Endovascular management of spontaneous axillary artery aneurysm: a case report and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous atraumatic true axillary artery aneurysm is a relatively unusual disorder. Although most cases are asymptomatic, complications of axillary artery aneurysms may result in acute vascular insufficiency and neurological deficits. Prompt treatment, therefore, should be employed in the management of this condition. To date, the standard treatment for peripheral aneurysms is still surgical resection with end-to-end anastomosis. However, aneurysmectomy and interposition grafting with autologous or artificial vessels are more invasive and time-consuming. The ideal treatment for axillary artery aneurysm should be relatively noninvasive, safe and free of significant complications, cost-effective, cosmetically acceptable, and incur less absence from usual daily activities. Endovascular stent grafts have also been successfully used to treat these aneurysms. Management of select aneurysms using stent grafts has become more prevalent with the developing endoluminal technology. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a spontaneous atraumatic axillary artery aneurysm where the patient was a 48-year-old ethnic Han Chinese woman with a gradually enlarging left axillary pulsatile mass. She was treated with endovascular stent grafts. The postoperative course of the patient was uneventful during the six-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: We show that there are significant early advantages with the endovascular management technique versus the conventional operation in the management of axillary artery aneurysm

On the decay of strength in Guilin red clay with cracks

In order to research the effect of cracks in red clay on shear strength through dry-wet cycle test, the experimenters used imaging software and a mathematical model to determine fractal dimension and crack ratio of surface cracks in red clay in Guilin, China. After each dry-wet cycle, direct shear tests were carried out on the sample, and such variables as matrix suction on the crack propagation process of red clay were analyzed. The mechanics model was established and obtained the critical condition of soil cracks. The results show that with the increase in the number of dry-wet cycles the shear strength of the samples would decrease. But the rule of shear strength of sample 3 is slightly different from samples 1 and 2. The shear strength of red clay has a good correlation with fractal dimension and crack ratio, which could be an identification index of the strength of red clay

NPInter: the noncoding RNAs and protein related biomacromolecules interaction database

The noncoding RNAs and protein related biomacromolecules interaction database (NPInter; or ) is a database that documents experimentally determined functional interactions between noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and protein related biomacromolecules (PRMs) (proteins, mRNAs or genomic DNAs). NPInter intends to provide the scientific community with a comprehensive and integrated tool for efficient browsing and extraction of information on interactions between ncRNAs and PRMs. Beyond cataloguing details of these interactions, the NPInter will be useful for understanding ncRNA function, as it adds a very important functional element, ncRNAs, to the biomolecule interaction network and sets up a bridge between the coding and the noncoding kingdoms

Dynamic Changes in Subgraph Preference Profiles of Crucial Transcription Factors

Transcription factors with a large number of target genes—transcription hub(s), or THub(s)—are usually crucial components of the regulatory system of a cell, and the different patterns through which they transfer the transcriptional signal to downstream cascades are of great interest. By profiling normalized abundances (A(N)) of basic regulatory patterns of individual THubs in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptional regulation network under five different cellular states and environmental conditions, we have investigated their preferences for different basic regulatory patterns. Subgraph-normalized abundances downstream of individual THubs often differ significantly from that of the network as a whole, and conversely, certain over-represented subgraphs are not preferred by any THub. The THub preferences changed substantially when the cellular or environmental conditions changed. This switching of regulatory pattern preferences suggests that a change in conditions does not only elicit a change in response by the regulatory network, but also a change in the mechanisms by which the response is mediated. The THub subgraph preference profile thus provides a novel tool for description of the structure and organization between the large-scale exponents and local regulatory patterns

Immunological risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with psoriatic arthritis: New predictive nomograms and natural killer cells

