OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) on the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene and nitric oxide (NO) in human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs).

METHODSAfter stimulating hPDLCs by LPS and IL-1beta, RT-PCR had been used to identify the expression of iNOS gene. The activity of iNOS in the culture was quantitated by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). And the level of NO was determined by nitrate reductase method. RESULTS Slight amount of iNOS and NO had been detected in hPDLCs without sitimulation, but when stimulating with LPS and IL-1beta, the amount of the iNOS mRNA increased significantly in the cells in the time and dose dependent way (P<0.05). Under the stimulation with the same time or same dose, the productions of iNOS and NO stimulated by IL-1beta and in combination with LPS were larger than that stimulated with LPS (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe expression NO and iNOS could be increased by stimulating hPDLCs with LPS and IL-1beta, which may contribute to the research on injecting LPS and IL-1beta at periodontal tissue of animal models.

Animals ; Humans ; Interleukin-1 ; Interleukin-1beta ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; Periodontal Ligament ; RNA, Messenger

0.05). After nursing intervention, patients in intervention group had uncertainty decreased significantly greater than patients in control group (26.5?10.6/20.9?10.7,t=-2.12,P=0.038) and social support increased significantly greater than control (4.1?6.1/-0.73?12.3,t'= 2.02,P=0.049). Significant negative correlations were found between perceived social support and uncertainty before intervention(r=-0.37,P

Objective: To investigate the clinical features and reliable diagnostic method in HIV/AIDS patients with smear negative pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Methods: Clinical data of 112 HIV/AIDS patients complicated with smear negative pulmonary TB who were treated in our hospital from January 2013 to September 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. These clinical data includeded clinical symptom, blood routine test, blood biochemistry, T lymphocyte subsets classification, sputum acid-fast bacillus smear, mycobacterium tuberculosis culture, purified protein derivatives tuberculin (PPD) test, interferon gamma-release assay for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (T-SPOT.TB), TB-DNA and chest computed tomography (CT). Diagnostic specificity and sensitivity of these parameters were analyzed. Results: No specific clinical manifestation of these patients was identified. The chest CT feature was also atypical. The positive rates including T-SPOT, TB, TB-DNA and PPD test were all low. The positive rates of T-SPOT.TB and PPD test in patients with a CD4+ cell count >200 cells/μl was significantly higher than that of patients with a CD4+ cell count ≤50 cells/μl and 51≤CD4≤200 cells/μl (P<0.01). Conclusions The clinical feature of smear negative pulmonary TB in HIV/AIDS patients is atypical. For a definite diagnosis, a comprehensive analysis with clinical manifestations, laboratory test, imaging examination and etiologic detection is required.

OBJECTIVETo establish the automatic X-ray cephalometric analysis system to simplify cephalometric steps and to provide a convenient and reliable method for cephalometric analysis.

METHODSThe system which was programmed by visual-c language, and graphics and image processing techniques and artificial intelligence were used. The techniques related to computer digital image processing and pattern recognition such as Median filtering, Histogram equalization, Laplacian and Canny edge detection were introduced. It could automatically outline the contour lines of the hard and soft tissues by establishing the templates of the variable anatomical structures.

RESULTSThe following functions were established: (1) automatically outlining the contour lines of the soft tissues. (2) automatically recognizing, measuring and analysing the landmarks of soft tissues. (3) automatically recognizing porion, sella and the landmarks of the mandible. (4) automatically building the contour lines of the hard tissues. In brief, the system used the more advanced methods, calculated more precisely and saved more time and energy than other systems.

CONCLUSIONThe system is a more convenient and precise tool in cephalometry.

Cephalometry ; methods ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Jaw ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; Orthodontics ; methods ; Radiography ; Sensitivity and Specificity

A new algorithm to generate the medical record report based on XML and linked list is proposed in this paper. It decomposes and abstracts the content of report. Reporter can search and reuse the resources quickly, when writing or modifying the report. The experiment results prove that the algorithm reduces the reporting time and standardizes the content of report.
Algorithms ; Humans ; Medical Record Linkage ; Medical Records Systems, Computerized ; Programming Languages

In the field of liver transplantation, due to the shortage of donor livers, ABO-incompatible donor livers, as a type of marginal donor livers, have expanded the source of donors for end-stage renal disease patients who are on the brink of death while waiting for liver transplantation. With the continuous progress of various desensitization techniques in the perioperative period, desensitization treatment for ABO-incompatible liver transplantation has achieved certain effects, but the incidence of postoperative complications remains high. In recent years, with the emergence of new desensitization measures, the therapeutic effect of ABO-incompatible liver transplantation has been further improved, but the mechanisms of action and the synergistic effects of drugs still need to be further explored. Given this, this article provides a review of the mechanisms of action, current clinical applications and future development directions of various new desensitization measures. It aims to explore the feasibility of different desensitization measures in ABO-incompatible liver transplantation, provide supporting evidence for clinical application, and thereby improve the prognosis of liver transplant recipients.

In order to more accurately and effectively understand the intermuscular coupling of different temporal and spatial levels from the perspective of complex networks, a new multi-scale intermuscular coupling network analysis method was proposed in this paper. The multivariate variational modal decomposition (MVMD) and Copula mutual information (Copula MI) were combined to construct an intermuscular coupling network model based on MVMD-Copula MI, and the characteristics of intermuscular coupling of multiple muscles of upper limbs in different time-frequency scales during reaching exercise in healthy subjects were analyzed by using the network parameters such as node strength and clustering coefficient. The experimental results showed that there are obvious differences in the characteristics of intermuscular coupling in the six time-frequency scales. Specifically, the triceps brachii (TB) had relatively high coupling strength with the middle deltoid (MD) and posterior deltoid (PD), and the intermuscular function was closely connected. However, the biceps brachii (BB) was independent of other muscles. The intermuscular coupling network had scale differences. MVMD-Copula MI can quantitatively describe the relationship of multi-scale intermuscular coupling strength, which has good application prospects.
Arm ; Electromyography ; Exercise ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Upper Extremity

Premature delivery is one of the direct factors that affect the early development and safety of infants. Its direct clinical manifestation is the change of uterine contraction intensity and frequency. Uterine Electrohysterography(EHG) signal collected from the abdomen of pregnant women can accurately and effectively reflect the uterine contraction, which has higher clinical application value than invasive monitoring technology such as intrauterine pressure catheter. Therefore, the research of fetal preterm birth recognition algorithm based on EHG is particularly important for perinatal fetal monitoring. We proposed a convolution neural network(CNN) based on EHG fetal preterm birth recognition algorithm, and a deep CNN model was constructed by combining the Gramian angular difference field(GADF) with the transfer learning technology. The structure of the model was optimized using the clinical measured term-preterm EHG database. The classification accuracy of 94.38% and F₁ value of 97.11% were achieved. The experimental results showed that the model constructed in this paper has a certain auxiliary diagnostic value for clinical prediction of premature delivery.
Algorithms ; Electromyography ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Pregnancy ; Premature Birth/diagnosis* ; Uterine Contraction

Arsenic, a naturally occurring metal-like chemical element, is one of the 10 chemicals of major public concerns listed by the World Health Organization as harmful to the environment and human health. It can enter the human body through breathing, intaking food, drinking water, skin exposure, and other ways, and long-term exposure to arsenic can cause cancer of multiple organs and impaired function of multiple systems. Epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in arsenic-induced health effects, and research suggested that the carcinogenicity of arsenic may be associated with epigenetic changes. Previous studies focused on the effects of arsenic on DNA methylation modification. In recent years, research showed that 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), an intermediate of active demethylation of DNA, can act as a sensitive epigenetic mark and play a crucial role as a "bridge" between arsenic exposure and health effects. Based on the latest research progress on the role of DNA hydroxymethylation in the health effects associated with arsenic exposure, this article briefly described the relationship between the health effects of arsenic exposure and DNA hydroxymethylation, summarized the possible mechanisms of DNA hydroxymethylation in the health effects associated with arsenic exposure, and provided a scientific basis for preventing and treating the health effects associated with arsenic exposure.

At present, the incidence of Parkinson's disease (PD) is gradually increasing. This seriously affects the quality of life of patients, and the burden of diagnosis and treatment is increasing. However, the disease is difficult to intervene in early stage as early monitoring means are limited. Aiming to find an effective biomarker of PD, this work extracted correlation between each pair of electroencephalogram (EEG) channels for each frequency band using weighted symbolic mutual information and k-means clustering. The results showed that State1 of Beta frequency band ( P = 0.034) and State5 of Gamma frequency band ( P = 0.010) could be used to differentiate health controls and off-medication Parkinson's disease patients. These findings indicated that there were significant differences in the resting channel-wise correlation states between PD patients and healthy subjects. However, no significant differences were found between PD-on and PD-off patients, and between PD-on patients and healthy controls. This may provide a clinical diagnosis reference for Parkinson's disease.
Humans ; Parkinson Disease/diagnosis* ; Quality of Life ; Cluster Analysis ; Electroencephalography ; Healthy Volunteers