Objective: To investigate the value of serum hepcidin in assessment of liver inflammation activity among patients with chronic hepatitis B ( CHB ), so as to provide insights into the assessment of liver inflammation activity among CHB patients. Methods: A total of 79 CHB patients who were admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University were selected as the experimental group, while 40 healthy volunteers were randomly sampled as controls. Subjects'demographic data, liver function tests and iron metabolism parameters were collected from medical records, and serum hepcidin was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ). In addition, ultrasound-guided liver biopsy was performed in CHB patients, and mild and moderate-to-severe CHB were classified according to liver inflammation activity and degree of liver fibrosis. Serum hepcidin levels were compared between the experimental and control groups and between patients with mild and moderate-to-severe CHB. The value of serum hepcidin in assessment of liver inflammation activity was examined among CHB patients using the receiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curve analysis. Results: Subjects in the experimental group included 54 men ( 68.35% ) and had a mean age of ( 39.06±10.67 ) years, while the controls included 24 men (60.00%) and had a mean age of ( 42.43±11.44 ) years. Lower hepcidin levels were measured in the experimental group than in the control group [( 11.70±5.64 ) vs. ( 17.82±3.63 ) μg/L; P<0.05 ]. There were 54 patients with mild CHB ( 68.35% ) and 25 cases with moderate-to-severe CHB ( 31.65% ), and lower hepcidin levels were detected in patients with moderate-to-severe CHB than in those with mild CHB [ ( 6.92±2.21 ) vs. ( 13.95±5.36 ) μg/L; P<0.05 ]. The area under the ROC curve, optimal cut-off, sensitivity and specificity of serum hepcidin were 0.903 ( P<0.05 ), 10.365 μg/L, 100.0% and 72.2% for assessment of moderate-to-severe CHB, respectively. Conclusion Serum hepcidin is feasible to evaluate the liver inflammatory activity among patients with CHB.

Objective:To observe the effects of warming triple needling plus Chinese medication on inflammatory responses and daily functioning ability in patients with knee osteoarthritis(KOA)due to wind-cold-dampness Bi-impediment. Methods:A total of 101 patients with KOA due to wind-cold-dampness Bi-impediment were divided into an acupuncture-medication group and a Chinese medication group using the random number table method.Fifty cases in the Chinese medication group took oral Fang Feng Xi Bi Tang for treatment,and 51 cases in the acupuncture-medication group received additional warming triple needling therapy.The symptom score of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),inflammatory factor levels,and motor function of the knee joint were compared before and after treatment.The clinical efficacy was also compared between the two groups after treatment. Results:Three cases in the acupuncture-medication group and 2 cases in the Chinese medication group dropped out during the study,and the two groups each had 48 cases being included in statistical analysis ultimately.The total effective rate was 95.8%in the acupuncture-medication group,higher than 79.2%in the Chinese medication group,and the between-group difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).After treatment,the TCM symptom score dropped in both groups(P<0.05)and was lower in the acupuncture-medication group than in the Chinese medication group(P<0.05).The levels of interleukin(IL)-6,tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α,and IL-1β dropped after the intervention in both groups(P<0.05)and were lower in the acupuncture-medication group than in the Chinese medication group(P<0.05).The scores of knee pain intensity,knee joint stiffness,and diurnal functioning decreased after treatment in the two groups(P<0.05)and were lower in the acupuncture-medication group than in the Chinese medication group(P<0.05). Conclusion:Warming triple needling plus Fang Feng Xi Bi Tang can reduce inflammatory responses,improve daily functioning ability,and enhance the quality of life in patients with KOA due to wind-cold-dampness Bi-impediment.

In order to improve the resolution, contrast and frame rate of ultrasound imaging, it is necessary to design an adaptive beamforming method for plane wave ultrasound imaging. An optimized minimum variance algorithm that suits plane wave ultrasound imaging was proposed, based on the traditional minimum variance algorithm that combines with the subband beamforming as well as the forward-backward spatial smoothing method in the frequency domain. To verify the effectiveness of the improved algorithm, the matlab software was used. Simulation results showed that full width at half maximum and peak side-lobe level of Optimized MV, Conventional MV, DAS boxcar, and Linear scan methods were 0.08, 0.36, 0.92, 1.42 dB, and -41.1, - 37.3, -16.9, - 34.1 dB, respectively. The improved algorithm can significantly improve the image resolution and contrast, particularly applicable to plane wave ultrasound imaging, compared with the conventional minimum variance algorithm and traditional delay-and-sum method.
Algorithms ; Contrast Media ; Image Enhancement ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Microbubbles ; Phantoms, Imaging ; Ultrasonography ; instrumentation ; methods

