BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are several evidences of reduced cochlea blood flow after noise exposure in the cochlea. However, the pathophysiology of blood flow change is still obscure, and endothelins, proteins that constrict blood vessels and play a key role in vascular homeostasis using its receptors may have importance in this respect. In this study, we investigated the expression changes of endothelin-1 (ET-1), endothelin receptor A (ETAR) and B (ETBR) according to auditory threshold change after noise exposure. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Mice were exposed to different noise to generate transient (group 2) and permanent threshold shift (group 3), respectively. Auditory threshold shifts were evaluated with auditory brainstem response and expression changes of ET-1, ETAR and ETBR after noise exposure were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and real time RT-PCR. RESULTS: After noise exposure, the increased ET-1, ETAR and ETBR immunoreactivities were observe in stria vascularis, spiral ligament and spiral ganglion neuron. ET-1 mRNA expressions increased after noise exposure in both group 2 and group 3 compared to those of the control group. At 2 weeks after noise exposure, however, the ET-1 mRNA expressions in group 3 increased compared to that of the control but decreased compared to that of group 2. On the other hand, ETAR mRNA expression increased at 2 weeks after noise exposure in both groups, just after noise exposure in group 2 and at 2 weeks after noise exposure in group 3. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that expression changes of ET-1, ETAR and ETBR might be associated with hearing threshold shift and recovery after noise exposure in the cochlea.
Animals ; Auditory Threshold ; Blood Vessels ; Cochlea ; Endothelin-1 ; Endothelins ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Hand ; Hearing ; Homeostasis ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice ; Neurons ; Noise ; Proteins ; Receptors, Endothelin ; RNA, Messenger ; Spiral Ganglion ; Spiral Ligament of Cochlea ; Stria Vascularis

Aim To establish a rapid method to efficiently iso-late mononuclear cells from central nervous system ( CNS) tis-sues of mice that can be effectively utilized for identification of various immune cell populations in a single sample by flow cy-tometry. Methods For defining the feasibility and practicality of the method, wild-type C57BL/6 mice and two mouse models of CNS disease including EAE mice and APP/PS1 mice were used in this study. After the collection and homogenization of the brain and spinal cord tissues respectively, the mononuclear cells were isolated by spinning the 70% -30% Percoll gradients. Cell activities were detected by trypan blue staining, and the im-mune population that infiltrated CNS was identified by flow cy-tometry. Results The results of trypan blue staining showed that the survival rate of the isolated cells was above 90% in all groups. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the relative num- bers of lymphocytes infiltrating CNS of EAE and AD mice in-creased significantly compared with wild-type C57BL/6 mice. In addition, the relative numbers of Th1 and Th17 cell subsets me-diating the inflammatory response also increased significantly, while the decreased regulatory T cells frequency was observed in the two mouse models of CNS disease. Conclusions The cells isolated by the 70% ~30% Percoll gradients centrifugation can be effectively utilized for the identification of various immune cell populations in a single sample by flow cytometry. The meth-od described in this article is simple and rapid in operation and with high survival rate and activity of the cells, which can be ap-plied to the study of the mononuclear cells in CNS.

