AIDS-Associated Mycoplasmas Infections in Patients with Nongonococcal Urethritis and Mucopurulent Cervicitis

Background: The incidence of sexually transmittedHIV infections is rapidly increasing in China, and theprevalence of AIDS-associated mycoplasmas (includingMycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma penetrans, Myco-plasma pirum and Mycoplasma fermentans) infections isunknown in patients with sexually transmitted diseases.Objective: To investigate the prevalence of these 4species of AIDS-associated mycoplasmas infections inpatients with nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) andmucopurulent cervicitis (MPC).Methods: In 65 patients with NGU/MPC, detection ofM. genitalium, M. penetrans, M. pirum and M. fermentansin genital and pharyngeal specimens was performed byculture and nested polymerase chain reaction.Results: M. genitalium, M. penetrans, M. pirum and M.fermentans were identified in genital specimens from23.1% (15/65), 12.3% (8/65), 1.5% (1/65) and 0% ofpatients, respectively, and from pharyngeal samples in26.2% (17/65), 15.4% (10/65), 1.5% (1/65) and 0% ofpatients, respectively. M. genitalium was detected in bothgenital and pharyngeal samples in 10.8% (7/65) ofpatients, and M. penetrans in 4.6% (3/65) of patients. M.pirum was found in only 2 cases, and no M. fermentanswas discovered.Conclusions: This study suggests that M. genitaliumand M. penetrans infections are common in patients withNGU/MPC. M. genitalium and M. penetrans may be trans-mitted by genital-genital or oral-genital sex, and maycause urethritis and cervicitis.

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Effects of spinal cord stimulation on cerebrovascular flow: role of sym-pathetic and parasympathetic innervations

Objective Cervical spinal cord stimulation （SCS） has been found to augment cerebral blood flow （CBF） in a number of animal models. However, the effective use of SCS is hampered by a lack of understanding of its mechanism（s） of action. In this paper, we focus on the sympathetic and parasympathetic effects of SCS on CBF. Method SpragueDawley rats were selected for the experimental series. The animals were divided into 5 groups to underwent SCS and laser Doppler flowmeter （LDF） recordings. Control group, the animal underwent SCS and LDF recordings without any surgery of the nerve fibers and ganglia. V 1 group, the animal underwent bilateral resection of the nasociliary and post-ganglionic parasympathetic nerve fibbers. SCG group, the animal underwent bilateral resection of supper cervical ganglion. V 1 ＋ SCG group, the animal underwent both surgeries as V1- and SCG-group animals did. Sham group, the animal underwent the carotid manipulation with blunt-tipped forceps as well as the dissection of nasociliary and post-ganglionic parasympathetic nerve fibers around the ethmoidal foramen, but without cutting any nerves. Results During the SCS, the LDF was no statistical difference between the V 1 or SCG group and the control group. Yet, the effects of SCS on CBF are completely abolished in V1＋ SCG group. Conclusions Surgical interruption of both the parasympathetic and sympathetic pathways has the contradict effect on SCS-induced CBF augmentation.

MANAGEMENT OF CEREBROSPINAL FLUID LEAKAGE FOLLOWING CERVICAL SPINE SURGERY

Objective To investigate the management and outcome of cerebrospinal fluid leakage(CSFL)after cervical surgery.Methods Medical records of 642 patients who underwent cervical surgery between December 1999 and December 2005 at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed.Five patients complicated by CSFL after surgery were enrolled,of which 4 cases were complicated after ossified posterior longitudinal ligament or posterior vertebral osteophyte resection directly injuring the dura,and 1 case after posterior cervical double-door laminoplasty without observed dural injury during surgery.Of the 5 CSFL cases,4 cases occurred at 1-3 days after operation and 1 case at 9 days after operation.All 5 postoperative CSFL cases were treated through wound drainage removal,wound sutures,prophylactic antibiotics,and continuous subarachnoid drainage in the elevated head position.Results All 5 CSFL cases experienced leakage cessation within 1-3 days and wound healing within 4-8 days,and subarachnoid drainage lasted 11-16 days with an average volume of 320 mL(range,150-410 mL).Four cases experienced headache,nausea and vomiting,1 case suffered from somnolence and hyponatremia,and symptoms subsided after symptomatic treatment and intravenous fluid administration.All patients were followed up for an average of 32 months(range,22-50 months).No occurrence of cerebrospinal fluid cyst or wound infection was observed.CSFL produced no significant negative effects upon neuromuscular function recovery.Conclusion Continuous subarachnoid cavity drainage in combination with elevated head position is a simple and safe non-surgical method in treatment of CSFL following cervical surgery.

