The diagnostic value of serum C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, interleukin-6 and lactate dehydrogenase in patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Objective: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease with rapid progression. In severe cases, it can cause systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), multiple organ failure (POF) and even death. The study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in patients with severe AP.

Diagnostic value of hematological parameters in acute pancreatitis.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease with rapid onset and rapid progression. In severe cases, it can cause systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), multiple organ failure (POF) and death. In order to explore the effective index of early diagnosis of AP, we have detected the levels of serum lipase (LPS), serum amylase (S-AMY) and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Acute effects of ambient air pollution on hospital outpatients with chronic pharyngitis in Xinxiang, China.

We present results on a time-series study that analyzed the acute effects of six criteria air pollutants on hospital outpatient with chronic pharyngitis (CP) in Xinxiang, China. Data on the concentration of air pollutants and CP outpatient records were collected daily in Xinxiang, China, from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018. This study identified 62,823 outpatients with CP.

Changes in Cortical Thickness Are Associated With Cognitive Ability in Postoperative School-Aged Children With Tetralogy of Fallot.

In children with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), there is a risk of brain injury even if intracardiac deformities are corrected. This population follow-up study aimed to identify the correlation between cerebral morphology changes and cognition in postoperative school-aged children with TOF. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Chinese revised edition (WISC-CR) were used to assess the difference between children with TOF and healthy children (HCs).

Comprehensive identification of Vitex trifolia fruit and its five adulterants by comparison of micromorphological, microscopic characteristics, and chemical profiles.

Prevention against the adulteration of traditional Chinese medicine in an accurate way has been long exploring. Vitex trifolia fruit (VTF), as a widely used analgesic in East Asia, has frequently been found to be adulterated with five adulterants, namely Vitex cannabifolia fruit (VCF) (Fam. Verbenaceae), Vitex negundo fruit (VNF) (Fam.

Cognitive dysfunction in a psychotropic medication-naïve, clinical high-risk sample from the ShangHai-At-Risk-for-Psychosis (SHARP) study: Associations with clinical outcomes.

Objectives: 1) to assess generalizability of neurocognitive deficits reported in previous Western clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis studies in a prodromal program in Shanghai, China; and 2) to investigate neurocognition in CHR subjects in relation to a broader range of clinical outcomes (e.g. remission) than presence or absence of psychosis.

A sensitive upconverting nanoprobe based on signal amplification technology for real-time in situ monitoring of drug-induced liver injury.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is increasingly recognized as one of the most challenging global health problems. Conventional in vitro detection methods not only lack specificity and sensitivity but also cannot achieve real-time, straightforward visualization of hepatotoxicity in vivo. Liver-specific miR122 has been observed to be a superior and sensitive biomarker for DILI diagnosis.

Association Between the Duration of Untreated Psychosis and Selective Cognitive Performance in Community-Dwelling Individuals With Chronic Untreated Schizophrenia in Rural China.

Importance: Cognitive deficits constitute core features of schizophrenia, but the trajectories of cognitive difficulties in chronic untreated schizophrenia remain unclear.

Objective: To assess the association of neuropsychological deficits with duration of untreated psychosis in individuals with chronic untreated schizophrenia.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Community-dwelling individuals with chronic untreated schizophrenia (untreated patient group) and individuals without mental illness (control group) were recruited from predominantly rural communities in Ningxia, China between June 20, 2016, and August 6, 2019, and administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Mini-Mental State Examination, an 8-test version of the MATRICS Consensus Cognition Battery adapted for use in individuals with low levels of education, and a measure of social cognition.

Mobile health applications for mental illnesses: An Asian context.

Advances in digital technologies have created unprecedented opportunities to assess and improve health behavior and health outcomes. Evidence indicates that a majority of the world's population, including traditionally underserved populations and low- and middle-income countries, has access to mobile technologies (phones, tablets, mobile devices). Given the widespread access to mobile technology worldwide, health behavior-change tools delivered on mobile platforms enable broader reach and scalability of evidence-based assessment and interventions, especially for addressing the growing burden of mental health disorders globally.

Comparative analysis and natural evolution of squalene epoxidase in three Fritillaria species.

Fritillariae Bulbus are the most commonly used antitussive and edible herbs in China. Based on UPLC-QTOF-MS and UPLC-QQQ-MS, the validated MRM-based non-targeted quantitative method was applied to determinate the contents of 48 Fritillaria alkaloids (FAs) in three Fritillaria species (F. thunbergii Miq.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 4Al Alumina-Forming Austenitic Steel after Cold-Rolling Deformation and Annealing.

Microstructural evolutions of the 4Al alumina-forming austenitic steel after cold rolling with different reductions from 5% to 30% and then annealing were investigated using electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tensile properties and hardness were also measured. The results show that the average grain size gradually decreases with an increase in the cold-rolling reduction.

