Objective To investigate the distribution properties of multifocal pattern visual evoked potential across visual field. Methods Multifocal pattern visual evoked potentials(VEP) of 14 normals were measured with VERIS Science TM 4.0. The visual stimuli were dart board 60 with patterns which consisted of 60 patches arranged in dart board configuration spanning a 26? visual field. The temporal modulation of each patch was controlled by a special type of pseudorandom sequence called binary m-sequence. The electrodes were placed at equal distances 2 cm inferior to and 2 cm superior to and straddling the inion . The first slice of the second order kernel for each stimulus patch was analysed. The 60 patches were grouped into several sectors. The summed responses of these sectors were analysed and compared. Results Compared with that of the lower hemifield, the polarity of the multifocal VEP of the upper hemifield was reverse, and the latency delayed, the response density decreased. With the eccentricity increased, the response density of the multifocal VEP decreased. The properties of the multifocal VEP of the horizontal sectors were different from that of the vertical sectors. Conclusion VEP of many locations within visual field could be recorded simultaneously in a short time with the method of mutifocal VEP. The multifocal VEP showed different properties in different sectors within visual field.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are commonly observed under the scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and inverted microscope. However, above-mentioned observation methods have disadvantages on observing ultrastructure of cell membrane and cytoskeleton. OBJECTIVE: To establish a more effective and appropriate method to isolate, culture and identification of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) in vitro and to study the ultrastructure of osteogenic differentiation with the atomic force microscope. METHODS: The hUCMSCs were isolated from human umbilical cord by digested with collagenase. After serial subcultivation in vitro, the stem cells were passaged, and osteogenic differentiation was determined by alkaline phosphatase calcium-cobalt staining and alizarin red staining. hUCMSCs immunophenotype was measured by Flow cytometry.The membrane surface ultrastructure of osteogenic differentiation was observed by Atomic Force Microscope before and after induction. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The isolated hUCMSCs by digested with collagenase was efficient. After seeded 24 hours, the adherent cell showed spindle shape, polygonal shape and fibroblast-cell-like shape and the size of hUCMSCs was homogeneous. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that CD29, CD44, CD105 were highly expressed on the surface of passages 3 cells, but there was negative for CD34, CD45 and HLA-DR. These cells were high positive for alkaline phosphate staining and also showed significant calcium node using alizarin red staining after 4 weeks culture induction of osteogenic differentiation. Under atomic force microscopy, undifferentiated stem cells demonstrated insignificant microtubule protrution in a parallel distribution following analysis of cytoskeleton before and after differentiation.

Objective To investigate the influence of experimental scotoma on multifocal visual evoked potential (mf-VEP). Methods The mf-VEP of 10 healthy individuals (20 eyes) was measured with VERIS Science 4.0. Every eye was measured for 3 times. The right eye was measured with full field stimulation and upper hemi-field or lower hemi-field masked. The left eye was measured with full field stimulation and central three-rings area or lower nasal field masked. The first slice responses of the second order in different field were analyzed and compared by VERIS software. Results The mf-VEP in masked area was undetectable or obviously decreased in all subjects. In most unmasked field, the amplitudes of mf-VEP were not changed, except that in some place decreased slightly with statistically significant difference in comparison to the full field stimulation mode. Conclusion mf-VEP is influenced with experimental scotoma. The mf-VEP changes are consistent with the visual field masked.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma on visual evoked potential (VEP).

METHODSVEP of 63 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were tested before, at the end of, half a year, one year, 2 years and 3 years after their radiotherapy.

RESULTSWithin the male group, one year after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before and at the end of radiotherapy, while the amplitude was decreased significantly. Two years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed more than that before radiotherapy. However there was no significant difference among VEP at the end of, half a year and 3 years after radiotherapy. Within the female group, 2 years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before radiotherapy. Three years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before, at the end of, half a year and one year after radiotherapy. There was no significant difference in VEP amplitudes before and after radiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONWithin the male group, the abnormal delay of VEP latency mostly happens one or two years after radiotherapy. Within the female group, the significant delay of VEP latency happens at the end of radiotherapy and lasts for 3 years, while the VEP amplitude does not change significantly during the 3 years after radiotherapy. The result indicates that the sustained radiation damage within the female visual nerve system starts at the end of radiotherapy, but to a lesser degree. It was shown that radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma certainly damages the visual nerve system, though there is sex difference in the impairment.

