Recent advances in multi-mode microfluidic separation of particles and cells

Microfluidic separation of particles and cells is crucial to lab-on-a-chip applications in the fields of science, engineering and industry. The continuous-flow separation methods can be classified as active or passive depending on whether the force involved in the process is externally imposed or internally induced. The majority of current separations has been realized using only one of the active or passive methods. Such a single-mode process is usually limited to one-parameter separation, which often becomes less effective or even ineffective when dealing with real samples because of their inherent heterogeneity. Integrating two or more separation methods of either type has been demonstrated to offer several advantages like improved specificity, resolution, and throughput, etc. This article reviews the recent advances of such multi-mode particle and cell separations in microfluidic devices including the serial-mode pre-focused separation, serial-mode multistage separation, and parallel-mode force-tuned separation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

[Trend of age of menarche among Chinese Han girls aged 9 to 18 years from 2010 to 2019]

Objective: To analyze the trends of the age of menarche among Chinese Han girls aged 9 to 18 years from 2010 to 2019. Methods: Data were extracted from the Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health in 2010, 2014 and 2019. A total of 253 037 Han girls aged 9 to 18 years with complete data on menarche were selected in this study. They were asked one-on-one about their menstrual status, age and residence information. The median age of menarche was estimated by probability regression. U tests were used to compare the difference in median age at menarche in different years. Results: The median age at menarche (95%CI) among Chinese Han girls was 12.47 (12.09-12.83) years in 2010, 12.17 (11.95-12.38) years in 2014 and 12.05 (10.82-13.08) years in 2019, respectively. Compared with that in 2010, the median age at menarche in 2019 decreased by 0.42 years (U=-77.27, P<0.001). The annual average changes were -0.076 years from 2010 to 2014 (U=-57.19, P<0.001) and -0.023 years from 2014 to 2019 (U=-21.41, P<0.001), respectively. The average annual changes in urban areas in the periods of 2010 to 2014 and 2014 to 2019 were -0.071 years and 0.006 years, respectively, while those in rural areas were -0.082 years and -0.053 years, respectively. The average annual changes in the regions of north, northeast, east, south central, southwest and northwest were -0.064, -0.099, -0.091, -0.080, -0.096 and -0.041 years in the period of 2010 to 2014 and 0.001, -0.040, -0.002, -0.005, -0.043 and -0.081 years in the period of 2014 to 2019. Conclusion: The age of menarche among Chinese Han girls aged 9 to 18 years shows an advanced trend from 2010 to 2019, and the trends in urban and rural areas and different regions have different characteristics.

The performance of left/right adrenal volume ratio and volume difference in predicting unilateral primary aldosteronism

PURPOSE

The role of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA) warrants attention, since the success application of adrenal venous sampling (AVS) remains limited. We aimed to investigate the value of CT-based volumetric indicators, including left-versus-right-adrenal-volume ratio (L/Rv) and left-subtract-right-adrenal-volume difference (L - Rv), in the diagnosis of unilateral primary aldosteronism (UPA).

METHODS

A retrospective case-control study included 153 patients with PA and 1272 controls. AVS was used to classify patients into bilateral disease, left-sided disease, and right-sided disease groups.

RESULTS

Adrenal gland volume on both sides of PA patients was significantly larger than controls. The optimal cutoff values of L/Rv and L - Rv were 1.417 [area under the curve (AUC) 0.864] and 1.185 (AUC 0.827), respectively, for the diagnosis of left-sided PA, and 1.030 (AUC 0.767) and 0.220 (AUC 0.769), respectively, for the diagnosis of right-sided PA. The mean AUC for subsequent cross-validation ranged from 0.77 ± 0.03 to 0.86 ± 0.02. Based on the optimal cutoff values, the combination of L/Rv and L - Rv detected 69.6% of patients with left-sided PA and 74.3% of patients with right-sided PA, with a specificity of 93.5% and 89.0%, respectively. For a better clinical application, we reported the sub-optimal cutoffs corresponding to a specificity of 95%. A L/Rv higher than 1.431 and a L - Rv higher than 3.185 as sub-optimal cutoff values was detected in 26.1% of patients with left-sided PA (specificity: 97.2%). A L/Rv smaller than 0.892 and a L - Rv smaller than -0.640 could detect 48.6% of patients with right-sided PA (specificity: 97.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

CT-based L/Rv and L - Rv performed well in predicting UPA. The combination of L/Rv and L - Rv may serve as a potential indicator for guiding surgical decision making in centers without AVS programs.

