Posterior Nutcracker Syndrome Associated with Interrupted Left Inferior Vena Cava with Azygos Continuation and Retroaortic Right Renal Vein

Various anatomic anomalies have been considered the causes of nutcracker syndrome (NCS). Posterior NCS refers to the condition, in which vascular narrowing was secondary to the compression of the retroaortic left renal vein while it is crossing between the aorta and the vertebral column. Here, we report an unusual case of posterior NCS associated with a complicated malformation of the interrupted left inferior vena cava with azygos continuation and retroaortic right renal vein, diagnosed by both color Doppler ultrasonography and CT angiography

Coexistence of multiuser entanglement distribution and classical light in optical fiber network with a semiconductor chip

Building communication links among multiple users in a scalable and robust way is a key objective in achieving large-scale quantum networks. In realistic scenario, noise from the coexisting classical light is inevitable and can ultimately disrupt the entanglement. The previous significant fully connected multiuser entanglement distribution experiments are conducted using dark fiber links and there is no explicit relation between the entanglement degradations induced by classical noise and its error rate. Here we fabricate a semiconductor chip with a high figure-of-merit modal overlap to directly generate broadband polarization entanglement. Our monolithic source maintains polarization entanglement fidelity above 96% for 42 nm bandwidth with a brightness of 1.2*10^7 Hz/mW. We perform a continuously working quantum entanglement distribution among three users coexisting with classical light. Under finite-key analysis, we establish secure keys and enable images encryption as well as quantum secret sharing between users. Our work paves the way for practical multiparty quantum communication with integrated photonic architecture compatible with real-world fiber optical communication network

Spinal Astrocytic Activation Is Involved in a Virally-Induced Rat Model of Neuropathic Pain

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most common complication of herpes zoster (HZ), plays a major role in decreased life quality of HZ patients. However, the neural mechanisms underlying PHN remain unclear. Here, using a PHN rat model at 2 weeks after varicella zoster virus infection, we found that spinal astrocytes were dramatically activated. The mechanical allodynia and spinal central sensitization were significantly attenuated by intrathecally injected L-α-aminoadipate (astrocytic specific inhibitor) whereas minocycline (microglial specific inhibitor) had no effect, which indicated that spinal astrocyte but not microglia contributed to the chronic pain in PHN rat. Further study was taken to investigate the molecular mechanism of astrocyte-incudced allodynia in PHN rat at post-infection 2 weeks. Results showed that nitric oxide (NO) produced by inducible nitric oxide synthase mediated the development of spinal astrocytic activation, and activated astrocytes dramatically increased interleukin-1β expression which induced N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) phosphorylation in spinal dorsal horn neurons to strengthen pain transmission. Taken together, these results suggest that spinal activated astrocytes may be one of the most important factors in the pathophysiology of PHN and “NO-Astrocyte-Cytokine-NMDAR-Neuron” pathway may be the detailed neural mechanisms underlying PHN. Thus, inhibiting spinal astrocytic activation may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for clinical management of PHN

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Shexiang Baoxin Pills as an Adjuvant Treatment for Chronic Heart Failure: A System Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. Shexiang Baoxin pills (SXBXP), as a Traditional Chinese Medicine, are widely used for chronic heart failure in China. It is essential to systematically assess the efficacy and safety of SXBXP as an adjuvant treatment for chronic heart failure. Methods. Seven English and Chinese electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CBM, Wanfang, VMIS, and CNKI) were searched from inception to July 2017. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of eligible studies. Meta-analysis was performed by Review Manager 5.3. Results. A total of 27 RCTs with 2637 participants were included in this review. Compared to conventional treatment, SXBXP combined with conventional treatment showed potent efficacy when it came to the total efficacy rate (OR, 3.88; 95% CI, 2.87, 5.26; P<0.00001), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) (MD = −66.95; 95% CI, −108.57, −25.34; P=0.002), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP) (MD = −0.15; 95% CI, −0.21, −0.09; P<0.00001), six-minute walking distance (6-MWD) (MD = 38.57; 95% CI, 28.47, 48.67; P<0.00001), cardiac output (CO) (MD = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.68, 0.99; P<0.00001), and Stroke Volume (SV) (MD = 7.43; 95% CI, 4.42, 10.44, P<0.00001). The pooled subgroup analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between SXBXP plus conventional treatment and conventional treatment alone in short term course (OR = 3.51; 95% CI, 2.28, 5.40; P<0.00001), in middle period of treatment (OR = 5.01; 95% CI, 2.61, 9.60; P<0.00001), and in long-term course (OR = 3.77; 95% CI, 2.13, 6.67; P<0.00001). No serious adverse events or reactions were mentioned in these RCTs. Conclusions. As an adjuvant drug, this study suggested that SXBXP provide an obvious efficacy for the treatment of CHF. However, due to small samples and generally low quality studies being applied in this study, more rigorous and well-designed RCTs are needed to confirm these findings

Preclinical Evidence and Mechanism of Xingnaojing Injection for Cerebral Ischemia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Animal Studies

Objectives. Cerebral ischemia can cause severe harm to people’s health with the characteristics of high incidence, high disability, and high mortality. Xingnaojing injection (XNJI) is widely used in the treatment of cerebral ischemia. The aim of this review is to evaluate the efficacy and mechanism of XNJI in animal models of cerebral ischemia. Methods. Total seven electronic databases in English or Chinese (CNKI, Wanfang, VMIS, PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) about most experiments and studies which came out before June 2018 of XNJI for cerebral ischemia have been searched. Data extraction, quality assessment, and meta-analysis are conducted according to the Cochrane standards and RevMan 5.3 software. Results. We have identified 23 eligible studies and made a meta-analysis based on these studies. Meta-analysis shows that XNJI contributes significantly to reduction in neurological deficit score (P = 0.0002, MD = −1.25, 95% CI: −1.92, −0.58) compared with the control group of cerebral ischemia. Subgroup analytic results demonstrate that XNJI has been more effective in animal model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (P = 0.009, MD = −1.35, 95%CI: −2.36, −0.34) than that of permanent cerebral ischemia (P = 0.0002, MD = −1.08, 95%CI: −1.66, −0.51). Compared with control group, XNJI could remarkably reduce cerebral infarction area (P < 0.00001, MD = −14.98, 95%CI: −21.36, −8.59), brain edema (P < 0.00001, MD = −4.64, 95%CI: −5.38, −3.90), and neuronal cell apoptosis (P < 0.0001, MD = −12.21, 95%CI: 18.05, −6.37). Meanwhile, the meta-analysis shows that XNJI has a significant anti-inflammatory effect, and the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β are significantly reduced by XNJI (P = 0.001, MD = −4.13, 95%CI:−6.68, −1.58; P < 0.00001, MD = −119.23, 95%CI: −138.04, −100.43; P = 0.21, MD = −228.69, 95% CI: −586.20, 128.83). Additionally, XNJI could raise the body's antioxidant function and the level of SOD and GSH-Px (P = 0.002, MD = 53.02, 95% CI: −20.52, 85.78; P = 0.01, MD = 8.65, 95% CI: 1.77, 15.48) and decrease the level of MDA (P < 0.00001, MD = −4.16, 95% CI: −5.50, −2.82). Conclusion. XNJI might be effective in cerebral ischemia by regulating oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction