Following extensive interdisciplinary research and development over several years,mechanical circulatory support devices(MCSD),including ventricular assist device(VAD)and total artificial heart(TAH),are now established as vital treatment options for patients with advanced heart failure.These devices have proven to be crucial in assisting or replacing a failing heart,offering patients a new lease of life and improving their quality of life.Currently,mechanical circulatory support(MCS)has become a well-recognised,long-term treatment option for patients who are unable to undergo heart transplantation due to donor organ shortages or contraindications.Given their continuous availability independent of donor organ limitations,these devices are poised to play an increasingly vital role in the future of medicine.This article aims to summarize the evolution,clinical applications,categorization,and potential complications of MCSD.

AIM To optimize the cellulase-assisted ultrasound extraction process for total flavonoids from Plumbago zeylanica L.,and to evaluate their anti-oxidant activity.METHODS With extraction time,liquid-solid ratio,cellulase addition amount,extraction temperature and ultrasonic power as influencing factors,extraction rate of total flavonoids as an evaluation index,the extraction process was optimized by response surface method on the basis of single factor test.Subsequently,The scavenging rates of extract on DPPH,ABTS and OH free radicals were determined.RESULTS The optimal conditions were determined to be 34∶1 for liquid-solid ratio,3％for cellulase addition amount,51 ℃ for extraction temperature,38 min for extraction time,and 400 W for ultrasonic power,the extraction rate of total flavonoids was(33.411±0.97)％.The IC50 values of three free radicals were 0.13,0.042,3.29 mg/mL,respectively.CONCLUSION This reasonable and reliable method can be used for the cellulase-assisted ultrasound extraction of total flavonoids from P.zeylanica with strong anti-oxidant activity.

Spinal cord injury(SCI)is a structural and functional disruption of the spinal cord caused by various factors,leading to neurological dysfunction.As a common central nervous system disorder in clinical practice,SCI poses significant risks to human life and health.Its pathological mechanism is exceedingly complex,involving multiple pathological processes.Given the irreversibility of primary injury,targeting secondary injury has gradually become the main direction for the clinical treatment of SCI in recent years.Recent studies have highlighted the crucial role of blood-spinal cord barrier damage and microvascular dysfunction in the progression of secondary injury following SCI.Therefore,investigating the pathological mechanisms of microcirculation and exploring targeted therapies could provide valuable insights for clinical SCI treatment.This paper aims to provide an objective review of the role of microcirculation in SCI,identify the critical regulators of microvascular function,and summarize strategies for treating SCI by targeting microcirculation.The findings of this study may offer novel references for the clinical management of SCI.

Spinal cord injury(SCI)is a central nervous system disease with high morbidity and disability rates,bringing serious economic and psychological burdens to families and society worldwide.AMP-activated protein kinase(AMPK)is an important sensor in the energy metabolism process in living organisms,which plays a central role in maintaining energy balance.It is currently considered a key target for the prevention and treatment of multiple diseases.Studies have shown that AMPK signaling can regulate autophagy,neuroinflammation,oxidative stress,mitochondrial function and other processes after SCI,thus affecting the pathological process of SCI.This review summarizes the research progress on AMPK signaling pathway involved in the regulation of SCI,in order to provide new ideas for the treatment and drug development of SCI.

Ventricular assist devices(VADs)have emerged as a pivotal therapeutic option for end-stage heart failure,undergoing significant technological advancements from pneumatic membrane pumps to continuous-flow centrifugal pumps.This review provides a detailed overview of several VAD models,including HeartMate Ⅲ,EVAHEART 2,and Heart Con.The initial generation of VADs established a foundation for subsequent developments,despite the occurrence of frequent complications.The second generation of VADs demonstrated a notable improvement in patient prognosis but carried the risk of ventricular collapse.The third generation of VADs represents a further reduction in size,incorporating magnetic levitation technology to enhance durability and blood compatibility.In the future,the development of VADs will focus on better emulating the physiological function of the native heart,improving pulsatility,and extending device longevity.As technology advances,VADs are expected to offer heart failure patients with a greater range of treatment options and a higher quality of life.

Objective To compare the effects of different detector combinations of 320-row CT on the image quality and radiation dose of head CT to explore the feasibility of using a wide detector for head CT scanning.Methods Totally 100 patients underwent head CT scanning due to trauma or cerebrovascular disease at some hospital from June to August 2023 were collected prospectively and divided into group A and group B by using block randomization grouping method,with the length of the block group being 2 and 50 patients in each group.In group A,all the detectors had the widths at z-axis direction being 40×0.5 mm and head scanning was completed after multiple exposures;in group B,detector combinations with widths of 280×0.5 mm or 320×0.5 mm were chosen based on the patient's head size in the head-foot direction(z-axis direction),and head scanning was performed with a single-turn exposure.The remaining scanning and image reconstruction parameters in the two groups were kept completely consistent.The head image quality of the 2 groups was evaluated objectively and scored subjectively by 2 radiologists.The volume CT dose index(CTDIvol),dose length product(DLP)and exposure time of the 2 groups were recorded,and the effective dose(ED)was calculated.SPSS 22.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results In terms of objective evaluation of image quality,at the level of the parietal skull group B had the CT value of gray matter,image noise and contrast to noise ratio(CNR)of the images higher than those of group A,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05);at the level of the posterior skull group B had the CT values of gray and white matter,image noise and air noise lower while CNR higher than those of group A,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).In terms of subjective scoring of image quality,at the levels of parietal and posterior skull group A behaved better than group B,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).In group A 5 patients had obvious motion artifacts affecting the diagnosis and the image quality scores not higher than 2,and secondary scanning had to be carried out;In group B all the patients had no obvious motion artifacts and met the diagnosis requirements.When compared with group A Group B had the CTDIvol,DLP,ED and exposure time decreased by 17.44%,17.24%,17.48%and 85.53%,respectively,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Conclusion A wide detector gains advantages over a 20 mm detector in image quality when 320-row CT is used for head CT scanning,with the diagnosis requirements satisfied.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(4):57-62]

