The portable gastrointestinal wireless endoscope image receiver is developed and based on TMS320C6211 DSP. It can receive and demodulate the modulated signal which is transmitted from the camera-capsule, and then output the video signal. The synchronizing signals offered by SAA7114H are made best of and are used to design the time logic circuit. The fitful video signal can be collected under the control of the time logic circuit. The circuit can automatically get rid of useless blank data and only collect effective and good-quality video signals, and storage them in CF card. In addition, the image signal can be processed and compressed by DSP, and thus the data storage space and the data- analyzing time can be saved.
Capsule Endoscopes ; Capsule Endoscopy ; methods ; Computer Systems ; Endoscopes, Gastrointestinal ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; methods ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; Software

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical significance of plasma levels of hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fibriogen and D-dimmer (D-DI) in patients with connective tissue disease (CTD)-related interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD).

METHODSSixty-nine patients with interstitial lung disease admitted in Zhujiang Hospital between January, 2010 and April, 2016, including 29 with CTD-ILD and 40 with non-CTD-ILD were analyzed for plasma levels of hs-CRP, fibriogen and D-DI, with 25 healthy subjects as the control group.

RESULTSThe plasma level of hs-CRP, fibriogen and D-DI in patients with CTD-ILD and non-CTD-ILD were all significantly higher than those in the control group. The patients with CTD-ILD had a significantly higher hs-CRP level than those with non-CTD-ILD, but the levels of fibriogen and D-DI were comparable between the two groups. Correlation analysis indicated that Hs-CRP level was positively correlated with the levels of D-DI (r=0.539, P<0.01) and fibrinogen (r=0.534, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONHs-CRP, fibriogen and D-DI levels show an important value in clinical diagnosis of CTD, and an obvious elevation of hs-CRP is correlated with the CTD.

OBJECTIVETo observe the efficacy and safety of Jingui Shengqi Pill in treating partial androgen deficiency in aging males (PADAM), and to explore the new approach in improving the quality of life in PADAM patients.

METHODSForty patients with PADAM were treated with JSP, the efficacy was evaluated with international index of erectile function (IIEF) scoring, PADAM questionnaire scoring, hormone, prostatic specific antigen (PSA), etc., and the data before treatment were compared with those after treatment in the same group.

RESULTSAfter 3 months of treatment, PADAM scoring and IIEF scoring were all significantly improved. Symptoms regarding physical ability, vasomotion, and psychical and mental condition all got improved more markedly than symptoms regarding sexual hypofunction. The serum level of testosterone was 3.85 +/- 0.36 before treatment and 5.02 +/- 0.83 after treatment (P < 0.05); luteinizing hormone of 7.33 +/- 2.14 and 4.84 +/- 1.43 (P < 0.01), follicle-stimulating hormone of 10.22 +/- 4.48 and 6.47 +/- 3.28 (P < 0.01), respectively. The level of PSA failed to change significantly (1.94 +/- 0.55 and 2.06 +/- 0.47, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONJSP is effective and safe in treating PADAM, the mechanism of it is different from supplementing extrinsic androgen. It may have produced the effect by means of favorably regulating the condition of sex hormone to improve the balance of pituitary-sex gland axis, so it has more extensive clinical application.

Aged ; Androgens ; deficiency ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Erectile Dysfunction ; drug therapy ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Testosterone ; blood

In order to visually detect H1, N1 and N2 subtype of avian influenza virus (AIV), three reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assays were developed. According to the sequences of AIV gene available in GenBank, three degenerate primer sets specific to HA gene of H1 subtype AIV, NA gene of N1 and N2 subtype AIV were designed, and the reaction conditions were optimized. The results showed that all the assays had no cross-reaction with other subtype AIV and other avian respiratory pathogens, and the detection limit was higher than that of conventional RT-PCR. These assays were performed in water bath within 50 minutes. Without opening tube, the amplification result could be directly determined by inspecting the color change of reaction system as long as these assays were fin-ished. Fourteen specimens of H1N1 subtype and eight specimens of H1N2 subtype of AIV were identified from the 120 clinical samples by RT-LAMP assays developed, which was consistent with that of virus isolation. These results suggested that the three newly developed RT-LAMEP assays were simple, specific and sensitive and had potential for visual detection of H1, N1 and N2 subtype of AIV in field.
Animals ; Chickens ; DNA Primers ; genetics ; Ducks ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A Virus, H1N2 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A virus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza in Birds ; diagnosis ; virology ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; methods ; Poultry Diseases ; diagnosis ; virology ; Reverse Transcription ; Turkeys

Animals ; Colon ; pathology ; Dogs ; Female ; Graft Survival ; Intestinal Mucosa ; pathology ; transplantation ; Mouth Mucosa ; pathology ; transplantation ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Urethra ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of Thl7 cells and the cytokine interleukin-17 (IL-17) in acute allograft rejection in mice.

METHODSMouse models of kidney transplantation were randomly divided into rejection group and isograft group. On the post-operative day (POD) 3 and 7, we tested the serum IL-17 level using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and measured the number of Th17 cells in the renal grafts by flow cytometry. The grafts were harvested and fixed in 10% formalin to prepare paraffin sections for routine pathological inspection.

