Objective To investigate the current status,diagnostic difficulties,and the necessity of formulating a consensus on several issues of cerebrovascular ultrasound examination in China.Methods A network questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate several problems of cerebrovascular ultrasound and the needs of expert consensus among practitioners of transcranial Doppler(TCD)ultrasound and transcranial color coded Doppler(TCCD)ultrasound in medical institutions.The questionnaire covered the basic information of the respondent group,including the region where the medical institution was located(Q1),the level of the medical institution(Q2),the scope of practice of TCD or TCCD practitioners(Q3),title(Q4);the assessment mode of cerebrovascular and cervical vascular(Q5);the general demand for expert consensus(Q6)and TCD diagnosis-related issues(Q7-Q17).There were three dimensions of TCD diagnosis-related issues(diagnostic criteria,multi-dimensional comprehensive assessment,and dynamic monitoring during the perioperative period of angioplasty),with a total of 11 items(Q7-Q17:intracranial artery stenosis or occlusion,vascular development anomalies,side branch circulation judgment,ultrasound dynamic monitoring after angioplasty,cerebral vasospasm,contrast-enhanced TCD examination,etc.).At the same time,open-ended questions were also set up:the most important content to be improved in cerebrovascular ultrasound(Q18).The reliability analysis of the questionnaire was used to assess the reliability,with Cronbach's α coefficient ≥0.7 considered as good reliability.The validity evaluation was conducted by factor analysis.The comparison of the demand for each item under different conditions was conducted by x2 test,and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare ranked data among different groups.Results A total of 1 395 complete and valid questionnaires were collected,involving TCD or TCCD practitioners from 31 provinces,autonomous regions,and municipalities(there was no response from the Xizang Autonomous Region),which had a certain representativeness.Survey reliability evaluation:Cronbach's α coefficient=0.917(F=132.702,P＜0.01).Factor analysis,KOM=0.930(x2=8 478.844,P＜0.01),the cumulative contribution rate was 70.600％when taking into account three factors.Among the respondents,the proportion of those from tertiary-level grade A hospitals was the highest(64.2％[896/1 395]);the distribution of titles was dominated by those of attending physicians(48.5％[676/1 395]),followed by senior titles(37.2％[519/1 395]);among the respondents,66.6％(929/1 395)said they urgently needed expert consensus,while 32.7％(456/1 395)said they needed to improve existing standards.There were significant differences in the needs for expert consensus and each item across different regions,professional titles and evaluation models(all P＜0.05).Conclusions The questionnaire have high reliability and validity.There is an urgent need for expert consensus on several issues related to cerebrovascular ultrasound among the respondents.The establishment of expert consensus would contribute to standardized and precise evaluation system,thereby promoting quality control management and standardization of cerebrovascular ultrasound practices.