Measurement of Sequential ϒ Suppression in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV with the STAR Experiment

We report on measurements of sequential ϒ suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0%-60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors (R_{AA}), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to p+p collisions, for ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) are 0.40±0.03(stat)±0.03(sys)±0.09(norm) and 0.26±0.08(stat)±0.02(sys)±0.06(norm), respectively, while the upper limit of the ϒ(3S) R_{AA} is 0.17 at a 95% confidence level. This provides experimental evidence that the ϒ(3S) is significantly more suppressed than the ϒ(1S) at RHIC. The level of suppression for ϒ(1S) is comparable to that observed at the much higher collision energy at the Large Hadron Collider. These results point to the creation of a medium at RHIC whose temperature is sufficiently high to strongly suppress excited ϒ states.

[The association of intra-aortic balloon pump with prognosis of cardiogenic shock based on Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions classification]

The study aimed to evaluate whether an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) could improve the prognosis of patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) of Stage C (Classic), Stage D (Deteriorating), and Stage E (Extremis) based on Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) classification. The hospital information database was searched, and the patients who met the diagnostic criteria of CS were included and treated following the same protocol. The association between IABP and the survival of patients at 1 month and 6 months were analyzed separately in SCAI stage C of CS, and stages D and E of CS. The multiple logistic regression models were used to separately evaluate whether IABP was independently associated with increased survival in stage C of CS, and stages D and E of CS. A total of 141 patients with stage C of CS and 267 patients with stages D and E of CS were included. In stage C of CS, IABP was significantly associated with improved survival of patients at 1 month [adjusted OR (95%CI)=0.372 (0.171-0.809), P=0.013] and survival at 6 months [adjusted OR (95%CI)=0.401 (0.190-0.850), P=0.017]. However, when percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting (PCI/CABG) was introduced as an adjusted factor, there was a significant association between survival rates and PCI/CABG rather than IABP. In stages D and E of CS, IABP was significantly associated with an improved survival at 1 month [adjusted OR (95%CI)=0.053 (0.012-0.236), P=0.001]. Therefore, IABP could assist patients with stage C of CS in the perioperative period of PCI/CABG and improve survival rates, and IABP might prolong short-term prognosis of patients with stages D and E of CS.

[Perceived exercise benefits and barriers and their association with physical activity time in Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years]

Objective: To analyze the perceived exercise benefits and barriers and their association with physical activity time in Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 9-18 years. Methods: Data were extracted from the 2019 Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health and a total of 163 656 children and adolescents aged 9-18 years in Han ethnic group were included in the analysis. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the perceived exercise benefits score, perceived exercise barriers score and perceived exercise benefits to barriers ratio in the children and adolescents with different demographic characteristics and physical activity time. The differences in physical activity time in subgroups were compared with χ² tests. log-binomial regression model was used to evaluate the association between physical activity time and perceived exercise benefits and barriers. Results: The M (Q₁,Q₃) of the perceived exercise benefits score, perceived exercise barriers score, and perceived exercise benefits to barriers ratio in the children and adolescents were 4.11 (3.78, 4.78), 2.70 (2.10, 3.20) and 1.55 (1.22, 2.07), respectively. Children and adolescents living in urban area, boys, those at younger age and those with physical activity time ≥1 hour had higher perceived exercise benefits score and perceived exercise benefits to barriers ratio, but lower perceived exercise barriers score (all P<0.001). The prevalence of physical activity time ≥1 hour was 41.4% in the children and adolescents. In the log-binomial model with two variables of perceived exercise benefits score and perceived exercise barriers score, for each 1-point increase in the perceived exercise benefits, the possibility of physical activity time ≥1 hour increased by 11% (OR=1.11, 95%CI: 1.10-1.12), and for each 1-point increase in the perceived exercise barriers, the possibility of physical activity time ≥1 hour decreased by 15% (OR=0.85, 95%CI: 0.84-0.85). In the log-binomial model with variable of perceived exercise benefits to barriers ratio, for each 1-point increase in the perceived exercise benefits to barriers ratio, the possibility of physical activity time ≥1 hour increased by 12% (OR=1.12, 95%CI: 1.11-1.12). Conclusion: The perceived exercise benefits and barriers are significantly associated with physical activity time in children and adolescents in China.