RESULTSCompared to isograft group, the allograft group showed a significantly higher level of serum IL-17 on POD3 and POD7 (P<0.05), and the level of IL-17 is significantly higher on POD7 than on POD3 (P<0.05). The allograft group showed more infiltrating Th17 cells in the grafts on POD3 and POD7 (P<0.05), and the cell number was significantly greater on POD7 (P<0.05). Pathological examination also showed an increased severity of graft rejection with the post-transplantation time.

CONCLUSIONThl7 cells may play an important role in the development of renal graft rejection. IL-17 may serve as a potential specific indicator for predicting allograft rejection.

Animals ; Graft Rejection ; blood ; immunology ; Interleukin-17 ; blood ; Kidney Transplantation ; adverse effects ; immunology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Th17 Cells ; immunology ; Transplantation, Homologous

OBJECTIVETo construct and identify the stable expression system of NIH3T3 fibroblast with eukaryotic expression vector of human transforming growth factor beta3 (pcDNA3.1 (-)/TGFbeta3). So as to investigate the proliferation of NIH3T3 fibroblasts transfected with hTGFbeta3 gene stably.

METHODSThe stable transfection of NIH3T3 fibroblasts with recombinant plasmid expressing hTGFbeta3 was established by using LipofectamineTM2000 and G418 selection. The mRNA and protein expression of TGFbeta3 were detected by the RT-PCR and Western blot method, respectively. Microscope and MTT were adopted to examine the proliferation of the stable expression system of fibroblasts with hTGFbeta3.

RESULTSAfter G418 selection, RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, 7 out of 10 cell lines transfected with pcDNA3.1 (-)/TGFbeta3 expressed with very high level of TGFbeta3, as compared with vector control transfectants that showed no expression, and compared with the other cell lines that expressed relatively low level. The stable transfection of NIH3T3 fibroblasts growth slowed down significantly (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe stable expression system of NIH3T3 fibroblast with hTGFbeta3 were constructed successfully. The TGFbeta3 gene could inhibit the proliferation of NIH3T3 fibroblasts in vitro.

Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Fibroblasts ; metabolism ; Humans ; Mice ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; Plasmids ; Transfection ; Transforming Growth Factor beta3 ; genetics ; metabolism

The paradigm of a real world study has become the frontiers of clinical researches, especially in the field of Chinese medicine, all over the world in recent years. In this paper, ethical issues which probably exist in real-world studies are raised and reviewed. Moreover, some preliminary solutions to these issues such as protecting subjects during the process of real-world studies and performing ethical review are raised based on recent years' practices to enhance the scientificity and ethical level of real-world studies.
Biomedical Research ; ethics ; methods ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the respiratory pathogens and clinical features in children with acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. METHODS: Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from 225 children with acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma, aged <14 years, who attended the outpatient service or were hospitalized from August 2017 to August 2019. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect 12 pathogens, i.e., respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human rhinovirus (HRV), influenza virus A (IFVA), influenza virus B (IFVB), parainfluenza virus types 1-3 (PIV1-3), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), adenovirus (ADV), Bordetella pertussis (BP), Chlamydia pneumoniae (CP), and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP). RESULTS: The overall detection rate of virus was 46.2% (104/225), and 7 kinds of viruses were detected, i.e., HRV (19.6%, 44/225), ADV (16.0%, 36/225), IFVB (5.8%, 13/225), RSV (4.9%, 11/225), IFVA (3.6%, 8/225), PIV3 (1.8%, 4/225), and HMPV (0.4%, 1/225). Of all pathogens, BP had the highest detection rate of 28.4% (64/225), and the detection rates of MP and CP were 16.4% (37/225) and 0.4% (1/225), respectively. The mild exacerbation group had a higher detection rate of BP than the severe exacerbation group (P<0.05), while the severe exacerbation group had significantly higher detection rates of RSV and MP than the mild exacerbation group (P<0.05). There were significant differences in the proportion of children with paroxysmal cough, spasmodic cough, fever, lung rales and abnormal lung imaging findings among the simple BP infection, simple virus infection and simple MP infection groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS BP, HRV, and MP are common respiratory pathogens detected in children with acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma, and respiratory virus infection is an important pathogen of acute exacerbation of asthma in children. Acute exacerbation of asthma caused by different pathogens has different clinical features and severities.
Adolescent ; Asthma/diagnosis* ; Child ; Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human

Purpose: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen of coronavirus disease 2019. Diagnostic methods based on the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) have been developed to detect SARSCoV-2 rapidly. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of CRISPR for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection. Materials and Methods: Studies published before August 2021 were retrieved from four databases, using the keywords “SARS-CoV-2” and “CRISPR.” Data were collected from these publications, and the sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (NLR), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated. The summary receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted for analysis with MetaDiSc 1.4. The Stata 15.0 software was used to draw Deeks’ funnel plots to evaluate publication bias. Results: We performed a pooled analysis of 38 independent studies shown in 30 publications. The reference standard was reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The results indicated that the sensitivity of CRISPR-based methods for diagnosis was 0.94 (95% CI 0.93–0.95), the specificity was 0.98 (95% CI 0.97–0.99), the PLR was 34.03 (95% CI 20.81–55.66), the NLR was 0.08 (95% CI 0.06– 0.10), and the DOR was 575.74 (95% CI 382.36–866.95). The area under the curve was 0.9894. Conclusion Studies indicate that a diagnostic method based on CRISPR has high sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, this would be a potential diagnostic tool to improve the accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 detection.