A new method based on convolution kernel compensation (CKC) for decomposing multi-channel surface electromyogram (sEMG) signals is proposed in this paper. Unsupervised learning and clustering function of self-organizing map (SOM) neural network are employed in this method. An initial innervations pulse train (IPT) is firstly estimated, some time instants corresponding to the highest peaks from the initial IPT are clustered by SOM neural network. Then the final IPT can be obtained from the observations corresponding to these time instants. In this paper, the proposed method was tested on the simulated signal, the influence of signal to noise ratio (SNR), the number of groups clustered by SOM and the number of highest peaks selected from the initial pulse train on the number of reconstructed sources and the pulse accuracy were studied, and the results show that the proposed approach is effective in decomposing multi-channel sEMG signals.
Algorithms ; Cluster Analysis ; Electromyography ; Neural Networks (Computer)

Animals ; Benzylisoquinolines ; pharmacology ; Brain Ischemia ; metabolism ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Interleukin-8 ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo compare the effects between slow twisting needle insertion and tubing needle insertion.

METHODSWith cross-over design, 100 healthy young subjects (half male and half female) aged from 19 to 23 years were randomly divided into two groups by random digital table, 50 cases in each one. At the first stage, subjects in the group A were treated with slow twisting needle insertion while, subjects in,the group B were treated with tubing needle insertion. One week later, the procedure of second stage was performed alternately. The needle was inserted into Neiguan (PC 6) with two methods by one acupuncturist. The needle was retained for 5 min before removal. Five min before needle insertion as well as needle withdrawal and 30 min after needle withdrawal, ZXG-E automatic cardiovascular diagnostic apparatus was used to test cardiovascular function.

RESULTSAt the tim of needle withdrawal, slow twisting needle insertion could improve effect work of kinetics (EWK), effective blood volume (BV) and reduce elastic expansion coefficient of blood vessel (FEK) and left ventricular spray blood impedance (VER), which was significantly different from tubing needle insertion (all P < 0.05). Thirty min after needle withdrawal, the differences of the indices of cardiovascular function between the two groups were not significant (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe slow twisting needle insertion is significantly superior to tubing needle insertion on lowering vascular tension and VER, improving EWK and BV.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; methods ; Blood Circulation ; Blood Volume ; Coronary Vessels ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Needles ; Ventricular Function ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo introduce the application of pedicled anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap for total penile reconstruction and to investigate its feasibility and effect.

METHODSFrom May 2011 to May 2015, 12 male patients presented with absence of the penis or congenital malformation received phalloplasty with the pedicled ALT flap. Of them, the median age was 35 years old (range, 20-57 years). The size of the flaps ranged from 11 cm x 11 cm to 12 cm x 15 cm. 8 patients underwent urethra reconstruction with tube-in-tube flaps and other 4 patients with scrotal septal flaps. In this series, we performed one-stage urethral anastomosis in 4 cases and second-stage urethral anastomosis 6 months after the phalloplasty in 8 cases.

RESULTSAn acceptable reconstructed phallus was achieved in 10 patients. These flaps were primarily healed with satisfactory functional and cosmetic results. The reconstructed penis was completely necrosis because of the flap failure in one case. The distal half of the phallus was lost due to infection in one case. Both of them were treated with pedicled ALT flap from the other side. Reliable results were achieved. At a median follow-up of 1.5 year (range 1 to 4 years), 9 patients (90%) were fully satisfied with phallic cosmesis and size, and 4 patients who was married had successful sexual intercourse. 8 patients had normal urinate function. Fistula was developed in 2 patients (20%) which was treated with delayed repair at 6-12 months with local scrotal flaps.

CONCLUSIONSThe pedicled ALT flap can be simply used to reconstruct an entire penis as well as a urethra. It has several advantages including a less conspicuous donor site, greater bulk, better color match and no necessary for microsurgery.