Carbon electrochemical membrane functionalized with flower cluster-like FeOOH catalyst for organic pollutants decontamination

Decorating active catalysts on the reactive electrochemical membrane (REM) is an effective way to further improve its decontamination performance. In this work, a novel carbon electrochemical membrane (FCM-30) was prepared through coating FeOOH nano catalyst on a low-cost coal-based carbon membrane (CM) through facile and green electrochemical deposition. Structural characterizations demonstrated that the FeOOH catalyst was successfully coated on CM, and it grew into a flower cluster-like morphology with abundant active sites when the deposition time was 30 min. The nano FeOOH flower clusters can obviously boost the hydrophilicity and electrochemical performance of FCM-30, which enhance its permeability and bisphenol A (BPA) removal efficiency during the electrochemical treatment. Effects of applied voltages, flow rates, electrolyte concentrations and water matrixes on BPA removal efficiency were investigated systematically. Under the operation condition of 2.0 V applied voltage and 2.0 mL·min^-1 flow rate, FCM-30 can achieve the high removal efficiency of 93.24% and 82.71% for BPA and chemical oxygen demand (COD) (71.01% and 54.89% for CM), respectively, with only a low energy consumption (EC) of 0.41 kWh·kgCOD^-1, which can be ascribed to the enhancement on OH yield and direct oxidation ability by the FeOOH catalyst. Moreover, this treatment system also exhibits good reusability and can be adopted on different water background as well as different pollutants.

Chinese herbal medicine therapy for hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been widely used in the treatment of hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis (HLAP), but the credibility of the evidence for this practice is unclear. We systematically reviewed the efficacy and safety of CHM therapy for HLAP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang databases from inception to October 16, 2022, for randomized controlled trials comparing the combination of CHM and Western medicine therapy vs. Western medicine therapy alone in HLAP adults. This study is registered with PROSPERO (No. CRD 42022371052).

RESULTS

A total of 50 eligible studies involving 3,635 patients were assessed in this meta-analysis. Compared with Western medicine therapy, the combination of CHM increased the total effective rate by 19% in HLAP patients [relative risk (RR): 1.19, 95% CI: (1.16, 1.23)]. There were significant differences between the two groups in improving clinical symptoms, promoting serum amylase and triglyceride recovery, reducing mortality [RR: 0.28, 95% CI: (0.14, 0.56)] and complication rates [RR:0.40, 95% CI: (0.31, 0.52)], and shortening the length of hospital stay [MD: -3.96, 95% CI: (-4.76, -3.16)]. Adverse reactions were similar between groups. Findings were robust in the sensitivity analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The combined CHM treatment was more effective than Western medicine alone in HLAP patients. However, due to the methodological shortcoming of the eligible studies, caution is needed when interpreting these findings.

Dual-channel compressed ultrafast photography for Z-pinch dynamic imaging

The compressed ultrafast photography (CUP) can capture non-repetitive time-evolving events at 7 × 10¹³ fps, which is anticipated to find a diverse range of applications in physics, biomedical imaging, and materials science. The feasibility of diagnosing ultrafast phenomenon of Z-pinch by using the CUP has been analyzed in this article. Specifically, a dual-channel CUP design has been adopted for acquiring high quality reconstructed images and the strategies of identical masks, uncorrelated masks, and complementary masks have been compared. Furthermore, the image of the first channel was rotated by 90° to balance the spatial resolution between the sweep direction and the non-sweep direction. Both five synthetic videos and two simulated Z-pinch videos were chosen as the ground truth to validate this approach. The average peak signal to noise ratio of the reconstruction results is 50.55 dB for the self-emission visible light video and 32.53 dB for the laser shadowgraph video with unrelated masks (rotated channel 1). The simulation results show that the time-space-evolving process of plasma distribution can be well retold, and the phenomenon of plasma instability can be accurately diagnosed by the dual-channel CUP with unrelated masks (rotated channel 1). This study may promote the practical applications of the CUP in the field of accelerator physics.

