Advances in spinal cord injury:insights from non-human primates

Spinal cord injury results in significant sensorimotor deficits,currently,there is no curative treatment for the symptoms induced by spinal cord injury.Basic and pre-clinical research on spinal cord injury relies on the development and characterization of appropriate animal models.These models should replicate the symptoms observed in human,allowing for the exploration of functional deficits and investigation into various aspects of physiopathology of spinal cord injury.Non-human primates,due to their close phylogenetic association with humans,share more neuroanatomical,genetic,and physiological similarities with humans than rodents.Therefore,the responses to spinal cord injury in nonhuman primates most likely resemble the responses to traumatism in humans.In this review,we will discuss nonhuman primate models of spinal cord injury,focusing on in vivo assessments,including behavioral tests,magnetic resonance imaging,and electrical activity recordings,as well as ex vivo histological analyses.Additionally,we will present therapeutic strategies developed in non-human primates and discuss the unique specificities of non-human primate models of spinal cord injury.

Perspectives in human brain plasticity sparked by glioma invasion:from intraoperative(re)mappings to neural reconfigurations

Exploring the aptitude of the human brain to compensate functional consequences of a lesion damaging its structural architecture is a key challenge to improve patient care in various neurological diseases,to optimize neuroscientifically-informed strategies of postlesional rehabilitation,and ultimately to develop innovative neuro-regenerative therapies.The term‘plasticity’,initially referring to the intrinsic propensity of neurons to modulate their synaptic transmission in a learning situation,was progressively transposed to brain injury research and clinical neurosciences.Indeed,in the event of brain damage,adaptive mechanisms of compensation allow a partial reshaping of the structure and activities of the central nervous system,thus permitting to some extent the maintenance of brain functions.

Major Diseases and Pests of Blueberry in Guizhou Province and Progress in Their Prevention and Control

As the blueberry industry continues to evolve,the effective control of its diseases and pests has become an essential component of local agricultural development.This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the principal types of blueberry diseases and pests in Guizhou Province,along with the corresponding control measures,in order to serve as a valuable reference for blueberry growers.

Influence ofβ-nucleating Compound Agents on the Mechanical Properties and Crystallization Behavior of Polypropylene Random Copolymer

A novel polypropylene random(PPR)composite materials with optimized properties was developed by addingβ-nucleating compound agents(rare earth complex WBG-2 and aryl amide derivative TMB-5)and ternary compound modifier(TPE/WBG-2/CaCO_(3)).The effects of differentβ-nucleating agents and ternary compound modifier on the mechanical properties and crystallization behavior of PPR were analyzed.The results show that,compared with pure PPR materials,both WBG-2 and TMB-5 could significantly improve the impact strength of PPR.The crystallization temperature of PPR increased with the addition ofβ-nucleating agent.The modified PPR prepared with ternary compound modifier showed the most excellent comprehensive properties.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B by Recyclable Ag Br/Polypyrrole(PPy)Nano-Catalysts

We investigated the removal of the organic dye rhodamine B in wastewater with recyclable AgBr/polypyrrole(PPy)nano-photocatalysts.With PPy as an active base for electron transfer,and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTAB)as both the soft-templating agent and the bromine source,a series of AgBr/PPy nano-photocatalysts containing various proportions of silver were prepared in a convenient one-step synthesis procedure.The synthesized catalysts were characterized by TG analysis to reveal that,in comparison with pure PPy,the interaction between PPy and AgBr led to increased thermal stability.Chemical combination of PPy and AgBr was observed through XRD and XPS analyses.For the morphology study,the AgBr particles were found to be well dispersed in the PPy nanowire network from SEM results.In the photodegradation experiments,up to 92%rhodamine B was degraded by the AgBr/PPy catalysts in the period of 1 hour under 254 nm UV light.The catalysts could maintain 60%catalytic efficiency after 3 cycles in the recyclability test.