Adult ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; methods ; Coitus ; Feasibility Studies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; etiology ; Penis ; abnormalities ; surgery ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Scrotum ; Surgical Flaps ; pathology ; transplantation ; Thigh ; Time Factors ; Urethra ; surgery ; Young Adult

Objective To establish small-for-size (SFS) graft injury models in miniature pigs with high standardization, reproducibility and similarity to clinical situation. Methods Ba-Ma miniature pigs were introduced in this study and orthotopic liver transplantations (OLTs) were performed in 12 pigs with 30% liver volume allogeneil grafts (small portion of right paramedian lobe, right lateral lobe and caudate lobe) without veno-venous bypass. The profiles of intra-operational hemodynamics and metabolism were investigated. Animals were observed for 7 days with daily serum biochemistry and coagulation function exam. The survival rate related to operation itself and the SFS grafts were respectively calculated as well as the graft regenerative ratio at post-operational day (POD) 7. Results Graft weight as a percentage of the recipient's native liver weight (GW/RLW) and the total body weight (GW/BW) were (28. 63±4. 42)% and (0. 73±0.06)%. The mean operation time, anhepatic phase, and the time of blockage of infra-hepatic IVC were (191. 7±14. 2) min, (28. 3±3. 6) min, and (45. 0±5. 8) min. The survival rate related to the operation itself and the SFS graft were 83. 33% (10/12) and 40% (4/10), and the graft regenerative ratio at POD7 was (278. 06±42. 95) %. Contrast to the remarkable increase of heart rate and serum potassium during anhepatic phase, the mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure, rectal temperature, PH value and buffer excess had a significant decrease (P<0.01) with a gradual recovery after reperfusioa Serum ALT, AST, PT, Cr, and TB were significantly increased with a peak level at POD1 for the former 4 and POD2 for TB, and then began to decrease and favorably recovered at POD7, but TB, PT, and AST levels were still high when compared to those of prereperfusion (P<0. 05). Conclusion This model of OLT performed with 30% liver volume graft without veno-venous bypass was an ideal large animal model for series studies related to SFS graft injury.

Objective To find out risk factors affecting the prognosis of adult cardiogenic shock patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.Methods From January 2003 to December 2010,patients with cardiogenic shock required veno-arterial ECMO after failure of conventional therapy and intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation therapy were retrospectively studied. Patients with severe traumatic brain injury,advanced malignancies and multiple organ failure were excluded.All patients were divided into survival group and death group.The risk factors were found out using one-way ANOVA and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent factors associated with survival.Results Thirty-one patients successfully weaned from ECMO. Twenty-two patients were successfully discharged.The average duration of ECMO was 41.56 ± 43.07 hours.Factors associated with failure of hospital discharge were age,pre-ECMO levels of ejection fraction,pre-ECMO levels of lactate,disseminated intravascular coagulation,renal failure and multiorgan failure (P ＜ 0.05). Conclusions Irreversible heart failure and the complications are significantly correlated with survival,and the early use of ECMO for cardiogenic shock and recognize the factors are key to the success of ECMO treatment.

Objective To study the current situation of human brucellosis infection in a population at high risk in Qian'an,and to provide a scientific basis for prevention and control of the disease.Methods Towns with centralized residents working in sheep breeding,transporting,slaughtering and processing in Jianchangying,Muchangkou and Xiaguanying of Qian'an were selected.In each selected town,2-3 villages with relatively centralized households working in sheep farming,transportation and slaughtering were chosen.All of the people who contacted the sheep or their excrement were chosen as monitoring objects,and serological antibody was tested with rose Bengal plate test(RBPT) and serum agglutination test(SAT).Regional,gender,age and occupational distribution of brucellosis were analyzed.Results A total of 367 blood samples were tested,46 of them were positive in both RBPT and SAT with a ratio of 12.53％ (46/367).Male positive rate [13.51％ (30/222)] was slightly higher than that of females [11.03％(16/145)].The rate in Jianchangying was higher than that of other two towns with a ratio of 13.38％(40/299).The veterinary population had the highest ratio of 33.33％(1/3).Conclusions It is necessary to carry out the surveillance on brucellosis and to further strengthen communication with the animal husbandry department,and strengthen protection on key population.At the same time,in order to control the spread of the disease,extensive health education and intervention measures should be carried out.

Objective To investigate the predictive value of preprocedural cystatin C level for contrast-in-duced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) and poor long-term outcome after cardiac catheterization. Methods One thou-sand one hundred and fifty-four patients underwent cardiac catheterization were enrolled in Guangdong general hos-pital. The level of serum cystatin C was determined at 24 hours pre-operation. A 2-year follow up was performed for each patient. Preprocedural cystatin C level was compared between patients with or without CI-AKI. The cystatin C quartiles were compared between patients with incidence of CI-AKI and patients with adverse in-hospital outcomes. Analyses of the receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were performed to evaluate the predictive value and cutoff level of cystatin C level for CI-AKI. The log-rank test and Cox regression analyses were also performed to in-vestigate the correlation between cystatin C level and poor long-term outcomes. Results CI-AKI occurred in 42 patients (3.6%). The cystatin C level was significantly higher in the CI-AKI group than that in the non-CI-AKI gu-oup (1.76 ± 1.05 vs 1.20 ± 0.50 mg/L, P=0.001). Patients with higher cystatin C level also had higher risk of CI-AKI and adverse in-hospital outcomes. ROC and Youden index showed that 1.3 mg/L cystatin C of was a fair dis-criminator for CI-AKI, but not significantly different from the Mehran CI-AKI score (AUC, 0.75 vs 0.76, P =0.874). After adjusting for other known CI-AKI risk factors, cystatin C level over 1.3 mg/L remained significantly associated with CI-AKI. During the long-term follow-up , the patients with cystatin C level over 1.3 mg/L were at a higher risk of all-cause mortality and MACEs (P < 0.001). Concusions A preprocedural cystatin C level over 1.3 mg/L was a good predictor of CI-AKI and poor long-term outcomes after cardiac catheterization.

Objective To evaluate the prognostic values of common definition compared to traditional definition of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients with normal serum creatinine (SCr). Methods Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary angiology or intervention with normal baseline SCr were enrolled prospectively. Those who were diagnosed as CIN according to common definition were divided into two groups based on the peak increase from baseline in the SCr concentration within 48 ~ 72 hours after the procedure: ≥ 44.2 μmol/L (CIN44.2 group, in common with traditional definition), ≥25% of baseline to < 44.2 μmol/L (CIN25%-44.2 group, interval between the two definitions). Hospital stay and long-term outcomes were compared among CIN44.2, CIN25%-44.2, and non-CIN groups. Results Of all 3,044 patients enrolled, 302 (9.9%) patients developed CIN according to common definition including CIN44.2 occurred in 56 (1.8%) patients and CIN25%-44.2 in 246 (8.1%) patients. Patients in CIN44.2 group indicated significant longer hospital stay and long-term outcomes compared with non-CIN group (P < 0.05). However, patients in CIN25%-44.2 group had similar in-hospital mortality and long-term cumulative risk of major clinical adverse events (MACE) and death with non-CIN group (all, P = 1.00). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses also demonstrated that CIN25%-44.2 did not associate with long-term MACE (HR 1.16, P = 0.645) and death (HR 0.98, P = 0.964) after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Conclusions For patients with normal baseline SCr, common definition based on traditional definition of CIN is unreasonable and overestimates the incidence of CIN, whose extension of traditional denifition proves no significant clinical value.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of compound preparation of Cordyceps sinensis and Tripterygium hypoglaucum (CSTHC) on survival time of grafted pigskin after allogeneic transplantation and its mechanism. METHODS: The pigskin was treated with CSTHC solution before allogeneic transplantation, and CSTHC ointment was applied for external use on the grafted pigskin after skin transplantation. Cyclosporine A (CsA) and normal saline were served as control. The survival time, the appearance and the histomorphological changes of the grafted pigskin were observed. The histomorphological changes of testicles in pigs were also examined. The CD4 and CD8 expressions in the grafted pigskins were measured by immunohistochemical method. The white blood cell count in peripheral blood and the liver and renal functions were also examined. RESULTS: The survival time of the grafted pigskin in the CSTHC-treated group was (28.50+/-3.26)d, which was much longer as compared with (10.60+/-1.52)d in the untreated group (P<0.01). The survival time of the grafted pigskin in the CsA-treated group was (28.33+/-3.50)d, and there was no remarkable difference in the survival time of the grafted pigskin between the CsA-treated group and the CSTHC-treated group. The expressions of CD4 and CD8 were lower in the CSTHC-treated group than those in the untreated group on the 7th and 14th day after skin graft (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the indices between the CSTHC-treated group and the CsA-treated group. The WBC count was higher in the untreated group than that in the CSTHC-treated group or CsA-treated group on the 7th day after skin graft (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: CSTHC can prolong the survival time of allogeneic grafted pigskin. Its mechanism of inhibiting the immunological rejection may relate to decreasing the expressions of CD4(+) and CD8(+) in the grafted pigskin and reducing the local inflammatory reaction.