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Purpose To define injection index (II) and assess its impact on visual acuity (VA) in pigment epithelial detachment from age-related macular degeneration over 5 years. Methods Injection index is defined as the mean anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections per year from presentation. A retrospective study of 256 eyes in 213 patients was performed. Patients were stratified by II (high: ≥9, low: Results Baseline characteristics showed no differences across II groups. Mean (range) follow-up, in years, was 5.02 (1.04-12.74) for all patients. Mean logMAR VA (Snellen VA) were 0.60 (20/80) and 0.56 (20/73) at baseline, 0.52 (20/66) and 0.59 (20/78) at Year 1, 0.45 (20/56) and 0.67 (20/94) at Year 2, 0.38 (20/48) and 0.66 (20/91) at Year 3, 0.41 (20/51) and 0.89 (20/155) at Year 4, and 0.35 (20/45) and 0.79 (20/123) at Year 5 for the high and low II groups, respectively. Linear regression analysis showed a gain of 0.5 approxETDRS letters with each additional injection per year. Conclusion Increased II was associated with better mean VA, suggesting that long-term continuous vascular endothelial growth factor suppression may improve VA in eyes thought to carry poor prognoses.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether stressful life events (SLEs) can predict post-stroke fatigue (PSF) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). METHODS This prospective cohort study included data from patients with AIS who were followed up to 2-year interview. PSF was assessed at admission and at 6 (n = 916), 12 (n = 880), and 24 (n = 857) months with the fatigue severity scale (FSS). SLEs were measured with the Social Readjustment Rating Scale questionnaire at 6, 12 and 24 months' interview. RESULTS A significant dose-response association was found between SLEs and FSS score across all examined time-points: compared with those did not experience SLEs, FSS score was higher for those experiencing SLEs ≥3 at 6 months (β 0.53, 95% CI 0.28-0.78), 12 months (β 0.54, 95% CI 0.30-0.78) and 24 months (β 0.48, 95% CI 0.29-0.68). Longitudinal analyses indicated a significantly positive relationship between the number of SLEs and FSS score (SLEs: ≥3 vs. 0, β 0.14, 95% CI 0.09-0.19). Moreover, a distinct interaction of follow-up time and SLE numbers on FSS score was observed (p

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the value of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) guided purulence aspiration and local isoniazid injection after lymph node puncture in the treatment of refractory mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenitis (MTLA) as compared to systemic anti-tuberculosis treatment. METHODS This was a retrospective study. A total of 92 patients with MTLA and suppurative lymphadenitis who were treated in the Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital between January 2015 and December 2018 were included into present study and divided into systemic chemotherapy (CT) group and interventional therapy (IT) group. In the CT group, patients received systemic chemotherapy alone; in the IT group, patients received EBUS-TBNA guided lymph node aspiration and local isoniazid injection besides systemic chemotherapy. The recovery of lymphadenitis and adverse effects were observed. RESULTS Seventy patients were included for final analysis, 35 patients in each group. In the IT group, aspiration and local injection were done 137 times; 4R (53.1%) and 7 groups of lymph nodes (30.6%) were the most common site of aspiration; the median number of local treatment was 3 times, and the median duration of local injection was 29 days. The recovery rate of lymphadenitis was 88.6% (31/35) in the IT group and 57.1% (20/35) in the CT group, showing marked difference (χ2=8.741, P

GLOBOCAN estimates 36 types of cancers in 185 countries based on the incidence, mortality, and prevalence in the year 2019. Nowadays, chemotherapy is the most widely used cancer treatment among immune, radio, hormone, and gene therapies. Here, we describe a very simple yet cost-effective approach that synergistically combines drug reconstitution, supramolecular nano-assembly, and tumor-specific targeting to address the multiple challenges posed by the delivery of the chemotherapeutic Gemcitabine (GEM) drug. The GEM prodrugs were gifted to impulsively self-assemble into excellent steady nanoparticles size on covalent conjugation of linoleic acid hydrophobic through amide group with ∼100 nm. Newly synthesized GEM-NPs morphology was confirmed by various electron microscopic techniques. After successful synthesis, we have evaluated the anticancer property of GEM and GEM-NPs against B-CPAP (papillary thyroid carcinoma) and FTC-133 (human follicular thyroid carcinoma) cancer cell lines. Further studies such as AO-EB (acridine orange-ethidium bromide), nuclear staining and flow cytometry analyses on cell death mechanism signified that the cytotoxicity was associated with apoptosis in thyroid cancer cells. GEM-NPs show excellent biocompatibility compared to GEM. The present study explained that GEM-NPs as a safe and hopeful strategy for chemotherapeutics of thyroid cancer therapy and deserve for further clinical evaluations.

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features and treatment of composite lymphoma (CL) with cervical lymph node enlargement. Methods In this study, two cases of CL are presented. Biopsies of enlarged cervical lymph nodes by excision revealed two distinct types of lymphomas. The diagnoses were confirmed by routine histopathology, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, polymerase chain reactions and flow cytometry. Case 1 was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and cytotoxic T-cell lymphoma complicated by Epstein–Barr virus infection. Case 2 was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. Results Case 1 received one cycle of adriamycin, bleomycin, vincristine and dacarbazine (ABVD regimen) combined with chidamide, followed by one cycle of gemcitabine and dexamethasone (GDP regimen) combined with chidamide, and then oral acyclovir. The patient achieved stable disease, but was lost to follow-up. Case 2 received eight cycles of cyclophosphamide, pirarubicin, vincristine and dexamethasone (CTOP regimen) combined with chidamide, and the patient achieved complete remission. Nine months later, relapse was confirmed. She received chidamide monotherapy for 3 months, which was then terminated. One year later, the patient underwent progressive disease and died. Conclusions CL is a kind of rare disease. Due to the complexity of CL, clinicians should consider both disease components in order to increase the likelihood of effective treatment. This is important.

