham group (n = 9), 2-week ischemia group (n = 9) and 4-week ischemia group (n = 9). The blood flow in frontal lobe was measured at pre- and post-ligation. The neurological score and cerebral infarction area were also compared among the groups. The cerebral reperfusion was concurrently undertaken with an infusion dose of phenylephedrine at 4 µg×kg(-1)×min(-1) via tail vein to produce cerebrally hyperperfused blood flow rate over 200% of baseline following chronic ischemia. According to cerebral hyper-perfusion duration, 36 rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups: control group (n = 9), saline infusion group (n = 9), 30-minute cerebral hyper-perfusion group (n = 9) and 2-hour cerebral hyper-perfusion group (n = 9). The blood flow in frontal lobe was measured before and after cerebral hyper-perfusion. The neurological score, blood-brain barrier permeability and dry-wet weight ratio of brain also were compared among the groups., Results: The forebrain blood flow decreased by 67% ± 2% after the ligation of bilateral common carotid artery. There was significant difference between cerebral hyper-perfusion and saline infusion groups (P < 0.01). No statistic difference was observed in neurological score and cerebral infarction area between 2-week ischemia and control groups. But it was obvious between 4-week ischemia and control groups. The permeability in blood-brain barrier of rats significantly increased in 2-hour hyper-perfusion group (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: The 2-hour duration of cerebral hyper-perfusion following a 2-week ligation of bilateral common carotid artery may establish a reliable cerebral hyper-perfusion model in rats.

Objective: To explore the feasibility and safety of sedation with a low dose of dexmedetomidine (DEX) during intrathecal anesthesia in the elderly patients., Methods: Thirty elderly patients were randomly divided into the DEX group (n = 15) and the control group (n = 15). There were 13 males and 17 females with a mean age of 77 years old (range: 65 - 89 years old). After an induction of intrathecal anesthesia, the patients in the DEX group received an infusion of 0.4 µg×kg(-1)×h(-1) for 10 min. Then the infusion speed was adjusted between 0.2 and 0.4 µg×kg(-1)×h(-1) to maintain the values of bispectral index (BIS) at around 80. An equivalent volume of normal saline was administered in the control group. Blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2), end-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure (P(ET)CO(2)) and BIS were recorded at the beginning of DEX infusion, 10, 20, 30 and 60 min after DEX infusion beginning and at the end of surgery. The observer's assessment of alertness/sedation (OAA/S) scores and the clinical responses were also recorded. A statistical analysis was performed., Results: All intraoperative hemodynamic and respiratory parameters were within the normal range in both groups. Compared with the beginning after infusion, blood pressure at the point of 10 min after infusion decreased about 10% - 15% (P < 0.05) in the DEX group. But there was no such change in the control group. The values of BIS also decreased significantly at each time point after 10 min infusion versus the beginning of administration (P < 0.05); as compared with the control group, the values of BIS also decreased significantly at 30, 60 min and the end of infusion (P < 0.05). The 95%confidence interval (CI) of BIS values were 70 - 95 in the DEX group and 80 - 100 in the control group (P < 0.05). In the DEX group, the OAA/S scores were significantly lower at the points of 20, 30, 60 min and the end of infusion versus the beginning after infusion. And it was also lower in the DEX group than that in the control group (95%CI: 3 - 4 vs 4 - 5, P < 0.05). No bradycardia occurred in the DEX group. Two of three patients with concurrent atrial fibrillation were converted to sinus rhythm after the administration of DEX. Patients with severe lung diseases (pulmonary fibrosis, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) maintained normal cardiopulmonary functions in the DEX group. DEX showed a good sedation effect in 1 patient with mental diseases., Conclusion: Sedation with a small dose of DEX during intrathecal anesthesia in elderly patients is both feasible and efficacious. But studies of larger sample sizes are warranted to confirm its safety.

Objective: To investigate the status of simulation education of anesthesiology in China., Methods: Five hundreds questionnaires were mailed to chairmen of department of anesthesiology in teaching hospitals in 29 provinces and autonomous regions in China. The retrieved questionnaires and data were processed and analyzed with statistics., Results: Sixty one questionnaires were retrieved, and retrieved rate is 12.2%. The result indicated that the theory and knowledge of anesthesiology was adopted for the training of medical students and residents in 2% teaching hospitals, theory and knowledge of anesthesiology combined with problem-based learning discussion in 52% teaching hospitals, theory and knowledge of anesthesiology combined with problem-based learning discussion and simulation training in 46% teaching hospitals. The order of simulation devices possessed was as follows: Basic Life Support (BLS) (79.6%), training model for clinical anesthesia techniques (53.1%) and Advances Life Support (ALS) (51.0%). There were only six teaching hospitals utilized Human Patient Simulator for anesthesia training. The result of evaluation of simulation education showed that 91.2% anesthesiologists recognized it as applicable, 90.1% anesthesiologists recognized it as medical ethic requirement and 86.0% anesthesiologists recognized it as partly close to clinical situation. The degree of cognition of anesthesiologists to simulation education was ordered as follows: manipulation correcting ability (92.6%), procedure controllability (87.0%), training adjustability (76.0%) and patients safety (68.5%)., Conclusion: The simulation education of anesthesiology in China is still in the preliminary period. The executive departments of education should enhance supports to the simulation education in both hard ware and in soft ware.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between CAVI (Cardio-Ankle vascular Index) and the degree of coronary artery stenosis in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes, the predictive value of CAVI were evaluated using the degree of coronary artery stenosis., Methods: Relevant clinical data including CAMI, BMI, blood pressure, smoking, age, Sbp, Dbp, history and blood biochemistry test were collected in 60 years or older patients with coronary artery stenosis diagnosed by coronary angiography, and the 298 cases were divided into two groups, A group (CAVI > or = 9), B group (CAVI < 9), to investigate the correlativity among the level of CAVI and cardiovascular risk factors; at the same time all cases were assigned to group C (diabetes group) and group D (non-diabetic group), to analyse the change of CAVI in coronary artery stenosis patients complicated with diabetes mellitus., Results: A total of 298 eligible patients with coronary artery stenosis were enrolled, including 163 non diabetics and 135 type 2 diabetics. The analysis result shows that there was a positive correlation among CAVI, old age, BMI, LDL-C, multi-vessel lesion, diabetes., Conclusion: The increase of CAVI was most highly related to the coronary artery stenosis. The level of CAVI might be a helpful predictive indexes to the severity of coronary atherosclerosis.

Objective: Standardization of and training in adult male circumcision can significantly reduce its complication rate. Currently no such program exists for its standardization and training, making it difficult to guarantee the quality of male circumcision services. We therefore established a standardized surgical protocol for adult male circumcision in China using the Shang Ring, and applied it to a clinical study examining the performance of the Shang Ring in adult male circumcision., Methods: A total of 328 adult men aged 18-58 (mean 27.8) years, 25 with phimosis and 303 with redundant prepuce, underwent circumcision with the Shang Ring, and evaluation of the operation time, pain scores (using the visual analog scale), postoperative complications, time for wound healing, and their satisfaction with the postoperative appearance., Results: The operation time was 4.7 +/- 1.3 minutes. The pain scores were 0. 2 +/- 0.6 during the surgery, 1.6 +/- 1.0 twenty hours postoperatively, 1.7 +/- 1.1 twenty hours prior to the ring removal, and 2.7 +/- 1.4 during the ring removal. Complications included infection in 2 (0.6%), bleeding in 2 (0.6%), and wound dehiscence in 2 (0.6%) of the patients. None of the patients with wound dehiscence required postoperative suturing and all were managed conservatively instead. Sixteen of the patients (4.9%) experienced penile edema. The time for complete wound healing after circumcision was 20.3 +/- 6.7 days. The rate of the patients'satisfaction was 99.7% (327/328)., Conclusion: The standard protocol of adult male circumcision with the Shang Ring has the advantages of short operation time, slight pain, low rate of complications, and high satisfaction and acceptance of the patients. Strict standardization of the surgical protocol can maximize its clinical advantages for adult male circumcision.

Although HIV is a significant problem in Africa, HIV infection rates are rising rapidly in other regions such as Asia and South America. International health organizations have recognized the need to develop effective strategies to check the worldwide transmission of HIV. Studies have demonstrated the significant reduction of HIV, HPV, HSV-2 and other STD infection rates with male circumcision (MC). Although numerous MC techniques are available, there are no standardized protocols and surgical training programs. Studies have shown that the standardization of MC techniques coupled with training programs can significantly reduce complication rates. High complication rates have been a primary obstacle to the implementation of MC services. We recommend the establishment of surgical standards and training protocols prior to the promotion of MC services in China.