A review of the clinical approach to persistent pain following total hip replacement

Total hip arthroplasty is effective in reducing pain and improving functional outcome for a variety of hip pathologies. Approximately 27% patients, however, complain of pain at 6 months' follow-up following surgery. The pain may worsen over time and can become severe and chronic in around 4% of patients who ultimately require revision surgery. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to comprehensively assess patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty in order to identify the underlying pathology of a painful hip and then offer prompt treatment. Causes of hip pain after total hip arthroplasty are analysed in this article, as well as the systematic approach to evaluation and appropriate diagnostic investigations.

[Association between sense of coherence and occupational stress of workers in modern service industry in Shanghai, China]

Objective: To investigate understand the current status of the sense of coherence and occupational stress in modern service workers, and to analyze the association between occupational stress and the sense of coherence. Methods: From March to April, 2016, 834 modern service workers from 3 companies in Shanghai, China (in air transportation industry, marketing industry, and travel industry) were surveyed by non-ran-dom sampling. The self-completion questionnaires were filled out anonymously given the informed consent of the workers. The occupational stress questionnaire was used to evaluate occupational stress, and the Chinese version of the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13) was used to assess the mental health. Results: The mean score for the sense of coherence of the respondents was 61.54±10.46, and 50.1% of them were self-rated as having occupational stress. There were significant differences in SOC score between groups with different ages, marital status, positions, lengths of service, family per capita monthly income, and weekly work hours (P<0.05). The occupational stress score differed significantly across groups with different marital status, lengths of service, and weekly work hours (P<0.05). The scores for working autonomy, social support, and occupational stress differed significantly between groups with different SOC levels (P<0.05). There were significant differences in SOC score and the distribution of low-SOC respondents between groups with different levels of working autonomy, social support, and occupational stress. High SOC is a protective factor for occupational stress (OR=0.39, 95%CI 0.26~ 0.59). Conclusion: Modern service workers in Shanghai have high SOC and moderate occupational stress. Therefore, improving SOC may reduce occupational stress.

Support Substructures: Support-Induced Part-Level Structural Representation

In this work we explore a support-induced structural organization of object parts. We introduce the concept of support substructures, which are special subsets of object parts with support and stability. A bottom-up approach is proposed to identify such substructures in a support relation graph. We apply the derived high-level substructures to part-based shape reshuffling between models, resulting in nontrivial functionally plausible model variations that are difficult to achieve with symmetry-induced substructures by the state-of-the-art methods. We also show how to automatically or interactively turn a single input model to new functionally plausible shapes by structure rearrangement and synthesis, enabled by support substructures. To the best of our knowledge no single existing method has been designed for all these applications.

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of Fem1b from oriental river prawn Macrobrachium nipponense

Feminization-1 homolog b (Fem1b) is one of the genes essential for male development and play central roles in sex determination of Caenorhabditis elegans. In this study, we cloned and characterized the full-length Fem1b cDNA from the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium nipponense (MnFem1b) in different tissues and at different developmental stages. Real-time quantitative reverse polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) showed that the MnFem1b gene was expressed in all investigated tissues, with the highest expression level found in the testes. The results revealed that the MnFem1b gene might play roles in aspects of development of the male prawn phenotype. The RT-qPCR also revealed that MnFem1b mRNA expression was significantly increased at 10 days after metamorphosis. The expression levels in all investigated tissues showed a certain degree of sexually dimorphism, the expression levels in males were significantly higher than those in females (P < 0.05). Notably, the highest expression of MnFem1b was found in the testes. The expression of MnFem1b in different tissues indicates that it plays multiple biological functions in M. nipponense.

The effects of acetaldehyde, glyoxal and acetic acid on the heterogeneous reaction of nitrogen dioxide on gamma-alumina

Heterogeneous reactions of nitrogen oxides on the surface of aluminium oxide result in the formation of adsorbed nitrite and nitrate. However, little is known about the effects of other species on these heterogeneous reactions and their products. In this study, diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS) was used to analyze the process of the heterogeneous reaction of NO2 on the surface of aluminium oxide particles in the presence of pre-adsorbed organic species (acetaldehyde, glyoxal and acetic acid) at 298 K and reveal the influence of these organic species on the formation of adsorbed nitrite and nitrate. It was found that the pre-adsorption of organic species (acetaldehyde, glyoxal and acetic acid) on γ-Al2O3 could suppress the formation of nitrate to different extents. Under the same experimental conditions, the suppression of the formation of nitrate by the pre-adsorption of acetic acid is much stronger than that by pre-adsorption of acetaldehyde and glyoxal, indicating that the influence of acetic acid on the heterogeneous reaction of NO2 is different from that of acetaldehyde and glyoxal. Surface nitrite is formed and identified to be an intermediate product. For the heterogeneous reaction of NO2 on the surface of γ-Al2O3 with and without the pre-adsorption of acetaldehyde and glyoxal, it is firstly formed and then gradually disappears as the reaction proceeds, but for the reaction with the pre-adsorption of acetic acid, it is the final main product besides nitrate. This indicates that the pre-adsorption of acetic acid would promote the formation of nitrite, while the others would not change the trend of the formation of nitrite. The possible influence mechanisms of the pre-adsorption of acetaldehyde, glyoxal and acetic acid on the heterogeneous conversion of NO2 on γ-Al2O3 are proposed and atmospheric implications based on these results are discussed.

The Influence of Acquisition Delay for Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Time-resolved spectra of neutral and ionized atomic emissions from slag sample are measured by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Various factors affecting the calibration-free CF-LIBS method are carefully analyzed, and subsequently these factors are either avoided or corrected. Plasma temperature and electron density are calculated by Saha-Boltzmann plot and Stark broadening of Ca, respectively. At the same time, self-absorption and local thermodynamic equilibrium have been carefully studied. An automatic spectral lines elimination algorithm is applied to calculate plasma temperature and element concentration. The calculated element concentrations show marked changes with acquisition time increasing. Due to the influence of continuous spectrum at early times and self-absorption at late times, the large absolute errors sum is obtained in these two periods. The smallest absolute errors sum corresponds to the gate delay time 1.5 μs < td < 2 μs for our experimental setup.

Network meta-analysis accurately predicted the outcome of a subsequent randomised trial comparing once weekly dulaglutide 1.5 mg and once daily liraglutide 1.8 mg

BACKGROUND

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are an established treatment for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We aimed to indirectly compare two GLP-1 receptor agonists, once weekly dulaglutide 1.5 mg and once daily liraglutide 1.8 mg, as a part of clinical trial planning.

METHODS

Studies for inclusion in the network meta-analysis (NMA) included all available dulaglutide and liraglutide data as of November 2011 as well as results from the exenatide once weekly registration programme. Change from baseline in haemoglobin A1c (A1c) was the primary endpoint, and a 26-week treatment effect was estimated.

RESULTS

Data for 7135 people with T2D from 15 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) followed for 12-52 weeks were included in the quantitative analysis. Observed results from the NMA predicted an A1c change from baseline of -15.1 mmol/mol (-1.38%) in the dulaglutide 1.5 mg group and -14.7 mmol/mol (-1.34%) in the liraglutide 1.8 mg group, with a predicted treatment difference (dulaglutide-liraglutide) of -0.4 mmol/mol (-0.04%) [95% credible interval: -2.4 to 1.5 mmol/mol (-0.22% to 0.14%)].

CONCLUSIONS

The subsequent RCT primary result of a -0.7 mmol/mol (-0.06%) treatment difference (dulaglutide-liraglutide) in A1c demonstrated that once weekly dulaglutide 1.5 mg and once daily liraglutide 1.8 mg resulted in similar glycaemic control, which was consistent with the NMA-predicted treatment difference. NMA is a useful tool and should be considered during clinical trial planning.