An automatic identification algorithm for freeway bottleneck based on loop detector data

A bottleneck automatic identification algorithm based on loop detector data is proposed. The proposed algorithm selects the critical flow rate as the trigger variable of the algorithm which is calculated by the road conditions the level of service and the proportion of trucks.The process of identification includes two parts. One is to identify the upstream of the bottleneck by comparing the distance between the current occupancy rate and the mean value of the occupancy rate and the variance of the occupancy rate.The other process is to identify the downstream of the bottleneck by calculating the difference of the upstream occupancy rate with that of the downstream.In addition the algorithm evaluation standards which are based on the time interval of the data the detection rate and the false alarm rate are discussed.The proposed algorithm is applied to detect the bottleneck locations in the Shanghai Inner Ring Viaduct Dabaishu-Guangzhong road section.The proposed method has a good performance in improving the accuracy and efficiency of bottleneck identification.

A study on coupling technique and implementation of the wave-circulation coupled model

The coupler is fundamental for a coupled model to realize complex interactions among component models.This paper focuses on the coupling process of Wave-Circulation(W-C) coupled model which consists of MASNUM(key laboratory of marine science and numerical modeling wave model)and POM(Princeton Ocean Model).The current coupling module of this coupled model is based on the inefficient I/O file,which has already become a performance bottleneck especially when the coupled model utilizes a large number of processes.To improve the performance of the W-C model,a flexible coupling module based on the model coupling toolkit(MCT) is designed and implemented to replace the current I/O file coupling module in the coupled model.Empirical studies that we have carried out demonstrate that our online coupling module can dramatically improve the parallel performance of the coupled model.The online coupling module outperforms the I/O file coupling module.When processes increase to 96,the whole process of EXP-C takes only 695.8 seconds,which is only 58.8%of the execution time of EXP-F.Based on our experiments under 2D Parallel Decomposition(2DPD),we suggest setting parallel decomposition strategies automatically to component models in order to achieve high parallel efficiency.

Proliferation inhibition of human cervical cancer HeLa cells by Casticin in vitro

Objective： The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of Casticin on proliferation inhibition of human cervical cancer HeLa cells in vitro and to unravel the associated mechanisms. Methods： Human cervical HeLa cells were cultured in vitro. The inhibitory effect of Casticin on the viability of human cervical cancer HeLa ceils was evaluated by the MTT assay. The colony formation ability was detected by plate colony formation assay. Distribution of cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. The protein expression levels were analyzed by Western blot. Results： Casticin significantly inhibited the growth of human cervical cancer HeLa cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and the IC50 was 2.82 μg/mL. The colony-forming rate was reduced drastically compared with control group （P 〈 0.05）. The cells were markedly arrested at G2/M phase after the treatment of Casticin for 48 h. Western blot showed that the expression of p21 protein was up-regulated and protein level of Cyctin B1 was depressed by Casticin in a concentration dependent manner. Conclusion： Casticin could inhibit the cell growth and lead to cell arrest in human cervical cancer HeLa cells, and the down-regulation of Cyclin B1 protein expression and activation of p21 protein might contribute to Casticin induced cell arrest in human cervical cancer HeLa cells.

Effect of carotid artery stenting surgery combined with nimodipine on cerebral anterior circulation hemodynamics

Objective To evaluate the effect of carotid artery stenting combined with nimodipine on cerebral hemodynamics by comparing and analyzing the change of anterior cerebral blood flow before and after treatment through transcrania Doppler （TCD）. Methods Twenty patients with ischemic cerebrovascnlar disease were detected in blood flow velocity of bilateral middle cerebral arteries （MCA） and anterior cerebral arteries （ACA） and artery pulsatility index with TCD before and two weeks after treatment. Results After treatment, TCD examination showed dynamic changes in blood flow significantly, lpsilateral MCA flow velocity significantly increased; ipsilateral ACA flow velocity did not change significantly; there was no significant increase in the contralateral MCA flow velocity; flow rate decreased significantly in contralateral ACA. Conclusion Carotid artery stenting combined with nimodipine treatment can cause anterior cerebral hemodynamic changes in ipsilateral hemisphere and significantly improve blood flow

EFFECTS OF ACUPUNCTURE AT FENGCHI POINT (GB 20) ON CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW

Blood velocity in the vertebral artery and the basilar artery was observed before and after acupuncture at Fengchi point (GB 20) in 97 patients by transcranial Doppler ultrasonic detecting. The results showed that the blood velocity in patients with either high or low blood flow had significant changes after acupuncture (P

Clinical effects of innovative tuina manipulations on treating cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type and changes in cerebral blood flow