[Epidemiology and prediction of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years in China from 1985 to 2019]

Objective: To analyze and predict the epidemic trend of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years in China from 1985 to 2019. Methods: Data were collected from the Chinese National Survey on Students Constitution and Health in 1985, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2014, and 2019 with the sample size of 409 945, 204 931, 209 209, 234 420, 215 317, 214 353, and 212 711, respectively. Overweight and obesity were evaluated according to the "classification standard of the weight index value of overweight and obesity screening for Chinese school-age children and adolescents" of the Working Group on Obesity in China (WGOC). The detection rate and average annual growth rate of overweight and obesity, and single obesity among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years were calculated, and ArcGis10.6 software was used to analyze the difference in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in different regions in 2019. Polynomial regression function was used to fit the prevalence and average annual growth rate of overweight and obesity, and single obesity among children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019, and to predict the prevalence of overweight and obesity and single obesity among children and adolescents in China. Results: In 2019, the total prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years in China was 23.4%, and the prevalence of single obesity was 9.6%. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among urban children and adolescents was higher than that in rural areas (25.4% vs. 21.5%), and the prevalence in boys was higher than that in girls (28.4% vs. 18.4%) (both P values<0.001). In 2019, there was a large regional disparity in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in different provinces, with the lowest in Guangdong (12.2%) and the highest in Shandong (38.9%), and the high epidemic areas were mainly concentrated in North China and Northeast China. From 1985 to 2019, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years in China increased from 1.2% to 23.4%, with an increase of 18.1 times, while the prevalence of obesity alone increased from 0.1% to 9.6%, with an increase of 75.6 times. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in urban boys, urban girls, rural boys and rural girls increased from 1.3%, 1.5%, 0.5%, and 1.6% in 1985 to 31.2%, 19.4%, 25.6%, and 17.4% in 2019, with an increase of 22.3, 11.7, 54.2, and 10.1 times, respectively. According to the prediction model, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years in China will increase from 23.4% in 2019 to 32.7% in 2030, and the prevalence of obesity alone will increase from 9.6% in 2019 to 15.1% in 2030. The growth of rural children and adolescents is obvious. By 2025, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural children and adolescents in China will comprehensively exceed that of urban, and there will be an "urban-rural reversal" phenomenon. At the same time, the prevalence of children's obesity in China's low, medium and high epidemic areas will also continue to increase. By 2035, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in medium epidemic areas will exceed that in high epidemic areas, and there will be a "provincial reversal" phenomenon. Conclusion: From 1985 to 2019, the overweight and obesity of children and adolescents in China will continue to grow rapidly with large regional differences.

[Prevalence trend of malnutrition among Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7-18 years from 2010 to 2019]

Objective: To analyze the prevalence trend of malnutrition among Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7-18 years from 2010 to 2019. Methods: Based on the data from the Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health in 2010, 2014 and 2019, about 215 102, 214 268 and 212 713 Han students aged 7-18 years were included in this study. According to the National Screening Standard for Malnutrition of School-age Children and Adolescents, the detection rate of malnutrition among Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7-18 was calculated, and the prevalence trend of malnutrition from 2010 to 2019 was analyzed. Results: In 2019, the detection rate of malnutrition among Chinese Han students aged 7-18 years was 8.64% (18 381/212 713), of which the rate of growth retardation, moderate-to-severe wasting and mild wasting was 0.50% (1 062/212 713), 3.25% (6 914/212 713) and 4.89% (10 405/212 713), respectively. In 2019, the detection rate of malnutrition in these boys was higher than that of girls (9.97% vs. 7.31%), and the detection rate in rural areas was higher than that in cities (9.30% vs. 7.98%). The detection rates were 9.74% (5 252/53 916), 8.17% (4 408/53 937), 7.29% (3 885/53 310), and 9.38% (4 836/51 550) in 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18 years groups, and 8.14% (6 563/80 618), 7.61% (4 237/55 694) and 9.92% (7 581/76 401) in the eastern, central, and western regions. Malnutrition among students in China was mainly caused by mild wasting, and the detection rate of growth retardation accounted for only 5.78% (1 062/18 381). Malnutrition was mostly concentrated in the southwest region, and the rate was relatively low in eastern provinces. In three surveys from 2010 to 2019, the detection rate of malnutrition among Han students aged 7-18 in China decreased gradually, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Among them, the detection rates in western rural areas decreased significantly, as well as the gap between urban and rural areas. Compared with that in 2014, the detection rate of malnutrition in Shandong, Hunan, Qinghai and Hainan provinces in 2019 decreased significantly (P<0.05). Conclusion: In 2019, the malnutrition of Chinese children and adolescents aged 7-18 years is dominated by wasting malnutrition. The detection rate shows a downward trend from 2010 to 2019, with regional differences.

