Objective:To compare the effect of four different techniques on removal of vapor lock in the apical region of curved root canals.Methods:Forty simulated resin root canals with 45° curvature were prepared using WaveOne Primary,then the apical foramen were sealed with soft wax.The teeth were divided randomly into 4 groups thereafter (n =10).Contract solution was injected into the canals using a 30 G side-vented needle and scanned with cone-beam CT (CBCT) to identify the volume of the vapor lock.Four different techniques including photon-induced photoacoustic streaming (PIPS) laser-activated irrigation,gutta-percha cone technique,ultrasonic irrigation,and sonic irrigation were used to remove the vapor locks in the root canals.The residual volume of the vapor lock was identified again using CBCT scanning data.Accordingly,the reduction rates of the vapor lock were calculated.Furthermore,the initial and residual vapor lock length was calculated.The data were analyzed by using the One-Way ANOVA analysis and Kruskal-Wallis H test at a significance level of P ＜ 0.05.Results:There was no significant difference in the initial vapor lock volume (P ＞ 0.05).Residual volume of the vapor lock for PIPS laser-activated irrigation was 0 mm3,and that for gutta-percha cone technique was (0.02 ± 0.07) mm3,significantly lower than those of ultrasonic and sonic irrigation,the values being (0.20 ± 0.09)mm3 and (0.23 ±0.06) mm3 (P ＜0.001),respectively.The reduction rates of the vapor lock of PIPS laser-activated irrigation and gutta-percha cone technique were 100.00％ (100.00％,100.00％) and 100.00％ (77.66％,100.00％),respectively,significantly higher than those of ultrasonic irrigation [70.37％ (56.41％,91.43％)] and sonic irrigation [63.54％ (51.47％,74.00％),P ＜0.001].The length of the residual vapor lock for PIPS laser-activated irrigation was 0 mm,and that for gutta-percha cone technique was (0.15 ±0.47) mm,significantly lower than those of ultrasonic and sonic irrigation,values being (2.21 ±0.09) mm and (2.34 ±0.08) mm (P ＜0.001),respectively.The length of the residual vapor locks in the ultrasonic and sonic group remained approximately the same as the distance between the working tip and the apical foramen.Conclusion:PIPS laser activated irrigation and gutta-percha cone technique could remove the vapor lock from the apical region of curved canals effectivelv.

Objective:To explore the application of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technology in pathogens detection for spinal infection.Methods:From January 2019 to May 2020, a total of 41 patients including 31 males and 10 females with an average age of 59.7±11.9 years (29-75 years) were suspected of spinal infections. There were 37 patients with local pain, 15 with fever (≥38 ℃) and 18 with neurological dysfunction. The infected sites were as follows, 4 cases of cervical spine, 8 cases of thoracic spine and 29 cases of lumbar spine. There were 36 patients met the surgical indications and underwent open debridement, bone grafting, fusion and internal fixation, while the other 5 patients underwent conservative treatment (three received drug therapy and two were transferred to the internal department for chemotherapy). Lesions obtained from open surgery patients were underwent pathology and HTS examination. In 5 cases with conservative treatment, two of them underwent CT guided percutaneous puncture for samples, while one case underwent ultrasound guided percutaneous puncture for pus, one case for venous blood, and one case received lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid. The samples were sent for pathological and HTS examination, while liquid specimens were sent for bacterial culture and HTS. The sensitivity and specificity of HTS results were determined according to pathological examination which was regarded as the "gold standard". Based on HTS results combined with the clinical manifestations, imaging examination and pathological results of the patients, targeted antibiotics or anti-tuberculosis drugs were selected for postoperative drug therapy. Patients with bacterial infection received anti-infection treatment for 3 months after operation. For tuberculosis patients, "tetrad" (isoniazid+rifampicin+pyrazinamide+ethambutanol) anti-tuberculosis treatments were underwent for one year. Inflammation indicators from the blood samples were observed before and after treatment, including white blood cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). These indicators were used to monitor disease progression and the curative effects. All patients were followed up for at least 3 months after surgery.Results:A total of 41 patients with suspected spinal infection were included in this study. The HTS pathogen detection results were obtained within 48 h. For the initial 5 patients, first-generation sequencing verification was conducted with coincidence rate 100%. Further, no further verification was conducted in the rest patients. Among the 41 cases, a total of 26 cases had positive results with a positive rate of 63.4%(26/41). Among them, thirteen cases were with mycobacterium tuberculosis (31.7%) and 6 cases with staphylococcus (14.6%). Fungi and Brucellosis were diagnosed in 2 cases respectively, accounting for 4.9% respectively. The test were negative in 15 patients (36.6%), including 2 patients with tumor or tumor-like lesions (1 hematologic tumor and 1 eosinophilic granuloma). A total of 38 patients underwent pathological examination, which confirmed 7 cases of suppurative infection, 12 cases of tuberculosis, 2 cases of tumor or tumor-like lesions and the remaining 17 cases of inflammatory lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of HTS were 80%(16/20) and 55.6% (10/18) with positive predictive value (PPV) 66.7% (16/24) and negative predictive value (NPV) 71.4% (10/14). All patients were followed up for 3 months. The inflammation indicators of blood at 3 months were all lower than that at admission. WBC decreased from (7.50±3.26)×10 9/L at admission to (6.22±2.53)×10 9/L at 3 months after treatment without statistically significant difference ( t=1.082, P=0.290). The CRP decreased from (32.2±34.1) mg/L to (4.5±10.5) mg/L, and ESR from (44.2±26.5) mm/1 h to (18.6±12.1) mm/1 h with statistically significant difference ( t=8.963, P<0.001; t=5.421, P<0.001). Conclusion:High-throughput sequencing technology can be used in detection of spinal infection pathogens, due to its relatively high positive rate, satisfied sensitivity and good diagnostic value.

