ObjectiveTo identify the factors influencing the transfer of porcine endogenous retroviruses across the membrane of a new bioartificial liver (BAL),which is a necessary caution to consider for BALs carrying porcine hepatocytes.MethodsA novel porcine BAL composed of two circuits was constructed using a plasma filter with membrane pore size of 500 nm and a plasma component separator with membrane pore sizes 10 nm,20 nm,30 nm,and 35 nm.Co-cultured cells of porcine hepatocytes and mesenchymal stem cells or single porcine hepatocytes were incubated in the bioreactors.The BAL was continuously worked for 72 hours during which the supernatant was collected from the internal and external circuits every 12 hours.PERV RNA,reverse transcriptase (RT) activity,and in vitro infectivity from the supernatant were detected.ResultsIn the plasma filter group,the PERV RNAlevels were the same in both circuits,suggesting little to no effect of the plasma filter on the PERV RNA's crossing.With plasma component separators,PERV RNA was found in the external circuits at different times without positive RT activity and HEK293 cell infection,but its level was reduced significantly.The larger the membrane pore size was,the earlier and the more RNA was detected.ConclusionsThe membrane pore size,the treatment time and the viral level in the internal circuit are contributing factors influencing the transfer of PERV RNA across the membrane in a BAL.

Objective To understand the research hotspots and development trend of Hedyotidis Herba;To provide reference for related clinical studies.Methods The literature on Hedyotidis Herba was retrieved from CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP and CBM from January 1,2003 to September 5,2023.NoteExpress 3.7 software was used to manage the bibliothems,and CiteSpace 6.2.R2 software was used to visualize the authors,institutions and keywords.Results Totally 2 713 articles were included,and the annual number of publications showed a fluctuating upward trend.There were 617 source journals,among which Shaanxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine published the most articles(136).799 authors were involved,and the core authors included Liu Jian,Lin Jiumao,Peng Jun,etc.The main research institutions were Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine,Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and so on.In recent years,high-frequency keywords were experience of famous doctors,data mining,medication law,apoptosis,lung cancer,liver cancer,etc.The research frontier involved the mechanism,data mining and molecular docking.Conclusion The study of the Hedyotidis Herba mainly focuses on disease treatment,compatibility application,component analysis,mechanism,and the experience summary of clinical application of the Hedyotidis Herba.Data mining for medication law of famous doctors,prediction of potential drug targets through network pharmacology and molecular docking technology and exploration of their mechanisms are the research trends in this field.

Objective:To investigate the impact of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rh-EGF) on the epithelial recovery and the tear film stability after trans-epithelial corneal collagen crosslinking in patients with progressive keratoconus.Methods:A randomized controlled clinical trail was designed.Consecutive 66 patients (37 males and 29 females) with an average age of (21.27±3.80) years old diagnosed with primary progressive keratoconus and hospitalized in Xiamen Eye Center Affiliated to Xiamen University from October, 2016 to January, 2017 were enrolled and treated with unilateral enhanced transepithelial corneal crosslinking surgery by iontophoresis, and the patients were randomly divided into control group and experimental group according to random number table method, with 33 patients 33 eyes in each group.The eyes in the control group were treated with carboxy-methylcellulose sodium lubricant eye drops and the eyes in the experimental group were treated with rh-EGF eye drops.The ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionare, slit lamp examination, Schirmer Ⅰ test, corneal fluorescein sodium staining scoring, non-contact tonometry, uncorrected visual acuity, best corrected visual acuity, bulbar conjunctival congestion scoring, lacrimal sevretion test, non-invasive break-up time of tear film (NIBUT), as well as tear meniscus height analysis were performed before surgery, and on day 1, day 3, day 5, day 7, day 14 and day 28 after surgery.This study followed the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xiamen Eye Center Affiliated to Xiamen University (No.2016-ME-003).Results:On day 7 after surgery, the OSDI values were increased in both groups than the preoperative value, while the value in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group ( P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the overall corneal epithelial staining score values between the two groups at different time points ( Fgroup=16.701, P<0.01; Ftime=454.418, P<0.01). The corneal epithelial staining score in the experimental group on day 3 and day 5 after surgery were significantly lower than those in the control group (1.79±0.65 vs. 2.70±0.68; 0.91±0.46 vs. 1.55±0.51) (both at P<0.01). The conjunctival congestion score in the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group on day 3 and day 5 after surgery (both at P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the overall NIBUT values between the two groups at different time points ( Fgroup=13.084, P<0.01; Ftime=34.383, P<0.01). The NIBUT values were significantly decreased rapidly on day 7, day 14 and day 28 after surgery in both groups (all at P<0.01), but gradually recovered.The NIBUT of the experimental group on day 7 and day 14 after surgery were significantly higher than those of the control group ([8.18±2.26]seconds vs. [5.93±2.33]seconds; [9.49±1.95]seconds vs. [7.52±2.27]seconds) (both at P<0.01). No statistical differences were found in the tonometry value, visual acuity, value of Schirmer I test as well as tear meniscus height at any time point before or after surgery between the two groups (all at P>0.05). Conclusions:Recombinant human epidermal growth factor has positive effects in the patients received enhanced transepithelial corneal crosslinking surgery, presenting with promotion of epithelial healing, relief of post-operative discomfort, and the recovery of tear film stability.

Ballistocardiogram (BCG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) can realize the detection of cardiac function from mechanical and electrical dimensions respectively. By extracting the corresponding characteristic parameters of the two signals and carrying out joint analysis, an important cardiac physiological index such as cardiac contractility, can be reflected. To overcome the shortcomings of complication and heaviness of the existing acquisition equipment, a wearable BCG-ECG signal acquisition system is designed in this paper, which realizes BCG signal acquisition based on accelerometer and ECG signal acquisition based on conductive rubber electrodes. The signals of 6 healthy persons were collected, and BCG signals collected by piezoelectric films were used as reference signals. The waveform characteristics of signals were compared, and the difference of cardiac cycle acquisition was analyzed. The waveform characteristics of the two signals acquired by the device were consistent with the standard signals, and there was no significant difference in the acquisition of the cardiac cycle between the proposed method and the traditional method. The results show that the system can accurately collect human BCG signals and ECG signals. The system provides a basis for subsequent research on BCG signal formation mechanism and health applications.

AIM: To investigate the preoperative ocular symptoms and the characteristics of asymptomatic ocular surface abnormalities in hospitalized patients with primary pterygium.METHODS: Cross-sectional study. Hospitalized patients diagnosed with primary pterygium and scheduled to receive pterygium excision surgery at the Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University from August 2022 to October 2022 were enrolled. Ocular surface disease index questionnaire(OSDI), six examinations including non-invasive tear film break-up time, Schirmer I test, tear meniscus height, lid margin abnormality, meibomian gland dropout and tear film lipid layer thickness, and anterior segment optical coherence tomography(AS-OCT)were performed and statistically analyzed.RESULTS: A total of 178 cases(178 eyes), with a mean age of 54.39±10.75 years old, were recruited, including 75 males(42.1%)and 103 females(57.9%). The average values of ocular surface parameters in these patients included OSDI: 11.47±9.69, tear film break-up time: 7.10±3.86 s; tear meniscus height: 0.16±0.07 mm, Schirmer I test values: 14.39±7.29 mm/5 min, and pterygium thickness: 504.74±175.87 μm. Totally 161 eyes(90.4%)presented with abnormal lid margin, 44 eyes(24.7%)presented with meibomian gland dropout score ≥4, 52 eyes(29.2%)presented with low lipid layer thickness. In the 6 objective examinations, abnormalities in at least 4 of these tests were found in 85.4% of eyes. Pterygium morphology was classified into four grades: 10 eyes(5.6%)of grade Ⅰ, 93 eyes(52.2%)of grade Ⅱ, 60 eyes(33.7%)of grade Ⅲ, and 15 eyes(8.4%)of grade Ⅳ. In patients with a higher grade of pterygium, the tear film break-up time was lower, and the proportion of abnormal lid margin was also significantly higher(P<0.05). The patients were further divided into two subgroups, including 121 eyes(68.0%)with normal OSDI <13 in the normal group and 57 eyes(32.0%)with OSDI ≥13 in the abnormal group. No significant difference was found in the proportion of meibomian gland dysfunction between the two groups of patients(71.9% vs. 71.9%, P=0.872). In addition, there were differences in the number of abnormal objective examinations(4.11±0.85 vs. 4.91±0.99, P<0.001).CONCLUSIONS: Asymptomatic ocular surface abnormalities were present preoperatively in patients hospitalized for primary pterygium. A comparable high incidence of structural or functional meibomian gland dysfunction existed in pterygium patients with or without apparent ocular discomfort. More attention should be paid to the ocular surface abnormalities in those asymptomatic patients before primary pterygium surgery.