Objective To explore clinical effect of small dose of glucocorticoid in the treatment of AECOPD patients with severe disease associated with low levels of cortisol.Methods72 patients with AECOPD in our hospital were randomly divided into control group and treatment group.The control group was treated with conventional AECOPD method,the treatment group was treated on the base of the treatment group with a small dose of corticosteroids,CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, FEV1, PCT and other indicators, as well as patients with ventilation, shock and mortality were compared after the end of treatment.ResultsThe time of non mechanical ventilation, the time of non-mechanical ventilation, and the time of non-shock were increased, the shock and the mortality was lower in the treatment group,(P<0.05);The CRP level of patients in the treatment group was lower(P<0.05);IL-6, TNF-α, PCT levels of patients in the treatment group was lower (P<0.05);FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC level in the treatment group were higher(P<0.05).ConclusionSmall dose glucocorticoid can improve the pulmonary function of patients with AECOPD complicated by severe disease, and alleviate the disease, significantly reduce the levels of inflammatory factors, promote the improvement of the lung function.

The attenuated Chinese equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) vaccine is the first lentiviral vaccine that provides solid protective immunities to vaccinated horses. To investigate properties of EIAV vaccine, especially the relationship between its replication and the immunity, viral plasma loads of an EIAV vaccine strain EIAVFDDV in immune suppressed horses were detected. Three horses, which were immunized with EIAVFDDV for 16 months, were treated with dexamethasone for 14 days to suppress their immunities. Reduced immune response in these animals was confirmed by significantly declined lymphocyte proliferation rate detected after 10 days of the drug treatment. The plasma viral loads of EIAVFDDV, which was indicated by the genomic RNA copy numbers, in horses before and after the treatment of dexamethasone were monitored by real time RT-PCR. Results revealed that the viral plasma loads in two of three immune-suppressed horses were kept a steady low level around 103～ 104 copies/ml. The load was increased by 10 folds in the third horse, but was still among the standard levels for EIAVFDDV vaccinated horses. As a positive control, the viral copy number of an asymptomatic carrier of EIAV virulent strain EIAVLiao was jumped nearly 25 000-fold higher after being treated with dexamethasone. The typical clinical symptoms of EIA, characterized by febrile episodes and thrombocytopenia, were also appeared in this horse. These results clearly indicate that it is the unique biological feature of the attenuated EIAV vaccine, but not the immunity, resulted in EIAVFDDV remaining in low levels in the body harmlessly. In addition, the steady low level of viremia and the inability to cause clinical symptoms of EIAVFDDV in immune-suppressed hosts further demonstrated the safety of attenuated Chinese EIAV vaccines. The data provide a new sight for studies on the immunity to lentiviruses.

Objective To assess the values of MRI and echocardiography for the diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis (CA). Methods Eleven cases with CA proved pathologically performed MRI and echocardiography, the findings were analyzed retrospectively. Results The characteristic features of cardiac amyloidosis on MRI and echocardiography were:diffuse slight myocardial thickening of the left ventricular wall and interventricular septum (11 cases ), slight myocardial thickening of the interatrial septum (5 cases), increased left ventricular mass (7 cases), enlarged left atrium ( 7 cases), impaired ventricular systolic and diastolic function (10 cases ), pleural and pericardial effusions (11 and 9 cases ).Echocardiography showed that myocardium was hyperechoic and presented as ground glass with some spotty hyperechoes in 6 cases. MRI revealed a distinct diffuse delayed enhancement of subendocardial and entire myocardium in 8 cases. Conclusion Doppler echocardiography is the first-choice imaging technique and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging can provide more information for the diagnosis of CA.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether carbamazepine is effective in treating the subjective tinnitus. METHOD: Randomized, prospective,double-blind,controlled trial was used in our study. The study group consisted of 100 adult patients who consulted our outpatient clinic complaining of subjective tinnitus, excluded objective tinnitus and the patients who had tinnitus caused by obvious diseases, such as outer and middle ear diseases, 50 patients were given carbamazepine and Flunarizine Hydrochloride, 50 patients were given Vitamin B6 and Flunarizine Hydrochloride. After a week the effect of the different group of medicines was observed. Tinnitus questionnaire was performed before the treatment, and pure tone audiogram, tinnitus pitch and loudness matching were performed at the end of the treatment. RESULT: Completion of treatment, tinnitus loudness matching assessment showed that the efficacy of the carbamazepine group was similar to that of the control group. The efficacy of treatment was respectively 26% by intend to treat (ITT) and 28.3% by per protocol (PP) in the carbamazepine group and 26% by ITT and 27.7% by PP in the control group. The efficacy of treatment has no statistically significance for tinnitus loudness of the experimental group and the control group. The subjective tinnitus improvement rate showed no difference between two groups. Pure tone thresholds fluctuated within 10 dB in the beginning and at the end of the treatment. There were serious side effects in the carbamazepine group. The side effects rates were respectively 55.3% and 16.7% in the carbamazepine group and the control group, respectively. The difference had statistical significance. CONCLUSION Our results showed that the efficacy of carbamazepine combined with Flunarizine Hydrochloride is similar to that of the control group. There was no improvement in listening. But the side effects of it were more serious than that of the control group. It should not be recommended for the treatment of tinnitus.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carbamazepine ; therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Flunarizine ; therapeutic use ; Hearing Tests ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Tinnitus ; drug therapy ; Young Adult

