Objective: To develop an assessment tool for risky road behavior tendencies among middle school students in western China, as well as to determine the relevant indices and their weights, so as to provide the reference for road safety prevention and control for middle school students in western China. Methods: A Delphi study was employed to construct the assessment tool for risky road behavior tendencies among middle school students in western China. In August 2023, eighteen experts in related fields such as traffic safety, education, and healthcare were invited to achieve Delphi consensus. The final indices were initially selected based on the consulting results,followed by the determination of their individual and combined weights using the analytic hierarchy process. Results: The finalized assessment tool comprised 3 primary indicators, 13 secondary indicators, and 100 tertiary indicators. The positivity coefficient of experts was 100%, accompanied by the authority coefficient 0.90. The mean importance scores for the three primary indicators varied from 4.67 to 4.78, while those for the 13 secondary indicators ranged from 4.22 to 4.89. The Kendall coefficient W was statistically significant at 0.32 ( χ 2=96.83, P <0.05). The weights assigned to the three primary indicators were:ability (0.329 4), opportunity (0.337 3), and motivation (0.333 3). The secondary indicators with the top three highest combined weights were social influence (0.027 4), knowledge (0.027 3), and skills (0.026 7). Conclusions The assessment tool for risky road behavior tendencies among middle school students in western China demonstrates high expert consensus, with balanced weighting of primary and secondary indicators. Expanded use of the assessment tool would provide the data support for intervention work.

Objective:To observe any effect of using a lower limb exoskeleton robot during ankle rehabilitation training on the walking ability of stroke survivors.Methods:Forty-five persons with cerebral apoplexy were randomly divided into a control group, a robot group and a combination group, each of 15. In addition to routine rehabilitation training 5 days a week for 3 weeks, the robot group additionally trained for 10 minutes assisted by a lower limb exoskeleton. The combined group joined that training and additionally undertook 10 minutes of ankle rehabilitation training. Before and after the experiment all of the participants were evaluated using the Fugl-Meyer lower extremity scale (FMA-LE), the Holden functional walking scale (FAC), and for walking speed and step frequency.Results:After treatment, significant improvement was observed in the average FMA-LE score, FAC grade, walking speed and step frequency in all 3 groups. The robot group′s average FMA-LE score, walking speed and step frequency were then significantly better than those of the control group ( P<0.05). Moreover, the average FMA-LE score, step speed and step frequency of the combined group after treatment were (22.67±1.63) min, (0.65±0.05) m/s and (80.80±4.28) steps /min, respectively, significantly better than the other two groups ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Using an exoskeleton robot combined with ankle rehabilitation training can significantly improve the walking of stroke survivors.

Objective:To observe any effect of bilateral high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the cerebellum on the swallowing of stroke survivors with dysphagia.Methods:Thirty-eight patients with post-stroke dysphagia were randomly divided into a cerebellar stimulation group of 20 and a sham group of 18. In addition to drug therapy and physical rehabilitation training, the cerebellar stimulation group received 500 pulses of rTMS of the cerebellum daily at 10Hz and 120% of the resting movement threshold lasting 1s at 9s intervals. The sham stimulation group was treated with sham rTMS (with the angle between the stimulation coil and the scalp at 90°). Twenty minutes later, both groups were given 30 minutes of routine swallowing training daily by the same speech therapist. The treatment was administered 5 times a week for 3 weeks. Before the treatment and afterward, both groups′ swallowing was evaluated y videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS), using a functional dysphagia scale (FDS) and using the Rosenbek penetration aspiration scale (PAS). Oral transport time, swallowing response time, pharyngeal transport time, laryngeal vestibular closure time and upper esophageal sphincter opening duration were recorded, and the changes in swallowing function and swallowing time parameters before and after the treatment were compared between the two groups.Results:Before the stimulation there were no significant differences between the two groups. Afterward, the average PAS and FDS scores of both groups had improved significantly, but with significantly greater improvement in the cerebellar stimulation group than in the sham group. Average oral transit time and swallow response time had shortened significantly, but with significantly shorter time, on average, in the cerebellar stimulation group.Conclusion:Bilateral high-frequency rTMS of the cerebellum can improve the swallowing of persons with dysphagia, and shorten their oral transit time and swallow response time.

Objective:To observe the clinical effectiveness of manual therapy based on posture decoding for patients with lower crossed syndrome (LCS).Methods:Thirty-six LCS patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, each of 18. The observation group received manual therapy based on posture decoding, while the control group was treated with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), both in 20min sessions, once a week for 4 weeks. Before the experiment, after one, two and four weeks of treatment and followed-up 4 and 8 weeks later, both groups were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and finger-floor distance (FFD). Anterior pelvic tilt angles (ASIS-PSISs), sacral slopes (SS), lumbar curve index (LCI) and surface EMG flexion-relaxation ratios (FRRs) were also recorded from both groups before and after the treatment.Results:After one and four weeks of the treatment, the average VAS, ODI, and FFD had decreased significantly in both groups, with all significantly lower in the observation group, on average. At the final follow-up, the average VAS and ODI scores of both groups were significantly lower than before the treatment, with those of the observation group significantly lower than the control group′s averages. After 4 weeks of treatment significant differences were observed also in the group′s average ASIS-PSISs, SSs and LCIs compared with before the treatment. And right after the treatment the left and right surface electromyography FRRs of the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group.Conclusion:Manual therapy based on posture decoding can significantly improve the pelvis forward angle and lumbar motion of LCS patients, relieving back pain and relaxing back muscles.

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at investigating the carrier rate of, and molecular variation in, α- and β-globin gene mutations in Hunan Province. METHODS: We recruited 25,946 individuals attending premarital screening from 42 districts and counties in all 14 cities of Hunan Province. Hematological screening was performed, and molecular parameters were assessed. RESULTS: The overall carrier rate of thalassemia was 7.1%, including 4.83% for α-thalassemia, 2.15% for β-thalassemia, and 0.12% for both α- and β-thalassemia. The highest carrier rate of thalassemia was in Yongzhou (14.57%). The most abundant genotype of α-thalassemia and β-thalassemia was -α ^3.7/αα (50.23%) and β ^IVS-II-654/β ^N (28.23%), respectively. Four α-globin mutations [CD108 (ACC>AAC), CAP +29 (G>C), Hb Agrinio and Hb Cervantes] and six β-globin mutations [CAP +8 (C>T), IVS-II-848 (C>T), -56 (G>C), beta nt-77 (G>C), codon 20/21 (-TGGA) and Hb Knossos] had not previously been identified in China. Furthermore, this study provides the first report of the carrier rates of abnormal hemoglobin variants and α-globin triplication in Hunan Province, which were 0.49% and 1.99%, respectively. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates the high complexity and diversity of thalassemia gene mutations in the Hunan population. The results should facilitate genetic counselling and the prevention of severe thalassemia in this region.
Humans ; beta-Thalassemia/genetics* ; alpha-Thalassemia/genetics* ; Hemoglobinopathies/genetics* ; China/epidemiology* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

At present, the passive simulated lung including the splint lung is an important device for hospitals and manufacturers in testing the functions of a respirator. However, the human respiration simulated by this passive simulated lung is quite different from the actual respiration. And it is not able to simulate the spontaneous breathing. Therefore, including" the device simulating respiratory muscle work "," the simulated thorax" and" the simulated airway", an active mechanical lung to simulate human pulmonary ventilation was designed:3D printed human respiratory tract was developed and connected the left and right air bags at the end of the respiratory tract to simulate the left and right lungs of the human body. By controlling a motor running to drive the crank and rod to move a piston back and forth, and to deliver an alternating pressure in the simulated pleural, and so as to generate an active respiratory airflow in airway. The experimental respiratory airflow and pressure from the active mechanical lung developed in this study are consistent with the target airflow and pressure which collected from the normal adult. The developed active mechanical lung function will be conducive to improve the quality of the respirator.
Adult ; Humans ; Lung/physiology* ; Respiration ; Pulmonary Ventilation ; Respiration, Artificial ; Ventilators, Mechanical

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominantly-inherited neurodegenerative disease, which is caused by CAG trinucleotide expansion in exon 1 of the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. Although HD is a rare disease, its monogenic nature makes it an ideal model in which to understand pathogenic mechanisms and to develop therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases. Clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is the latest technology for genome editing. Being simple to use and highly efficient, CRISPR-based genome-editing tools are rapidly gaining popularity in biomedical research and opening up new avenues for disease treatment. Here, we review the development of CRISPR-based genome-editing tools and their applications in HD research to offer a translational perspective on advancing the genome-editing technology to HD treatment.
Humans ; Gene Editing ; Huntington Disease/therapy* ; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics* ; Neurodegenerative Diseases

[Abstract] Objective To investigate the effect of hippocampal brain derived neurotrophic factor precursor (proBDNF) in cognitive dysfuction induced by social isolation. Methods Thirty C57BL / 6 J male mice (4-week old) were randomly divided into group house (GH,n = 15) and socially isolated (SI,n = 15) groups. The GH group (5 mice / cage) and SI group (1 mice / cage) were reared separately under the same conditions. The novel object recognition test and the novel place recognition test were used to evaluate the cognitive function. The expression of BDNF mRNA in the hippocampus was detected by Real-time PCR. The expression of BDNF and proBDNF in hippocampus was detected by Western blotting. Matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) were extracellular enzymes that catalyzed the transformation of proBDNF into mature BDNF. Expression of MMP-9 and tPA mRNA in the hippocampus were detected by Real-time PCR. Results Compared with the GH group, the SI group showed significantly reduced discrimination ratio in the novel object recognition test and novel place recognition test. The result of Real-time PCR showed that there was no difference in the expression of BDNF mRNA between SI group and GH group. The result of Western blotting showed that the expression level of proBDNF in the hippocampus of SI group increased significantly compared with the GH group (P<0. 01),and no difference in BDNF expression was found between the two groups; Compared with the GH group, the BDNF/ proBDNF ratio in the hippocampus of SI group decreased. In addition, the result of Real-time PCR showed that the expression level of MMP-9 and tPA mRNA in the hippocampus of SI group decreased significantly compared with the GH group. Conclusion The social isolation-induced cognitive dysfuction in mice may be related to the up-regulation of proBDNF in the hippocampus.

Traditionally, adequate tidal volume is considered to be a necessary condition to support respiratory patient breathing. But the high frequency ventilation (HFV) with a small tidal volume can still support the respiratory patient breathing well. In order to further explore the mechanisms of HFV, the pendelluft ventilation between left and right lungs was proposed in this paper. And a test platform by using two fresh sheep lungs was developed for investigating the pendelluft ventilation between the left and right lungs. Furthermore, considering the viscous resistance ( ), inertance ( ) and lung compliance ( ) in the lung, a second-order lung ventilation model was designed to inspect and evaluate the pendelluft ventilation between left lung and right lungs. On referring to both results of experiments in practice and simulation in MATLAB Simulink, between the left and right lungs, the phase difference in their airflow happens during HFV at some frequencies. And the pendelluft ventilation between the left and right lungs is resulted by the phase difference, even if the total airflow entering a whole lung is 0. Under HFV, the pendelluft ventilation between left and right lungs will benefit the lungs being more adequately ventilated, and will be improve the utilization rate of oxygen in the lungs.
Animals ; High-Frequency Ventilation ; Humans ; Lung ; physiology ; Pulmonary Gas Exchange ; Respiration, Artificial ; Sheep ; Tidal Volume

Objective To evaluate the incidence, prognosis and influencing factors of lower cranial nerve palsy after microvascular decompression (MVD) in patients with hemifacial spasm (HFS). Methods Clinical data of 1033 patients with HFS, admitted to our hospital from May 2014 to August 2016, were retrospectively analyzed. The incidence of lower cranial nerve palsy after procedure and prognosis of these patients were summarized; and influencing factors were analyzed by statistical method. Results In 1033 patients with HFS, 10 patients (0.97％) had lower cranial nerve palsy after procedure: 6 patients suffered hoarseness, 2 patients suffered dysphasia, and 2 patients were with both symptoms; the symptoms in 6 patients completely recovered within one month, 2 patients within one-3 months, and 2 patients within 3-6 months. No permanent low cranial nerve palsy occurred. There were no statistical significances in age, gender, clinical course, sides, or the types of offending vessels between the lower cranial nerve palsy patients (n=10) and the non-palsy patients (n=1023)(P>0.05). Conclusion Lower cranial nerve palsy is a rare complication after MVD, and type of responsible vessels is not a influencing factor in this complication