Non-Contact Physiological Measurement System for Wearing Masks During the Epidemic

Physiological signals indicate a person’s physical and mental state at any given time.Accordingly,many studies extract physiological signals from the human body with non-contact methods,and most of them require facial feature points.However,under COVID-19,wearing a mask has become a must in many places,so how non-contact physiological information measurements can still be performed correctly even when a mask covers the facial information has become a focus of research.In this study,RGB and thermal infrared cameras were used to execute non-contact physiological information measurement systems for heart rate,blood pressure,respiratory rate,and forehead temperature for peoplewearing masks due to the pandemic.Using the green(G)minus red(R)signal in the RGB image,the region of interest(ROI)is established in the forehead and nose bridge regions.The photoplethysmography(PPG)waveforms of the two regions are obtained after the acquired PPG signal is subjected to the optical flow method,baseline drift calibration,normalization,and bandpass filtering.The relevant parameters in Deep Neural Networks(DNN)for the regression model can correctly predict the heartbeat and blood pressure.In addition,the temperature change in the ROI of the mask after thermal image processing and filtering can be used to correctly determine the number of breaths.Meanwhile,the thermal image can be used to read the temperature average of the ROI of the forehead,and the forehead temperature can be obtained smoothly.The experimental results show that the above-mentioned physiological signals of a subject can be obtained in 6-s images with the error for both heart rate and blood pressure within 2%∼3%and the error of forehead temperature within±0.5°C.

Current role and future perspectives of artificial intelligence in echocardiography

Echocardiography is an essential tool in diagnostic cardiology and is fundamental to clinical care.Artificial intelligence(AI)can help health care providers serving as a valuable diagnostic tool for physicians in the field of echocardiography specially on the automation of measurements and interpretation of results.In addition,it can help expand the capabilities of research and discover alternative pathways in medical management specially on prognostication.In this review article,we describe the current role and future perspectives of AI in echocardiography.

Network pharmacology and molecular docking-based analyses to predict the potential mechanism of Huangqin decoction in treating colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND To analyze the potential action mechanism of Huangqin decoction(HQD)in colorectal cancer(CRC)treatment on the basis of network pharmacology and molecular docking.AIM To investigate the molecular mechanisms of HQD for CRC treatment by using network pharmacology and molecular docking.METHODS All HQD active ingredients were searched using the Systematic Pharmacology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology databases and the Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular Mechanisms in traditional Chinese medicine.Then,the targets of the active ingredients were screened.The abbreviations of protein targets were obtained from the UniProt database.A“drug–compound–target”network was constructed to screen for some main active ingredients.Some targets related to the therapeutic effect of CRC were obtained from the GeneCards,DisGeNET,Therapeutic Target Database,and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man databases.The intersection of targets of Chinese herbs and CRC was taken.A Venn diagram was drawn to construct the intersection target interactions network by referring to the STRING database.Topological analysis of the protein interaction network was performed using Cytoscape 3.7.2 software to screen the core HQD targets for CRC.The core targets were imported into the DAVID 6.8 analysis website for gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses and visualization.Finally,molecular docking was performed using AutoDockTool and PyMOL for validation.RESULTS In total,280 potential drug-active ingredients were present in HQD,including 1474 targets of the drug-active ingredients.The main active ingredients identified were betulin,tetrahydropalmatine,and quercetin.In total,10249 CRC-related targets and 1014 drug-disease intersecting targets were identified,including 28 core targets of action such as Jun proto-oncogene,AP-1 transcription factor subunit,signal transducer and activator of transcription 3,tumor protein p53,vascular endothelial growth factor,and AKT serine/threonine kinase 1.The gene ontology enrichment functional analysis yielded 503 enrichment results,including 406 biological processes that were mainly related to the positive regulation of both gene expression and transcription and cellular response to hypoxia,etc.In total,38 cellular components were primarily related to polymer complexes,transcription factor complexes,and platelet alpha granule lumen.Then,59 molecular functions were closely related to the binding of enzymes,homologous proteins,and transcription factors.The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis yielded 139 enrichment results,involving epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance and HIF-1 and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways.CONCLUSION HQD can play a role in CRC treatment through the“multi-component-target–pathway”.The active ingredients betulin,tetrahydropalmatine,and quercetin may act on targets such as Jun proto-oncogene,AP-1 transcription factor subunit,signal transducer and activator of transcription 3,tumor protein p53,vascular endothelial growth factor,and AKT serine/threonine kinase 1,which in turn regulate HIF-1 and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways in CRC treatment.The molecular docking junction clarified that all four key target proteins could bind strongly to the main HQD active ingredients.This indicates that HQD could slow down CRC progression by modulating multiple targets and signaling pathways.