Introduction Electronic bronchoscopy is invasive and may cause pain. This study aimed to explore the clinical value of virtual bronchoscopic navigation (VBN) in the diagnosis of benign central airway stenosis (CAS) secondary to tracheobronchial tuberculosis (TBT). Methods Sixty-eight patients with benign CAS caused by TBT were recruited between July 2015 and December 2017. The location, length and diameter of stenoses were independently determined by VBN and electronic bronchoscopy (EOB), and the sensitivity and specificity of VBN in identifying stenosis were assessed with EOB as the gold standard. Results In 68 patients with TBT, the overall coincidence between EOB and VBN in the identification of stenosis was 100%. A total of 188 sites were selected from the central airway, and the stenosis was graded into 0%, ≤ 25%, 26–50%, 51–75%, 76–90% and > 90%. The sensitivity of VBN in determining the degree of stenosis was 98.45%, 100.00%, 100.00%, 100.00%, 84.62% and 0.00%, respectively; the specificity was 91.53%, 96.07%, 97.09%, 97.08%, 97.14% and 97.30%, respectively; the accuracy rate was 96.28%, 96.28%, 97.34%, 97.34%, 96.28% and 95.7%, respectively. The length of airway stenosis on EOB was divided into 50 mm. There was no significant difference in the length of airway stenosis between VBN and EOB (t = 0.083, P = 0.936; t = 1.340, P = 0.199; t = 1.297, P = 0.216; t = 2.186, P = 0.081). In three patients who received stent placement, VBN was able to accurately assess the postoperative expansion. Conclusion VBN is helpful for the diagnosis of TBT-induced CBS and may provide important information on the location, length, diameter and cross-sectional area of stenosis for further EOB examination and interventional therapy. VBN is recommended for patients with TBT and those with contradictions to bronchoscopy, as well as for regular follow-up of stable TBT, because it reduces the incidence of injury, avoids repeat operations and shortens treatment time.

BACKGROUND Gastric duplication cysts (GDCs) are extremely uncommon lesions and the definitive diagnosis of GDCs is challenging for gastrointestinal specialists. It is important that a differential diagnosis is performed to rule out the possibility of other diseases, mainly malignancies with a cystic component. Despite the use of multiple diagnostic modalities including endoscopy, the preoperative diagnosis of GDCs is challenging. CASE SUMMARY A 53-year-old female patient with a GDC was confirmed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) instead of more conventional procedures such as endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). We propose that 18F-FDG-PET/CT has higher accuracy than EUS-FNA and may be an effective technique for the characterization of duplication cysts. CONCLUSION Preoperative diagnosis of GDCs in adults is difficult largely due to their rarity and the absence of characteristic findings. In addition, few endoscopists include GDCs in the differential diagnosis when they encounter a lesion with cystic characteristics. 18F-FDG-PET/CT with additional imaging data, may complement EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of GDCs.

Background: Investigate factors associated with treatment outcome in patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTMPD). Methods: This retrospective cohort study examined NTMPD patients in Shanghai from January 2014 to December 2018. The distribution and incidence of the different causative species were determined. The outcomes of patients infected with different NTM species were compared. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were used to determine the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association of different factors with treatment failure. Results: The most common species were Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) (50%), M. abscessus (28%), and M. kansasii (15%). Over five years, the proportions of M. kansasii and M. abscessus increased, and that of MAC decreased. The treatment success rate was significantly greater for patients infected with M. kansasii (89.9%) than MAC (65.0%, PM. abscessus (36.1%, PM. abscessus: aOR=9.355, P<0.001; MAC: aOR=2.970, P=0.021), having an elevated ESR (>60mm/h: aOR=2.658, P P<0.001), middle-aged and elderly (>60 years-old: aOR=1.739, P=0.021; 45–60 years-old: aOR=1.661, P=0.034). Conclusions: The main bacterial species responsible for NTMPD infections in Shanghai were MAC, M. abscessus, and M. kansasii. Patients with M. kansasii infections had a higher rate of treatment success. Multiple factors including infection by M. abscessu or MAC, an elevated ESR, receiving retreatment, middle-aged and elderly were associated with treatment failure.

BACKGROUND: Migraine and major depressive disorder (MDD) are both highly prevalent brain disorders and are often comorbid. However, the common and distinctive neural mechanisms underlying these disorders and the brain function alterations associated with their comorbidity are largely unknown. We aimed to explore the functional abnormalities of the brain associated with the co-occurrence of migraine and depression. METHODS: High-resolution T1-weighted and resting-state functional magnetic resonance images (MRI) were acquired from 93 well-matched patients with comorbid migraine and depression, patients with migraine, patients with MDD, and healthy controls. Voxel-wise analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a two-sample t-test of multiple functional variables were performed among the groups. Furthermore, correlation analysis was conducted to detect the clinical significance of the altered functional regions in the brain. RESULTS: Migraine patients with and without depression revealed widely shared regional networks of functional changes. Brain function changes in the right paracentral lobule and fusiform were specific to patients with comorbid migraine and depression [P

Student funding is of great significance. However, there still exist many imperfections in the process of identification of poor students. The application of big data technology in student funding will provide new support for student funding. First of all, this paper analyzed the functions of all kinds of data systems related to student data information in Colleges and universities. And then, it designed the overall technical scheme of data mining and analysis for Poverty Stricken students. Based on Hadoop data processing platform, a data mining scheme was designed. The application of big data technology to student financial assistance is a feasible way by the above methods.

Poor sleep has been associated with risk of hypertension, but previous studies were limited by treating one or two sleep factors as predictor. Our previous study has developed a sleep factor questionnaire (SFQ) to comprehensively assess wide range of sleep characteristics including sleep duration, sleep quality, light at night (LAN) exposure, night/shift work, daytime napping, and frequency of nighttime waking, insomnia, and snoring. In this cross-sectional study we used the SFQ to evaluated the associations between these sleep domains and hypertension. Comparing with the subjects who slept 7–8 h, subjects with sleep duration 6–7 h (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.00), 8–9 h (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.07, 2.40), and over 9 h (OR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.60, 3.58) had an increased prevalence of hypertension. The associations were significant among individuals under 45 years sleeping 6–7 h and those over 45 years sleeping over 8 h. The OR of prevalent hypertension was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.62, 0.97) for habitual daytime napping compared with never napping, and the association was also significant among individuals over 45 years old. Moreover, among subjects with sleep duration 7–8 h, habitual daytime napping may decrease prevalent hypertension (OR = 0.635, 95% CI: 0.437, 0.924). In conclusion, our data suggested a positive association between both short (6–7 h) and long sleep duration and hypertension, and a preventive pattern for habitual daytime napping among over 45 years old and hypertension. Moreover, interaction analysis indicated that habitual midday nap may decrease prevalent hypertension among subjects with sleep duration 7–8 h.

To investigate the utility of in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) in the diagnosis of infectious keratitis (IK). Retrospective chart review of 46 patients with a final diagnosis of IK were included in the study. All patients received IVCM corneal imaging using the Heidelberg Retinal Tomography III system. All available scans were randomized and analyzed in a masked fashion. Sensitivity and specificity of IVCM in diagnosing bacterial keratitis (BK), Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), fungal keratitis (FK), and HSV viral keratitis (VK) were assessed. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of IVCM in identifying atypical IK (AK and FK cases combined) were 85.3% (95% CI 68.2–94.5%) and 100% (95% CI 74.7–100%), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of IVCM in identifying BK were 66.7% (95% CI 35.4–88.7%) and 89.2% (95% CI 73.4–96.5%), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of IVCM in identifying VK were 100% (95% CI 46.3–100%) and 93.2% (95% CI 80.3–98.2%). Additionally, IVCM was able to make the correct diagnosis in 8 out of the 11 atypical keratitis cases misdiagnosed clinically. In the AK subgroup, IVCM was more accurate than clinical assessment (16 vs. 11). In the FK subgroup, IVCM were as accurate as clinical assessment, but did correct one misdiagnosed cases by identfying fungal hyphae. IVCM is an non-invasive imaging modality that can rapidly and accurately diagnose IK even for experienced corneal specialists. In complex cases of polymicrobial infection, IVCM may guide the correct clinical diagnosis and initiation of the appropriate treatment.

Objective: The comorbidity of migraine and depressive has been recognized, but the pathophysiology remains unknown. Here, we aimed to explore the structural change of amygdala(AMY) and abnormal function in the centromedial amygdala (CMA) among migraineurs with depression. Methods: High-resolution T1-weighted and functional magnetic resonance images were acquired from subjects of 22 migraine comorbid with depression(EMwD ), 22 episodic migraine (EM), 20 major depressive disorder (MDD), respectively, and 18 healthy controls(HC). Apply voxel-based morphometry (VBM ) and resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) to examing inter-group differences in brain structure and function. Results: The volume of bilateral AMY increased in EMwD and EM compared to HC. EMwD showed larger volume than MDD. And the volume of AMY showed positive correlation with duration of illness in patient groups. Compared with EM, EMwD exhibited decreased rsFC between the right CMA and left cerebellum, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) , left precuneus(PCC). In addition, rsFC between the left CMA and left DLPFC was negatively correlated with Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). Conclusions: According to our findings, the larger volume of amygdala and the abnormal functional connectivity may help to determining the common symptoms in migraine with depression, and may be a treatment target for migraine and depression comorbidities.

Background The accumulation of α-synuclein (α-Syn) aggregates that leads to the onset of Parkinson's disease (PD) has been postulated to begin in the gastrointestinal tract. The normal human appendix contains pathogenic forms of α-Syn, and appendectomy has been reported to affect the incidence of PD. Objective This study investigated appendix abnormality in patients with PD. Methods We assessed appendix morphology in 100 patients with PD and 50 control subjects by multislice spiral computed tomography. We analyzed the clinical characteristics of patients with PD with diseased appendices, which was confirmed in seven patients by histopathological analysis. Results Chronic appendicitis-like lesions were detected in 53% of patients with PD, but these were not associated with the duration of motor symptoms. Appendicitis-like lesions, impaired olfaction, and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder were risk factors for PD. The following clinical symptoms could be used to identify patients with PD with appendicitis-like lesions: first motor symptoms were bradykinesia/rigidity, onset of motor symptoms in the central axis or left limb, prodromal constipation, high ratio of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III score to symptom duration, low Montreal Cognitive Assessment score, and high Epworth Sleepiness Scale score. The seven patients with PD who were diagnosed with chronic appendicitis underwent appendectomy, and histopathological analysis revealed structural changes associated with chronic appendicitis and α-Syn aggregation. Conclusions These results indicate an association between chronic appendicitis-like lesions and PD, and suggest that α-Syn accumulation in the diseased appendix occurs in PD. © 2021 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Background: Last winter, a new coronavirus-induced pneumonia, COVID-19, broke out in Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly throughout the country due to its high inf

BackgroundTo describe the clinical presentation and characteristic imaging features of deep retinal haemorrhages primarily located in the Henle fibre layer (HFL) of the macula. The spectrum of aetiologies and a comprehensive theory of pathogenesis are presented.MethodsThis is a retrospective, multicentre case series evaluating eyes with retinal haemorrhage in HFL. Clinical features, underlying aetiology, systemic and ocular risk factors, visual acuity, and multimodal imaging including fundus photography and cross-sectional and en face optical coherence tomography (OCT) are presented.ResultsRetinal haemorrhages localised to HFL in 33 eyes from 23 patients were secondary to acute blunt trauma to the head (n=2), eye (n=1) and trunk (n=1), ruptured intracranial aneurysm (Terson’s syndrome, n=3), general anaesthesia (n=1), epidural anaesthesia (n=1), hypertension with anaemia (n=1), decompression retinopathy (n=1), postvitrectomy with intraocular gas (n=1), retinal vein occlusion (n=7), myopic degeneration (n=2), macular telangiectasia type 2 (n=1), and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (n=1). Defining clinical features included deep retinal haemorrhage with feathery margin and petaloid pattern radiating from the fovea. OCT demonstrated characteristic hyper-reflectivity from the haemorrhage delineated by obliquely oriented fibres in the Henle layer. Spontaneous resolution of HFL haemorrhage occurred after 3 months in 15 patients with follow-up.ConclusionThe characteristic petaloid-shaped, deep intraretinal haemorrhage with a feathery margin localised to HFL is associated with various disorders. The terminology ‘Henle fiber layer hemorrhage (HH)’ is proposed to describe the clinical and OCT findings, which may result from abnormal retinal venous pressure from systemic or local retinovascular disorders affecting the deep capillary plexus or from choroidal vascular abnormalities.

Purpose To report the first case of a cone dystrophy with central ellipsoid zone loss associated with a mutation in the human retinal fascin gene (FSCN2). Methods Multimodal retinal imaging findings including spectral domain optical coherence tomography and fundus autofluorescence are presented. The results of functional testing and mutational analysis are also discussed. Patients Single patient with a diagnosis of cone dystrophy. Results Spectral domain optical coherence tomography imaging illustrated central loss of the ellipsoid zone band in each eye. Full-field and multifocal electroretinogram testing confirmed a diagnosis of cone dystrophy in a 35-year-old male patient. Subsequent cone dystrophy genetic panel identified a novel mutation (p.Pro406Leu:c.1217C>T) in the FSCN2 gene. Conclusion This is the first case report of a patient diagnosed with cone dystrophy associated with a novel mutation in the FSCN2 gene. FSCN2 genetic testing should be considered in patients with central ellipsoid loss and cone dystrophy, especially as specific gene therapy treatments emerge in the future.

With the improvement of people’s living standards and the continuous development of science and technology, people have higher and higher requirements for the auxiliary system needed in daily life. In recent years, the robot field, as a hot field, is often concerned by people. At the same time, image recognition technology is well known and has been widely used in daily life, and its unique characteristics can provide some help for robot path planning. Therefore, it is very necessary to study the robot path planning based on image recognition technology under the computer background. This study discusses the principle and application of image recognition technology, the current situation of robot path planning and the application of image recognition technology in the research of robot path planning, which provides a certain basis for solving this problem.

The present case report investigated the clinical characteristics of primary hematological malignancy of the uterine cervixin five patients. Among the five patients, three patients were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and two patients with myeloid sarcoma (MS) of the uterine cervix. Biopsies of the uterine cervices demonstrated the involvement of lymphoid cells or myeloid blasts cells. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated the expression of B-lymphoid and myeloid lineage markers. The associated lysozyme, myeloperoxidase and mast/stem cell growth factor receptor (CD117) markers were specific for the diagnosis of MS. The three patients with NHL survived, and one of the patients survived for 82 months with no evidence of disease; however, was eventually lost to follow-up. The two patients with MS succumbed to the cancer as a result of progressive disease and leukemia. Therefore, pathological examination may be important for the timely diagnosis and appropriate therapeutic regimen for primary hematological malignancy of the uterine cervix.

Purpose To assess the feasibility of imaging extremely low birth weight infants, defined as infants born weighing less than 1000 g or before 27 weeks of gestational age, with an arm-mounted optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) device. Methods Cross-sectional case series conducted at a single site in-patient academic center. Subjects included infants who had been born premature and met ROP screening criteria. Birth history such as gestational age and birth weight were collected. Subjects were imaged with OCTA in a supine position during ROP screening and treatment. Segmental errors were manually corrected and FAZ area was calculated from the superficial and deep capillary plexus (SCP, DCP) layers. Main outcomes measures were foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, ROP stage and treatment. Results Seven ELBW infants were included with an average gestational age of 25 weeks (range = 23-4/7 to 26 weeks) and average postmenstrual age of 54.7 weeks (range = 43–80 weeks) at the time of imaging. Average birth weight was 615 g (range 500–680 grams). Thirteen eyes had ROP treatment including primary laser, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection with delayed laser, and scleral buckle. Six infants were imaged under general anesthesia and one infant was imaged without sedation. Average FAZ area was 0.17 mm2 (range = 0.03 mm2–0.37 mm2) in the SCP and 0.04 mm2 (range 0 mm2–0.09 mm2) in the DCP. FAZ area correlated positively to the ratio of outer retinal layer thickness to inner retinal layer thickness at the foveal center in the SCP and DCP (r2 = 0.48, p = 0.02; r2 = 0.46, p = 0.02) and negatively with inner retinal layer thickness in the SCP (r2 = 0.56, p = 0.008). Conclusions and Importance Arm-mounted OCTA was feasible in ELBW infants and provided information about the developing fovea. Measurement of FAZ area and retinal thickness using this modality may be used to study the effects of ELBW, peripheral ROP and ROP treatment on foveal development.

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a severe vision-threatening ocular infection that is frequently a diagnostic challenge. Treatment course is lengthy and often not fully effective. Contact lens wear has been recognized as the prime risk factor for AK. In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) is a noninvasive imaging modality that allows direct visualization of potential causative pathogens in real time with an established utility in the diagnosis of AK. In this study, we aim to assess the utility of IVCM in monitoring disease progression in contact lens wearers with culture-confirmed keratitis.Fourteen eyes from 11 patients with culture-confirmed AK were included in this retrospective study. IVCM was performed during the patient's initial visit and all follow-up visits. All available confocal sequences were reviewed and graded in a masked fashion. Density of Acanthamoeba cyst infiltration and changes in the cyst density as a percentage of baseline cyst density measured at each patient's initial visit were calculated. A univariate regression analysis was performed to assess the association between treatment and changes in cyst density per month of treatment.Acanthamoeba cysts were identified by IVCM in all of these culture-confirmed cases of keratitis. Mean cyst density in the central cornea at presentation was 99 ± 64.9 cells per square millimeter (range, 38-255/mm). Cyst density in our study population significantly decreased by approximately 5.3% with each month of antiamebic treatment (P = 0.001; R = 0.41).Reduction in Acanthamoeba cyst density with treatment can be monitored by IVCM, which in turn can be used clinically in prognostication and disease monitoring of AK.

With the development of science and technology, mechatronics production technology has been widely used. However, for many people who are not exposed to the technical system, or will think that Mechatronics is only a technical mode. Mechatronics is an integrated technology, which needs many links. It means that with the development of microelectronics, sensors and other technologies, mechatronics can also make great progress. Before analyzing the key technology of mechatronics, we should first make clear its composition structure to eliminate some people’s misunderstanding. Mechatronics refers to the integration of different important mechanical and electrical work links, with microprocessors and mainframe as the control center, and orderly coordination of work in each link.

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated protein-1 (TRAP-1), a mitochondrial chaperone, contributes significantly to the progression of cancer. However, the understanding of its involvement in the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains limited. The aim of the present study was to assess the significance of TRAP-1 expression in CRC. The expression of TRAP-1 was evaluated in corresponding cancerous, paracancerous, lymph node and distant metastatic tissues of 256 cases of CRC by immunohistochemistry. The associations between TRAP-1 expression and the clinicopathological parameters and survival rates of patients was assessed. Out of 256 patients with CRC, TRAP-1 expression was detected in 203 (79.3%). TRAP-1 expression was significantly increased in cancerous tissue compared with that in corresponding paracancerous tissues (P

The mould friction is an important parameter reflecting the initial shell and mould lubrication conditions. The research of mould friction is very important to the optimization and developing of continuous casting. The measured mould friction under hydraulic oscillation mode was researched with wavelet analysis to reveal its time-frequency characteristics. Firstly, the mould friction signals under different production conditions were monitored and the mould friction was calculated. Then, mother wavelet function was selected from three wavelet functions which were chosen preliminary according to the characteristics of mould friction and wavelet theory. Through wavelet transformation, mould friction signal was projected onto the wavelet domain, and the time-frequency characteristics of mould friction under different production conditions were obtained and discussed. Mould friction under different production conditions such as different oscillation mode, casting speed fluctuation, increasing and decreasing stage of casting speed and breakout occurrence was reported in detail in the wavelet time-frequency maps. The characteristics of mould friction were reflected well through wavelet transformation which proved that wavelet analysis had a good feasibility for mould friction study and can further reveal the nature of mould friction.

Antituberculosis (TB) chemotherapeutic drugs may cause a variety of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). To assess the potential of drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test (DLST) in screening ADRs in patients treated with anti-TB drugs, we performed DLST in 272 TB patients (176 cases with ADRs and 96 controls without ADRs) treated with anti-TB drugs isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RFP), ethambutol (EMB), and pyrazinamide (PZA). The ADRs were diagnosed by drug provocation test based on clinical and laboratory examinations. The sensitivities of DLST in the diagnosis of INH-, RFP-, EMB-, or PZA-induced ADRs were 57.8%, 37.1%, 42.4%, and 23.1%, respectively, with the corresponding specificities being 93.4%, 94.0%, 97.5%, and 98.8%. DLST has high specificity and limited sensitivity in the diagnosis of anti-TB drug-induced ADRs. In combination with clinical observation and drug use history, DLST could have a predictive validity of ADRs, especially when a positive result is obtained.

Purpose To report a case of bilateral central retinal artery occlusion with both anterior and posterior ischemic optic neuropathy. Observations A 65-year-old Caucasian woman presented with acute respiratory distress syndrome and septic shock. After treatment with vasopressors and prolonged prone positioning, she was noted to be bilaterally completely blind on hospitalization day 12. Evaluation revealed evidence of bilateral central retinal artery occlusion and bilateral ischemic optic neuropathy. Magnetic resonance imaging of the orbits demonstrated severe restricted diffusion of both optic nerves consistent with ischemia. Both central retinal artery occlusion and ischemic optic neuropathy have been reported in cases of severe hypotension, blood loss, and prone positioning, most often postoperatively after spinal surgery. Conclusions and importance To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of bilateral central retinal artery occlusion with both anterior and posterior ischemic optic neuropathy, presumed due to the combination of severe systemic hypotension, hypoxemia due to the respiratory distress syndrome, and prolonged prone positioning.

In this paper ,design a kind of rolling-shoe bearing device for supporting rotary cylinder, compare the characteristics of sliding shoe, roller, Rolling-Shoe Bearing, introduce the work principle of r Rolling-Shoe Bearing device, describe the overall structure of Rolling-Shoe Bearing device, the roller arrangement scheme, the design scheme of the raceway cover and structure of the main parts of the device. Research shows Rolling-Shoe Bearing device improves the stability, the reliability of the equipment operation, reduces the cost, and prolongs the service life of equipment.

Background Isocyanates are one of the most commonly reported causes of occupational asthma; however, the risks of developing isocyanate asthma in modern production facilities remain poorly defined. We evaluated TDI exposure and respiratory health among an inception cohort of workers during their first year of employment at a new polyurethane foam production factory.

Objective To evaluate the treatment of primary pulmonary NK/T cell lymphoma. Method A case report and review of the literature. The tissue material was obtained by transbronchial biopsy, and the diagnosis was confirmed by pathology. He received five cycles of chemotherapy with L-asparaginase-based regimen. Result He remained complete remission for 2 years following the initial diagnosis. Conclusion Primary pulmonary NK/T cell lymphoma is an aggressive disease. It is usually associated with poor outcome in the literature. L-asparaginase based regimen was effective for our newly diagnosed patient.

To compare vision-related (VR-QOL) and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in patients with noninfectious uveitis treated with systemic anti-inflammatory therapy versus nonsystemic therapy.A prospective, cross-sectional study design was employed. VR-QOL and HR-QOL were assessed by the 25-Item Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) and the Short Form 12-Item Health Survey (SF-12), respectively. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to assess the VR-QOL and HR-QOL based on treatment.Among the 80 patients, the median age was 51 years with 28 males (35%). The adjusted effect of treatment modality on VR-QOL or HR-QOL showed no statistically significant difference in all subscores of VFQ-25 or physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) of SF-12. Systemic therapy did not compromise VR-QOL or HR-QOL compared to nonsystemic therapy.Systemic therapy can be effectively used to control serious cases of noninfectious uveitis without significant relative adverse impact on quality of life.

Background: In the absence of a positive sputum bacteriological result, pathological and bacteriological examinations of lung lesion biopsies are important methods to confirm bacteriological-negative tuberculosis. Endobronchial ultrasonography with guide sheath (EBUS-GS) and electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) are two new endobronchial diagnostic techniques, the combination of which has greatly facilitated the diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary lesions and is an especially useful, minimally invasive, effective diagnostic method for bacteriologically-negative tuberculosis cases. Methods: A total of 78 patients were included in this study with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis based on clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, and imaging studies. The patients underwent a high-resolution chest CT scan before bronchoscopy, A method was selected (EBUS-GS alone, or EBUS-GS + ENB) based on the lesion site and the level and angle of the bronchus involved. After the lesion was found, a puncture needle, biopsy forceps, and brushing forceps were used to collect a tissue sample. Results: Forty-four patients were diagnosed with tuberculosis; 1, nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) lung disease; 15, lung cancer; 15, pulmonary infection; 1, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA); and 2, pneumoconiosis. A total of 25 patients of TB (56.8%) were successfully diagnosed with EBUS-GS plus ENB. Among the patients with confirmed diagnosis, 9 were diagnosed with pathological examination; 4, genetic analysis; 11, positive smear; and 14, positive culture. Conclusions: The introduction of EBUS and ENB in China has provided a new direction for the diagnosis of atypical bacteriological-negative tuberculosis, as the techniques are less invasive and less expensive than thoracoscopy.

Water is the limited factor in arid and semi-arid regions. Precipitation, as the sole source of water replenishment in arid area, plays an important role in sustaining the desert ecosystem. With the trend of global warming, precipitation is increasing in arid region recently, especially in the extremely arid region at the south rim of Tarim Basin. Halogeton glomeratus (Bieb.) C. A.Mey is the key species of Gobi desert at the south rim of Tarim Basin, which use the scarce and irregular rainfall for survival in greatest possible. There was little research on characteristics of H. glomeratus involving biomass allocation and root distribution under different rainfall conditions in extremely arid regionsItalic text. Our objective was to study the response for H. glomeratus to the global precipitation change. Artificial controlling water supply was conducted at three levels in experimental fields in Cele Gobi desert. Additionally, the natural precipitation control plot was analyzed for comparison. Frequent harvests were used to determine the response of biomass allocation and root distribution of H. glomeratus during a growing season under extreme rainfall conditions. Biomass of H. glomeratus increased as rainfall increased in the prophase of the growing season, but decreased in the later half phase of the growing season. Biomass allocation showed no significant difference among the treatments. However, H. glomeratus with higher level of rainfall allocates more biomass to roots. H. glomeratus adapts to the lower water condition by means of modulating roots distribution with deeper vertical main root and extent horizontal lateral roots.

Heat supplies not only consume large amounts of energy, but also are very inefficient. However, in this case, a monitored control system which will realize 10% energy conservation in heat supplying is designed. This system has a two layer structure: one on-spot control layer and one upper supervisory layer. The former is exploited by PLC; the latter supervise and control the former via GPRS wireless communications. The Internet network will also in this system monitor any of the substations far away from the controlling centre. In this paper, the control scheme, hardware and software of the system will be introduced in detail. Until now, the system has been steadily running for more than 2 heating periods in the station and has pass all the relevant departments’ technical tests.

To improve detection performance for weak and small targets signal in complex infrared background,such as the ground and the cloud,a dim and small target background suppression method is presented based on vision cell response model was presented.Firstly,according to simple cell receptive field model,original infrared image is decomposed to two images with different Gabor functions using convolution.And then,the function of nonlinear convergence of complex cell response is used to fusion two images obtained for separation small target with background clutter in infrared image.Finally,target image is obtained by using classical adaptive thresholding method.Several groups of experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can segment the infrared target image effectively,compared with several classical infrared dim and small target background suppression methods,such as local means remove and max median filter methods.

The objective is to investigate the association between pathological type and clinical features, response to treatment and prognosis of primary gastrointestinal Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (PGINHL). The clinicopathologic features, response to treatment and survival of 124 patients with PGINHL, were investigated retrospectively. Ninety-one patients were treated with surgery, most of which included combined therapy, while 32 patients received chemotherapy alone. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression method. The most common immunophenotype was B-cell subtype. In 115 (92.7%) patients of B-cell lymphoma, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALToma) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) were 55 and 50 patients, respectively. The patients of two pathological types had different clinical features including stage, B symptoms, sites of tumor, distant involvement, International Prognosis Index Score, size of tumor, and response to treatment. Both overall survival curve and multiple Cox regression analysis indicated that pathological type was statistically significant. The pathological subtype of PGINHL was an important prognostic factor. The patients with MALToma appear to have more favorable prognosis than those with DLBCL.

This paper has calculated that Rydberg atoms can be transferred to states of lower principal quantum number by exposing them to a frequency chirped microwave pulse. The atoms experience the consequence: 70p-69s-68p-67s-66p by a constant amplitude field in the adopted model. This study shows that the complete population transfer is related to the chirp rate and the carrier frequency.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect and safety of autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) in children and adolescents with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Ten patients with NHL were analyzed retrospectively. In all the patients, lymph node enlargement was most frequently detected. Patients with a mediastinal mass presented with a cough, palpitation and shortness of breath. Extranodal patients presented with abdominal pain, inability to walk and vaginal bleeding. All patients underwent APBSCT with conditioning regimens BEAM or BuCy. Among them, four patients with B-cell NHL received rituximab in addition to the conditioning regimen. Hematopoietic reconstitution was observed in all patients. Severe toxicity and transplant-related mortality were not observed. Prior to APBSCT, nine patients with a status of complete response (CR) and CR unconfirmed achieved continuing complete remission. Only one patient with partial response succumbed to progressive disease. APBSCT in children and adolescents with NHL is a safe, convenient and efficient treatment. The BEAM conditioning regimen was shown to be effective and tolerable for children and adolescents with NHL. Rituximab is a safe agent in the transplantation. The CR status at the time of transplantation demonstrated a higher survival rate.