Adult ; Evoked Potentials, Visual ; radiation effects ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; radiotherapy ; Sex Factors ; Time Factors

Objective To understand the growth experiences of senior nurses in coping with the death of patients so as to provide reference for clinical nursing management and teaching.Methods A phenomenological research method of qualitative study was employed in this study.Twenty-five senior nurses were in-depth interviewed with semi-structured interview guide.Thematic analysis method was adopted to collect and analyze the data,which were then organized into themes and subthemes.Results Three themes were "changes in growth" "ways to grow" and "unmet needs".Senior nurses could cope with patients' death well through accumulation and sharing of clinical experience,as they reorganized of death more definitely,their emotional response transferred reasonable,their coping strategy became matured,whereas the senior nurses still need help in the areas of psychological adaption,social support and professional theory education.Conclusions It is suggested that nursing managers should value the experience sharing and teaching function of senior oncology nurses,pay attention to the physical-mental health of senior nurses and provide professional psychosocial support to them.Otherwise,it is important to provide all oncology nurses with systematic knowledge training concerning hospice/death education to promote their career development ultimately.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the classification of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) based on clinical manifestations and myositis- specific antibodies using cluster analysis. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with IIM admitted in Nanfang Hospital in 2015-2019. The clinical data of the patients including serum creatine kinase (CK), interstitial lung disease (ILD), cancer, and myositis-specific antibodies were collected for two-step cluster analysis to identify the distinct clusters of patients, whose clinical characteristics were subsequently analysed. RESULTS: A total of 71 patients with IIM were included in this study, including 30 (42.3%) with polymyositis (PM), 20 (28.2%) with classic dermatomyositis (DM), 16 (22.5%) with amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM), and 5 (7.0%) with immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM). Two-step cluster analysis identified 3 distinctive subgroups: Cluster 1 of 15 (51.7%) patients characterized by rash, positive anti-MDA5 antibody and hypoproteinemia ( < 0.05) with normal or slightly elevated CK level, mainly corresponding to CADM; Cluster 2 of 4 (57.1%) patients with significantly elevated CK and positive anti-SRP antibody ( < 0.001) corresponding to IMNM; and Cluster 3 of 17 (48.6%) patients consisting primarily of patients with PM, characterized by positivity for anti- aminoacyl transfer RNA synthetases antibodies (=0.022) corresponding to antisynthetase syndrome (ASS). CONCLUSIONS Patients with IIM can be divided into 3 subgroups based on their clinical and serological characteristics (especially myositis-specific antibodies), and among them ASS may represent an independent IIM subgroup with unique clinical characteristics.
Antibodies ; metabolism ; Humans ; Myositis ; classification ; physiopathology ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the classification of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) based on clinical manifestations and myositis- specific antibodies using cluster analysis. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with IIM admitted in Nanfang Hospital in 2015-2019. The clinical data of the patients including serum creatine kinase (CK), interstitial lung disease (ILD), cancer, and myositis-specific antibodies were collected for two-step cluster analysis to identify the distinct clusters of patients, whose clinical characteristics were subsequently analysed. RESULTS: A total of 71 patients with IIM were included in this study, including 30 (42.3%) with polymyositis (PM), 20 (28.2%) with classic dermatomyositis (DM), 16 (22.5%) with amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM), and 5 (7.0%) with immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM). Two-step cluster analysis identified 3 distinctive subgroups: Cluster 1 of 15 (51.7%) patients characterized by rash, positive anti-MDA5 antibody and hypoproteinemia ( < 0.05) with normal or slightly elevated CK level, mainly corresponding to CADM; Cluster 2 of 4 (57.1%) patients with significantly elevated CK and positive anti-SRP antibody ( < 0.001) corresponding to IMNM; and Cluster 3 of 17 (48.6%) patients consisting primarily of patients with PM, characterized by positivity for anti- aminoacyl transfer RNA synthetases antibodies (=0.022) corresponding to antisynthetase syndrome (ASS). CONCLUSIONS Patients with IIM can be divided into 3 subgroups based on their clinical and serological characteristics (especially myositis-specific antibodies), and among them ASS may represent an independent IIM subgroup with unique clinical characteristics.
Antibodies ; Autoantibodies ; Dermatomyositis ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; Myositis ; Retrospective Studies

The Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway is essential for cellular proliferation and differentiation during embryonic development. Gain and loss of function of Hh signalling are known to result in an array of craniofacial malformations. To determine the critical period for Hh pathway antagonist-induced frontal bone hypoplasia, we examined patterns of dysmorphology caused by Hh signalling inhibition. Pregnant mice received a single oral administration of Hh signalling inhibitor GDC-0449 at 100 mg•kg or 150 mg•kg body weight at preselected time points between embryonic days (E)8.5 and 12.5. The optimal teratogenic concentration of GDC-0449 was determined to be 150 mg•kg. Exposure between E9.5 and E10.5 induced frontal bone dysplasia, micrognathia and limb defects, with administration at E10.5 producing the most pronounced effects. This model showed decreased ossification of the frontal bone with downregulation of Hh signalling. The osteoid thickness of the frontal bone was significantly reduced. The amount of neural crest-derived frontal bone primordium was reduced after GDC-0449 exposure owing to a decreased rate of cell proliferation and increased cell death.
Administration, Oral ; Anilides ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Bone Diseases, Developmental ; chemically induced ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; physiology ; Female ; Frontal Bone ; abnormalities ; Hedgehog Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Limb Deformities, Congenital ; chemically induced ; Mice ; Micrognathism ; chemically induced ; Osteogenesis ; drug effects ; Pregnancy ; Pyridines ; pharmacology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on intestinal microbiome and organism in patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period. METHODS: A prospective non-randomized controlled study was conducted. From December 2021 to May 2022, patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period who received FMT (FMT group) and patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period who did not receive FMT (non-FMT group) admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were enrolled. The differences of clinical indicators, gastrointestinal function and fecal traits between the two groups were compared 1 day before and 10 days after enrollment. The 16S rDNA gene sequencing technology was used to analyze the changes of intestinal flora diversity and different species in patients with FMT before and after enrollment, and metabolic pathways were analyzed and predicted by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database (KEGG). Pearson correlation method was used to analyze the correlation between intestinal flora and clinical indicators in FMT group. RESULTS: The level of triacylglycerol (TG) in FMT group was significantly decreased at 10 days after enrollment compared with before enrollment [mmol/L: 0.94 (0.71, 1.40) vs. 1.47 (0.78, 1.86), P < 0.05]. The level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in non-FMT group was significantly decreased at 10 days after enrollment compared with before enrollment (mmol/L: 0.68±0.27 vs. 0.80±0.31, P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in other clinical indexes, gastrointestinal function or fecal character scores between the two groups. Diversity analysis showed that the α diversity indexes of intestinal flora in FMT group at 10 days after enrollment were significantly higher than those in non-FMT group, and β diversity was also significantly different from that in non-FMT group. Differential species analysis showed that the relative abundance of Proteobacteria at the level of intestinal flora in FMT group at 10 days after enrollment was significantly lower than that in non-FMT group [8.554% (5.977%, 12.159%) vs. 19.285% (8.054%, 33.207%), P < 0.05], while the relative abundance of Fusobacteria was significantly higher than that in non-FMT group [6.801% (1.373%, 20.586%) vs. 0.003% (0%, 9.324%), P < 0.05], and the relative abundance of Butyricimonas, Fusobacterium and Bifidobacterium at the genus level of the intestinal flora was significantly higher than that in non-FMT group [Butyricimonas: 1.634% (0.813%, 2.387%) vs. 0% (0%, 0.061%), Fusobacterium: 6.801% (1.373%, 20.586%) vs. 0.002% (0%, 9.324%), Bifidobacterium: 0.037% (0%, 0.153%) vs. 0% (0%, 0%), all P < 0.05]. KEGG metabolic pathway analysis showed that the intestinal flora of FMT group was changed in bisphenol degradation, mineral absorption, phosphonate and phosphinate metabolism, cardiac muscle contraction, Parkinson disease and other metabolic pathways and diseases. Correlation analysis showed that Actinobacteria and prealbumin (PA) in intestinal flora of FMT group were significantly positively correlated (r = 0.53, P = 0.043), Bacteroidetes was positively correlated with blood urea nitrogen (BUN; r = 0.56, P = 0.029) and complement C3 (r = 0.57, P = 0.027), Firmicutes was positively correlated with BUN (r = 0.56, P = 0.029) and complement C3 (r = 0.57, P = 0.027), Fusobacteria was significantly positively correlated with immunoglobulin M (IgM; r = 0.71, P = 0.003), Proteobacteria was significantly positively correlated with procalcitonin (PCT; r = 0.63, P = 0.012) and complement C4 (r = 0.56, P = 0.030). CONCLUSIONS FMT can reduce TG level, reconstruct intestinal microecological structure, change body metabolism and function, and alleviate inflammatory response by reducing the relative abundance of harmful bacteria in patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period.
Humans ; Fecal Microbiota Transplantation ; Complement C3 ; Convalescence ; Prospective Studies ; Feces