Objective To carry out rigid-body inverse dynamics modelling and analysis of a self-designed 6RSS parallel bio-inspired masticatory robot.Methods Firstly,the functions of kinematic variables including translational/rotational velocities and accelerations were derived for rigid-body inverse dynamics modelling.Secondly,the rigid-body inverse dynamics model was established with the Newton-Euler's law.Finally,the chewing motion trajectories of the oral health volunteers were tracked and numerical calculations were carried out in the case where the robot was subjected to a chewing reaction force.Results Numerical calculations showed that the driving torque and the constraint force of the robot peaked when the chewing reaction force was at its maximum.Conclusion The external force has a large impact on the inverse dynamics of the robot,and theoretical references are provided for the motion control and optimal design of the robot.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(3):16-22]

The present study explored the drying effect of new spiral vibration drying technology on Chinese medicinal pills with Liuwei Dihuang Pills, Zhuanggu Guanjie Pills, and Muxiang Shunqi Pills as model drugs. With the drying uniformity, drying time, energy consumption, pill split, dissolution time, and change of index components as evaluation indicators, the drying effect of spiral vibration drying technology on model drugs was evaluated and compared with traditional drying methods, such as hot air drying and vacuum drying in the oven. The dynamic changes of moisture in Liuwei Dihuang Pills with different drying time were investigated. Compared with the traditional drying methods in the oven(hot air drying and vacuum drying) at 80 ℃, the spiral vibration drying only took 80 min, shortened by 80%, with 10%-13% energy consumed. The results showed that the moisture of Liuwei Dihuang Pills was negatively related to the drying time. By virtue of multi-layer countercurrent drying and super resonant fluidization techniques, the new spiral vibration drying technology can significantly improve the drying quality of Chinese medicinal pills, improve the drying efficiency, and enhance the manufacturing capacity of Chinese medicinal pills. This study is expected to provide references for the innovation and development of new drying technology of Chinese medicinal pills.
China ; Desiccation ; Physical Therapy Modalities ; Technology ; Vibration

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a very important pathogen, especially for children.On a global scale, GAS is an important cause of morbidity and mortality.But the burden of disease caused by GAS is still unknown in China and also has not obtained enough attention.For this purpose, the expert consensus is comprehensively described in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of GAS diseases in children, covering related aspects of pneumology, infectiology, immunology, microbiology, cardiology, nephrology, critical care medicine and preventive medicine.Accordingly, the consensus document was intended to improve management strategies of GAS disease in Chinese children.

PURPOSE: Evidence suggests that the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene may be involved in the psychopathology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to investigate the effects of OXTR rs53576 genotype on PTSD symptoms introduced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study conducted among 1140 adults who had personally experienced the Wenchuan earthquake. PTSD symptoms were measured with the PTSD checklist for DSM-5. A custom-by-design 2 × 48-Plex SNPscan RESULTS: The results revealed that the rs53576 genotype could significantly predict PTSD symptoms (β = 0.055, p = 0.045). Further analysis showed that the rs53576 genotype was only significantly associated with dysphoric arousal symptoms of PTSD (β = 0.080, p = 0.005). The rs53576 genotype × earthquake exposure interaction had no significant effect on different symptom clusters (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION This study showed that the rs53576 genotype was only associated with the dysphoric arousal symptoms but not with other symptom clusters of PTSD. These findings support the role of the OXTR on the psychopathology of PTSD and help us to understand the genetic basis of PTSD.

Honokiol is the dominant biphenolic compound isolated from the Magnolia tree, and has long been considered as the active constituent of the traditional Chinese herb, 'Houpo', which is widely used to treat symptoms due to 'stagnation of qi'. Pharmacological studies have shown that honokiol possesses a wide range of bioactivities without obvious toxicity. Honokiol protects the liver, kidneys, nervous system, and cardiovascular system through reducing oxidative stress and relieving inflammation. Moreover, honokiol shows anti-diabetic property through enhancing insulin sensitivity, and anti-obese property through promoting browning of adipocytes. In vivo and in vitro studies indicated that honokiol functions as an anti-cancer agent through multiple mechanisms: inhibiting angiogenesis, promoting cell apoptosis, and regulating cell cycle. A variety of therapeutic effects of honokiol may be associated with its physiochemical properties, which make honokiol readily cross the blood brain barrier and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, with high bioavailability. In the future, more clinical researches on honokiol are needed to fully authenticate its therapeutic values.
Apoptosis ; Biphenyl Compounds/pharmacology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Lignans/pharmacology* ; Magnolia

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the influence of preoperative serum nutritional indexes and postoperative nutritional guidance on 1-year mortality in elderly patients with hip fracture. METHODS: From January 2015 to December 2017, 396 elderly patients with hip fracture were included in the study, including 267 females and 129 males, aged 68 to 80(75.48±2.62) years; the course of disease was 2 to 10 (6.12±1.35) days;all patients were followed up for 1-year, and were divided into death group and survival group according to whether the patients died or not. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of 1 year mortality. RESULTS: Duringthe follow-up, 4 patients lost contact and were treated as shedding, among which 67 patients died and 325 patients survived. The age, male patients, patients with more than three basic diseases, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ and patients with postoperative complications in the death group were significantly higher than those in the survival group (all CONCLUSION Advanced age, male and multiple underlying diseases were independent risk factors for 1-year mortality in elderly patients with hip fracture, while higher preoperative nutritional level and routine nutritional guidance were protective factors.
Aged ; Female ; Hip Fractures/surgery* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Arm ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Carboplatin ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Maintenance Chemotherapy ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Prognosis ; Quality of Life ; Recombination, Genetic ; Sample Size