Objective:To explore the risk factors of intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW), and to establishment and verify its risk prediction model.Methods:A modeling group of 231 patients who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the First Hospital of Jiaxing from July 2019 to June 2020 was collected by convenience sampling method. According to whether they developed ICU-AW, they were divided into ICU-AW group (55 cases) and non ICU-AW group (176 cases). The clinical data were collected concerning patients' individual information, disease-related factors, treatment-related factors and laboratory indicators, and the differences of the above indexes between two groups were compared. Logistic regression was used to analyze the ICU-AW risk factors and a risk prediction model was constructed. Calculate the area under ROC curve (AUC) to test the prediction effect of the model. At the same time, 60 patients who admitted to ICU from July to October 2020 and met the standards were collected to verify the model.Results:Compared with non ICU-AW group, there were more males in ICU-AW group [61.8% (34/55) vs. 44.3% (78/176), P < 0.05], with higher levels of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis, immobilization and the use of neuromuscular blockers [SIRS: 30.9% (17/55) vs. 3.4% (6/176), sepsis: 12.7% (7/55) vs. 2.3% (4/176), immobilization: 72.7% (40/55) vs. 39.2% (69/176), the use of neuromuscular blockers: 50.9% (28/55) vs. 14.2% (25/176), all P < 0.05], and acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ(APACHEⅡ) score, blood lactic acid level and duration of mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay were all increased [APACHEⅡ score: 18 (15, 24) vs. 12 (8, 17), blood lactic acid (mmol/L): 2 (1, 2) vs. 1 (1, 2), duration of mechanical ventilation (days): 7 (4, 12) vs. 2 (2, 5), length of hospital stay (days): 10 (6, 16) vs. 5 (3, 9), all P < 0.05]. SIRS, APACHEⅡ score, duration of mechanical ventilation and blood lactic acid were included to construct a risk prediction model [odds ratio ( OR) values were 4.835, 1.083, 1.210, 1.790, P values were 0.018, 0.013, 0.015, 0.013]. The model equation was P = exp [-5.207+(1.576×SIRS)+(0.079×APACHEⅡ)+(0.191×duration of mechanical ventilation)+(0.582×blood lactic acid)]. Internal verification: Calibration diagram showed the calibration curve above the ideal curve, AUC = 0.888, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 0.839-0.938; when the cut-off value was 0.166, the sensitivity was 89.1%, the specificity was 75.6%, and the maximum index was 0.649. External verification: Calibration diagram showed that the calibration curve was above the ideal curve, and the plotted AUC = 0.853, 95% CI was 0.753-0.953. When the cut-off value of the corresponding predictive risk value was 0.367, the sensitivity was 68.8%, the specificity was 86.4%, and the maximum approximate index was 0.552. Conclusion:The risk prediction model of ICU-AW constructed in this study has good consistency and prediction efficiency, which can provide reference for medical personnel to identify high-risk groups of ICU-AW patients in the early stage and provide targeted interventions in advance.

Objective:To describe the family resilience experience of colorectal cancer patients′ spouses in the process of care, and to provide reference for making effective clinical nursing interventions.Methods:Objective sampling method was used to select the spouses of colorectal cancer patients who were hospitalized in Shanghai East Hospital from March to April 2023. A phenomenological research was used. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 spouses of colorectal cancer patients undergoing colostomy. Data was transcribed and analyzed using Colaizzi′s method.Results:Three themes were extracted: family crisis and coping pressure including increased burden of care, accompanying emotional internal friction, heavy economic pressure; internal adjustment and adaptation within the family including positive family beliefs, timely adjustment of family roles, clear and effective communication and interaction; integration and utilization of external resources including active access to information, medical professional support, social external support.Conclusions:With the help of the perspective of family advantage, medical staff should pay attention to the evaluation of care needs and family resilience of colorectal cancer patients′ spouses, to fully mobilize advantage resources and give effective intervention measures to improve the family and social adaptation level of patients and their spouses.

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the effects of long-term and short-term embryo culture to assess whether there is a correlation between culture duration and clinical outcomes. Methods: Embryos were divided into two study groups depending on whether their post-warming culture period was long-term (20–24 hours) or short-term (2–4 hours). Embryo morphology was analyzed with a time-lapse monitoring device to estimate the appropriate timing and parameters for evaluating embryos with high implantation potency in both groups. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust the confounding factors across groups. The grades of embryos and blastoceles, morphokinetic parameters, implantation rate, and ongoing pregnancy rate were compared. Results: No significant differences were observed in the implantation rate or ongoing pregnancy rate between the two groups (56.3% vs. 67.9%, p=0.182; 47.3% vs. 53.6%, p=0.513). After warming, there were more expanded and hatching/hatched blastocysts in the long-term culture group than in the short-term culture group, but there was no significant between-group difference in embryo grade. Regarding pregnancy outcomes, the completion of re-expansion was faster in women who became pregnant than in those who did not for both culture durations (long-term: 2.19±0.63 vs. 4.11±0.81 hours, p=0.003; short-term: 1.17±0.29 vs. 1.94±0.76 hours, p=0.018, respectively). Conclusion The outcomes of short-term culture and long-term culture were not significantly different in vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer. Regardless of the post-warming culture time, the degree of blastocyst re-expansion 3–4 hours after warming is an important marker for embryo selection.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate nurses' perception of clinical nutrition services. A cross-sectional survey design was performed. The research was accomplished by using questionnaires developed for this study and administered from September 12 to December 31, 2013 to 343 nurses at 43 tertiary hospitals and 20 general hospitals. The percentage of nurses who recognized clinical nutrition certificate as issued from nation was 27.8%. The mean scores of perceived usefulness on clinical nutrition services was 4.23/5.00, whereas that of perceived implementation was 3.76/5.00. The mean scores of necessity of disease-specialized clinical dietitian at capital hospitals were significantly higher for obesity (P<0.01), cancer (P<0.05), and infant & childhood disease (P<0.01) than at local hospitals. The rates of nurses' experience in group education on cancer at capital hospitals (21.7%) was significantly higher than that at local hospitals (10.3%) (P<0.05). The mean scores of perceived importance of clinical nutrition services were 4.46/5.00 for 'group nutrition education', 4.46/5.00 for 'individual consultation', and 4.40/5.00 for 'nutrition management for enteral nutrition (EN) patients'. The most common reason why clinical nutrition services are important was 'improving malnutritional status'. To activate clinical nutrition services especially at local hospitals, clinical dietitians should give systematic assistance to patients and also institutional supports are needed.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Education ; Enteral Nutrition ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Infant ; Nutritionists ; Obesity ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tertiary Care Centers

