Objective To provide the oxygen supply apparatus when the civil aviator and airforce pilot are inspected the hypoxia tolerance and altitude tolerance in the hypobaric environment.Methods Demand oxygen and contstant flow oxygen were supplied.Results The portable hypobaric oxygen supply apparatus can supply mixed oxygen below the altitude 8 000 m,and the oxygenous concentration of mixed oxygen was adjusted according to the altitude.The pure oxygen was supplied when the altitude was at 8 000～12 000 m.Conclusion The normal and emergency oxygen supply performance can fulfill the system physiological requirements.The portable hypobaric oxygen supply apparatus may be used by the persons engaging in special task on plateau also.

This paper is to study the feasibility of Chinese female pilot to fly fighterplane considering their physiological and biochemical tolerability to altitude anoxia. The altitude anorexia was simulated on the ground in female pilot and their electrocardiograph, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, blood pressure, blood uric acid(BUA), blood lactic acid(BLA), creatine kinase(CK) and aspantic aminotransferase(AST) were measured before and after flying, and the results were compared with that in the male pilots. There was no difference in electrocardiograph, heart rate, blood saturation, blood pressure, Cr, CK, BUA and AST in both sexes, but the Hb level was higher in female pilots than that in male ones( P

Objective To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of active vitamin D3 on podocyte injury in type 1 diabetic rats.Methods Animals were randomly divided into normal control group (NC group),diabetic nephropathy group (DN group),diabetes nephropathy plus active vitamin D3 group (DN + VD group).Random tail vein blood glucose was measured and 24 hours of urine was collected every 3 weeks to observe the dynamic changes of blood glucose and 24-hour urine volume and urinary albumin.Rats were sacrificed at the end of 18th week,the kidney weight to body weight ratio,serum creatinine,blood urea nitrogen,serum calcium,and serum phosphorus levels were measured.Pathological in glomeruli were observed by PAS staining.Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were used to observe the expression of slit diaphragms proteins including Nephrin,Podocin,and vitamin D receptor protein VDR.The mRNA level of autophagy-related protein P62 was detected by realtime quantitative PCR,and expression of autophagy-related protein including LC3B/A,Beclin1,and P62 were detected by Western blotting.Ultrastructure of podocytes and autopbagosomes in podocytes were observed by electron microscopy.Results Levels of serum creatinine,blood urea nitrogen,and blood glucose in diabetic rats were higher than those in NC group (P＜0.05),but without significant difference between DN and DN+VD groups (P＞0.05).Compared with the DN group,the urinary protein and kidney weight to body weight ratio in the DN +VD group were significantly lower (P＜ 0.05).Mesangial matrix hyperplasia and basement membrane thickening were improved,and podocyte fusion and shedding were partially reversed.The expressions of Nephrin,Podocin,VDR,LC3B/A and Beclin1 were increased,and P62 mRNA and protein were down-regulated (P ＜ 0.05).The number of autophagosomes in podocytes increased.Besides,positive correlations were found between Nephrin and Beclin 1 (r =0.939 8,P＜0.05),as well as Nephrin and VDR (r=0.948 3,P＜0.05),and Beclin1 andVDR (r=0.9093,P＜0.05).Conclusion Active vitamin D3 inhibits the injury of diabetic nephropathy podocytes by up-regulating VDR expression and enhancing autophagy activity,thereby reducing proteinuria and delaying the development of diabetic nephropathy.