Ventricular assist devices(VADs)have emerged as a pivotal therapeutic option for end-stage heart failure,undergoing significant technological advancements from pneumatic membrane pumps to continuous-flow centrifugal pumps.This review provides a detailed overview of several VAD models,including HeartMate Ⅲ,EVAHEART 2,and Heart Con.The initial generation of VADs established a foundation for subsequent developments,despite the occurrence of frequent complications.The second generation of VADs demonstrated a notable improvement in patient prognosis but carried the risk of ventricular collapse.The third generation of VADs represents a further reduction in size,incorporating magnetic levitation technology to enhance durability and blood compatibility.In the future,the development of VADs will focus on better emulating the physiological function of the native heart,improving pulsatility,and extending device longevity.As technology advances,VADs are expected to offer heart failure patients with a greater range of treatment options and a higher quality of life.

Objective To compare the effects of different detector combinations of 320-row CT on the image quality and radiation dose of head CT to explore the feasibility of using a wide detector for head CT scanning.Methods Totally 100 patients underwent head CT scanning due to trauma or cerebrovascular disease at some hospital from June to August 2023 were collected prospectively and divided into group A and group B by using block randomization grouping method,with the length of the block group being 2 and 50 patients in each group.In group A,all the detectors had the widths at z-axis direction being 40×0.5 mm and head scanning was completed after multiple exposures;in group B,detector combinations with widths of 280×0.5 mm or 320×0.5 mm were chosen based on the patient's head size in the head-foot direction(z-axis direction),and head scanning was performed with a single-turn exposure.The remaining scanning and image reconstruction parameters in the two groups were kept completely consistent.The head image quality of the 2 groups was evaluated objectively and scored subjectively by 2 radiologists.The volume CT dose index(CTDIvol),dose length product(DLP)and exposure time of the 2 groups were recorded,and the effective dose(ED)was calculated.SPSS 22.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results In terms of objective evaluation of image quality,at the level of the parietal skull group B had the CT value of gray matter,image noise and contrast to noise ratio(CNR)of the images higher than those of group A,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05);at the level of the posterior skull group B had the CT values of gray and white matter,image noise and air noise lower while CNR higher than those of group A,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).In terms of subjective scoring of image quality,at the levels of parietal and posterior skull group A behaved better than group B,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).In group A 5 patients had obvious motion artifacts affecting the diagnosis and the image quality scores not higher than 2,and secondary scanning had to be carried out;In group B all the patients had no obvious motion artifacts and met the diagnosis requirements.When compared with group A Group B had the CTDIvol,DLP,ED and exposure time decreased by 17.44%,17.24%,17.48%and 85.53%,respectively,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Conclusion A wide detector gains advantages over a 20 mm detector in image quality when 320-row CT is used for head CT scanning,with the diagnosis requirements satisfied.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(4):57-62]

Following extensive interdisciplinary research and development over several years,mechanical circulatory support devices(MCSD),including ventricular assist device(VAD)and total artificial heart(TAH),are now established as vital treatment options for patients with advanced heart failure.These devices have proven to be crucial in assisting or replacing a failing heart,offering patients a new lease of life and improving their quality of life.Currently,mechanical circulatory support(MCS)has become a well-recognised,long-term treatment option for patients who are unable to undergo heart transplantation due to donor organ shortages or contraindications.Given their continuous availability independent of donor organ limitations,these devices are poised to play an increasingly vital role in the future of medicine.This article aims to summarize the evolution,clinical applications,categorization,and potential complications of MCSD.

AIM To optimize the cellulase-assisted ultrasound extraction process for total flavonoids from Plumbago zeylanica L.,and to evaluate their anti-oxidant activity.METHODS With extraction time,liquid-solid ratio,cellulase addition amount,extraction temperature and ultrasonic power as influencing factors,extraction rate of total flavonoids as an evaluation index,the extraction process was optimized by response surface method on the basis of single factor test.Subsequently,The scavenging rates of extract on DPPH,ABTS and OH free radicals were determined.RESULTS The optimal conditions were determined to be 34∶1 for liquid-solid ratio,3％for cellulase addition amount,51 ℃ for extraction temperature,38 min for extraction time,and 400 W for ultrasonic power,the extraction rate of total flavonoids was(33.411±0.97)％.The IC50 values of three free radicals were 0.13,0.042,3.29 mg/mL,respectively.CONCLUSION This reasonable and reliable method can be used for the cellulase-assisted ultrasound extraction of total flavonoids from P.zeylanica with strong anti-oxidant activity.