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected with Delta variant, so as to provide further references for clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods:A real-world study was conducted to analyze the characteristics of 166 COVID-19 patients infected with Delta variant at Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University.Results:The study enrolled 5 asymptomatic cases, 123 non-severe cases (mild and moderate type), and 38 severe cases (severe and critical type). Among these patients, 69 (41.6%) were male and 97 (58.4%) were female, with a mean age of 47.0±23.5 years. Thirty-nine cases (23.5%) had received 1 or 2 doses of inactivated vaccine. The incidence of severe COVID-19 cases was 7.7% in 2-doses vaccinated patients, which was lower than that of 11.5% in 1-dose and 26.8% in unvaccinated patients. The proportion of severe cases in 2 dose-vaccinated patients was 7.7%, which was lower than that of 11.5% in 1-dose vaccinated patients and 26.8% in unvaccinated patients, but the difference was not significant ( P>0.05). The most common clinical symptom was fever (134 cases, 83.2%), and 39.1% of cases presented with high-grade fever (≥39 °C); other symptoms were cough, sputum, fatigue, and xerostomia. The proportion of fever in severe cases was significantly higher than that of non-severe cases (97.4% vs. 76.4%, P<0.01). Similarly, the proportion of severe cases with high peak temperature (≥39 ℃) () was also higher than that of non-severe cases (65.8% vs. 30.9%, P<0.01). The median minimal Cycle threshold (Ct) values of viral nucleic acid N gene and ORFlab gene were 20.3 and 21.5, respectively, and the minimum Ct values were 11.9 and 13.5, respectively. Within 48 h of admission, 9.0% of cases presented with decreased white blood cell counts, and 52.4% with decreased lymphocyte counts. The proportions of increased C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, interleukin 6, and interleukin 10 were 32.5%, 57.4%, 65.3%, and 35.7%, respectively. The proportions of elevated C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A and interleukin-6 in severe cases were significantly higher than those in non-severe cases ( P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that older age and higher peak temperature were associated with a higher likelihood of severe cases ( OR>3, 95% CI: 2-7, P<0.01). In terms of treatment, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was used in 97.6% of non-severe cases and 100% in severe cases. Other treatments included respiratory and nutritional support, immunotherapy (such as neutralizing antibodies and plasma of recovered patients). The median times from admission to progression to severe cases, of fever clearance, and of nucleic acid conversion were 5 days, 6 days and 19 days, respectively. No deaths were reported within 28 days. Conclusions:The symptoms of Delta variant infection in Guangzhou are characterized by a high proportion of fever, high peak temperature, long duration of fever, high viral load, a long time to nucleic acid conversion, and a high incidence of severe cases. The severe cases exhibit a higher percentage of elderly patients, a longer duration of fever and have a higher fever rate and a higher hyperthermia rate than non-severe cases. Age and hyperthermia are independent risk factors for progression to severe disease. The combination of TCM and Western medicine can control the progression of the disease effectively.

In order to improve the storage and transmission efficiency of dynamic photoplethysmography (PPG) signals in the detection process and reduce the redundancy of signals, the modified adaptive matching pursuit (MAMP) algorithm was proposed according to the sparsity of the PPG signal. The proposed algorithm which is based on reconstruction method of sparse adaptive matching pursuit (SAMP), could improve the accuracy of the sparsity estimation of signals by using both variable step size and the double threshold conditions. After experiments on the simulated and the actual PPG signals, the results show that the modified algorithm could estimate the sparsity of signals accurately and quickly, and had good anti-noise performance. Contrasting with SAMP and orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP), the reconstruction speed of the algorithm was faster and the accuracy was high.
Algorithms ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Photoplethysmography

In order to derive dynamic pulse rate variability (DPRV) signal from dynamic pulse signal in real time, a method for extracting DPRV signal was proposed and a portable mobile monitoring system was designed. The system consists of a front end for collecting and wireless sending pulse signal and a mobile terminal. The proposed method is employed to extract DPRV from dynamic pulse signal in mobile terminal, and the DPRV signal is analyzed both in the time domain and the frequency domain and also with non-linear method in real time. The results show that the proposed method can accurately derive DPRV signal in real time, the system can be used for processing and analyzing DPRV signal in real time.
Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate ; Monitoring, Physiologic ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

In order to derive dynamic pulse rate variability (DPRV) signal from dynamic pulse signal in real time, a method for extracting DPRV signal was proposed and a portable mobile monitoring system was designed. The system consists of a front end for colecting and wireless sending pulse signal and a mobile terminal. The proposed method is employed to extract DPRV from dynamic pulse signal in mobile terminal, and the DPRV signal is analyzed both in the time domain and the frequency domain and also with non-linear method in real time. The results show that the proposed method can accurately derive DPRV signal in real time, the system can be used for processing and analyzing DPRV signal in real time.

Objective To investigate publication of papers by nursing staff in a TCM hospital and to find out the problems as well as countermeasures.Method A retrospective analysis about authors,education,academictitle,length of service and age was done to investigate the classes of published papers from 2008 to 2012.Results The academic publication by the nurses from 2008 to 2012 was increased.Among these articles,the TCM nursing techniques took up the largest ratio,which accounted for 29.12%. There were significant differences in ages,length of service and educational background in authors(P<0.05).Conclusions Nurses’ awareness and capabilities of publishing academic papers needs enhancement as well as training.It may be significant to strengthen their incentives in scientific research by enforcing encouraging policies.

To select appropriate descriptors for responses of the Health Scale of Traditional Chinese Medicine (HSTCM).

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a genetically novel coronavirus that is caused by acute infectious disease. It is not yet clear for the immunology function of SARS patients in their convalescent stage.OBJECTIVE: To study the effects on T lymphocyte, and the titer profiling of 24 T cell receptor (TCR) V β subfamilies expressions in SARS convalescent patients.DESIGN: A self-control observation.SETTING: Central Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-six cured SARS patients who received treatment in the Second Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January and April 2003. All the patients corresponded to "clinical diagnostic criteria of atypical pneumonia", " diagnostic criteria of severe atypical pneumonia and discharge criteria" and "clinical diagnostic criteria and discharge criteria of severe acute respiratory syndrome". The involved patients, 30 male and 46 female, averaged (32±11 (years old. Another 10 subjects who simultaneously received health examination in the same hospital, 5 male and 5 female, aged (32±7(years, were involved in the study. Informed consents of detected items were obtained from all the subjects.METHODS：①Detecting the expression of 24 T cell receptor(TCR)V β subfamilies in SARS convalescent patients：Peripheral blood(2 mL) was collected from the healthy convalescent subjects,and EDTA-K2 was used as anticoagulant．In the flow cytometry delection tubes．10 μL various fluorescein-labeled mAb，such as anti-CD3,anti-CD4，anti-CD8,anti-CD25，anti-CD28，anti-HLA-DR，anti-CD3mAb conjugated with PC5，TCR Vβ1(PE+FITC)．Vβ2(PE+FITC)。Vβ3 (FITC)，Vβ4(PE+FITC)，Vβ5．1(PE+FITC),Vβ5．2(PE),Vβ5．3(PE)，Vβ7．1(PE+FITC)，Vβ7．2(FITC),Vβ8(FITC),Vβ9 (PE)，Vβ11(PE)，Vβ12(FITC)，Vβ13．1(PE),Vβ13．2(PE),Vβ13．6(PE+FITC)，Vβ14(FITC),Vβ16(FITC),Vβ17 (PE+FITC)，Vβ18(PE)，Vβ20(FITC)，Vβ21．3(FITC),Vβ22(PE+FITC)and Vβ23(PE)，was added in special flow tubes,and then 50 μL whole blood was added．The mixed solution was incubated away from light for 15 minutes．After erythrocytolysin being added，mixed solution was washed．Finally．cell deposit was dissolved in 300 μl phosphate buffer solution (PBS)．Coulter ESP flow cytometer was used for detection．For the analysis of TCR expression,an electronic gate was set on these cells and at least 5000 events per sample were collected．Three-color cytofluodmetric analysis was performed using a Coulter ESP flow cytometer．②Detecting the T cell subset,activated T and B cells,and the percentage of Ts and Tc cells：5000 cells were collected and used to calculate the expression of T cells (CD3,CD4 and CD8),the activated T and B cells(CD3+／CD25+,CD3+/HLA-DR+ and CD3-／HLA-DR+),as well as the percentage of Ts and Tc cells by Coulter ESP flow cytometer and its software．MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES：①The change of T cell subset(CD3，CD4，and CD8)from SARS convalescent patients．②The change of activated T and B cells(CD3+／CD25+，CD3+／HLA-DR+ and CD3-／HLA-DR+)．③The percentage of Ts and Tc cells(CD8+／CD28+，CD8+/CD28-)in convalescent patients．④Analysis of the 24 TCR V β subfamilies from SARS patients in convalescence．