Objective To establish an animal model by placing one end of PICC in the hepatic portal vein of a beagle dog and leaving the other end out of its body.Methods Six Beagle dogs were given respiration anesthesia through orotracheal intubation.An incision was made through the right rectus abdominalis to locate the superior mesenteric vein (SMA) and the main hepatic portal vein.The left branch of SMA was separated and cut to put PICC into the main hepatic portal vein before being ligated and fixed.The other end of PICC was elicited through the right abdominal wall and passed beneath the skin to the back neck and fastened in case of movement.Results The anesthetic effect was good and all the operations were successful.The mean operation time was about an hour and the mean blood loss was about 15 ml.The incision healed 5-7 d after operation.Conclusion The establishment of the model can improve the effects of liver-targeting drugs,which can cut down the dosage,lower the cost of treatment and experiment and reduce the adverse effect of medicines.Through PICC,we can directly draw blood from the hepatic portal vein to measure the blood concentration before the first pass elimination.Then according to the concentration,we can calculate the absorption rate in the gastrointestinal tract,which can facilitate related experimental studies.

The aim of this study was to develop a multi-target pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic(PK-PD)model for the evaluation of the protective effect of salvianolic acid A(Sal A)on ischemic heart failure based on a metabolic balance model. The rats were assigned to 3 groups: sham-operated group(saline), ischemic heart failure group(saline)and Sal A-treated group(Sal A, 1 mg/(kg ·d), ip). The concentrations of brain natriuretic peptide(BNP), angiotensin II(Ang II), malondialdehyde(MDA), asymmetric dimethylarginine(ADMA)and the activity of glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)in rat plasma were determined before and at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks after ligation in all the groups. A multi-target PK-PD model was developed based on the change rate of metabolic disruption parameter k and was eventually used to integrally evaluate the protective effect of Sal A on ischemic heart failure. Sal A showed improvement effects on multiple biomarkers and the correlation study demonstrated a good relationship between dynamic parameter k and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF). More importantly, the multi-target model well fitted the relationship between AUC and the change rate. The multi-target PK-PD model provides a novel method to integrally evaluate the protective effect of Sal A, which might offer a new strategy for the establishment of a PK-PD model that embodies the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine.

Objective:To analyze the online learning behaviors and learning results of students under different teaching modes with different learning motivations, and to provide a reference for optimizing the development of online teaching.Methods:Samples of students taking the physiology small private online course (SPOC) in 2019 and 2020, and students taking the massive open online courses (MOOC) in the same year were selected in the study to discuss the differences in learning behaviors of students under different teaching modes and learning effects on students with different learning motivations. The online learning behaviors of students were analyzed based on their learning engagement, interactive behavior and learning motivation. SPSS 25.0 was used to analyze the data with statistical methods such as function calculation, frequency statistics, regression analysis, rank sum test, correlation test and chi-square test.Results:The learning participation level ( z=14.36, P<0.001), and the human-machine and interpersonal learning interaction level ( z=-11.70, -16.18, both P<0.001) of SPOC learners in 2020 were higher than those in 2019. The overall interactive level was moderately correlated with performances of students ( r=0.42, 0.52, both P<0.001), and the correlation between interpersonal behavior and grades was much more stronger ( r=0.60, 0.55, both P<0.001). The performance composition of SPOC and MOOC learners in 2019 was completely different ( χ2=857.45, P<0.001). The learning effect of externally motivated students was significantly better than that of internally motivated students ( z=-28.42, P<0.001). Conclusion:The teaching mode adopted by the school can affect the learning effect by influencing the students' online learning engagement and interactive behavior. Besides, students' own learning motivation also plays a key role in their academic performance.