ObjectiveTo search for the immunological risk factors of Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) combined with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), development and assessment of predictive nomograms for NAFLD risk in patients with PsA, and to further explore the correlation between risk factors and dyslipidemia.MethdsA total of 127 patients with PsA (46 with NAFLD and 81 without NAFLD) were included in this retrospective study. The clinical and serological parameters of the patients were collected. The percentage and the absolute number of lymphocytes and CD4+T cells were determined by Flow cytometry. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to screen independent risk factors of PsA complicated with NAFLD in the model population, and a nomogram prediction model was developed and assessed.Results(1) Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis of the modeling population showed that the percentage of peripheral blood T helper 1 cells (Th1%) (OR=1.12, P=0.001), body mass index (BMI) (OR=1.22, P=0.005) and triglycerides (TG) (OR=4.78, P=0.003) were independent risk factors for NAFLD in patients with PsA, which were incorporated and established a nomogram prediction model. The model has good discrimination and calibration, and also has certain clinical application value. (2) The number of peripheral blood NK cells in PsA patients was significantly positively correlated with serum triglyceride (TG) (r=0.489, P<0.001), cholesterol (CHOL) (r=0.314, P=0.003) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (r=0.362, P=0.001) levels.ConclusionsOur study shows that the novel NAFLD nomogram could assess the risk of NAFLD in PsA patients with good efficiency. In addition, peripheral blood NK cell levels may be associated with dyslipidemia in patients with PsA

Validation of the digital health literacy assessment among the university students in China

PurposeWith the development of the internet, digital health literacy (DHL) has become increasingly important for managing health. Consequently, various digital health literacy scales have been created for different groups. The purpose of this study was to verify the reliability and validity of the simplified Chinese version of the Digital Health Literacy Assessment (DHLA) scale among university students in China.MethodSnowball sampling was used to recruit the participants via an online platform (Wenjuan.com), and finally 304 university students were included in the survey. Demographic information and the status of DHL were collected through the online questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha and split-half reliability were used to test the internal consistency of the scale, while the structural validity was verified by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, the convergence of the scale was tested by composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE).ResultTwo dimensions were generated from 10 entries in the scale, named Self-rated Digital Health Literacy and Trust Degree of Online Health Information, respectively. The Cronbach’s alpha and split-half reliability of the total scale were 0.912 and 0.828, while the Cronbach’s alpha of the two dimensions were 0.913 and 0.830, respectively. The structural validity-related indexes of the scale met the standards (RMSEA = 0.079, GFI = 0.943, AGFI = 0.902, CFI = 0.971). In each dimension, the CR and AVE also reached critical values (CR > 0.7 and AVE > 0.5).ConclusionThe scale had high reliability and validity, indicating the simplified Chinese DHLA scale could be used to evaluate the DHL of university students in China

Global Dynamics of an SIRS

A novel epidemic SIRS model with distributed delay on complex network is discussed in this paper. The formula of the basis reproductive number R0 for the model is given, and it is proved that the disease dies out when R0<1 and the disease is uniformly persistent when R0>1. In addition, a unique endemic equilibrium for the SIRS model exists when R0>1, and a set of sufficient conditions on the global attractiveness of the endemic equilibrium for the system is given

Changes in firm profitability, heterogeneous investor beliefs, and stock returns

In this study, we show that changes in profitability predict a firm's stock returns and future profitability. We construct three horizon-based profitability changes, including short-, medium-, and long-term changes. We find that the predictive information for short-term changes in profitability is not subsumed by the profitability level in the Chinese stock market. We also find that short-term profitability changes generate an asymmetrical premium across different market states. Furthermore, we find that the beta anomaly is embedded in the premium generated by a short-term change in profitability. In addition, we explore the underlying mechanisms of the profitability premium and propose a heterogeneous investor belief channel to explain the profitability premium. We find that risk-based q-theory also helps explain the profitability premium. Therefore, the profitability premium comes from a mixed source and cannot be entirely explained by a single theory

Study on Crack Development in Red Clay from Guangxi Guilin with Different Clay Grain Content

In order to study the influence of different clay contents on the fractality of red clay, specimens having four different water contents were prepared. The cracking characteristics of the specimens were observed at 20 °C and 60 °C. Image J software was used to measure and calculate the crack area, crack ratio, crack length and width of each sample. The test results showed that the development of cracks in red clay could be divided into three stages: crack generation, crack development and crack stabilization. The clay particle content, temperature and water content have significant effects on crack development, and from the test analyses, it was determined that for construction in the Guilin area, it is necessary to pay attention to drainage protection