Electronic skin has shown great application potential in many fields such as healthcare monitoring and human-machine interaction due to their excellent sensing performance, mechanical properties and biocompatibility. This paper starts from the materials selection and structures design of electronic skin, and summarizes their different applications in the field of healthcare equipment, especially current development status of wearable sensors with different functions, as well as the application of electronic skin in virtual reality. The challenges of electronic skin in the field of wearable devices and healthcare, as well as our corresponding strategies, are discussed to provide a reference for further advancing the research of electronic skin.
Humans ; Wearable Electronic Devices ; Virtual Reality

Objective:To investigate the effects of early intervention with low-dose dobutamine on pneumonia complicated with sepsis.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 200 patients with pneumonia complicated by sepsis who received treatment in the First People's Hospital of Taizhou from January 2015 to January 2018. We divided these patients into control and observation groups with 100 patients/group according to different treatment methods. The control group was treated with immunoglobulin and methylprednisolone and given ventilator-assisted ventilation. The observation group was given low-dose dobutamine based on the treatments given in the control group. Clinical efficacy, pulmonary function, the incidence of adverse reactions, length of hospital stay, time to dyspnea disappearance, organ failure rate, and mortality were compared between the two groups.Results:Total response rate was significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group [96.0% (96/100) vs. 77.0% (77/100), χ2 = 15.45, P < 0.05]. After treatment, improvements in the pulmonary function indexes [forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, and forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity] in the observation group were superior compared with those in the control group ( t = -15.25, -34.56, -3.77, all P < 0.001). Length of hospital stay and time to dyspnea disappearance in the observation group were (4.23 ± 0.89) days and (3.21 ± 0.58) days, respectively, which were significantly shorter than those in the control group [(8.96 ± 1.58) days, (7.26 ± 0.24) days, t = -26.08, -64.52, both P < 0.001]. The incidence of adverse reactions, incidence of organ failure, and mortality in the observation group were 2.0% (2/100), 1.0% (1/100) and 2.0% (2/100) respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the control group [18.0% (18/100), 20.0% (20/100), 10.0% (10/100), χ2 = 16.80, 19.20, 5.67, all P < 0.05). Conclusion:Early intervention with low-dose dobutamine for the treatment of pneumonia complicated by sepsis can greatly improve clinical efficacy, reduce adverse reactions, decrease the incidence of organ failure and mortality, improve pulmonary function, and shorten the length of hospital stay and time to dyspnea disappearance.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of serum miR-187 and miR-143 in the development and diagnosis of gallbladder cancer.Methods 75 serum samples in patients with gallbladder cancer were selected as gallbladder cancer group.75 serum samples in patients with gallbladder benign disease and 45 serum samples in healthy physical examinations at same period were selected as the benign gallbladder disease group and healthy control group.Quantitative RT-PCR was used to detect the serum miR-187 and miR-143 expression in each group,and the expression of those related with the clinicopathological factors,the proliferation and migration of gallbladder cancer cells,and the efficacy in diagnosis of gallbladder cancer was observed.Results The serum miR-187 expression in gallbladder cancer group was significantly higher than that in benign gallbladder disease and healthy control;the serum expression of that in benign gallbladder disease was significantly higher than that in healthy control;after surgery,the expression of that was significantly lower than that before treatment (all P ＜ 0.05).The serum expression of miR-143 in gallbladder cancer group was significantly lower than that in benign gallbladder disease and healthy control;the serum expression of that in benign gallbladder disease was significantly lower than that in healthy control;after surgery the serum expression of that was significantly higher than that before surgery (all P ＜0.05).The serum expression levels of miR-187 and miR-143 in gallbladder cancer were not correlated with gender and age (both P ＞ 0.05),and were significantly correlated with Nevin stage,TNM stage,differentiation and lymphatic metastasis (all P ＜ 0.05).Furthermore,it was confirmed that miR-187 promoted the proliferation and migration of gallbladder cancer cells in vitro,while miR-143 inhibited the proliferation and migration.In the diagnosis of gallbladder,the diagnostic efficacy of miR-187 and miR-143 was significantly better than that of CA199 and CA242 (both P ＜ 0.05).Combined detection could further improve the efficacy in diagnosis of gallbladder cancer.Conclusions miR-187 and miR-143 are involved in the development of gallbladder cancer.Combined detection of serum miR-187 and miR-143 in gallbladder cancer has a high diagnostic efficiency in the diagnosis of gallbladder cancer.

Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are diminutive vesicles naturally released by Gram-negative bacteria. These vesicles possess distinctive characteristics that attract attention for their potential use in drug administration and immunotherapy in cancer treatment. Therapeutic medicines may be delivered via OMVs directly to the tumor sites, thereby minimizing exposure to healthy cells and lowering the risk of systemic toxicity. Furthermore, the activation of the immune system by OMVs has been demonstrated to facilitate the recognition and elimination of cancer cells, which makes them a desirable tool for immunotherapy. They can also be genetically modified to carry specific antigens, immunomodulatory compounds, and small interfering RNAs, enhancing the immune response to cancerous cells and silencing genes associated with disease progression. Combining OMVs with other cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation has shown promising synergistic effects. This review highlights the crucial role of bacterial OMVs in cancer, emphasizing their potential as vectors for novel cancer targeted therapies. As researchers delve deeper into the complexities of these vesicles and their interactions with tumors, there is a growing sense of optimism that this avenue of study will bring positive outcomes and renewed hope to cancer patients in the foreseeable future.

Objective:To investigate the diagnosis, classification and treatment of pancreatic duct stones (PDS) .Methods:Clinical data and prognosis of 32 patients with PDS treated in our hospital from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The treatment methods were summarized.Results:All 32 cases were diagnosed with PDS by imaging examinations such as B ultrasonography, CT, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) or magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) . The diagnosis accuracy was 81.3% (26/32) for B-ultrasound, 86.2% (25/29) for CT, 90.4% (19/21) for MRCP, and 100% (8/8) for ERCP. According to the location of stones and intraoperative exploration, the 32 patients were divided into 3 groups: Type I, 17 patients, the stones were located in the main pancreatic duct; TypeⅡ, 11 patients, the stones were located in both main and branch pancreatic duct; Type Ⅲ, 4 patients, the stones were located in the branch pancreatic duct. Different treatment methods were employed according to the different types. No patient died in the perioperative period. 11 (34.3%) patients had postoperative complications. 3 (9.3%) patients had postoperative residual stones. 32 cases were followed up for a period of 6 to 60 months. The abdominal pain and steatorrhea disappeared or significantly improved postoperatively. 2 patients complicated with pancreatic cancer died 12 to 35 months after operation.Conclusions:The treatment and diagnosis of the PDS still remains complicated. Imaging examinations are the main methods for diagnosis of PDS. The accurate classification and individual treatment are important. Surgery is the most commonly used method for PDS.

Objective:To screen the main characteristic variables affecting the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,and to construct the Bayesian network model of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease incidence risk based on the top 10 characteristic variables,and to provide the reference for predicting the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease incidence.Methods:From the UK Biobank Database,315 896 participants and related variables were included.The feature selection was performed by categorical boosting(CatBoost)algorithm,and the participants were randomly divided into training set and test set in the ratio of 7∶3.A Bayesian network model was constructed based on the max-min hill-climbing(MMHC)algorithm.Results:The prevalence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in this study was 28.8％.The top 10 variables selected by the CatBoost algorithm were age,body mass index(BMI),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),total cholesterol(TC),the triglyceride-glucose(TyG)index,family history,apolipoprotein A/B ratio,high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),smoking status,and gender.The area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve(AUC)for the CatBoost training set model was 0.770,and the model accuracy was 0.764;the AUC of validation set model was 0.759 and the model accuracy was 0.763.The clinical efficacy analysis results showed that the threshold range for the training set was 0.06-0.85 and the threshold range for the validation set was 0.09-0.81.The Bayesian network model analysis results indicated that age,gender,smoking status,family history,BMI,and apolipoprotein A/B ratio were directly related to the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and they were the significant risk factors.TyG index,HDL-C,LDL-C,and TC indirectly affect the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases through their impact on BMI and apolipoprotein A/B ratio.Conclusion:Controlling BMI,apolipoprotein A/B ratio,and smoking behavior can reduce the incidence risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.The Bayesian network model can be used to predict the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease incidence.