[Trends of age of menarche among Chinese Han girls aged 9 to 18 years from 2010 to 2019]

Objective: To analyze the trends of the age of menarche among Chinese Han girls aged 9 to 18 years from 2010 to 2019. Methods: Data were extracted from the Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health in 2010, 2014 and 2019. A total of 253 037 Han girls aged 9 to 18 years with complete data on menarche were selected in this study. They were asked one-on-one about their menstrual status, age and residence information. The median age of menarche was estimated by probability regression. U tests were used to compare the difference in median age at menarche in different years. Results: The median age at menarche (95%CI) among Chinese Han girls was 12.47 (12.09-12.83) years in 2010, 12.17 (11.95-12.38) years in 2014 and 12.05 (10.82-13.08) years in 2019, respectively. Compared with that in 2010, the median age at menarche in 2019 decreased by 0.42 years (U=-77.27, P<0.001). The annual average changes were-0.076 years from 2010 to 2014 (U=-57.19, P<0.001) and-0.023 years from 2014 to 2019 (U=-21.41, P<0.001), respectively. The average annual changes in urban areas in the periods of 2010 to 2014 and 2014 to 2019 were-0.071 years and 0.006 years, respectively, while those in rural areas were-0.082 years and-0.053 years, respectively. The average annual changes in the regions of north, northeast, east, south central, southwest and northwest were-0.064, -0.099, -0.091, -0.080, -0.096 and-0.041 years in the period of 2010 to 2014 and 0.001, -0.040, -0.002, -0.005, -0.043 and-0.081 years in the period of 2014 to 2019. Conclusion: The age of menarche among Chinese Han girls aged 9 to 18 years shows an advanced trend from 2010 to 2019, and the trends in urban and rural areas and different regions have different characteristics.

[Correct the imbalance of growth and development and prevent important comorbidities of children and adolescents]

There are certain stages and continuities in the growth and development of children and adolescents. Under the induction of some factors, their growth and development may deviate from the normal pattern and trajectory, which may lead to an imbalance of various systems, and even result in the occurrence of significant comorbidities. The imbalance of children's growth and development might be an internal factor leading to the occurrence of important comorbidities such as obesity, myopia and psychological problems in children and adolescents, while the mismatch between environmental changes and growth and development might be an external factor. Therefore, it is necessary to find the influencing factors of imbalance regarding growth and development based on regular monitoring of the growth and development indicators of children and adolescents, improve the pathogenic environment, reveal the behind mechanism, and fundamentally prevent the important comorbidities.

[Trend of the detection rate of myopia among Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7-18 years from 2010 to 2019]

Objective: To analyze the trend of the detection rate of myopia among Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7-18 years from 2010 to 2019. Methods: Data from the Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health in 2010, 2014 and 2019 were used, and about 213 833, 212 742 and 209 942 Han students aged 7-18 years were included in this study. The χ² test was used to compare the differences in the prevalence of myopia among the subgroups in the survey year, and logistic regression was used to compare the differences in the prevalence of myopia between different years. A curve-fitting method was used to obtain the growth rate of myopia among Han Chinese students from 2010 to 2019, and the differences in the change of myopia between different age groups were analyzed. Results: In 2019, the overall detection rate of myopia among Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7-18 was 60.1%. The detection rate of urban students (62.7%) was higher than that of rural students (57.4%) and the detection rate of girls (63.5%) was higher than that of boys (56.7%). In 2019, the regional disparities were large in the detection rate of myopia in various provinces, with the lowest in Guizhou (49.6%) and the highest in Zhejiang (71.3%). The detection rate of myopia showed an upward trend from 2010 to 2019, from 55.5% in 2010 to 57.1% in 2014, and finally to 60.1% in 2019. The gap in the detection rate of myopia between urban and rural children and adolescents gradually shrank. The average annual growth rate of myopia detection rate from 2014 to 2019 was 0.6 percentage points per year, higher than that from 2010 to 2014 about 0.4 percentage points per year. The peak age of the growth rate of myopia detection rate decreased from 12 years in 2010 to 10 years in 2014, and finally to 7 years in 2019. Conclusions: The detection rate of myopia among Chinese Han children and adolescents is still at a high level, and the peak age of the growth rate of myopia detection rate continues to advance.