多囊卵巢综合征无排卵的胰岛素信号和雄激素合成的新遗传风险和代谢特征

促排卵是多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)不孕症的一线治疗方案。卵巢对促排卵治疗的排卵应答差被认为与胰岛素抵抗和高雄激素血症相关。在一个包含1000名PCOS不孕妇女(PCOSAct)的前瞻性队列中,我们开展了一项全外显子联合靶向单核苷酸多态性(SNP)测序以及代谢组学研究。在全基因组水平找出与无排卵显著相关的常见变异和罕见突变,并通过机器学习算法构建排卵预测模型。研究发现,ZNF438基因中标记为rs2994652(p=2.47×10^(-8))的常见变异和REC114基因中的一个罕见功能突变(rs182542888,p=5.79×10^(-6))与促排卵治疗失败显著相关。携带rs2994652 A等位基因和REC114 p.Val101Leu(rs182542888)的PCOS不孕妇女进行促排卵治疗的总排卵率更低(分别为比值比(OR)=1.96,95%置信区间(CI)[1.55~2.49];OR=11.52,95%CI[3.08~43.05]),出现排卵的间隔时间更长(平均56.7天vs.49.0天,p<0.001;78.1天vs.68.6天,p=0.014)。对于rs2994652突变者,L-苯丙氨酸水平升高并与胰岛素抵抗稳态模型(HOMA-IR)指数(r=0.22,p=0.05)和空腹血糖(r=0.33,p=0.003)呈正相关;对于rs182542888突变者,花生四烯酸代谢产物水平下降并与升高的抗苗勒管激素(r=-0.51,p=0.01)和总睾酮(r=-0.71,p=0.02)呈负相关。整合基因变异位点、代谢产物及临床特征的联合预测模型可提高对排卵的预测能力[曲线下面积(AUC)=76.7%]。ZNF438基因的一个常见变异和REC114基因的一个罕见功能突变,以及与二者相关的苯丙氨酸和花生四烯酸代谢物改变,与PCOS女性不孕症的促排卵治疗失败相关。

Non-invasive investigation of inflammatory bowel disease

The assessment of inflammatory activity in intestinal disease in man can be done using a variety of different techniques. These range from the use of non - invasive acute phase inflammatory markers measured in plasma such as C reactive protein (CRP) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (both of which give an indirect assessment of disease activity) to the direct assessment of disease activity by intestinal biopsy performed during endoscopy in association with endoscopic scoring systems. Both radiology and endoscopy are conventional for the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).However these techniques have severe limitations when it comes to assessing functional components of the disease such as activity and prognosis. Here we briefly review the value of two emerging intestinal function tests. Intestinal permeability, although ideally suited for diagnostic screening for small bowel Crohns disease, appears to give reliable predictive data for imminent relapse of small bowel Crohns disease and it can be used to assess responses to treatment. More significantly it is now clear that single stool assay of neutrophil specific proteins (calprotectin, lactoferrin) give the same quantitative data on intestinal inflammation as the 4 - day faecal excretion of 111lndium labelled white cells. Faecal calprotectin is shown to be increased in over 95% of patients with IBD and correlates with clinical disease activity. It reliably differentiates between patients with IBD and irritable bowel syndrome. More importantly, at a given faecal calprotectin concentration in patients with quiescent IBD,the test has a specificity and sensitivity in excess of 85% in predicting clinical relapse of disease. This suggests that relapse of IBD is closely related to the degree of intestinal inflammation and suggests that targeted treatment at an asymptomatic stage of the disease may be indicated.