RESULTS：All data were explored to analyze the expression profiling of 24 TCR Vβ subfamilies,the data from 74 SARSpatients and 10 healthy controls were explored to other result analysis．①The detecting results of T celI subset：The percentage of CD4+T cell mean value was lower than the reference value[(33．33±6．64)％ vs．(43±9)％，P＜0．01]．The percentage of CD8+T cell mean value was higher than the refefence value[(34．07±6．40)％ vs．(30±9)％,P＜0．01]．② The expression of activated T and B cells：Percentage of HLA-DR+ T and B cell was Increased while the percentage of CD25+ T-cell was decreased compared with reference values．In 53 out of 74 patients,the percentage of CD25+ T cells was lower than the reference value,and 64 patients had a lower percentage in CD3+/CD25+ T cells．The percentages of CD3+/HLA-DR+ and CD3-／HLA-DR+ cells were higher than the normal reference value．T cells expressing higher CD3+／HLA-DR+ were found in 36 patients，and T cells expressing higher CD3-/HLA-DR+ were found in 30 patients．③The ratios of Ts and Tc cells：The percentage of Ts cells which expressed CD8+／CD28- was increased compared with reference value [(28．75±7．31)％ vs．(15．99±5．1)％，P＜0．01],while the percentage of Tc cells which expressed CD8+／CD28+ was decreased [(5．99±3．60)％ vs．(13．2±4．1)％，P＜0．01]．Thirty-nine patients were found to possess the lower Tc cells and forty-eight patients were found to possess the higher Ts cells．The ratios of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were in the normal reference value．④24 TCR Vβ subfamilies expressions in T cells：It was noteworthy that Vβ14 had a highest percentage in all 24 Subfamilies,and followed by Vβ 5．3,and Vβ 23 in the convalescent patients．The percentage of Vβ 14 was the highest in the normal controls,which was consistent with the results of SARS patients．But the other subfamilies expression patterns were different．There were significant differences between Vβ1,Vβ5．2,Vβ5．3,Vβ7．2，Vβ9，Vβ11,Vβ13．1,Vv13．2，Vβ17,Vβ18，Vβ22 and Vβ23．In the convalescent period，each TCR Vβ expression of SARS patients was higher than that of controls(P＜0．05-0．01)．CONCLUSION:In SARS convalescent patients,the increased CD8+CD28- T cell may elevate CD8+ T cell number;Meanwhile.the reduced CD3+ and CD4+ T cell number may be corresponding to the increased Ts cell number．For some inhibiting factor secreted by Ts cell was also increased．The usage pattern of 24 TCR Vβ subfamilies in SARS patients is different from that of control group．The increase of percentage of CD3+／HLA-DR+ and CD3-／HLA-DR+ T cell may be related to the late response of activated T and B cells.

0.05). Conclusion The quality of life of SARS patients was not high one month after discharged. The patients needed the further rehabilitation treatment including restoration of function and appropriate psychological treatment.

[Objective] The disease distribution of in-patients in different age groups from 1993 to 2002 in respiratory disease department of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was analyzed to provide evidence for clinical treatment. [ Methods ] A retrospective research was adopted. Fourteen categories of diseases and 3 age groups were classified according to the case history recorded from 1993 to 2002 in respiratory disease department of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of TCM. Reasons for hospitalization of the in-patients in different age groups during 10 years were analyzed by descriptive analysis and Vilfredo Pareto analysis. [Results] The principal and secondary reasons for hospitalization were respiratory tract infection, pulmonary tuberculosis and pneumothorax in the young age group while in the old age group, they were chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema, chronic pulmonary heart disease and lung cancer. [Conclusion] The focus of daily medical treatment in the department of respiratory disease should vary with the age groups and disease categories, and the control of infectious diseases should be generally strengthened.