OBJECTIVE:To determine the clinical effect,treatment times,and rheoencephalogram changes in vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis patients treated with innovative Tuina manipulations.METHODS:One hundred and twenty six cervical spondylosis patients(vertebral artery type) were randomly divided into test and control groups.Patients in the test group were treated with innovative Tuina manipulations,while those in the control group were treated with the routine Tuina manipulations according to the textbook of Chinese Massage for Acupuncture and Moxibustion majors.The clinical effects,treatment times,clinical symptoms,and cerebral blood flow were measured.RESULTS:The response to the treatment was 100% in the test group and 88.71% in the control group.Patients in the test group required(7 ± 4) treatments before recovery,while those in the control group required(15 ± 7) treatments before recovery(P<0.05).The clinical symptoms exhibited greater improvement in the test group compared to the control group(P<0.05).There were no differences in cerebral blood flow between the two groups.CONCLUSION:Both innovative Tuina manipulations and routine Tuina manipulations produced satisfactory therapeutic results in vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis patients.However,the innovative manipulation was more effective in improving the functional symptoms,although there were no changes in the cerebral blood flow.

Clinical Observation on Needling Tendon for Cervical Spondylosis Causing Vertebral Artery Insufficiency

Objective： To observe the clinical effect of needling tendon for cervical spondylosis causing vertebral artery insufficiency. Methods： Thirty-eight cases with cervical spondylosis causing vertebral artery insufficiency were treated by needling the cervical tendon for one-course treatment. After treatment, the vertebrobasilar blood flow was observed. Results： The vertebrobasilar blood flow of the patients was substantially improved. The total effective rate and marked effect rate were 100.0% and 68.4% respectively. Conclusion： Needling the cervical tendon can obtain an exact effect for cervical spondylosis causing vertebral artery insufficiency.

Lattice Boltzmann method simulating hemodynamics in the three-dimensional stenosed and recanalized human carotid bifurcations

By using the lattice Boltzmann method(LBM)pulsatile blood flows were simulated in three-dimensional moderate stenosed and recanalized carotid bifurcations to understand local hemodynamics and its relevance in arterial atherosclerosis formation and progression.The helical flow patterns,secondary flow and wall dynamical pressure spatiotemporal distributions were investigated,which leads to the disturbed shear forces in the carotid artery bifurcations.The wall shear stress distributions indicated by time-averaged wall shear stress(TAWSS),oscillatory shear index(OSI),and the relative residence time(RRT)in a cardiac cycle revealed the regions where atherosclerotic plaques are prone to form,extend or rupture.This study also illustrates the point that locally disturbed flow may be considered as an indicator for early atherosclerosis diagnosis.Additionally the present work demonstrates the robust and highly efficient advantages of the LBM for the hemodynamics study of the human blood vessel system.

Portal vein thrombosis in patients with cirrhosis

Portal vein thrombosis(PVT)is frequent in patients with liver cirrhosis and possible severe complications such as mesenteric ischemia are rare,but can be life-threatening.However,different aspects of clinical relevance,diagnosis and management of PVT are still areas of uncertainty and investigation in international guidelines.In this article,we elaborate on PVT classification,geographical differences in clinical presentation and standards of diagnosis,and briefly on the current pathophysiological understanding and risk factors.This review considers and highlights the pitfalls of the various treatment approaches and prophylactic treatments.Finally,we review the controversial issue of clinical impact of PVT on prognosis,especially considering liver transplantation and future perspectives.

Variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients

Variceal bleeding is one of the major causes of death in cirrhotic patients.The management during the acute phase and the secondary prophylaxis is well defined.Recent recommendations(2015 Baveno VI expert consensus)are available and should be followed for an optimal management,which must be performed as an emergency in a liver or general intensive-care unit.It is based on the early administration of a vasoactive drug(before endoscopy),an antibiotic prophylaxis and a restrictive transfusion strategy(hemoglobin target of 7 g/dL).The endoscopic treatment is based on band ligations.Sclerotherapy should be abandoned.In the most severe patients(Child Pugh C or B with active bleeding during initial endoscopy),transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS)should be performed within 72 hours after admission to minimize the risk of rebleeding.Secondary prophylaxis is based on the association of non-selective beta-blockers(NSBBs)and repeated band ligations.TIPS should be considered when bleeding reoccurs in spite of a well-conducted secondary prophylaxis or when NSBBs are poorly tolerated.It should also be considered when bleeding is refractory.Liver transplantation should be discussed when bleeding is not controlled after TIPS insertion and in all cases when liver function is deteriorated.