Increasing the amplitude of event-related potential is one of the key methods to improve the accuracy of the potential-based brain-computer interface, e.g., P300-based brain-computer interface. The brain-computer interface systems often use symbols or controlled objects as vision stimuli, but what visual stimuli can induce more obvious event-related potential is still unknown. This paper designed three kinds of visual stimuli, i.e., a square, an arrow, and a robot attached with an arrow, to analyze the influence of concreteness degree of the graph on the N200 and P300 potentials, and applied a support vector machine to compare the performance of the brain-computer interface under different stimuli. The results showed that, compared with the square, the robot attached with arrow and the arrow both induced larger N200 potential (P = 1.6 × 10−3, P = 4.2 × 10−2) and longer P300 potential (P = 2.2 × 10−3, P = 1.9 × 10−2) in the frontal area, but the amplitude under the arrow condition is smaller than the one under the robot attached with arrow condition. The robot attached with arrow increased the N200 potential amplitude of the square and arrow from 3.12 μV and 5.19 μV to 7.21 μV (P = 1.6 × 10−3, P = 8.9 × 10−2), and improved the accuracy rate from 59.95%, 61.67% to 74.45% (P = 2.1 × 10−2, P = 1.6 × 10−2), and the information transfer rate from 35.00 bits/min, 35.98 bits/min to 56.71 bits/min (P = 2.6 × 10−2, P = 1.6 × 10−2). This study shows that the concreteness of graphics could affect the N200 potential and the P300 potential. The abstract symbol could represent the meaning and evoke potentials, but the information contained in the concrete robot attached with an arrow is more correlated with the human experience, which is helpful to improve the amplitude. The results may provide new sight in modifying the stimulus interface of the brain-computer interface.
Abstract： Objective To investigate the change of tissue structure and epithelial barrier function of excluded esophagus after esophageal exclusion surgery for tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). Methods Twentyeight hybrid dogs were divided into 3 groups with random number method. For group A (n=12), fistula was excluded; for group B (n=12), only the esophagus was excluded; and group C (n=4) was the control group. The normal and excluded esophagus of the three groups were observed through general sampling, HE staining, transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Lanthanum trace labeling. The interstitial space dilation (ISD) of the cells on the esophageal mucosa was measured and the number of desmosome in the intercellular space was calculated. Results The changes of tissue structure and epithelial barrier function of the excluded esophagus were similar between group A and group B. Compared with group C, group A and B showed the following changes: esophageal structure changed, submucous glandular tissues reduced or disappeared; the interstitial space increased, the number of desmosome decreased, and the epithelial barrier function attenuated, but the basal lamina did not changed and lanthanum did not break through it. For the dogs in group C, esophageal mucosa could be observed, submucosa was complete and a large number of gland tissues and micrangiums could be seen in it. The number of desmosome for group A, B and C was 0.21±0.03 entries/μm2, 0.22±0.05 entries/μm2, and 0.32±0.03 entries/μm2 respectively, which showed a significant difference between group A, B and group C (Plt;0.05), while there was no significant difference between group A and group B (Plt;0.05). The average interstitial space for group A, B and C was 2.11±0.56 μm, 2.04±0.77 μm, and 1.84±0.49 μm respectively. There was no significant difference between group A and B, while there was significant difference between group A, B and group C. Conclusion The esophageal exclusion surgery for refractory TEF is safe, feasible, and effective with few complications, and deserved to be popularized.
目的:探讨干扰素治疗水痘的效果。方法:将151例水痘患者随机分为3组, 治疗组Ⅰ给予干扰素100 万U/ 次,im,隔日1 次,连用3 次,治疗组Ⅱ同时予以干扰素局部外涂于水痘处, 2 次/ d;对照组病毒唑10 mg/ (kg·d),im, 一日2 次,连用5 天。除以上治疗外,3组均同时根据病情给予退热、止痒、抗炎等对症治疗。观察3组患者症状、体征变化。结果:治疗组患者症状、体征恢复所用时间明显优于对照组,同时还发现局部外涂干扰素于水痘处,其皮疹瘙痒、结痂恢复天数明显缩短。结论:干扰素治疗水痘可减轻症状,缩短病程,配合局部外用效果更佳。
Objective To summarize the methods and experience of animal experiment ethics training at home and abroad, analyze the opportunities and problems, and explore the ethics training methods suitable for the current situation of animal experiments in China. Methods Documents relating to animal experiment ethics training from January 2012 to February 2022 were searched in PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang Data databases. After literature screening and data extraction by 2 researchers independently, descriptive analysis was performed. Results A total of 44 documents were selected, including 19 in Chinese and 25 in English, involving 44 institutions. According to the literature analysis, in the United States, Britain and other developed countries, the welfare and ethical laws for laboratory animals were relatively perfect, such as the Animal Welfare Act of the United States, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act of Britain, the Animal Welfare Act of German, and the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals of Japan, while in China administrative regulations were the main ones, and most of the institutions were restricted by management regulations; the ethics of personnel involved in animal experiments were uneven; the training time of some domestic institutions was less than that of institutions abroad; domestic training methods and contents needed to be improved. Basing on the comparative results at home and abroad and combining the training experience, West China Hospital of Sichuan University improved the animal experiment ethics training system. Conclusion It is suggested that the animal experimental institutions in China should improve the training methods, to enhance the awareness and cognition of people involved in animal experiments more systematically and scientifically, and strengthen the ethical review.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important medical imaging method, whose major limitation is its long scan time due to the imaging mechanism, increasing patients’ cost and waiting time for the examination. Currently, parallel imaging (PI) and compress sensing (CS) together with other reconstruction technologies have been proposed to accelerate image acquisition. However, the image quality of PI and CS depends on the image reconstruction algorithms, which is far from satisfying in respect to both the image quality and the reconstruction speed. In recent years, image reconstruction based on generative adversarial network (GAN) has become a research hotspot in the field of magnetic resonance imaging because of its excellent performance. In this review, we summarized the recent development of application of GAN in MRI reconstruction in both single- and multi-modality acceleration, hoping to provide a useful reference for interested researchers. In addition, we analyzed the characteristics and limitations of existing technologies and forecasted some development trends in this field.
Anterior mediastinal inflammatory myofibroblastoma is a rare tumor with insidious onset and easy misdiagnosis. In this report, we presented a case of anterior mediastinal inflammatory myofibroblastoma with thymoma. The mediastinal tumor was found by physical examination, and the prognosis was good after surgical treatment. For this disease, operation is an effective method for definite diagnosis and treatment, and complete excision can achieve good outcomes.
As pigs are similar to humans in anatomy, physiology and pathology, nutrition metabolism and disease characteristics, genetically modified pigs are already used for the studies of disease mechanism, pathology and toxicology and the evaluation of drugs. But the production of large modified animals is difficult, cumbersome, time-consuming and costly. With the breakthrough of gene editing technology, clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated 9( Cas9)(CRISPR/Cas9) technology has greatly improved the mutation efficiency, reduced the cost and simplified the steps, and promoted the widespread application of genetically modified pigs. In this paper, the production methods of genetically modified pigs and the research progress of genetically modified pigs by CRISPR/Cas9 in the medical field were reviewed.
ObjectiveTo analyze the effect of anal fistula clip (AFC) in the treatment of anal fistula, and to evaluate its safety. MethodsA historical cohort study method was conducted. Eighty-three patients with glandular transsphincteric anal fistula in the Xuzhou Central Hospital from September 2018 to May 2021 were collected, of which 42 patients underwent the AFC treatment (AFC group), 41 patients underwent the endorectal advancement flap (ERAF) treatment (ERAF group). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, visual analogue scale (VAS) score of anus pain on postoperative day 1, 3, and 7, wound healing time, Wexner incontinence score of anal function on postoperative month 6, and clinical efficacy (healing and failure) were compared between the two groups. ResultsThe operation was successfully completed in both groups. The operation time and intraoperative blood loss in the AFC group were shorter or less than those in the ERAF group (P<0.05). No complications such as internal opening infection and bleeding occurred in the two groups. There were no statistical differences in the VAS score of postoperative anus pain at all time point between the two groups (P>0.05). The median follow-up time was 22 months. There was no statistical difference in the wound healing time between the two groups (P>0.05). The Wexner score of anal function in the AFC group was lower than that in the ERAF group (P<0.05), and there was no statistical difference between after operation and before operation (Z=–1.751, P=0.089) in the AFC group, while that in the ERAF group after operation was higher than before operation (Z=–1.859, P=0.014). The healing rate had no statistical difference between the AFC group and ERAF group (85.7% versus 77.5%, χ2=0.925, P=0.336). Conclusion From the results of this study, the AFC is safe and effective in treatment of anal fistula, with the advantages of relatively simple operation, less bleeding during operation, lighter postoperative pain, and good protection of anal function.
ObjectiveTo summarize the research progress in the treatment of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) , and provide rationalized treatment strategies for patients with PTMC. MethodsRetrieved and reviewed relevant literatures about the treatment of PTMC in recent years both at home and abroad. ResultsLow-risk and high-risk PTMC differ markedly in biological characteristics and prognosis and should be treated differently. For high-risk PTMC, surgery is the primary treatment, supplemented by endocrine and radioiodine therapy. Various options are available for low-risk PTMC, including surgery, active surveillance, and ablative therapy. Surgery is the preferred option with clear efficacy and diversified surgical options. However, there are surgical risks and postoperative complications. Active surveillance avoids surgical and/or postoperative complications. Thermal ablation is minimally invasive with a low impact on thyroid function. Still, both active surveillance and thermal ablation lack the results of large samples with long-term follow-up to validate effectiveness and safety. ConclusionsStratified management should be applied to PTMC. High-risk PTMC should be treated surgically. All three treatment options of low-risk PTMC have advantages and disadvantages, which should be considered in conjunction with the patients’ wishes. After careful assessments and fully informed communications with patients, doctors and patients work together to develop a rationalized and individualized PTMC treatment strategy.
ObjectiveTo construct a prokaryotic expression strain of Staphylococcus aureus fibronectin binding protein A (FnBPA) r10-11 truncated fusion protein, and explore the immunogenicity of FnBPAr10-11. MethodsPloymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification was carried out from the whole genome sequence of Staphylococcus aureus Newman strain by recombinant PCR technique. The amplified product was purified and transformed into Escherichia coli DH5α for cloning. The recombinant plasmid was extracted and identified by double enzyme digestion. The recovered fragment was ligated into the pET-32a plasmid and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) for prokaryotic expression. The FnBPAr10-11 was purified by HIS protein purification column, identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and used to immunize mice, and the mice were divided into phosphate buffered saline (PBS) group, FnBPA group, and FnBPAr10-11 group. The serum levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and cytokines, and the immune protection rate of the mice were detected. ResultsSDS-PAGE result showed that the relative molecular mass of the protein was about 33.1×103. The titers of IgG antibody in FnBPAr10-11 group and FnBPA group reached 1∶128 000, and were significantly different compared with PBS group (P<0.05). The cytokine level in FnBPAr10-11 group was not significantly different compared with that in FnBPA group, and they were extremely significant (P<0.01) compared with that in PBS group. The immuno-protective effect of the FnBPAr10-11 group was over 50%. ConclusionsThe prokaryotic expression strain of Staphylococcus aureu FnBPAr10-11 truncated fusion protein was successfully constructed. The truncated protein has good immunogenicity.