[Long-term trend of the age of spermarche and its association with nutritional status among Chinese Han boys aged 11-18 from 2010 to 2019]

Objective: To analyze the long-term trend of the age of spermarche among Chinese Han boys aged 11 to 18 from 2010 to 2019 and its association with nutritional status. Methods: The data from Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health in 2010, 2014 and 2019 were used. The age, residence and spermarche of the participants were collected by questionnaire, and their height and weight were measured. A total of 184 633 Han boys aged 11‒18 years with complete data on spermarche, height, and weight were included in this study. The probability regression method was used to calculate the median age (95%CI) at spermarche in different areas, and the trend of age at spermarche in different groups was compared. The multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between nutritional status and spermarche of Chinese Han boys aged 11‒18 years. Results: The median age of spermarche (95%CI) was 13.85 (13.45-14.22) years old among Chinese Han boys aged 11‒18 years in 2019, with 0.18 years earlier than that in 2010. The median age at spermarche in urban and rural boys was 13.89 and 13.81 years, respectively. Compared with that in 2010, the age at spermarche in urban and rural boys was 0.08 and 0.27 years earlier, respectively. After adjusting for age, province and urban/rural areas, compared with normal weight, spermarche was negatively associated with wasting and positively associated with overweight and obesity, with OR (95%CI) about 0.73 (0.67-0.80), 1.09 (1.02-1.17) and 1.09 (1.01-1.18), respectively. Conclusion: The age of spermarche generally shows an advanced trend among Chinese Han boys and is associated with nutritional status.

[Prevalence trend of high normal blood pressure and elevated blood pressure in Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7-17 years from 2010 to 2019]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence trend of high normal blood pressure and elevated blood pressure in children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years in China from 2010 to 2019. Methods: Students aged 7-17 years were selected from the Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health from 2010 to 2019. High normal blood pressure and elevated blood pressure were determined according to the "Reference of screening for elevated blood pressure among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years" (WS/T 610-2018). The Chi-square test was performed to determine whether there was a difference in the prevalence of high normal blood pressure and elevated blood pressure by gender, residence and age group. Results: In 2019, the prevalence of high normal blood pressure in children and adolescents aged 7-17 years was 15.3% (29 855/195 625), which was higher in boys (20.2%, 19 779/97 847) and rural areas (15.4%, 15 066/97 567) than that in girls (10.3%, 10 076/97 778) and urban areas (15.1%, 14 789/98 058), respectively (all P<0.05). The prevalence of elevated blood pressure was 13.0% (25 377/195 625), which was higher in girls (13.2%, 12 925/97 778) and rural areas (14.1%, 13 753/97 567) than that in boys (12.7%, 12 452/97 847) and urban areas (11.9%, 11 624/98 058) (all P<0.05). From 2010 to 2019, the prevalence of high normal blood pressure showed an increasing trend, with an annual average growth rate from 1.14% to 3.18%. The overall prevalence of elevated blood pressure also showed an increasing trend from 2010 to 2019 but decreased in 2014. The annual average growth rate of elevated blood pressure was-1.07% from 2010 to 2014 and 9.33% from 2014 to 2019. About 17 provinces had an increasing trend in the prevalence of elevated blood pressure from 2010 to 2014, and 22 provinces with an increasing trend from 2014 to 2019. There were obvious regional differences in the annual average growth rate of the prevalence of high normal blood pressure and elevated blood pressure. The regions with the highest annual average growth rate of the prevalence of high normal blood pressure were the Northeast (5.47%) from 2010 to 2014 and the Western region (5.21%) from 2014 to 2019. For elevated blood pressure, the Northeast had the highest annual average growth rate from 2010 to 2014 (12.35%), while the Central (15.79%) and Western (12.87%) had the highest growth rate from 2014 to 2019. Conclusion: From 2010 to 2019, the prevalence of high normal blood pressure and elevated blood pressure in Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 shows an increasing trend, with regional disparities.

Implementation of ovarian tissue cryopreservation in Hong Kong

INTRODUCTION

Worldwide, >130 babies have been born from ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) and ovarian tissue transplantation (OTT). Ovarian tissue cryopreservation can improve quality of life among young female cancer survivors. Here, we assessed the feasibility of OTC and subsequent OTT in Hong Kong via xenografts in nude mice.

METHODS

This pilot study was conducted in a university-affiliated tertiary hospital. Fifty-two ovarian tissues were collected from 12 patients aged 29 to 41 years during ovarian surgery, then engrafted into 34 nude mice. The efficacies of slow freezing and vitrification were directly compared. In Phase I, non-ovariectomised nude mice underwent ovarian tissue engraftment. In Phase II, ovariectomised nude mice underwent ovarian tissue engraftment, followed by gonadotrophin administration to promote folliculogenesis. Ovarian tissue viability was assessed by gross anatomical, histological, and immunohistochemical examinations before and after OTC. Follicular density and morphological integrity were also assessed.