Objective To explore the clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features of nephrogenic adenoma(NA).Methods Clinical data of NA patients diagnosed in the Department of Pathology,Zhongshan Hospital,Fudan University from July 2016 to October 2022 were collected and analyzed to explore their clinicopathological features.Results A total of 13 NA cases were enrolled.There were 11 males and 2 females.Organs involved:ureter(n=7),bladder(n=5),bladder and ureter(n=1),renal pelvis(n=2).NA patients performed as ureteral stenosis(6/7),rough bladder wall(3/5),and renal pelvis polyp(2/2).The typical microscopical features of NA were tubular(13/13)and papillary(4/13)structures,covered with cuboidal or columnar epithelium(13/13),or a mixed hobnail-spike eosinophilic epithelium(12/13);the interstitium was loose,containing varied amounts of vasculature and inflammatory cells(13/13).Immunohistochemistry revealed specific expressions of CK7,PAX-8,CK19 and CK8.Conclusions NA is a rare neoplasm of the urinary system with unique histological features.NA has the risk of misdiagnosis and over-treatment,and the potential of recurrence and malignant conversion.The diagnosis of NA depends on pathology,and the immunohistochemistry can be helpful for its pathological diagnosis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by infection that lead to dysregulation of the host response. Sepsis and septic shock with a high mortality threaten human health at present, which are important medical and health problems. Early diagnosis and treatment decision-making for sepsis and septic shock still need to be improved. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles with a diameter of 30-150 nm formed by the fusion of multi-vesicle bodies and cell membranes. Exosomes can effectively transport a variety of bioactive substances such as proteins, lipids, RNA, DNA, and participate in the regulation of inflammatory response, immune response, infection and other pathophysiological processes. In recent years, exosomes have become one of the important methods for the diagnosis and treatment of systemic inflammatory diseases. This article will focus on the basic and clinical research of sepsis, and focus on the research progress of exosomes in the diagnosis and targeted therapy of sepsis.
Humans ; Shock, Septic/therapy* ; Exosomes/metabolism* ; Sepsis/therapy* ; Extracellular Vesicles/metabolism* ; RNA/metabolism*

Objective:To explore the feasibility of extracting the key plane of the normal fetal palate on the 11-13 + 6 week from tomography ultrasonography imaging based on artificial intelligence. Methods:The fetal volume datas of 235 cases of 11-13 + 6 week normal fetal were collected from the Department of Ultrasound in the Luohu District People′s Hospital of Shenzhen and Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital from May 2020 to April 2021. The data acquisition was completed by sonographers A and B by using the GE Voluson E10 color Doppler ultrasound diagnostic instrument. All datas were marked offline by sonographer C. Tomographic imaging was performed on all included data by sonographer D, the tomographic images were saved and the time-consuming was recorded, and the datas of the sonographer group were obtained. The labeled data were randomly divided into the training set and test set for model transfer learning and testing.The 4-fold cross-validation was adopted to record the test set image output by the model and the time consumption to obtain the intelligent group data. A senior sonographer performed image analysis on the two groups of data images. The feasibility of the intelligent model was verified by comparing the score of the plane of retronasal triangle(RTP), the acquisition rate of RTP, the acquisition rate of the fault, and the time-consuming difference between the sonographer group and the intelligent group. Results:①There was no significant difference in the overall distribution of RTP scores between the sonographer group and intelligent group [5 (5, 6) points vs 5 (5, 6) points, Z=0.355, P=0.722]. The RTP acquisition rate of the sonographer group and intelligent group was not statistically significant (78.72% vs 76.60%, χ 2=0.55, P=0.458). The consistency and correlation of RTP obtained by the two groups were high (Kappa=0.645, φ=0.646, both P<0.001). ②The effective layers of the sonographer group were 9 (8, 9) and the intelligent group was 8 (7, 9). The fault acquisition rate of the doctor group was higher than that of the intelligent group (78.72% vs 68.51%, χ 2=12.52, P=0.001). The consistency and correlation of the two groups in obtaining faults were media (Kappa=0.503, φ=0.521, both P<0.001). ③The time-consuming of the intelligent group was significantly lower than that of the sonographer group [1.50 (1.23, 1.75)s vs 26.94 (22.28, 30.48)s, Z=11.440, P<0.001]. Conclusions:This research model can quickly and accurately realize the extraction and tomography of the key plane of the normal fetal palate on the 11-13 + 6 week.

Objectives:To verify the reliability and validity of the frailty assessment scale for elderly patients with inguinal hernia and to evaluate the value of its clinical application.Methods:A convenience sampling method was used to collect 129 geriatric patients who underwent inguinal hernia surgery from January 2018 to January 2023 in nine hospitals in Liaoning Province. There were 120 males and 9 females, of whom 89 patients were 60 to <75 years old, 33 patients were 75 to <85 years old and 7 patients were ≥85 years old. The 129 patients included 11 elderly patients with inguinal hernia who had recovered from preoperative infection with COVID-19. Statistical methods such as Cronbach′s coefficient, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, Bartlett′s test, Pearson′s correlation analysis, etc. were calculated to verify the reliability indexes such as feasibility, content validity, structural validity, criterion-related validity, internal consistency reliability, and re-test reliability. Taking the 5-item modified frailty index (5-mFI) as the gold standard, the area under the curve was used to analyze the ability of the two scales to predict the occurrence of postoperative acute urinary retention, postoperative delirium, poor incision healing, operative hematoma seroma, and postoperative complications.Results:The frailty assessment scale for elderly patients with inguinal hernia showed good reliability and validity (valid completion rate of 99.2%; item content validity index of 1.000, and the scale content validity index of 1.000; exploratory factor analysis extracted a total of 1 principal component, and factor loadings of each item of 0.565 to 0.873; the AUC for frailty diagnosis using 5-mFI as the gold standard of 0.795 ( P<0.01) Cronbach′s coefficient of 0.916, retest reliability coefficient of 0.926), it could effectively predict postoperative acute urinary retention, delirium, hematoma seroma in the operative area and total complications (AUC of 0.746, 0.870, 0.806, and 0.738, respectively; all P<0.05), and prediction efficiency was higher than that of 5-mFI (AUC of 0.694, 0.838, 0.626 and 0.641, P<0.05 for delirium only), but both scales were inaccurate in predicting poor incision healing (AUC of 0.519, P=0.913 for the frailty assessment scale and 0.455, P=0.791 for the 5-mFI). Conclusions:The frailty assessment scale for elderly patients with inguinal hernia is reliable and significantly predicts the occurrence of postoperative adverse events in elderly inguinal hernia patients. The scale can also be used for preoperative frailty assessment in elderly patients with inguinal hernia after rehabilitation from COVID-19 infection.

Objectives:To verify the reliability and validity of the frailty assessment scale for elderly patients with inguinal hernia and to evaluate the value of its clinical application.Methods:A convenience sampling method was used to collect 129 geriatric patients who underwent inguinal hernia surgery from January 2018 to January 2023 in nine hospitals in Liaoning Province. There were 120 males and 9 females, of whom 89 patients were 60 to <75 years old, 33 patients were 75 to <85 years old and 7 patients were ≥85 years old. The 129 patients included 11 elderly patients with inguinal hernia who had recovered from preoperative infection with COVID-19. Statistical methods such as Cronbach′s coefficient, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, Bartlett′s test, Pearson′s correlation analysis, etc. were calculated to verify the reliability indexes such as feasibility, content validity, structural validity, criterion-related validity, internal consistency reliability, and re-test reliability. Taking the 5-item modified frailty index (5-mFI) as the gold standard, the area under the curve was used to analyze the ability of the two scales to predict the occurrence of postoperative acute urinary retention, postoperative delirium, poor incision healing, operative hematoma seroma, and postoperative complications.Results:The frailty assessment scale for elderly patients with inguinal hernia showed good reliability and validity (valid completion rate of 99.2%; item content validity index of 1.000, and the scale content validity index of 1.000; exploratory factor analysis extracted a total of 1 principal component, and factor loadings of each item of 0.565 to 0.873; the AUC for frailty diagnosis using 5-mFI as the gold standard of 0.795 ( P<0.01) Cronbach′s coefficient of 0.916, retest reliability coefficient of 0.926), it could effectively predict postoperative acute urinary retention, delirium, hematoma seroma in the operative area and total complications (AUC of 0.746, 0.870, 0.806, and 0.738, respectively; all P<0.05), and prediction efficiency was higher than that of 5-mFI (AUC of 0.694, 0.838, 0.626 and 0.641, P<0.05 for delirium only), but both scales were inaccurate in predicting poor incision healing (AUC of 0.519, P=0.913 for the frailty assessment scale and 0.455, P=0.791 for the 5-mFI). Conclusions:The frailty assessment scale for elderly patients with inguinal hernia is reliable and significantly predicts the occurrence of postoperative adverse events in elderly inguinal hernia patients. The scale can also be used for preoperative frailty assessment in elderly patients with inguinal hernia after rehabilitation from COVID-19 infection.