Photosensitized Production of Atmospherically Reactive Organic Compounds at the Air/Aqueous Interface

We report on experiments that probe photosensitized chemistry at the air/water interface, a region that does not just connect the two phases but displays its own specific chemistry. Here, we follow reactions of octanol, a proxy for environmentally relevant soluble surfactants, initiated by an attack by triplet-state carbonyl compounds, which are themselves concentrated at the interface by the presence of this surfactant. Gas-phase products are determined using PTR-ToF-MS, and those remaining in the organic layer are determined by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and HPLC-HRMS. We observe the photosensitized production of carboxylic acids as well as unsaturated and branched-chain oxygenated products, compounds that act as organic aerosol precursors and had been thought to be produced solely by biological activity. A mechanism that is consistent with the observations is detailed here, and the energetics of several key reactions are calculated using quantum chemical methods. The results suggest that the concentrating nature of the interface leads to its being a favorable venue for radical reactions yielding complex and functionalized products that themselves could initiate further secondary chemistry and new particle formation in the atmospheric environment.

REPAIR EFFECTS OF UMBILICAL CORD MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS ON PODOCYTE DAMAGE OF IgA NEPHROPATHY

This study aimed to explore the influence of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UMSC) on stem cell homing and glomerular mesangial cell (GMC) after intravenous injection performed on mice tails with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and its possible mechanism, which provide a new way and theoretical basis for the application of stem cell transplantation (SCT) in kidney disease treatment. Specific pathogen free (SPF) male Kunming mice were randomly divided into groups. A complex method applying bovine serum albumin (BSA) gavage, hypodermic injection of CCl4 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used for building IgAN mice model. In addition, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and cluster of differentiation (CD) 44 were observed by Masson staining and detected with immunohistochemistry (IHC) to confirm homing and location of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Moreover, Western Blot was used for detecting VEGF and CTGF so as to explore the possible mechanism of applying UMSC in treating IgAN. Masson staining indicated that fibrosis degree of MSCs in treatment group was significantly lower than in negative control group after stem cell treatment. Routine urine test explained that proteinuria in treatment group were (7.15±0.31), (4.87±0.22), (2.95±0.16) g/24 h and (12.00±1.38) g/24 h in model group (P less than 0.05). MSCs were observed to be located in glomerulus and renal interstitium by IHC detection of CD44 and IHC qualitative observation of VEGF and CTGF had different positive expressions in three groups. Furthermore, different expressions of VEGF and CTGF were observed quantitatively by Western Blot. Fibrosis degree of renal tissue relieves, hematuresis and proteinuria eases and IgAN symptoms obviously improve after UMSC treatment, which hints that the treatment of HUMSC has protective effect on IgAN mice model.

Diet-related determinants of childhood obesity in urban settings: a comparison between Shanghai and New York

Over the past three decades, both Shanghai and New York City (NYC), have experienced dramatic rises in childhood obesity rates. Given the role that obesity plays in the aetiology of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, the elevated rates are a major concern. Despite differences in governance systems and cultures, Shanghai and NYC have experienced rapid industrialization, a growing population and a rise in income inequality. The prevalence of childhood obesity in Shanghai and NYC is greater than their respective national rate. However, the trajectory and development of this epidemic has differed between the cities. The distribution of obesity by race and ethnicity, socio-economic status, sex, and age differs markedly between the two cities. To reduce prevalence and inequities within this complex epidemic requires an understanding of the dynamic changes in living conditions among social groups in each city and the behaviours that are influenced by such changes. By comparing changes in the influences on dietary behaviours, such as food distribution, pricing, gender values, and media and marketing, this highlights opportunities for Shanghai, NYC, and other world cities with high or rising rates of childhood obesity to inform future program and policy initiatives. It reiterates the importance of a comprehensive and multilevel approach that includes action at the individual, family, community, municipal, national, and global levels.

Short-term administration of the glucagon receptor antagonist LY2409021 lowers blood glucose in healthy people and in those with type 2 diabetes

AIM

To describe the clinical effects of single and multiple doses of a potent, selective, orally administered, small-molecule antagonist of the human glucagon receptor, LY2409021, in healthy subjects and in patients with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

LY2409021 was administered in dose-escalation studies to healthy subjects (n = 23) and patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 9) as single doses (Study 1) and daily to patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 47) for 28 days (Study 2). Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) assessments were made after single doses and in patients receiving once-daily doses of LY2409021 (5, 30, 60 or 90 mg) for 28 days.

