This paper reviews the computer vision and image analysis studies aiming at automated diagnosis or screening of malaria in microscope images of thin blood film smears. On the basis of introducing the background and significance of automatic detection technology,the existing detection technologies are summarized and divided into several steps,including image acqui-sition,pre-processing,morphological analysis,segmentation,count,and pattern classification components. Then,the princi-ples and implementation methods of each step are given in detail. In addition,the promotion and application in automatic detec-tion technology of thick blood film smears are put forwarded as questions worthy of study,and a perspective of the future work for realization of automated microscopy diagnosis of malaria is provided.

By the survey of topic selection of medical master's dissertation for candidates with the same educational level,the writers think that the decided topics should be in close relation to their respective subjects and the operational and technical conditions of their institutes and the training institutes should be taken into full consideration.The decided topics should enhance theoretical and practical values and will be achieved in the required time as well.

BACKGROUND:Degradable polymer materials initiate the degradation process immediately after implantation. How to regulate the degradation of these materials is rarely reported at present. OBJECTIVE:To study the effect of ultrasonic wave on control ing the degradation of polymer materials. METHODS:The sample is made ofε-caprolactone/L-lactide copolymer, and its core was coated with low density polyethylene on the surface with the fol owing four different methods. (1) The core surface was firstly covered with CaCl 2 powder, and then coated with polyethylene. (2) The core was firstly coated with polyethylene and coarsened for 3 hours. (3) The core surface was firstly covered with CaCl 2 powder, and then coated with polyethylene, and coarsened for 3 hours. (4) The core was directly coated with polyethylene. The four kinds of specimens obtained were embedded in pork for ultrasonic bombardment experiment in vitro. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In the specimens prepared with methods 1 and 4, the lyophobic layer could protect core materials before ultrasonic treatment, and no absorption peak was found at 631 nm. After ultrasonic treatment, the lyophobic layer was destroyed, toluidine blue dye was released, leading to change the color of immersion solution and increase the absorption peak at 631 nm. In the specimens prepared with methods 2 and 3,the lyophobic layer cannot exhibit the protection effects, the absorption peak was found at 631 nm. Under electron microscope, the appearance of the specimens in four groups was changed obviously. It is feasible to control the starting of the degradation by coating the degradable copolymer with LDPE and using ultrasonic as a trigger.

A novel diisocyanate, i. e. lysine ethyl ester diisocyanate (LDI), was prepared by the present authors. Poly (epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) (M(n) = 2000) was used for reacting with LDI to form prepolymer, and then the chain was extended with butanediol (BDO) to form polyurethane (PU). PU was characterized by gel permeation chromatography, FTIR and 1H-NMR. Mechanical properties test revealed that PU possesses excellent tensile strength. Hydrolytic degradation and enzymatic degradation of PU films showed that PU is biodegradable. Finally, vascular scaffold of PU was fabricated by electrospinning. Morphological and biomechanical properties of scaffold were examined. The tensile strength was 8MPa, suture retention strength 12N, porosity 75% and burst pressure strength 150-170 kPa. Cytotoxicity and cell adhesion showed that PU scaffolds are biocompatible. These results demonstrate that PU vascular scaffolds possess excellent physical strength and biocompatibility and can be developed as substitutes for native blood vessels.
Biocompatible Materials ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis ; Isocyanates ; chemistry ; Lysine ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; Polyesters ; chemistry ; Polyurethanes ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds

Objective:To investigate the genetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis in Shaanxi province, and analyze the possible reasons of resurgence in this region. Methods:We characterized clinical isolates collected during 2012-2017 using multilocus antigen sequence typing (MAST) and multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA).Results:The circulating strains and vaccine strains were different in molecular characteristics. The majority (95%) of the isolates were typed as prn1/ ptxP1/ ptxA1/ fim3-1/ fim2-1. In addition, eight MLVA types (MTs) and eight PFGE profiles were identified, respectively. MT195, MT55 and MT104 were dominant and MT195 continually increased annually. Conclusions:The genetic characteristics of the current strains in Shaanxi province were different from those of the vaccine strain. The evolution through genetic variation might be one of the reasons for the recurrence of pertussis in this region.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic etiology for a child featuring mental retardation and speech delay. METHODS: Clinical data of the child was collected. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the child and members of his pedigree. Whole exome sequencing was carried out for the child, and candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing. Prenatal diagnosis was provided for his mother upon her subsequent pregnancy. RESULTS: The child has mainly featured mental retardation, speech delay, ptosis, strabismus, photophobia, hyperactivity, and irritability. Whole exome sequencing revealed that he has harbored a pathogenic heterozygous variant of the KAT6A gene, namely c.5314dupA (p.Ser1772fs*20), which was not detected in either of his parents. The child was diagnosed with Arboleda-Tham syndrome. The child was also found to harbor a hemizygous c.56T>G (p.Leu19Trp) variant of the AIFM1 gene, for which his mother was heterozygous and his phenotypically normal maternal grandfather was hemizygous. Pathogenicity was excluded. Prenatal diagnosis has excluded the c.5314dupA variant of the KAT6A gene in the fetus. CONCLUSION The heterozygous c.5314dupA (p.Ser1772fs*20) variant of the KAT6A gene probably underlay the Arboleda-Tham syndrome in this child. Above finding has enabled genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis for this pedigree.
Child ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Histone Acetyltransferases ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Language Development Disorders ; Pedigree

