At present the parkinsonian rigidity assessment depends on subjective judgment of neurologists according to their experience. This study presents a parkinsonian rigidity quantification system based on the electromechanical driving device and mechanical impedance measurement method. The quantification system applies the electromechanical driving device to perform the rigidity clinical assessment tasks (flexion-extension movements) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, which captures their motion and biomechanical information synchronously. Qualified rigidity features were obtained through statistical analysis method such as least-squares parameter estimation. By comparing the judgments from both the parkinsonian rigidity quantification system and neurologists, correlation analysis was performed to find the optimal quantitative feature. Clinical experiments showed that the mechanical impedance has the best correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.872, P < 0.001) with the clinical unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS) rigidity score. Results confirmed that this measurement system is capable of quantifying parkinsonian rigidity with advantages of simple operation and effective assessment. In addition, the mechanical impedance can be adopted to help doctors to diagnose and monitor parkinsonian rigidity objectively and accurately.
The electroencephalogram (EEG) signal is a general reflection of the neurophysiological activity of the brain, which has the advantages of being safe, efficient, real-time and dynamic. With the development and advancement of machine learning research, automatic diagnosis of Alzheimer’s diseases based on deep learning is becoming a research hotspot. Started from feedforward neural networks, this paper compared and analysed the structural properties of neural network models such as recurrent neural networks, convolutional neural networks and deep belief networks and their performance in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. It also discussed the possible challenges and research trends of this research in the future, expecting to provide a valuable reference for the clinical application of neural networks in the EEG diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Objective To sum up experiences in diagnosis and treatment for thyroid malignancy. Methods Clinical records of 8 patients diagnosed as Hashimoto’s disease associated with thyroid malignancy by histologic examination at our hospital from Jan. 1998 to Dec. 1998 were analyzed. Results There were 1 male and 7 females with average age of 37.6 years. The incidence of Hashimoto’s disease associated with thyroid cancer and malignant lymphoma were 7.7% and 2.6%, respectively. No operative mortality and complication was found. Conclusion Hashimoto’s disease is not uncommon. The combined thyroid cancer is small with papillary carcinoma predominance and the prognosis is good. If it is complicated with malignant lymphoma, the thyroid is rapidly enlarged with pain and dyspnea.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at the end of December 2019, more than 85% of the population in China has been infected. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mainly affects the respiratory system, especially the lungs. The mortality rate of patients with severe infection is high. A percentage of 6% to 10% of patients will eventually develop into COVID-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (CARDS), which requires mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. Some patients who survive acute lung injury will subsequently develop post COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis (PCPF). Both fully treated CARDS and severe PCPF are suitable candidates for lung transplantation. Due to the special course, evaluation strategies are different from those used in patients with common end-stage lung disease. After lung transplantation in COVID-19 patients, special treatment is required, including standardized nucleic acid testing for the novel coronavirus, adjustment strategy of immunosuppressive drugs, and rational use of antiviral drugs, which is a big challenge for the postoperative management of lung transplantation. This consensus was evidence-based written and was reached by experts after multiple rounds of discussions, providing reference for assessment and postoperative management of patients with interstitial pneumonia after COVID-19 infection.
With the in-depth understanding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, it has been found that the virus not only causes serious damage to the human respiratory system, but also damages the kidney system, which can be manifested as acute kidney injury, and in severe cases, renal failure can occur. Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 and chronic kidney disease are at higher risk of worsening their condition and even death. Therefore, early recognition and intervention of renal injury is particularly important for prognosis. In this paper, the clinical data of renal injury in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 were reviewed, and the possible pathogenesis, incidence, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment were proposed for reference in clinical decision-making.
In order to solve the problems of difficult test, high cost and long cycle in the development of large-scale airborne negative pressure isolation system, the simulation analysis of negative pressure response characteristics is carried out around various aviation conditions such as aircraft ascending, leveling and descending, especially rapid decompression, based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The results showed that the isolation cabin could achieve –50 Pa pressure difference environment and form a certain pressure gradient. The exhaust air volume reached the maximum value in the early stage of the aircraft’s ascent, and gradually decreased with the increase of altitude until it was level flying. In the process of aircraft descent, the exhaust fan could theoretically maintain a pressure difference far below –50 Pa without working; Under the special condition of rapid pressure loss, it was difficult to deal with the rapid change of low pressure only by the exhaust fan, so it was necessary to design safety valve and other anti-leakage measures in the isolation cabin structure. Therefore, the initial stage of aircraft ascent is the key stage for the adjustment and control of the negative pressure isolation system. By controlling the exhaust air volume and adjusting parameters, it can adapt to the change of low pressure under normal flight conditions, form a relatively stable negative pressure environment, and meet the needs of biological control, isolation and transport.
We in the present research proposed a classification method that applied infomax independent component analysis (ICA) to respectively extract single modality features of structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). And then we combined these two features by using a method of weight combination. We found that the present method was able to improve the accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Compared AD to healthy controls (HC): the study achieved a classification accuracy of 93.75%, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87.64%. Compared MCI to HC: classification accuracy was 89.35%, with a sensitivity of 81.85% and a specificity of 99.36%. The experimental results showed that the bi-modality method performed better than the individual modality in comparison to classification accuracy.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), more than 200 interventional clinical trials have been registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (www.chictr.org.cn) and the US Clinical Trials Registry (www.clinicaltrials.gov), testing or going to test treatments of COVID-19 in China from January 23rd, 2020 to March 5th, 2020. This situation has drawn attentions from various sectors of society. This article summarizes the basic design features of 249 registered COVID-19 clinical trials in China, compares them with National Clinical Trials Network practices in the USA, and describes a concept of national clinical trials network as a strategy to enhance quality and efficiency of clinical research in cases like COVID-19 outbreak as well as other disease fields.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the postoperative complications between robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) and laparoscopic-assisted surgery (LAS) in children with hirschsprung's disease (HSCR). MethodsThe PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect non-randomized controlled studies related to the objective from inception to May 10, 2025. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed by using RevMan 5.4 software. ResultsA total of 7 studies involving 901 children were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the RAS group had a lower incidence of postoperative enterocolitis than the LAS group (OR=0.64, 95%CI 0.42 to 0.98, P=0.04) and a higher rate of complication-free outcomes (OR=2.16, 95%CI 1.26 to 3.72, P<0.01). No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in intraoperative duration, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative anastomotic complications, fecal soiling, adhesive intestinal obstruction, wound infection, incisional hernia, perianal infection, or urinary retention (P>0.05). ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that RAS significantly reduces the risk of postoperative enterocolitis and improves the rate of complication-free outcomes in children with HSCR but offers no advantages in intraoperative indicators or other complications. Due to the limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
ObjectiveTo explore the necessity, construction plans, and implementation methods for the establishment of a fundus disease-specific biobank are discussed. MethodsAn evidence-based medicine study. “Biobank”, “Disease-specific biobank”, “Eye diseases”, “Fundus disease” were hereby used as search terms. Literatures were retrieved related to biobank construction from PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases since their establishment until October 2023. Two researchers independently selected and analyzed literature, extracting data for further analysis. ResultsAfter screening, 23 articles were included, comprising 11 articles in Chinese and 12 articles in English, involving 23 institutions. The disease-specific biobank has been built earlier abroad than domestically. Both domestic and foreign biobank have a scale of less than 1, 1 to 10, and more than 10 thousand samples, with the eye disease-specific biobank having less than 10 thousand samples. The majority of these disease-specific biobank focued on tumor-related diseases and consist of both physical and information components. Ethical committees were required to declare and record the construction of biobank, and dedicated personnel and information management systems are established. Quality control systems have been developed with standard operating procedures from sample collection to storage. These disease-specific biobank effectively supported research projects, but there was a lack of resource sharing domestically compared to abroad. Based on practical experience, the construction of fundus disease-specific biobank at West China Hospital of Sichuan University has been improved. Separate sample collection processes have been formulated for outpatient clinics and operating rooms. Standard operating procedures have been established for unique eye samples, including vitreous fluid, proliferative membranes of the retina, aqueous humor, tears, etc., to ensure sample quality. ConclusionEstablishing a fundus disease-specific biobank can promote basic and clinical research, advance the development of translational medicine, achieve resource sharing, and foster discipline development.