RESULTS

LY2409021 was well tolerated at all dose levels in both studies. Fasting and postprandial glucose were reduced and glucagon levels increased after single and multiple dosing, with reductions in fasting serum glucose of up to ∼1.25 mmol/l on day 28. Serum aminotransferases increased in a dose-dependent manner with multiple dosing and reversed after cessation of dosing. Significant glucose-lowering was observed with LY2409021 at dose levels associated with only minor aminotransferase increases.

CONCLUSION

Blockade of glucagon signalling in patients with type 2 diabetes is well tolerated and results in substantial reduction of fasting and postprandial glucose with minimal hypoglycaemia, but with reversible increases in aminotransferases. Inhibition of glucagon signalling by LY2409021 is a promising potential treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes and should be evaluated in longer clinical trials to better evaluate benefits and risks.

Identification of the typical metal particles among haze, fog, and clear episodes in the Beijing atmosphere

For a better understanding of metal particle morphology and behaviors in China, atmospheric aerosols were sampled in the summer of 2012 in Beijing. The single-particle analysis shows various metal-bearing speciations, dominated by oxides, sulfates and nitrates. A large fraction of particles is soluble. Sources of Fe-bearing particles are mainly steel industries and oil fuel combustion, whereas Zn- and Pb-bearing particles are primarily contributed by waste incineration, besides industrial combustion. Other trace metal particles play a minor rule, and may come from diverse origins. Mineral dust and anthropogenic source like vehicles and construction activities are of less importance to metal-rich particles. Statistics of 1173 analyzed particles show that Fe-rich particles (48.5%) dominate the metal particles, followed by Zn-rich particles (34.9%) and Pb-rich particles (15.6%). Compared with the abundances among clear, haze and fog conditions, a severe metal pollution is identified in haze and fog episodes. Particle composition and elemental correlation suggest that the haze episodes are affected by the biomass burning in the southern regions, and the fog episodes by the local emission with manifold particle speciation. Our results show the heterogeneous reaction accelerated in the fog and haze episodes indicated by more zinc nitrate or zinc sulfate instead of zinc oxide or carbonate. Such information is useful in improving our knowledge of fine airborne metal particles on their morphology, speciation, and solubility, all of which will help the government introduce certain control to alleviate metal pollution.

Boronic acid-based enzyme inhibitors: a review of recent progress

Since Bortezomib was approved by US FDA as the first drug to treat multiple myeloma, various boronic acid compounds have been developed as enzyme inhibitors. This paper reviewed the progress of boronic acid-based inhibitors against enzymes including proteasome, serine protease, HDACs and other enzymes in the past decade.

Recombinant human thyrotropin versus thyroid hormone withdrawal in radioiodine remnant ablation for differentiated thyroid cancer: a meta-analysis

AIM

We aim to assess the effects of recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) versus thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW), and rhTSH-aided low doses (1.11 GBq and 1.85 GBq) versus high dose (3.7 GBq) of radioiodine in the residual ablation for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).

METHODS

Studies were obtained from computerized searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library (all until September 2012). Randomized controlled trials were included.

RESULTS

Altogether 1325 patients with DTC participated in seven trials for residual ablation. Overall, studies had a low risk of bias. We found no statistically significant differences between rhTSH and THW treatment in terms of successful ablation rate (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.37, P=0.56) but significant benefits in health-related quality of life (mean difference 3.59, 95% CI 2.81 to 4.37, P<0.00001), adverse events during and after ablation (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.73, P<0.00001), radiation exposure to blood and bone marrow (mean difference -0.01, 95% CI -0.02 to -0.01, P<0.00001). In addition, no significant difference was found in the successful ablation rate between the low dose (1.11 GBq and 1.85 GBq) and high dose (3.7 GBq) of radioiodine aided by rhTSH (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.47, P=0.56). There were no deaths and no serious adverse effects in DTC patients treated with either rhTSH or THW, maximum follow-up was 12 months. None of the included trials investigated secondary malignancies or economic outcomes.