RESULTS

After OTC and OTT, grafted ovarian tissues remained viable in nude mice. Primordial follicles were observed in thawed and grafted ovarian tissues, indicating that the cryopreservation and transplantation protocols were both effective. The results were unaffected by gonadotrophin stimulation.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated the feasibility of OTC in Hong Kong as well as primordial follicle viability after OTC and OTT in nude mice. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is ideal for patients who cannot undergo the ovarian stimulation necessary for oocyte or embryo freezing as well as prepubertal girls (all ineligible for oocyte freezing). Our findings support the clinical implementation of OTC and subsequent OTT in Hong Kong.

Beam Energy Dependence of Fifth- and Sixth-Order Net-Proton Number Fluctuations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

We report the beam energy and collision centrality dependence of fifth and sixth order cumulants (C_{5}, C_{6}) and factorial cumulants (κ_{5}, κ_{6}) of net-proton and proton number distributions, from center-of-mass energy (sqrt[s_{NN}]) 3 GeV to 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. Cumulant ratios of net-proton (taken as proxy for net-baryon) distributions generally follow the hierarchy expected from QCD thermodynamics, except for the case of collisions at 3 GeV. The measured values of C_{6}/C_{2} for 0%-40% centrality collisions show progressively negative trend with decreasing energy, while it is positive for the lowest energy studied. These observed negative signs are consistent with QCD calculations (for baryon chemical potential, μ_{B}≤110  MeV) which contains the crossover transition range. In addition, for energies above 7.7 GeV, the measured proton κ_{n}, within uncertainties, does not support the two-component (Poisson+binomial) shape of proton number distributions that would be expected from a first-order phase transition. Taken in combination, the hyperorder proton number fluctuations suggest that the structure of QCD matter at high baryon density, μ_{B}∼750  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3  GeV is starkly different from those at vanishing μ_{B}∼24  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV and higher collision energies.

[Clinical features and long-term prognosis of diabetic patients with low or intermediate complexity coronary artery disease post percutaneous coronary intervention]

Objective: To investigate the clinical features and long-term prognostic factors of diabetic patients with low or intermediate complexity coronary artery disease (CAD) post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: This was a prospective, single-centre observational study. Consecutive diabetic patients with SYNTAX score (SS)≤32 undergoing PCI between January and December 2013 in Fuwai hospital were included in this analysis. The patients were divided into two groups based on SS, namely SS≤22 group and SS 23-32 group. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify independent factors related to poor 5-year prognosis. The primary outcomes were cardiac death and recurrent myocardial infarction, the secondary outcomes were all cause death and revascularization. Results: Of the 3 899 patients included in the study, 2 888 were men (74.1%); mean age was 59.4±9.8 years. There were 3 450 patients in the SS≤22 group and 449 patients in the SS 23-32 group. Compared with SS≤22 group, the incidence of revascularization was higher in SS 23-32 group (18.9% (85/449) vs. 15.2% (524/3450), log-rank P=0.019). There was no significant difference in all-cause death, cardiac death and recurrent myocardial infarction between the two groups (log-rank P>0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age (HR=1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08, P<0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR=3.12, 95%CI 1.37-7.07, P=0.007) and creatinine clearance rate (CCr)<60 ml/min (HR=3.67, 95%CI 2.05-6.58, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for 5-year cardiac death, while left ventricular ejection fraction (HR=0.94, 95%CI 0.91-0.96, P<0.001) was a protective factor. Previous PCI (HR=2.04, 95%CI 1.38-3.00, P<0.001), blood glucose level≥11.1 mmol/L on admission (HR=2.49, 95%CI 1.32-4.70, P=0.005) and CCr<60 ml/min (HR=1.85, 95%CI 1.14-2.99, P=0.012) were independent risk factors for 5-year recurrent myocardial infarction. The SS of 23-32 was independently associated with risk of revascularization (HR=1.54, 95%CI 1.09-2.16, P=0.014), after adjusting for residual SS. Residual SS was not a risk factor for 5-year prognosis. Conclusions: In diabetic patients with low-or intermediate complexity CAD, SS 23-32 is associated with increased risk of 5-year revascularization; the clinical characteristics of the patients are associated with the long-term mortality and recurrent myocardial infarction, but not related to revascularization.

Denosumab salvage therapy in an 11-year-old boy with locally recurrent unresectable giant cell tumor of the lumbar spine after surgery

Giant cell tumors (GCTs) of the bone are locally aggressive primary bone tumors with a benign character. Spinal involvement is rare which accounts for approximately 5% of all primary bone tumors and it is quite rare in the lumbar spine. An 11-year-old boy patient presented with pain of low back and bilateral low extremities. Lumbar CT and MRI revealed a lytic lesion of the L4 vertebra corpus. The patient earned remarkable and timely recovery with 2 surgical interventions and the use of denosumab. Surgical resection for GCTs is still preferable as the initial treatment, denosumab should be utilized after tumor resection whether based on the purpose of prevention or treatment of tumor recurrence.

Marine Structural Health Monitoring with Optical Fiber Sensors: A Review

Real-time monitoring of large marine structures' health, including drilling platforms, submarine pipelines, dams, and ship hulls, is greatly needed. Among the various kinds of monitoring methods, optical fiber sensors (OFS) have gained a lot of concerns and showed several distinct advantages, such as small size, high flexibility and durability, anti-electromagnetic interference, and high transmission rate. In this paper, three types of OFS used for marine structural health monitoring (SHM), including point sensing, quasi-distributed sensing, and distributed sensing, are reviewed. Emphases are given to the applicability of each type of the sensors by analyzing the operating principles and characteristics of the OFSs. The merits and demerits of different sensing schemes are discussed, as well as the challenges and future developments in OFSs for the marine SHM field.

Dense 3D pressure discomfort threshold (PDT) map of the human head, face and neck: A new method for mapping human sensitivity

When designing wearables that interface with the human head, face and neck, designers and engineers consider human senses, ergonomics and comfort. A dense 3D pressure discomfort threshold map could be helpful, but does not exist yet. Differences in pressure discomfort threshold for areas of the head, neck and face were recorded, to create a 3D pressure discomfort threshold map. Between 126 and 146 landmarks were placed on the left side of the head, face and neck of twenty-eight healthy participants (gender balanced). The positions of the landmarks were specified using an EEG 10-20 system-based landmark-grid on the head and a self-developed grid on the face and neck. A 3D scan was made to capture the head geometry and landmark coordinates. In a randomised order, pressure was applied on each landmark with a force gauge until the participant indicated experiencing discomfort. By interpolating all collected pressure discomfort thresholds based on their corresponding 3D coordinates, a dense 3D pressure discomfort threshold map was made. A relatively low-pressure discomfort threshold was found in areas around the nose, neck front, mouth, chin-jaw, cheek and cheekbone, possibly due to the proximate or direct location of nerves, blood veins and soft (muscular) tissue. Medium pressure discomfort was found in the neck back, forehead and temple regions. High pressure discomfort threshold was found in the back of the head and scalp, where skin is relatively thin and closely supported by bone, making these regions interesting for mounting or resting head, face and neck related equipment upon.

A Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Based on Cladding Mode Resonance for Label-Free Biosensing

A fiber-optic biosensing platform based on ultra-narrowband cladding mode resonances was developed on a high-reflectivity fiber Bragg grating (FBG) for targeting biomolecular detection. The multiple cladding modes with a high sensitivity to the refractive index (RI) were excited in the FBG by coupling between the forward-propagating guided core mode of the multimode fiber and the backward-propagating guided cladding mode of the FBG without any damage to the fiber structure or any change to the standard FBG manufacturing process. The full width at half maximum and the Q-factor of the typical cladding mode resonance operation of the proposed sensor are 80 pm and 19,270, respectively, which are better than those of most fiber-optic biosensors reported to date. In addition, the FBG sensor demonstrated a high sensitivity in protein detection and a high selectivity in serum sample assays. The sensitivity of this sensor was further increased simply by coating it with graphene oxide (GO) sheets on the sensing surface without using a signal amplification strategy. Furthermore, an ultra-low limit of detection (LOD) of 32 pM was obtained by the GO-coated FBG sensor for IgG detection. The proposed FBG sensor provides a competitive fiber-optic platform for biomolecular detection. It has a great potential for applications in label-free biosensing.

Electrokinetics in antimicrobial resistance analysis: A review

Infections caused by antimicrobial resistance are a serious problem in the world. Currently, commercial devices for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and resistant bacteria identification are time-consuming. There is an urgent need to develop fast and accurate methods, especially in the process of sample pretreatment. Electrokinetic (EK) is a family of electric-field-based kinetic phenomena of fluid or embedded objects, and EK applications have been found in various fields. In this paper, EK bacteria manipulation, including enrichment and separation, is reviewed. Focus is given to the rapid electric-based minimum inhibitory concentration measurement. The future directions and major challenges in this field are also outlined.