Objective:To analyze clinical characteristics of and causative genes in two families with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, and to reveal the pathogenesis of the disease and mechanisms underlying phenotypic differences between patients.Methods:DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of members from two families with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, and subjected to high-throughput sequencing and Sanger sequencing.Results:The clinical manifestations of the 2 probands in the 2 families were consistent with the diagnosis of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, and the symptoms of the proband in family 1 were more serious than those of other patients in the family. Genetic testing showed that all patients in family 1 carried a mutation c.6082G>C (p.G2028R) in the COL7A1 gene, and the proband and her phenotypically normal mother and uncle also carried a splice-site mutation c.7068+2 (IVS91) T>G in the COL7A1 gene, both of which were first reported. The proband in family 2 carried the mutations c.6081_6082 ins C (p.G2028Rfs*71) and c.1892G>A (p.W631X, first reported) in the COL7A1 gene, which were inherited from her father and mother, respectively.Conclusion:The two pathogenic mutations may be the molecular mechanism underlying the severe clinical phenotype in the proband in family 1; the first reported mutations enriched the mutation spectrum of the COL7A1 gene.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the effects of low-level laser (LLL) on the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, osteoprotegerin (OPG), and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) in human periodontal ligament cells (HPDLCs) stimulated by high glucose; and identify the molecular mechanism of LLL therapy in the regulation of periodontal inflammation and bone remodeling during orthodontic treatment in diabetic patients. METHODS: HPDLCs were cultured in vitro to simulate orthodontic after loading and irradiated with LLL therapy. The cultured cells were randomly divided into four groups: low glucose Dulbecco's modification of Eagle's medium (DMEM)+stress stimulation (group A), high glucose DMEM+stress stimulation (group B), hypoglycemic DMEM+LLL therapy+stress stimulation (group C), and hyperglycemic DMEM+LLL therapy+stress stimulation (group D). Groups C and D were further divided into C1 and D1 (energy density: 3.75 J/cm²) and C2 and D2 (energy density: 5.625 J/cm²). Cells in groups A, B, C, and D were irradiated by LLL before irradiation. At 0, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h, the supernatants of the cell cultures were extracted at regular intervals, and the protein expression levels of IL-6, TNF-α, OPG, and RANKL were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: 1) The levels of IL-6 and TNF-α secreted by HPDLCs increased gradually with time under static pressure stimulation. After 12 h, the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α secreted by HPDLCs in group A were significantly higher than those in groups B, C1, and C2 (P<0.05), which in group B were significantly higher than those in groups D1, and D2 (P<0.01). 2) The OPG protein concentration showed an upward trend before 24 h and a downward trend thereafter. The RANKL protein concentration increased, whereas the OPG/RANKL ratio decreased with time. Significant differen-ces in OPG, RANKL, and OPG/RANKL ratio were found among group A and groups B, C1, C2 as well as group B and groups D1, D2 (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS 1) In the high glucose+stress stimulation environment, the concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α secreted by HPDLCs increased with time, the expression of OPG decreased, the expression of RANKL increased, and the ratio of OPG/RANKL decreased. As such, high glucose environment can promote bone resorption. After LLL therapy, the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α decreased, indicating that LLL therapy could antagonize the increase in the levels of inflammatory factors induced by high glucose environment and upregulate the expression of OPG in human HPDLCs, downregulation of RANKL expression in HPDLCs resulted in the upregulation of the ratio of OPG/RANKL and reversed the imbalance of bone metabolism induced by high glucose levels. 2) The decrease in inflammatory factors and the regulation of bone metabolism in HPDLCs were enhanced with increasing laser energy density within 3.75-5.625 J/cm². Hence, the ability of LLL therapy to modulate bone remodeling increases with increasing dose.
Humans ; Osteoprotegerin ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/pharmacology* ; RANK Ligand/pharmacology* ; Periodontal Ligament/metabolism* ; Lasers ; Glucose/pharmacology*

OBJECTIVETo understand the age distribution of pertussis patients admitted in the children hospital and to analyze the source of infection as well as its transmission patterns.

METHODSPatients visiting to the Children Hospital and epidemiologically related cases during Feb. 2012 to Aug. 2013 were tested to confirm the diagnosis. Excel 2007 software was used to analyze the age distribution and clinical symptoms of clinic cases, the source of infection or subsequent cases.

RESULTS165 out of 254 clinically suspicious pertussis cases and 38 out of the 54 epidemiologically related cases were confirmed of having pertussis infection. There were 138 (83.6%) cases under 1 year of age in the confirmed clinical cases and 36 (94.7%) cases older than 20 years of age among the confirmed epidemiologically related pertussis cases. All the confirmed epidemiologically related cases were misdiagnosed or missed for diagnosis. As the source of pertussis infection in confirmed clinical cases, parents played an imported role among 25 of the 32 cases. Transmission from infants and/or little children to adults were also observed in this study.

CONCLUSIONInfants accounted for the most among the pertussis patients that visiting the clinics. Adults, being misdiagnosed or missed diagnosed, were the main sources of infection to infants. Epidemics of pertussis occurred under family aggregation. Further study was in need to develop the proper strategy for pertussis booster vaccination.

Adult ; Age Distribution ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Family ; Humans ; Infant ; Whooping Cough ; epidemiology ; transmission