CONCLUSION

rhTSH is as effective as THW on radioiodine thyroid remnant ablation with significant benefits on health-related quality of life, adverse effects during and after ablation, decreased whole body radiation exposure. The lower radioiodine doses are as effective as high doses for remnant ablation under rhTSH stimulation.

Individual particle analysis of aerosols collected at Lhasa City in the Tibetan Plateau

To understand the composition and major sources of aerosol particles in Lhasa City on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), individual particles were collected from 2 February to 8 March, 2013 in Tibet University. The mean concentrations of both PM2.5 and PM10 during the sampling were 25.7±21.7 and 57.2±46.7 μg/m3, respectively, much lower than those of other cities in East and South Asia, but higher than those in the remote region in TP like Nam Co, indicating minor urban pollution. Combining the observations with the meteorological parameters and back trajectory analysis, it was concluded that local sources controlled the pollution during the sampling. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS) was used to study 408 particles sampled on four days. Based on the EDS analysis, a total of 8 different particle categories were classified for all 408 particles, including Si-rich, Ca-rich, soot, K-rich, Fe-rich, Pb-rich, Al-rich and other particles. The dominant elements were Si, Al and Ca, which were mainly attributed to mineral dust in the earth's crust such as feldspar and clay. Fe-, Pb-, K-, Al-rich particles and soot mainly originated from anthropogenic sources like firework combustion and biomass burning during the sampling. During the sampling, the pollution mainly came from mineral dust, while the celebration ceremony and religious ritual produced a large quantity of anthropogenic metal-bearing particles on 9 and 25 February 2013. Cement particles also had a minor influence. The data obtained in this study can be useful for developing pollution control strategies.

Progressive 3D Reconstruction of Planar-Faced Manifold Objects with DRF-Based Line Drawing Decomposition

This paper presents an approach for reconstructing polyhedral objects from single-view line drawings. Our approach separates a complex line drawing representing a manifold object into a series of simpler line drawings, based on the degree of reconstruction freedom (DRF). We then progressively reconstruct a complete 3D model from these simpler line drawings. Our experiments show that our decomposition algorithm is able to handle complex drawings which are challenging for the state of the art. The advantages of the presented progressive 3D reconstruction method over the existing reconstruction methods in terms of both robustness and efficiency are also demonstrated.

Characteristics and chemical compositions of particulate matter collected at the selected metro stations of Shanghai, China

A campaign was conducted to assess and compare the air quality at the different metro platforms at Shanghai City, focusing on particulate matter (PM) levels, chemical compositions, morphology and mineralogy, as well as species of iron. Our results indicated that the average PM₂.₅ concentrations for the three metro lines were 177.7 μg/m(3), 105.7 μg/m(3) and 82.5 μg/m(3), respectively, and the average PM1 concentrations for the three lines were 122.3 μg/m(3), 84.1 μg/m(3) and 59.6 μg/m(3), respectively. Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Sr, Ba and Pb concentrations in all of the sampling sites were significantly higher than that in the urban ambient air, implicating that these trace metals may be associated with the metro systems working. Individual airborne dusts were studied for morphology and mineralogy characteristics. The results revealed that the presence of most individual particles were with no definite shape and most of them were with a large metal content. Furthermore, Fe-rich particles had significantly higher abundance in the metro systems, which were more frequently encountered in the underground lines than the aboveground line. The 2D distribution map of an interested Fe-rich particle showed an uneven Fe distribution, implying that a hollow or core of other substance exists in the particle center during the formation process. Cluster analysis revealed that Fe-rich particles were possibly a mixture of Fe species. Fitting of X-ray absorption near-edge fine structure spectra (XANES) showed the main iron species within the particles collected from the three contrasting metro lines of Shanghai to be hematite, magnetite, iron-metal and mineral Fe. Hematite and mineral Fe were all found in three lines, while magnetite only existed in aboveground metro line. Iron-metal was determined in both the older and younger underground lines, based on the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. As diverse Fe species have different physical-chemical characteristics and toxicity, the speciation of Fe-containing metro particles is important in the context of public health and control measures.