Objective: The characteristics of patients with metachronous breast and ovarian malignancies and the pathogenic role of BRCA1/2 mutations remain poorly understood. We investigated these issues through a review of hospital records and nationwide Taiwanese registry data, followed by BRCA1/2 mutation analysis in hospital-based cases. Methods: We retrospectively retrieved consecutive clinical records of Taiwanese patients who presented with these malignancies to our hospital between 2001 and 2017. We also collected information from the Data Science Center of the Taiwan Cancer Registry (TCR) between 2007 and 2015. Next-generation sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification were used to identify BRCA1/2 mutations and large genomic rearrangements, respectively. When BRCA1/2 mutations were identified in index cases, pedigrees were reconstructed and genetic testing was offered to family members. Results: A total of 12,769 patients with breast cancer and 1,537 with ovarian cancer were retrieved from our hospital records. Of them, 28 had metachronous breast and ovarian malignancies. We also identified 113 cases from the TCR dataset. Eighteen hospital-based cases underwent BRCA1/2 sequencing and germline pathogenic mutations were detected in 7 patients (38.9%, 5 in BRCA1 and 2 in BRCA2). All BRCA1/2 mutation carriers had ovarian high-grade serous carcinomas. Of the 12 patients who were alive at the time of analysis, 5 were BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. All of them had family members with BRCA1/2-associated malignancies. Conclusions Our results provide pilot evidence that BRCA1/2 mutations are common in Taiwanese patients with metachronous breast and ovarian malignancies, supporting the clinical utility of genetic counseling.

Objectives: An Asian Gynecologic Oncology Group phase III randomized trial was conducted to determine whether maintenance chemotherapy could improve progression-free survival (PFS) in stages III/IV ovarian cancer. Methods: Between 2007 and 2014, 45 newly-diagnosed ovarian cancer patients were enrolled after complete remission and randomized (1:1) to arm A (4-weekly carboplatin area under the curve 4 and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin [PLD] 30 mg/m2, n=24) for 6 cycles or arm B (observation, n=21). The primary end-point was PFS. A post hoc translational study was conducted to deep sequence BRCA/homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) genes, because BRCA/HRD mutations (BRCA/HRDm) are known to be associated with better prognosis. Results: Enrollment was slow, accrual was closed when 7+ years had passed. With a medianfollow-up of 88.9 months, the median PFS was significantly better in arm A (55.5 months) than arm B (9.2 months) (hazard ratio [HR]=0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.19–0.87; p=0.020), yet the median overall survival was not significantly different in arm A (not reached) than arm B (95.1 months) (p=0.148). Overall grade 3/4 adverse events were more frequent in arm A than arm B (60.9% vs 0.0%) (p<0.001). Quality of life was generally not significantly different. Distribution of BRCA1/2m or BRCA/HRDm was not significantly biased between the two arms. Wild-type BRCAon-HRD subgroup seemed to fare better with maintenance therapy (HR=0.35; 95% CI=0.11–1.18; p=0.091). Conclusions Despite limitations in small sample size, it suggests that maintenance carboplatin-PLD chemotherapy could improve PFS in advanced ovarian cancer.

Objective: To investigate the safety, efficacy and prognosis of antegrade dissection re-entry (ADR) with the assistance of BridgePoint devices in opening coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO). Methods: A total of 87 consecutive patients, who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention using BridgePoint devices from April 2016 to December 2018 in Xijing Hospital, were included in this study. General information of the selected patients, features of CTO lesions and intraoperative parameters were recorded. Short-term outcomes including technical success rate (defined as achieving TIMI 3 blood flow with residual stenosis<30%), surgical success rate (defined as no major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occured while hospitalized), complications, and MACE during hospitalization were observed. MACE included death, recurrent myocardial infarction, target vascular reconstruction (TVR) and cardiac tamponade. Patients were followed up by outpatient or telephone visits at 30 days and 6, 12, 24 and 36 months after discharge. Results: Eighty-seven patients, aged (61±10) years with J-CTO scores (2.49±0.52) were included, and 75(86%) were male. Six patients underwent direct ADR with BridgePoint system, and all were successful. Eighty-one patients underwent rescue ADR using BridgePoint devices, and 62 of them were successful. The success rate of ADR with BridgePoint devices was 78.2% (68/87). Nine out of the 19 failed cases succeeded after the application of rescue antegrade/retrograde technique. The technical success rate was 88.5% (77/87). Coronary perforation occurred in 2 cases (2.3%), one case was treated with covered stent and the other case with tamponade was treated with pericardiocentesis. One patient developed periprocedural myocardial infarction, and one patient suffered from sudden death, and one patient had cardiac tamponade. In-hospital MACE occurred in 3 (3.4%) patients. The surgical success rate was 85.1% (74/87).The procedure time was (175±72)minutes and the amount of contrast used was (449±155)ml. During a follow-up of 17(11, 26) months, the incidence of MACE within 30 days was 4.7% (4/86), while 10.5% (9/86) within 6 months, 17.4% (15/86) within 17 months. Conclusion: Opening CTO with the assistance of BridgePoint devices is feasible and safe, with high success rate and satisfactory outcome.
Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Occlusion ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome