OBJECTIVE: To develop a few-shot learning (FSL) approach for classifying optical coherence tomography (OCT) images in patients with inherited retinal disorders (IRDs). METHODS: In this study, an FSL model based on a student-teacher learning framework was designed to classify images. 2,317 images from 189 participants were included. Of these, 1,126 images revealed IRDs, 533 were normal samples, and 658 were control samples. RESULTS: The FSL model achieved a total accuracy of 0.974-0.983, total sensitivity of 0.934-0.957, total specificity of 0.984-0.990, and total F1 score of 0.935-0.957, which were superior to the total accuracy of the baseline model of 0.943-0.954, total sensitivity of 0.866-0.886, total specificity of 0.962-0.971, and total F1 score of 0.859-0.885. The performance of most subclassifications also exhibited advantages. Moreover, the FSL model had a higher area under curves (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves in most subclassifications. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the effective use of the FSL model for the classification of OCT images from patients with IRDs, normal, and control participants with a smaller volume of data. The general principle and similar network architectures can also be applied to other retinal diseases with a low prevalence.
Humans ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Deep Learning ; Retinal Diseases/diagnostic imaging* ; Retina/diagnostic imaging* ; ROC Curve

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of thumb-tack needles based on "Biaoben acupoint compatibility" on sequela symptoms, mental state and pulmonary ventilation function in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during recovery period. METHODS: Fifty cases of COVID-19 during recovery period were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 25 cases in each group. The patients in the observation group were treated with thumb-tack needles at Guanyuan (CV 4), Zusanli (ST 36) and Taiyuan (LU 9). The patients in the control group were treated with sham thumb-tack needles at identical acupoints as the observation group. The treatment in the two groups was given once a day, 7-day treatment was taken as a course of treatment, and totally two courses of treatment were given. The TCM symptom score, Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) score, Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) score, pulmonary function (forced vital capacity [FVC], forced expiratory volume in the first second [FEV1], peak expiratory flow [PEF]), the severity of pulmonary ventilation dysfunction and pulmonary imaging changes in the two groups were compared before and after treatment. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, the total scores and each item scores of TCM symptom scale, HAMA scores and HAMD scores in the two groups were reduced after treatment (P<0.05). Except for the symptom scores of dry throat and dry stool, the total score and each item score of TCM symptom scale, HAMA score and HAMD score in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Compared before treatment, FVC, FEV1 and PEF in the two groups were increased after treatment (P<0.05), and those in the observation group were higher than the control group (P<0.05). The severity of pulmonary ventilation dysfunction in the two groups was reduced after treatment (P<0.05), and the severity in the observation group was better than that in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the lung shadow area in the two groups was decreased (P<0.05), and that in the observation group was smaller than the control group (P<0.05). The improvement of imaging change in the observation group was better than that in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The thumb-tack needles based on "Biaoben acupoint compatibility" could significantly reduce the sequela symptoms, anxiety and depression in patients with COVID-19 during recovery stage, and improve the pulmonary ventilation function.
Acupuncture Points ; Anxiety/etiology* ; COVID-19/therapy* ; Depression/etiology* ; Humans ; Needles ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Thumb

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical therapeutic effect of filiform-fire needling of "Biaoben acupoint combination" on the sequelae of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the recovery period. METHODS: A total of 33 patients with COVID-19 during the recovery period were treated with filiform-fire needling at the acupoints of Mingmen (GV 4), Shenzhu (GV 12), Gaohuang (BL 43), Zusanli (ST 36) and Shangjuxu (ST 37), etc., once every other day, 3 times a week, and 3 times was one course of treatment and totally 2 courses of treatment were required. The TCM symptom, Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) scores, pulmonary function indexes (forced vital capacity [FVC], forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV1], peak expiratory flow [PEF]) and chest CT imaging change were observed before and after treatment, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated. RESULTS: After treatment, the scores of TCM symptom, HAMA and HAMD were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), and the levels of FVC, FEV1 and PEF were increased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), and the recovery rate of 22 patients with pulmonary ventilation dysfunction was 86.4% (19/22). After treatment, the lung shadow area was smaller than that before treatment (P<0.05). The effective rate of 25 patients with lung CT abnormalities was 84.0% (21/25). After treatment, 23 cases were cured, 5 cases were markedly effective, 4 cases were effective, 1 case was ineffective, the cured and markedly effective rate was 84.8%. CONCLUSION The filiform-fire needling of "Biaoben acupoint combination" could significantly reduce the sequelae of cough, fatigue, chest tightness, etc. and mental symptoms such as anxiety and depression in patients with COVID-19 during the recovery period, and promote inflammatory exudation absorption of pulmonary lesion and improve lung ventilation function.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; COVID-19/therapy* ; Humans ; Lung ; Vascular Surgical Procedures