Objective: To determine whether the source of autologous hematopoietic stem cells altered the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing high dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) for aggressive lymphoma and to study the problem of minimal residual disease (MRD). Methods: 14 lymphoma patients who had lymphoma with high risk factors, relapsed lymphoma or refractory lymphoma received autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). 14 lymphoma patients who were similar to ABMT group received autologous peripheral blood stem cells transplantation (APBSCT). Regimen of CBV (cyclophos phamide 50∼60 mg/kg/d×2 d, carmustine 15 mg/kg/d×1 d, etoposide 45∼60 mg/kg/d×1 d) was received by all the patients as conditioning regimen in the transplant pretreatment followed by ABMT or APBSCT. Autologous peripheral blood stem cell (APBSC) was mobilized by CTX 2g∼3g/m2/d×2 d iv and G-CSF 5 µg/kg/d for five to seven days. MRD was continually supervised by PCR in bone marrow before and after transplantation. Cellular immunocyte function, such as natural killer cell (NK), CD3, CD4, CD8 and sIL-2R was tested before and twenty days after transplantation. Results: In ABMT group, the median time for hematopoietic recovery of absolute neutrophilia counts ≥0.5×109/L and platelet counts ≥20×109/L was +18 days and +20 days respectively. In contrast, the APBSCT group was both at 12 days. Patients who have undergone ABMT all got complete remission (CR), while 81.8% patients in APBSCT group got CR. The 3-year disease free survival (DFS) in APBSCT and ABMT group was 75% and 72.7% respectively (P>0.05). The mean days of immunity recovering in APBSCT was ±20 days. After transplantation, MRD in 11 patients were positive, in whom 6 patients died. Conclusion: Aggressive lymphoma patients’ hemapoiesis recovered more rapidly in APBSCT group than that in ABMT group, but 3-year DFS had no statistical difference. Patients positive for IgH/TCR-γ by molecular PCR analysis had poor DFS. Molecur monitoring of MRD using PCR techniques seems to represent a reliable prognostic indicator. Immunotherapy in the patients whose bone morrow was positive for MRD post-AHSCT may intensify remission and reduce relapse rates.

The accuracy and sensitivity of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer diagnosis is often poor; however, the reasons for its inaccuracy have rarely been investigated, especially with respect to age. In this study, 476 healthy males, aged 10–89 years, were stratified into eight age groups, and levels of seven markers were determined: total PSA (tPSA), free PSA (fPSA), %fPSA, isoform [-2]proPSA (p2PSA), p2PSA/tPSA, %p2PSA, and the prostate health index (PHI). Both tPSA and fPSA levels increased with age. The tPSA level was highest (1.39 ng ml−1) at 70–79 years; %fPSA was highest (0.57 ng ml−1) at 10–19 years; and %p2PSA was lowest (18.33 ng ml−1) at 40–49 years. Both p2PSA and p2PSA/tPSA had relatively flat curves and showed no correlation with age (P = 0.222). PHI was a sensitive age-associated marker (P < 0.05), with two peaks and one trough. The coverage rates and radiance graphs of PHI and %p2PSA were more distinctive than those of tPSA and the other markers. In subjects older than 69 years, PHI and %p2PSA both began to decrease, approximately 10 years earlier than the decrease in tPSA. Our results suggest that the clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer using PSA should be investigated more comprehensively based on patient age. Moreover, %p2PSA and PHI could be considered as earlier markers that may be more suitable than PSA alone.

First, on the basis of building up the mathematical model of signal for binary phase-coded quasi-continuous wave (quasi-CW) radar, we analyze the echo eclipse problem existing in this kind of radar system. Then, in order to resolve the echo eclipse problem and achieve to detect targets in the whole operating range simultaneously, we propose a phase-coded waveform method based on multimode arbitrary code (MAC) sequence from the perspective of waveform design and coding sequence selection. Finally, an example of quasi-CW radar signal which is designed by applying the proposed method is presented and simulated. And simulation results show that the designed radar signal has excellent range/velocity resolution, and it can greatly improve the detection performance of quasi-CW radar.

As the explosive growth of online linked data, there is an urgent need for an efficient approach to discovering and understanding various semantic associations. Research has been done on discovering semantic associations as link paths in linked data. However, few discussions have been given on how we can understand complex and large-scale semantic associations. Generating human understandable summaries for semantic associations is a good choice. In this paper, we first give a novel definition of semantic association, and then we describe how we discover semantic associations by mining link patterns. Next, a notion of Focused Association Graph is proposed to characterize merged associations among a set of focused objects. Then we focus on summarizing of Focused Association Graph. Concise summaries are generated with the help of Steiner Tree problem. Experiments show that our approach is feasible and efficient in generating summaries for semantic associations.

In the heating period of winter, there are some problems as inadequate heating and uneven heating existed in the end of heating of central heating system, using heating substation with peak-shaving boiler is a effective method to solve those problems. Conventional control methods are difficult to meet the heating substation operational requirements of practical engineering for heating process with the characteristics of non-linearity, time delay and uncertainty. In order to obtain satisfactory control effect a compound control method was presented in this paper. a simplified DMC(Dynamic Matrix Control) was used as a feedback control of heating process, disturbance of peak-shaving boiler was used for feed-forward compensation adjustment. Simulation results proved that this compound control method had a better tracking and robustness than general DMC method.

In order to observe and study the possibility of the existence of chaotic behavior in the heating load, profound research has been performed at the real-test heating supplying load time series from 2007 to 2010 in this paper. Firstly, the data which were got from the worksite are pre-processed. Secondly, phase space reconstruction is done to the time series which have been processed. Thirdly, a qualitative, quantitative and RP analysis of data are accomplished. Finally, the rigorous chaotic character of the heating supplying load is found. This conclusion can provides evidence on the feasibility of introducing the chaotic control and prediction to the heating supplying system with the properties of large time-lag, nonlinear, time varying etc.

Primary thunderclap headache (TCH) is a rare condition, of which the onset can be triggered by coughing, exercise, and sexual activity. Micturition is a recognized trigger of secondary TCH with pheochromocytoma in bladder, but not of primary TCH. We describe a patient with an apparent primary TCH, which repeatedly occurred immediately after micturition until she achieved a therapeutic dosage of nimodipine.