Pd-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Cycloaddition of Vinylethylene Carbonates with Isothiocyanates.

An efficient route for formal [3 + 2] cycloaddition of vinylethylene carbonates with isothiocyanates was developed for the synthesis of 1,3-oxazolidine-2-thione derivatives. The zwitterionic π-allyl palladium intermediates formed in situ by decarboxylation of VECs acted as the three-membered synthons. In this transformation, the C-N bond formation was selectively realized over the C-S bond formation.

Exposure pathways, levels and toxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in humans: A review.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are extensively used as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in different types of materials, which have been listed as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) by the Stockholm Convention in 2009 and 2017. Due to their ubiquities in the environment and toxicities, PBDEs have posed great threat to both human health and ecosystems. The aim of this review is to offer a comprehensive understanding of the exposure pathways, levels and trends and associated health risks of PBDEs in human body in a global scale.

An epidemiological survey of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease at the otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery clinics in China.

Purpose: Using the Reflux Symptom Index (RSI), this nationwide study aimed to investigate the incidence, diagnostic status, risk factors, and common symptoms of adult laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) at otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS) clinics in China.

Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional survey began at the different institutions ranged from July to October 2017, and the duration was 12 months. A total of 90,440 eligible patients were finally enrolled from 72 medical institutions in China.

Discovery of a potent SCAP degrader that ameliorates HFD-induced obesity, hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance via an autophagy-independent lysosomal pathway.

SCAP (SREBF chaperone) regulates SREBFs (sterol regulatory element binding transcription factors) processing and stability, and, thus, becomes an emerging drug target to treat dyslipidemia and fatty liver disease. However, the current known SCAP inhibitors, such as oxysterols, induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and NR1H3/LXRα (nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group H member 3)-SREBF1/SREBP-1 c-mediated hepatic steatosis, which severely limited the clinical application of this inhibitor. In this study, we identified a small molecule, lycorine, which binds to SCAP, which suppressed the SREBF pathway without inducing ER stress or activating NR1H3.

Prediction of hypertension, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia from retinal fundus photographs via deep learning: A cross-sectional study of chronic diseases in central China.

Retinal fundus photography provides a non-invasive approach for identifying early microcirculatory alterations of chronic diseases prior to the onset of overt clinical complications. Here, we developed neural network models to predict hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and a range of risk factors from retinal fundus images obtained from a cross-sectional study of chronic diseases in rural areas of Xinxiang County, Henan, in central China. 1222 high-quality retinal images and over 50 measurements of anthropometry and biochemical parameters were generated from 625 subjects.

Advancing study of cognitive impairments for antipsychotic-naïve psychosis comparing high-income versus low- and middle-income countries with a focus on urban China: Systematic review of cognition and study methodology.

Background: Comparing the course of antipsychotic-naïve psychosis in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) may help to illuminate core pathophysiologies associated with this condition. Previous reviews-primarily from high-income countries (HIC)-identified cognitive deficits in antipsychotic-naïve, first-episode psychosis, but did not examine whether individuals with psychosis with longer duration of untreated psychosis (DUP > 5 years) were included, nor whether LMIC were broadly represented.

Method: A comprehensive search of PUBMED from January 2002-August 2018 identified 36 studies that compared cognitive functioning in antipsychotic-naïve individuals with psychosis (IWP) and healthy controls, 20 from HIC and 16 from LMIC.

Liquid chromatographic separation of alkaloids in herbal medicines: Current status and perspectives.

Alkaloids are a widespread group of basic compounds in herbal medicines and have attracted great interest due to various pharmaceutical activities and desirable druggability. Their distinctive structures make chromatographic separation fairly difficult. Peak tailing, poor resolution, and inferior column-to-column reproducibility are common obstacles to overcome.

Short time exposure to ambient ozone and associated cardiovascular effects: A panel study of healthy young adults.

The evidence that exposure to ambient ozone (O) causes acute cardiovascular effects appears inconsistent. A repeated-measure study with 61 healthy young volunteers was conducted in Xinxiang, Central China. Real-time concentrations of O were monitored.

Semi-Autonomous Robotic Arm Reaching With Hybrid Gaze-Brain Machine Interface.

Recent developments in the non-muscular human-robot interface (HRI) and shared control strategies have shown potential for controlling the assistive robotic arm by people with no residual movement or muscular activity in upper limbs. However, most non-muscular HRIs only produce discrete-valued commands, resulting in non-intuitive and less effective control of the dexterous assistive robotic arm. Furthermore, the user commands and the robot autonomy commands usually switch in the shared control strategies of such applications.