ObjectiveTo retrospectively analyze the clinical data of 52 patients with coronavirus disease-2019 （COVID-19） and explore the clinical efficacy of modified Sanxiaoyin on mild/moderate COVID-19 patients. MethodThe propensity score matching method was used to collect the clinical data of mild or moderate COVID-19 patients enrolled in the designated hospital of the Second Hospital of Jingzhou from December 2019 to May 2020. A total of 26 eligible patients who were treated with modified Sanxiaoyin were included in the observation group， and the 26 patients treated with conventional method were the regarded as the control. The disappearance of clinical symptoms， disappearance time of main symptoms， efficacy on traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptoms， hospitalization duration， laboratory test indicators， and CT imaging changes in the two groups were compared. ResultThe general data in the two groups were insignificantly different and thus they were comparable. After 7 days of treatment， the disappearance rate of fever， cough， fatigue， dry throat， anorexia， poor mental state， and poor sleep quality in the observation group was higher than that in the control group （P<0.05）， and the difference in the disappearance rate of expectoration and chest distress was insignificant. For the cases with the disappearance of symptoms， the main symptoms （fever， cough， fatigue， dry throat， anorexia， chest distress） disappeared earlier in the observation group than in the control group （P<0.01）. After 7 days of treatment， the scores of the TCM symptom scale of both groups decreased （P<0.01）， and the decrease of the observation group was larger that of the control group （P<0.01）. All patients in the two groups were cured and discharged. The average hospitalization duration in the observation group ［（12.79±2.68） d］ was shorter than that in the control group ［（15.27±3.11） d］ （P<0.01）. The effective rate in the observation group （92.31%， 24/26） was higher than that in the control group （76.92%， 20/26） . After 7 days of treatment， the lymphocyte （LYM） count increased （P<0.05）， and white blood cell （WBC） count and neutrophil （NEUT） count decreased insignificantly in the two groups. Moreover， levels of C-reactive protein （CRP）， erythrocyte sedimentation rate （ESR）， and procalcitonin （PCT） reduced in the two groups after treatment （P<0.01） and the reduction in the observation group was larger than that in the control group （P<0.01）. Through 7 days of treatment， the total effective rate on pulmonary shadow in the observation group （90.00%， 18/20） was higher than that in the control group （77.27%， 17/22） （P>0.05） and the improvement of lung shadow in the observation group was better than that in the control group （P<0.01）. ConclusionModified Sanxiaoyin can significantly alleviate fever， cough， fatigue， anorexia， chest distress， poor sleep quality， and other symptoms of patients with mild or moderate COVID-19， improve biochemical indicators， and promote the recovery of lung function. This paper provides clinical evidence for the application of modified Sanxiaoyin in the treatment of mild or moderate COVID-19.

The nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported to have a high ability of liquid-liquid phase separation, which enables its incorporation into stress granules (SGs) of host cells. However, whether SG invasion by N protein occurs in the scenario of SARS-CoV-2 infection is unknow, neither do we know its consequence. Here, we used SARS-CoV-2 to infect mammalian cells and observed the incorporation of N protein into SGs, which resulted in markedly impaired self-disassembly but stimulated cell cellular clearance of SGs. NMR experiments further showed that N protein binds to the SG-related amyloid proteins via non-specific transient interactions, which not only expedites the phase transition of these proteins to aberrant amyloid aggregation in vitro, but also promotes the aggregation of FUS with ALS-associated P525L mutation in cells. In addition, we found that ACE2 is not necessary for the infection of SARS-CoV-2 to mammalian cells. Our work indicates that SARS-CoV-2 infection can impair the disassembly of host SGs and promote the aggregation of SG-related amyloid proteins, which may lead to an increased risk of neurodegeneration.
Amyloidogenic Proteins/metabolism* ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/genetics* ; Animals ; COVID-19 ; Cytoplasmic Granules/metabolism* ; Mammals ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Stress Granules