Objective:To assess the discriminatory value of the Thyroid Follicular Tumor Ultrasound Risk Stratification System (F-TIRADS) in differentiating follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) from follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA), and to compare its performance with other risk stratification systems(RSS).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 325 patients (327 thyroid nodules) diagnosed postoperatively as FTC or FTA at Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2016 to December 2023. The cases were divided into FTC group (81 nodules) and FTA group (246 nodules). The nodules were classified based on F-TIRADS, the 2020 Chinese Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (C-TIRADS), the 2015 American Thyroid Association guidelines (ATA guidelines), and the 2017 European Thyroid Association Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (EU-TIRADS) by two ultrasound physicians. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors associated with FTC. Diagnostic performance of the 4 RSS was compared using postoperative pathological results as the gold standard.Results:Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed maximum diameter, solid composition, hypoechogenicity, unclear or angular margins, marginal or ring calcifications, trabecular structure, and central blood flow were independent predictors of FTC( OR=1.914, 3.427, 9.926, 9.163, 45.918, 3.191, 8.936, respectively; all P<0.05). Within each RSS, the actual malignancy rate increased with higher risk categories, aligning closely with the recommended malignancy rates (except for ATA guidelines). The optimal cut-off values for distinguishing FTC from FTA were FTC risk 50%-90% in F-TIRADS, C-TIRADS 4B, moderately suspicious nodules in ATA guidelines, and EU-TIRADS 4, with areas under the curve of 0.916, 0.808, 0.827, and 0.836, respectively. F-TIRADS demonstrated the best overall performance (sensitivity: 82.72%, specificity: 82.93%), with significant differences compared with C-TIRADS, ATA guidelines, and EU-TIRADS (all P<0.05). Conclusions:F-TIRADS is highly effective in distinguishing FTA from FTC, outperforming C-TIRADS, ATA Guidelines, and EU-TIRADS. Clinicians should pay close attention to solid hypoechoic nodules with unclear or angular margins, marginal or ring calcifications, central blood flow, or a trabecular structure.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between hyperuricemia and outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.Methods:Patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to Department of Neurology, Putuo Hospital, Shanghai University of Tranditional Chinese Medicine between January 2020 and September 2020 were enrolled retrospectively. The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score was used to evaluate the clinical outcome 3 months after the onset. ≤2 was considered as good outcome, and >2 was considered as poor outcome. The demography and baseline characteristics were compared between the good outcome group and the poor outcome group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent influencing factors of the outcome. Results:A total of 210 patients were included, their age was 69.87±62.62 years. There were 125 males (59.52%) and 85 females (40.48%). The baseline median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 4. The serum uric acid level in 169 patients (80.48%) was normal and 41 (19.52%) had hyperuricemia; 120 patients (57.14%) had a good outcome, and 90 (42.86%) had a poor outcome. Blood glucose level, serum uric acid level, baseline NIHSS score and the proportions of diabetes mellitus, history of stroke or transient ischemic attack, hyperuricemia in the poor outcome group were significantly higher than those in the good outcome group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that diabetes mellitus (odds ratio [ OR] 2.735, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.461-5.121; P=0.002), hyperuricemia ( OR 2.400, 95% CI 1.102-5.228; P=0.027), and higher baseline NIHSS score ( OR 1.233, 95% CI 1.118-1.360; P<0.001) were the independent risk factors for poor outcome in patient with acute ischemic stroke. Conclusion:Hyperuricemia is an independent risk factor for poor outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Objective:To explore the evaluation value of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score at different time points in the prognosis of patients with severe pneumonia combined with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Methods:A retrospective cohort study method was conducted, including patients with severe pneumonia and ARDS admitted to the emergency intensive care unit (ICU) of General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from January 2015 to December 2019. General clinical data such as gender, age, and the SOFA scores at 1, 2, 3, and 7 days after admission were recorded. According to the diagnostic test, the prognostic evaluation value of SOFA score in patients with severe pneumonia combined with ARDS at different time points and different ages was analyzed.Results:A total of 88 cases were included in this study, eventually, 42 cases were survived and 46 cases died, the mortality was 52.27%. The age of the death group was significantly older than the survival group (years old: 60.67±14.66 vs. 51.91±15.97), the SOFA score at each time point were significantly higher than those in the survival group (9.83±3.50 vs. 7.54±2.67, 9.98±3.75 vs. 7.48±2.92, 10.84±4.14 vs. 7.23±2.94, 11.71±4.03 vs. 6.51±3.22, respectively at 1, 2, 3, 7 days after admission, all P < 0.01). The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) showed that the SOFA score at 1, 2, 3, and 7 days after admission had a certain predictive value for the prognosis of patients with severe pneumonia combined with ARDS (all P < 0.01), and with the prolong of ICU stay, the area under ROC curve (AUC) of SOFA score had gradually increased. On the 7th day after admission, the SOFA score had the highest sensitivity in predicting severe pneumonia combined with ARDS patients, which was 92.86%, and the specificity was the highest on the 3rd day after admission, which was 88.10%. The AUC in day 7 was significantly higher than day 2 (0.85 vs. 0.72) , there was no statistically significant difference of AUC at other time points. After stratifying by age, the diagnostic of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and AUC of SOFA score for the prognosis had gradually increased, and the predictive value was better. However, only on day 3 after admission, the AUC of SOFA score was significantly higher than day 1 (0.80 vs. 0.77, P < 0.05), and there was no significant difference in AUC at other time points. In patients older than 60 years old, the AUC of the SOFA score predicting the prognosis of patients was relatively small on day 1 and day 2 (0.67, 0.68, respectively), the ability was poor. There was no statistically significant difference in the AUC of SOFA scores at each time point in evaluating the prognosis of patients. The trends over time of patients at different ages and time points showed that regardless of age, the SOFA scores of the patients in the death group showed an upward trend, while showed a downward trend in the survival group, the difference reached the largest on the 7th day after admission, and the death group was significantly higher than the survival group (age < 60 years old: 12.50 vs. 6.69; age≥60 years old: 11.58 vs. 6.21). Conclusion:The initial SOFA score has a certain value in the evaluation of prognosis of severe pneumonia patients combined with ARDS, but the effect is poor for elderly patients.

Objective:To assess the consistency of ultrasound and dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) in the diagnosis of gouty arthritis(GA), reasons of the differences were further analyzed.Methods:The ultrasound and DECT images of 150 knee joints from 147 patients diagnosed with gout at the Gout Specialty Clinic of Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital from February 2022 to October 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. According to anatomy, the knee joint was anatomically segmented into five regions: intra-articular, anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral.Location of monosodium urate (MSU) deposition was meticulously recorded. The Kappa consistency test was employed to assess the consistency of the two examination results in different regions of the knee joint. The McNemar chi-square test was utilized to conduct a differential analysis between DECT and ultrasound results.Results:Double contour sign(DCS) (81.2%, 92/112) was the most common intra-articular ultrasound sign in knee joints with GA. In the extra-articular region, MSU was commonly deposited in and around the popliteal tendon (ultrasound: 51.6%, 66/128; DECT: 54.7%, 70/128). Corresponding MSU deposits on DECT were found in 9 of 92 joints with DCS and in 9 of 49 joints with aggregates detected on ultrasound.In the assessment of MSU deposits, ultrasound showed an overall higher positive rate than DECT (87.3% vs. 72.3%, P=0.001), with poor consistency between the two examinations (Kappa=0.153). In distinct anatomical regions, ultrasound and DECT showed high consistency in the medial (Kappa=0.697) and lateral (Kappa=0.718) sides and the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). Intra-articular (Kappa=0.289) and anterior (Kappa=0.303) regions exhibited only fair consistency, with statistically significant diagnostic differences ( P<0.05). When exclusively assessing cases with tophus, ultrasound and DECT demonstrated high consistency in the medial and lateral aspects(Kappa=0.685, 0.748) without statistical difference ( P>0.05). In the anterior region, the consistency between the two examinations was moderate (Kappa=0.256), while in the intra-articular region, the consistency of the two methods was lower (Kappa=0.147), and the differences was statistically significant ( P<0.001). Conclusions:Both ultrasound and DECT exhibit good diagnostic capabilities for gouty knee arthritis.However, the consistency between the two techniques varies in different anatomical locations. Clinical assessment should be tailored based on the specific anatomical position. DECT has an advantage in evaluating intra-articular MSU deposits, while ultrasound is more sensitive to detect early and scattered MSU deposits.

Objective To examine the safety, efficacy and durability of totally endoscopic minimally invasive (TEMI) mitral valve repair in Barlow’s disease (BD). Methods A retrospective study was performed on patients who underwent mitral valve repair for BD from January 2010 to June 2021 in the Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital. The patients were divided into a MS group and a TEMI group according to the surgery approaches. A comparison of the clinical data between the two groups was conducted. Results A total of 196 patients were enrolled, including 133 males and 63 females aged (43.8±14.9) years. There were 103 patients in the MS group and 93 patients in the TEMI group. No hospital death was observed. There was a higher percentage of artificial chordae implantation in the TEMI group compared to the MS group (P=0.020), but there was no statistical difference between the two groups in the other repair techniques (P>0.05). Although the total operation time between the two groups was not statistically different (P=0.265), the TEMI group had longer cardiopulmonary bypass time (P<0.001) and aortic clamp time (P<0.001), and shorter mechanical ventilation time (P<0.001) and postoperative hospitalization time (P<0.001). No statistical difference between the two groups in the adverse perioperative complications (P>0.05). The follow-up rate was 94.2% (180/191) with a mean time of 0.2-12.4 (4.0±2.4) years. Two patients in the MS group died with non-cardiac reasons during the follow-up period. The 3-year, 5-year and 10-year overall survival rates of all patients were 100.0%, 99.2%, 99.2%, respectively. Compared with the MS group, there was no statistical difference in the survival rate, recurrence rate of mitral regurgitation, reoperation rate of mitral valve or adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in the TEMI group (P＞0.05). Conclusion TEMI approach is a safe, feasible and effective approach for BD with a satisfying long-term efficacy.

Objective To research the procedure for creating an animal model of mitral regurgitation by implanting a device through the apical artificial chordae tendineae, and to assess the stability and dependability of the device. Methods Twelve large white swines were employed in the experiments. Through a tiny hole in the apex of the heart, the artificial chordae tendineae of the mitral valve was inserted under the guidance of transcardiac ultrasonography. Before, immediately after, and one and three months after surgery, cardiac ultrasonography signs were noted. Results All models were successfully established. During the operation and the follow-up, no swines died. Immediately after surgery, the mitral valve experienced moderate regurgitation. Compared with preoperation, there was a variable increase in the amount of regurgitation and the values of heart diameters at a 3-month follow-up (P<0.05). Conclusion In off-pump, the technique of pulling the mitral valve leaflets with chordae tendineae implanted transapically under ultrasound guidance can stably and consistently create an animal model of mitral regurgitation.

METTL3 and METTL14 are two components that form the core heterodimer of the main RNA m6A methyltransferase complex (MTC) that installs m6A. Surprisingly, depletion of METTL3 or METTL14 displayed distinct effects on stemness maintenance of mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC). While comparable global hypo-methylation in RNA m6A was observed in Mettl3 or Mettl14 knockout mESCs, respectively. Mettl14 knockout led to a globally decreased nascent RNA synthesis, whereas Mettl3 depletion resulted in transcription upregulation, suggesting that METTL14 might possess an m6A-independent role in gene regulation. We found that METTL14 colocalizes with the repressive H3K27me3 modification. Mechanistically, METTL14, but not METTL3, binds H3K27me3 and recruits KDM6B to induce H3K27me3 demethylation independent of METTL3. Depletion of METTL14 thus led to a global increase in H3K27me3 level along with a global gene suppression. The effects of METTL14 on regulation of H3K27me3 is essential for the transition from self-renewal to differentiation of mESCs. This work reveals a regulatory mechanism on heterochromatin by METTL14 in a manner distinct from METTL3 and independently of m6A, and critically impacts transcriptional regulation, stemness maintenance, and differentiation of mESCs.
Animals ; Mice ; Methylation ; Chromatin ; Histones/metabolism* ; RNA, Messenger/genetics* ; Methyltransferases/metabolism* ; RNA/metabolism*