Objective To propose a distribution feature extraction algorithm based on wavelet packet coefficients to reconstruct the signal energy sequence for effectively identifying the pathological features of heart sounds,thereby realizing the early screening of heart diseases.Methods The original heart sound signal was decomposed into 10 layers using wavelet packet decomposition algorithm.After obtaining the wavelet packet coefficients of each layer,each coefficient was reconstructed,and the energy of the reconstructed signal was calculated and arranged in the original order to form the energy sequence.The distribution characteristics of the energy sequence of the reconstructed signals at each layer were analyzed,and distribution features were taken as classification features.Support vector machine,K-nearest neighbor,and decision tree were used to classify and recognize normal heart sounds and the heart sound signals of various diseases.Results The combination of the distribution features of the reconstructed signal energy sequence and decision tree classifier had an accuracy of 93.6%for classifying 5 types of heart sounds on the public dataset,and the accuracy was 95.6%for identifying normal heart sounds and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy heart sounds.Conclusion The proposed algorithm can extract the effective pathological information of abnormal heart sounds,providing a reference for clinical cardiac auscultation.

AIM:To investigate the therapeutic effect of enteric-coated sustained-release new dosage form of tadalafil on mice with renal fibrosis caused by unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO).METHODS:Eight-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups randomly:sham group,UUO group,UUO+new dosage form of tadalafil(1 mg/kg)group and UUO+original patented drug of tadalafil(5 mg/kg)group.Surgery was performed to create a mouse UUO model,and therapeutic drugs were administered intragastrically for 7 d after modeling.A fully automated biochemi-cal analyzer was used to detect serum creatinine(SCr)levels of each group.Through renal histopathological staining(HE staining,Masson trichrome staining,and immunohistochemistry staining)and Western blot,we assessed the therapeutic effect of enteric-coated sustained-release new dosage forms of tadalafil on kidney fibrosis in mice,as well as its effect on the expression and distribution of fibronectin(FN)and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA).RESULTS:Compared with sham group,the SCr levels were significantly increased in mice with renal fibrosis,and renal tubules were dilated and in-filtrated with inflammation.Moreover,the expressions of FN and α-SMA were increased significantly(P<0.05).New dosage form and the original patented drug tadalafil both significantly reduced SCr levels in mice with renal fibrosis,im-proved the renal tissue structure on the affected side,reduced collagen fiber deposition,and inhibited FN and α-SMA ex-pression(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Enteric-coated sustained-release new dosage form of tadalafil reduces the deposit of extracellular matrix in kidney interstitial tissue and attenuates fibrosis and renal function damage caused by ureteral ob-struction.New dosage form of tadalafil has significant advantages over the original patented drug because the low dose and high effectiveness.

Objective When the competition risk exists,the method based on restricted mean time lost(RMTL)has fewer model assumptions and more intuitive explanation.The intergroup effect size is RMTL difference(RMTLd).The corresponding hypothesis test is based on large samples,but the performance effect under small samples is unknown.Methods In this study,we explore the performance of RMTLd under small samples,and develop several variable conversion methods of RMTL to improve the statistical performance,and evaluate their type I error and power in different situations by Monte-Carlo simulation.Results In the case of small samples,the original method of RMTLd test has the phenomenon of type I error expansion,while the logic transformation method,which is one of the four transformation methods,can maintain good statistical performance.Conclusion When analyzing small sample competitive risk data,it is recommended to use the logical transformation of RMTL for statistical analysis.

Male ; Humans ; Varicocele/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Abdomen ; Vascular Surgical Procedures ; Microsurgery

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of dehydrocostus lactone （DL） on the proliferation， apoptosis， and autophagy of human lung cancer cell A549 and to elucidate its related mechanism. MethodThe effect of DL with different concentrations （0， 5， 10， 15， 20， 25 μmol·L^-1） on the proliferation of human lung cancer A549 cells was investigated by cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8）， and its impact on the clonogenic ability of A549 cells was studied by cell clonogenic assay. The concentrations 10， 20 μmol·L^-1 were selected as DL low-dose group and high-dose group. Hoechst 33258 staining and western blot were used to observe the effect of DL on apoptosis of A549 cells. Autolysosomes were detected by acridine orange staining， and the expression level of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 （LC3） was determined by immunofluorescence and western blot. In addition， the effects of DL in combination with autophagy inhibitors bafilomycin A1 （BAF-A1） or 3-methyladenine （3-MA） on the autophagy of A549 cells was checked by CCK-8 assay. Finally， the role of DL in the regulation of A549 cell signaling pathway was explored by Western blot. ResultCompared with the conditions in the control group， the survival rate of A549 cells in the DL groups （10， 15， 20， 25 μmol·L^-1） was decreased （P<0.01）， and 5 μmol·L^-1 DL could inhibited the formation of A549 clone cells （P<0.01）， indicating that DL could inhibit the proliferation of human lung cancer A549 cells. The number of apoptotic cells was higher in both DL low-dose and high-dose groups than that in the control group， and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins poly （ADP ribose） polymerase （PARP） and B lymphocytoma-2 （Bcl-2）-associated X protein （Bax） were up-regulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the expression of Bcl-2 was down-regulated （P<0.01） in DL high-dose group. The acridine orange staining showed that the orange fluorescence in the DL high-dose group was enhanced compared with that in the control group， indicating that DL could dramatically promote the formation of autolysosomes. Moreover， 20 μmol·L^-1 DL could increase the orange fluorescent particles of LC3 and up-regulated the expression level of LC3 Ⅱ （P<0.01）. After addition of autophagy inhibitors， the sensitivity of A549 cells to the effects of DL was attenuated （P<0.01）， which suggested that autophagy was involved in DL-induced A549 cell death. Compared with the control group， DL high-dose group had increased expression of autophagy-related protein 3 （Atg3） and autophagy-related protein 5 （Atg5） while reduced phosphorylation levels of protein kinase B （Akt）， mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionDL could activate apoptosis and autophagy to inhibit the proliferation and clonogenic ability of A549 cells via suppressing Akt/mTOR/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Humans ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Motor Cortex ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective: To investigate the neural connections between Shenmen (HT7)-heart and the brain by observing the tracing viruses co-labeled brain nuclear groups after injection of the pseudorabies viruses (PRV), the reverse transsynaptic virus tracer carrying different fluorescent protein genes, into the myocardium and Shenmen (HT7) point, respectively.Methods: Pseudorabies virus 531 (PRV531) carrying the green fluorescent protein gene and pseudorabies virus 724 (PRV724) carrying the red fluorescent protein gene were injected into the left ventricular wall and Shenmen (HT7) point area of the left forelimb of six C57BL/6 mice, respectively. After 120 h, whole brain tissue was extracted under 4％ paraformaldehyde perfusion to prepare brain sections. Neuronal co-labeling with the tracing viruses was observed under fluorescence microscopy. Results: Co-labeled signals from the mouse ventricular wall and Shenmen (HT7) point region were found at all levels of the mouse central nervous areas, such as the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata. The number of co-labeled neurons was higher in the primary motor area, the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, the subceruleus nucleus, and the paramedian reticular nucleus. Conclusion: There is a neural connection between Shenmen (HT7), the heart, and the brain, which may be most closely related to the autonomic nervous system.

Influenza is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the influenza viruses. Older people, infants and people with underlying medical conditions could have a higher risk of severe influenza symptoms and complications. The co-infection of Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) with influenza viruses could lead to the complication of prevention, diagnosis, control, treatment, and recovery of COVID-19. Influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine overlapped in target populations, vaccination time, and inoculation units. Although there was insufficient evidence on the immunogenicity and safety of co-administration of influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine, World Health Organization and some countries recommended co-administration of inactivated influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine. This review summarized domestic and international vaccination policies and research progress, and put forward corresponding suggestions in order to provide scientific support for the formulation of vaccination strategy on seasonal influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine.
Aged ; COVID-19 ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; China ; Humans ; Infant ; Influenza Vaccines ; Influenza, Human/prevention & control* ; Pandemics/prevention & control* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Seasons ; Vaccination

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate cancer-specific survival (CSS) and associated risk factors in elderly gastric cancer (EGC) patients. SUBJECTS/METHODS: EGC patients (≥ 70 yrs) who underwent curative gastrectomy between January 2013 and December 2017 at our hospital were included. Clinicopathologic characteristics and survival data were collected. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to extract the best cutoff point for body mass index (BMI). A Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the risk factors for CSS. RESULTS: In total, 290 EGC patients were included, with a median age of 74.7 yrs. The median follow-up time was 31 (1–77) mon. The postoperative 1-yr, 3-yr and 5-yr CSS rates were 93.7%, 75.9% and 65.1%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed risk factors for CSS, including age (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.15), intensive care unit (ICU) admission (HR = 1.73; 95% CI, 1.08–2.79), nutritional risk screening (NRS 2002) score ≥ 5 (HR = 2.33; 95% CI, 1.49–3.75), and preoperative prognostic nutrition index score < 45 (HR = 2.06; 95% CI, 1.27–3.33). The ROC curve showed that the best BMI cutoff value was 20.6 kg/m 2 . Multivariate analysis indicated that a BMI ≤ 20.6 kg/m 2 (HR = 2.30; 95% CI, 1.36–3.87), ICU admission (HR = 1.97; 95% CI, 1.17–3.30) and TNM stage (stage II: HR = 5.56; 95% CI, 1.59–19.43; stage III: HR = 16.20; 95% CI, 4.99–52.59) were significantly associated with CSS. CONCLUSIONS Low BMI (≤ 20.6 kg/m2 ), ICU admission and advanced pathological TNM stages (II and III) are independent risk factors for CSS in EGC patients after curative gastrectomy. Nutrition support, better perioperative management and early diagnosis would be helpful for better survival.

The implantation of biventricular assist device (BiVAD) is more challenging than that of left ventricular assist device for the interaction in the process of multiple input and output. Besides, ventricular assist device (VAD) often runs in constant speed (CS) mode in clinical use and thus BiVAD also faces the problems of low pulsation and imbalance of blood volume between systemic circulation and pulmonary circulation. In this paper, a delay assist mode for a VAD by shortening the support time of VAD was put forward. Then, the effect of the delay mode on cardiac output, pulsation and the function of the aortic valve was observed by numerical method and the rules of hemodynamics were revealed. The research showed that compared with VAD supported in CS mode, the VAD using delay mode in systolic and diastolic period proposed in this paper could meet the demand of cardiac output perfusion and restore the function of the arterial valves. The open ratio of aortic valve (AV) and pulmonary valve (PV) increased with the time set in delay mode, and the blood through the AV/PV helped to balance the left and the right cardiac volume. Besides, delay mode also improved the pulsation index of arterial blood flow, which is conducive to the recovery of the ventricular pulse function of patients.
Cardiovascular System ; Diastole ; Heart Failure ; Heart Rate ; Heart-Assist Devices ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Models, Cardiovascular