Objective To analyze etiology,clinical manifestation and diagnosis process of vertigo and dizziness in children.Method The clinical data of 82 children with vertigo and dizziness treated in our hospital from January 2006 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed.Results There were 46 girls and 36 boys with a female:male ration of 1.28:1.The median age of patients was 9.0 years (14 months-18.0 years) and 21 cases were less than 6 years old.The chief complaints were repeatedly falling,crying,walking unsteadily and scratching the ear for unknown reasons.For children aged ＞ 5 years may express " roof or tent rotation";for those aged ＞ 6-＜ 15 years (n =34),the main complaint was more ambiguous "dizziness";for those aged ≥ 15-≤ 18 years (n =27) with the main complaint of " dizziness" may clearly express the " sense of rotation" or " the feeling of feeling drowsy,the top-heavy sense," and the accompanying deafness,earfullness,tinnitus and so on.Among 82 cases,there were 15 cases of benign paroxysmal vertigo (BPV,18.3％),12 cases of secretory otitis media (SOM,14.6％),11 cases of vestibular migraine (VM,13.4％),9 cases of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV,11.0％),8 cases of inner ear malformation (9.8％),8 cases of Meniere's disease (9.8％),7 cases of vestibular neuritis (8.5％),6 cases of sudden deafness with vertigo (7.3％),4 cases of central vertigo (4.9％),1 case of rare genetic disease (1.2％) and 1 case of vertigo due to mental psychological (1.2％).The incidence of BPV,VM and Meniere's disease in girls was higher than that in boys.There was a tendency to self heal in BPV with the age increasing,in 15 BPV cases,8 after 12 years of age,3 after 14 years old had no vertigo attacks,and 4 cases were still in follow-up.The attack frequency of VM was decreased,and the extent was reduced with the age.Children older than 6 years were able to cooperate to vestibular function tests,and the majority completed the tests.Conclusion The analysis shows that the etiology of vertigo and dizziness in children is different from that of adults.Central vertigo and rare genetic disorders with dizziness as the first symptom are of great harmfulness,so intensive observation and multidisciplinary consultations are recommended.

Background/Aims: Low educational attainment is a well-established risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in developed areas. However, the association between educational attainment and the risk of NAFLD is less clear in China. Methods: A cross-sectional study including over 200,000 Chinese adults across mainland China was conducted. Information on education level and lifestyle factors were obtained through standard questionnaires, while NAFLD and advanced fibrosis were diagnosed using validated formulas. Outcomes included the risk of NAFLD in the general population and high probability of fibrosis among patients with NAFLD. Logistic regression analysis was employed to estimate the risk of NAFLD and fibrosis across education levels. A causal mediation model was used to explore the potential mediators. Results: Comparing with those receiving primary school education, the multi-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for NAFLD were 1.28 (1.16 to 1.41) for men and 0.94 (0.89 to 0.99) for women with college education after accounting for body mass index. When considering waist circumference, the odds ratios (95% CIs) were 0.94 (0.86 to 1.04) for men and 0.88 (0.80 to 0.97) for women, respectively. The proportions mediated by general and central obesity were 51.00% and 68.04% for men, while for women the proportions were 48.58% and 32.58%, respectively. Furthermore, NAFLD patients with lower educational attainment showed an incremental increased risk of advanced fibrosis in both genders. Conclusions In China, a low education level was associated with a higher risk of prevalent NAFLD in women, as well as high probability of fibrosis in both genders.

Substantial evidence supports the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. Meanwhile, progressive neurodegenerative processes have also been reported, leading to the hypothesis that neurodegeneration is a characteristic component in the neuropathology of schizophrenia. However, a major challenge for the neurodegenerative hypothesis is that antipsychotic drugs used by patients have profound impact on brain structures. To clarify this potential confounding factor, we measured the cortical thickness across the whole brain using high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in 145 first-episode and treatment-naïve patients with schizophrenia and 147 healthy controls. The results showed that, in the patient group, the frontal, temporal, parietal, and cingulate gyri displayed a significant age-related reduction of cortical thickness. In the control group, age-related cortical thickness reduction was mostly located in the frontal, temporal, and cingulate gyri, albeit to a lesser extent. Importantly, relative to healthy controls, patients exhibited a significantly smaller age-related cortical thickness in the anterior cingulate, inferior temporal, and insular gyri in the right hemisphere. These results provide evidence supporting the existence of neurodegenerative processes in schizophrenia and suggest that these processes already occur in the early stage of the illness.