The active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine have been reported to possess significant pharmacological activity and played an important role in clinical treatments. However, lots of the active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine suffer from disadvantages such as low solubility, high melting point and low stability that results in low bioavailability and limit its clinical application. Crystal structure plays an important role in improving physicochemical properties and efficacy of the active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine. This review concludes the research advances of several crystal forms used in the active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine in terms of polymorph, cocrystal, amorphous/coamorphous and nanocrystal. And the effects of crystal forms on the physicochemical properties and efficacy of the active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine were reviewed. This research may be useful for the formulation preparation and development of the active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine.

Background:Traditional tissue engineering methods to fabricate urinary tract patch have some drawbacks such as compromised cell viability and uneven cell distribution within scaffold.In this study,we combined three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting and tissue engineering method to form a tissue-engineered urinary tract patch,which could be employed for the application on Beagles urinary tract defect mode to verify its effectiveness on urinary tract reconstruction.Methods:Human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) were dropped into smooth muscle differentiation medium to generate induced microtissues (ID-MTs),flow cytometry was utilized to detect the positive percentage for CD44,CD105,CD45,and CD34 of hADSCs.Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and tumor necrosis factor-stimulated gene-6 (TSG-6) in hADSCs and MTs were identified by Western blotting.Then the ID-MTs were employed for 3D bioprinting.The bioprinted structure was encapsulated by transplantation into the subcutaneous tissue of nude mice for 1 week.After retrieval of the encapsulated structure,hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome staining were performed to demonstrate the morphology and reveal collagen and smooth muscle fibers,integral optical density (IOD) and area of interest were calculated for further semiquantitative analysis.Immunofluorescent double staining of CD31 and a-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were used to reveal vascularization of the encapsulated structure.Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2),α-SMA,and smoothelin of the MTs in the implanted structure.Afterward,the encapsulated structure was seeded with human urothelial cells.Immunofluorescent staining of cytokeradns AE1/AE3 was applied to inspect the morphology of seeded encapsulated structure.Results:The semi-quantitative assay showed that the relative protein expression of VEGFA was 0.355 ± 0.038 in the hADSCs vs.0.649 ± 0.150 in the MTs (t--3.291,P =0.030),while TSG-6 expression was 0.492 ± 0.092 in the hADSCs vs.1.256 ± 0.401 in the MTs (t =3.216,P =0.032).The semi-quantitative analysis showed that the mean IOD of IL-2 in the MT group was 7.67 ± 1.26,while 12.6 ± 4.79 in the hADSCs group,but semi-quantitative analysis showed that there was no statistical significance in the difference between the two groups (t =1.724,P =0.16).The semi-quantitative analysis showed that IOD was 71.7 ± 14.2 in noninduced MTs (NI-MTs) vs.35.7 ± 11.4 in ID-MTs for collagen fibers (t =3.428,P =0.027) and 12.8 ± 1.9 in NI-MTs vs.30.6 ± 8.9 in ID-MTs for smooth muscle fibers (t=3.369,P=0.028);furthermore,the mean IOD was 0.0613 ±0.0172 in ID-MTs vs.0.0017 ± 0.0009 in NI-MTs for α-SMA (t =5.994,P =0.027),while 0.0355 ± 0.0128 in ID-MTs vs.0.0035 ± 0.0022 in NI-MTs for smoothelin (t=4.268,P =0.013),which indicate that 3D bioprinted structure containing ID-MTs could mimic the smooth muscle layer of native urinary tract.After encapsulation of the urinary tract patch for additional cell adhesion,urothelial cells were seeded onto the encapsulated structures,and a monolayer urothelial cell was observed.Conclusion:Through 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering methods,we provided a promising way to fabricate tissue-engineered urinary tract patch for further investigation.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effects of anterior segmental decompression for the treatment of multi-segment cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