Preparation and application of pharmaceutical wastewater treatment by praseodymium doped SnO_2/Ti electrocatalytic electrode

Praseodymium was selected as a promoter for SnO2/Ti electrode to improve the electrocatalytic performance by electrodeposition in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment; the micrograph and the structure were characterized by SEM and XRD. Mixture uniform design was used in the optimization of the electrolytic conditions; mathematical model was established according to the rate of wiping COD off, which revealed the relationship between the current intensity, time of electrolysis, the amount of doped Pr, and the ratio of area （SnOJTi：Al）. On the basis of the analysis of the empirical model, the optimized parameters had been obtained; the rate of wiping COD off was up to 94.9%, it decreased from 392 to 20 mg/L. Experimental results showed that the electrocatalytic performance of the electrode doped with Pr was superior for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater.

Investigation for the transcultural self-efficacy of nurses in Guizhou,China

Aim:As conflict caused by cultural diversity among patients in China continues to rise,hospitals are in urgent need for improvement of transcultural efficacy among nurses.This study aims to evaluate the transcultural self-efficacy of nurses working in the tertiary general hospital in Guizhou Province,an ethnic minority region in western China,and to identify whether nurses'demographic characteristics affect their transcultural self-efficacy.Method:We used the Chinese version of the Transcultural Self-Efficacy Tool(TSET-CV)to survey 1,190 inservice nurses.Results:Results showed that the level of transcultural self-efficacy of the nurses was generally moderate;few of the nurses had high or low transcultural self-efficacy.The nurses'transcultural self-efficacy was affected by demographic variables,including age,marital status,employment type,income,work experience,and whether or not they were head nurses.Having a stable work environment,a stable marriage,a good educational background,and a high-ranked professional title were associated with increased transcultural self-efficacy.Conclusion:Nursing administrators in hospitals should offer continuing education on transcuitural nursing according to nurses'demographic characteristics and the SEST scores.

Role of clinical pathway in improving the quality of care for patients with faecal incontinence:A randomised trial

AIM To assess the development and implementation of the Integrated Rapid Assessment and Treatment(IRAT) pathway for the management of patients with fecal incontinence and measure its impact on patients' care.METHODS Patients referred to the colorectal unit in our hospital for the management of faecal incontinence were randomised to either the Standard Care pathway or the newly developed IRAT pathway in this feasibility study. The IRAT pathway is designed to provide a seamless multidisciplinary care to patients with faecal incontinence in a timely fashion. On the other hand, patients in the Standard Pathway were managed in the general colorectal clinic. Percentage improvements in St. Marks Incontinence Score, Cleveland Clinic Incontinence Score and Rockwood Faecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale after completion of treatment in both groups were the primary outcome measures. Secondary endpoints were the time required to complete the management and patients' satisfaction score.x^2, Mann-Whitney-U and Kendall tau-c correlation coefficient tests were used for comparison of outcomes of the two study groups. A P value of 0.05 or less was considered significant.RESULTS Thirty-nine patients, 34 females, consented to participate. Thirty-one(79.5%) patients completed the final assessment and were included in the outcome analysis.There was no significant difference in the quality of life scales and incontinence scores. Patients in the IRAT pathway were more satisfied with the time required to complete management(P = 0.033) and had stronger agreement that all aspects of their problem were covered(P = 0.006).CONCLUSION Despite of the lack of significant difference in outcome measures, the new pathway has positively influenced patient's mindset, which was reflected in a higher satisfaction score.

Psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in France:a national assessment of at-risk populations

Background Lockdowns were implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19.Peritraumatic distress(PD)and post-traumatic stress disorder have been reported after traumatic events,but the specific effect of the pandemic is not well known.Aim The aim of this study was to assess PD in France,a country where C0VID-19 had such a dramatic impact that it required a country-wide lockdown.Methods We recruited patients in four groups of chatbot users followed for breast cancer,asthma,depression and migraine.We used the Psychological Distress Inventory(PDI),a validated scale to measure PD during traumatic events,and correlated PD risk with patients*characteristics in order to better identify the ones who were the most at risk.Results The study included 1771 participants.91.25%(n=1616)were female with a mean age of 32.8(13.71)years and 7.96%(n=141)were male with a mean age of 28.0(8.14)years.In total,38.06%(n=674)of the respondents had psychological distress(PDI>14).An analysis of variance showed that unemployment and depression were significantly associated with a higher PDI score.Patients using their smartphones or computers for more than 1 hour a day also had a higher PDI score(p=0.026).Conclusion Prevalence of PD in at-risk patients is high.These patients are also at an increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.Specific steps should be implemented to monitor and prevent PD through dedicated mental health policies if we want to limit the public health impact of COVID-19 in time.

Do medical students studying in the United Kingdom have an adequate factual knowledge of basic life support?

BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals have a duty to maintain basic life support(BLS) skills. This study aims to evaluate medical students' factual knowledge of BLS and the training they receive.METHODS: A cross-sectional, closed-response questionnaire was distributed to the fi rst-and fourth-year students studying at institutions in the United Kingdom. The paper questionnaire sought to quantify respondent's previous BLS training, factual knowledge of the BLS algorithm using five multiple choice questions(MCQs), and valuate their desire for further BLS training. Students received 1 point for each correctly identifi ed answer to the 5 MCQ's.RESULTS: A total of 3,732 complete responses were received from 21 medical schools. Eighty percent(n=2,999) of students completed a BLS course as part of their undergraduate medical studies. There was a signifi cant difference(P<0.001) in the percentage of the fourth-year students selecting the correct answer in all the MCQ's compared to the fi rst-year students except in identifyingthe correct depth of compressions required during CPR(P=0.095). Overall 10.3%(95% CI 9.9% to 10.7%) of respondents correctly identified the answer to 5 MCQ's on BLS: 9% of the first-year students(n=194) and 12% of the fourth-year students(n=190). On an institutional level the proportion of students answering all MCQ's correctly ranged from 2% to 54% at different universities. Eighty-one percent of students(n=3,031) wished for more BLS training in their curriculum.CONCLUSION: Factual knowledge of BLS is poor among medical students in the UK. There is a disparity in standards of knowledge across institutions and respondents indicating that they would like more training.

Vik: A Chatbot to Support Patients with Chronic Diseases

Background: Chatbots are easy to use and simulate a human conversation through text or voice via smartphones or computers. In the field of health, chatbots can improve patient information, monitoring, or treatment adherence. Method: The objective of this article is to describe how a chatbot dedicated to disease monitoring and support of patients can interact with them and how data are exploited to be safe. Results: Wefight designed a chatbot named Vik to empower patients with cancers or chronic diseases and their relatives via personalized text messages. Natural Language Processing models were used. We built several Vik for each disease. Each Vik has its contents, its own NLP model and interacts its way with the patient. Conclusion: Conversational agents may help patients with minor health concerns without seeing a real physician. If the quality of these softwares is not thoroughly assessed, they could be dangerous. If chatbots are effective and safe, they could be prescribed like a drug to improve patient information, monitoring, or treatment adherence.

成人难治性局灶性癫痫严重程度的诊断标准

The most important criteria of severity of intractable focal epilepsies are th e high frequency of seizure and the type of seizure, in particular seizures with fall. However, the presence of a brain lesion and its localization, handicap, n umber of antiepileptic drugs, poor social integration, history of status epilept icus, mortality, traumas, cognitive impairments, depressive symptoms and alterat ion of quality of life are also criteria of gravity. In this article, we propo se a review of these various elements limiting our discussion to adults.