Wernicke's encephalopathy is an acute neurolopsychiatric syndrome caused by thiamine deficiency, and classically presents with the triad of opthalmopathy, ataxia and altered mentality. Both prolonged total parenteral nutrition and reduced oral intake can induce Wernicke's encephalopathy during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Although early treatment is important for recovery from Wernicke's encephalopathy, the vague symptoms and characteristics hinder early diagnosis. Furthermore, Wernicke's encephalopathy is not infrequent and can develop at any age during HSCT. Herein, we present two young patients developing Wernicke's encephalopathy during HSCT.
Ataxia ; Early Diagnosis ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells* ; Humans ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Thiamine ; Thiamine Deficiency ; Wernicke Encephalopathy*

Objective To investigate the basic status of HIT human resources in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and to analyze the existing problems.Methods Sampling and site surveys were executed over the HIT staffs from levels of medical facilities and colleges in the community,town,county,city and province.Results The problems were pointed out from the aspects of information organization function positioning,professional discipline construction,amount of HIT staffs,continuous education and knowledge structure of HIT staffs,absence of senior or leading talents in medical informatization,excessive dependence on software company,personnel title and etc.Conclusion A team of comprehensive,professional and normalized HIT staffs proficient in business management and information technology has to be obtained to facilitate informatization.

Objective To investigate the value of high resolution CT (HRCT) in displaying the anatomic relationship between labyrinth segment of facial canal and cochlea.Methods Totally 110 patients (220 ears) who underwent HRCT were collected.The original images were transferred to workstation for image processing.MPR images were acquired.The anatomic relationship between labyrinth segment of facial canal and cochlea was observed in oblique coronal MPR images.The bony septum between labyrinth segment of facial canal and cochlea was assessed as definite defect (Type Ⅰ),doubtful defect (Type Ⅱ) or complete (Type Ⅲ),respectively.Results There were 71 ears (71/220,32.27％) of Type Ⅰ,diameters of bone fissure ranged from 0.3-1.3 mm (average diameters [0.64±0.26]mm),86 ears (86/220,39.09％) of Type Ⅱ and 63 ears (63/220,28.64％) of Type Ⅲ,with bony septum thickness ranged from 0.3-1.0 mm (average thickness [0.68±0.15]mm).No statistical difference of rates of the above three types was found between different genders,among age groups and between both side of ears (all P＞0.05).Conclusion HRCT is a reliable method to show the anatomic relationship between labyrinth segment of facial canal and cochlea.

BACKGROUND: Iron overload is a predictable and life-threatening complication in patients dependent on the regular transfusion of RBCs. The aims of this study were to investigate the efficacy and safety of deferiprone in a variety of pediatric hematologic and/or oncologic patients with a high iron overload. METHODS: Seventeen patients (age: 1.1-20.4 years; median: 10.6 years) from 7 hospitals who were treated with deferiprone from 2006 to 2009 were enrolled in this study. Medical records of enrolled patients were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Serum ferritin levels were 4,677.8+/-1,130.9 microgram/L at baseline compared to 3,363.9+/-1,149.7 microgram/L at the end of deferiprone treatment (P=0.033). Only 1 patient developed neutropenia as a complication. CONCLUSION: Deferiprone treatment is relatively safe for pediatric patients suffering from various hematologic and oncologic diseases that require RBC transfusions as part of treatment. However, the potential development of critical complications such as agranulocytosis and/or neutropenia remains a concern.
Agranulocytosis ; Ferritins ; Humans ; Iron ; Iron Overload ; Medical Records ; Neutropenia ; Pyridones ; Stress, Psychological