METHODSThe clinical data of 84 patients with multi-segment cervical spondylotic myelopathy treated between August 2005 to March 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. According to different operative methods the patients were divided into control group and observation group, with 42 cases in each group. In the control group, including 26 males and 16 females, the age was (56.87±11.89) years old and course of disease was(7.91±3.71) years on average, the lesion segment occurred on C₃-C₆ of 36 cases and on C₄-C₇ of 6 cases. There were 24 males and 18 females in observation group, with the mean age of (54.58±12.56) years old, and the course of disease was(8.03±3.52) years, the lesion segment occurred on C₃-C₆ of 34 cases, and on C₄-C₇ of 8 cases. The patients in control group were treated with posterior laminoplasty, and the patients in observation group underwent anterior segmental decompression. Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization time, bone graft fusion time and complication rate were observed between two groups. JOA scores and Cobb angle of fusion segment were compared before operation and 3, 6, 9 months after operation.

RESULTSOperation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization time and complication rate in observation group were significantly lower than in control group(<0.05); the bone fusion time in observation group was significantly lower than in control group(<0.01);3, 6, 9 months after surgery, JOA score and the segment Cobb angle in observation group were significantly higher than in control group(<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSAnterior segmental decompression for the treatment of multi-segment cervical spondylotic myelopathy has obvious advantages of less vertebral resection, thorough decompression, good stability, less postoperative complications, which can effectively promote the recovery of the spinal cord function and vertebral stability.

Objective: : To observe the short-term efficacy and toxicity of apatinib monotherapy as well as docetaxel plus cisplatin in advanced gastric cancer. Method: : According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, 108 patients with advanced gastric cancer in the 105th Hospital of PLA were selected. According to random table grouping method, there were 54 cases in group A and 54 cases in group B. Patients in group A received continuous oral administration of apatinib alone, while group B received docetaxel plus cisplatin chemotherapy, with 3 weeks as a cycle and 4 cycles for a course. The efficacy and side effects were evaluated 3 months later. Results: : In groupA, there were 4 cases of CR, 25 cases of PR, 18 cases of SD and 7 cases of PD; the ORR was 53.7% and DCR was 87%. In group B, there were 2 cases of CR, 19 cases of PR, 21 cases of SD and 12 cases of PD; the ORR was 38.9% and DCR was 77.8%. The ORR and DCR in group A were significantly better than those in group B (P<0.05). The main adverse reactions were gastrointestinal reaction, myelosuppression, hypertension and hand-foot syndrome, all of which were grade 1 to 2; The incidence of bone marrow suppression and gastrointestinal reaction in group A was lower than that in group B (P<0.05), while the incidence of hand-foot syndrome and hypertension in group B was lower than that in group A (P<0.01). Conclusion： ：The short-term efficacy of targeted therapy of apatinib alone was better than that of docetaxel combined with cisplatin chemotherapy, and the toxicity and side effects of both regimens were controllable;Apatinib can be used as the primary regimen for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the subtle anatomical structures of the normal nasal bone in multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) image through the observation of the three-dimensional images. METHODS: One hundred and twenty volunteers who had no nasal trauma and disease history were collected. The nasal was scanned using MSCT. Raw data was reconstructed into bone window images (slice thickness 0.6 mm, slice interval 0.5 mm), and then the images were imported into Syngo Imaging XS software to reconstruct three-dimensional images and to summarize the nasal bone's subtle anatomical structures. RESULTS: The subtle anatomy of normal nasal bone generally included four seams, two holes and one edge. The four seams were left and right nasal-maxillary suture, nasal-frontal seam, and internasal suture. The two holes were left and right nasal aperture. The edge of the nasal was the lower edge of the nasal bone. In addition, there was suture bone in internasal suture in some normal nose. The nasal aperture mostly was hole-like, but some nasal apertures were line shape. The nasal edge can be divided into flat type, wave-shaped type, inverted spike type, hook-shaped type and others. CONCLUSION The anatomy diversity and individual differences in nasal bone are large. MSCT and three-dimensional image reconstruction techniques, combined with the history of trauma could distinguish between the normal anatomy and fractures.
Fractures, Bone/diagnosis* ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Maxilla ; Nasal Bone/diagnostic imaging* ; Software ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed