Shear wave elastography as a quantitative biomarker of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundDiabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes and the strongest initiating risk factor for diabetic foot ulceration. Early diagnosis of DPN through screening measures is, therefore, of great importance for diabetic patients. Recently, shear wave elastography (SWE) has been used as a method that is complementary to neuroelectrophysiological examination in the diagnosis of DPN. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis based on currently available data to evaluate the performance of tibial nerve stiffness on SWE for diagnosing DPN.MethodsBoth PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched for studies that investigated the diagnostic performance of SWE for DPN up to March 1th, 2022. Three measures of diagnostic test performance, including the summary area under receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC), the summary sensitivity and specificity, and the summary diagnostic odds ratios were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of SWE. All included studies were published between 2017 and 2021.ResultsSix eligible studies (with 170 DPN patients, 28 clinically defined DPN patients, 168 non-DPN patients, and 154 control participants) that evaluated tibial nerve stiffness were included for meta-analysis. The summary sensitivity and specificity of SWE for tibial nerve stiffness were 75% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 68–80%) and 86% (95% CI: 80–90%), respectively, and the summary AUROC was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.81–0.87), for diagnosing DPN. A subgroup analysis of five two-dimensional SWE studies revealed similar diagnostic performance, showing the summary sensitivity and specificity of 77% (95% CI: 69–83%) and 86% (95% CI: 79–91%), respectively, and a summary AUROC value of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.83–0.89).ConclusionsSWE is found to have good diagnostic accuracy for detecting DPN and has considerable potential as an important and noninvasive adjunctive tool in the management of patients with DPN

Antennal transcriptomic analysis of carboxylesterases and glutathione S-transferases associated with odorant degradation in the tea gray geometrid, Ectropis grisescens (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)

Introduction: Carboxylesterases (CXEs) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) can terminate olfactory signals during chemosensation by rapid degradation of odorants in the vicinity of receptors. The tea grey geometrid, Ectropis grisescens (Lepidoptera, Geometridae), one of the most devastating insect herbivores of tea plants in China, relies heavily on plant volatiles to locate the host plants as well as the oviposition sites. However, CXEs and GSTs involved in signal termination and odorant clearance in E. grisescens remains unknown.Methods: In this study, identification and spatial expression profiles of CXEs and GSTs in this major tea pest were investigated by transcriptomics and qRT-PCR, respectively.Results: As a result, we identified 28 CXEs and 16 GSTs from female and male antennal transcriptomes. Phylogenetic analyses clustered these candidates into several clades, among which antennal CXEs, mitochondrial and cytosolic CXEs, and delta group GSTs contained genes commonly associated with odorants degradation. Spatial expression profiles showed that most CXEs (26) were expressed in antennae. In comparison, putative GSTs exhibited a diverse expression pattern across different tissues, with one GST expressed specifically in the male antennae.Disscussion: These combined results suggest that 12 CXEs (EgriCXE1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 18, 20-22, 24, 26, and 29) and 5 GSTs (EgriGST1 and EgriGST delta group) provide a major source of candidate genes for odorants degradation in E. grisescens

RFXB and its splice variant RFXBSV mediate the antagonism between IFNγ and TGFβ on COL1A2 transcription in vascular smooth muscle cells

Cytokines secreted by infiltrating immune cells during atherogenesis modulate vascular remodeling. One exemplary event is the antagonism between transformed growth factor (TGF-β) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) on the transcriptional control of type I collagen gene (COL1A2). Previously we have reported that IFN-γ up-regulates regulatory factor for X-box B (RFXB) to repress collagen transcription while down-regulates the expression of RFXBSV, a splice variant of RFXB that blocks collagen repression in fibroblasts. Here we demonstrate that TGF-β abrogated COL1A2 repression by IFN-γ through altering the relative expression of RFXB and RFXBSV. Unlike RFXB, RFXBSV did not bind to the collagen promoter and competed with RFXB for the co-repressor histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), limiting HDAC2 recruitment to the collagen transcription start site as evidenced by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Over-expression of RFXB by lentiviral infection in HASMCs enhanced HDAC2 enlistment, promoted histone deacetylation surrounding the collagen site by IFN-γ, and blocked the TGF-β antagonism, a pattern reversed by RFXBSV infection. On the contrary, silencing of RFXB, but not both RFXB and RFXBSV, expression promoted the TGF-β antagonism. Thus, we have identified a novel mechanism whereby TGF-β antagonizes the IFN-γ repression of collagen transcription in HASMCs and as such provided new insights into antiatherogenic strategies

Lateral Deformation Response of an Adjacent Passive Pile under the Combined Action of Surcharge Loading and Foundation Excavation

With the increasing development of civil engineering in large cities, more and more excavations and surcharge loadings are being constructed or planned adjacent to existing building piles in crowded urban areas. Previous study on pile deformation has primarily focused on surcharge loading or foundation excavation and given little concern to the combined action of surcharge loading and foundation excavation. The article develops a two-stage process to assess the lateral displacement of nearby pile foundations induced by the combined action of surcharge loading and excavation. Firstly, the local plastic deformation theory and Boussinesq solution are used to accurately predict the passive loading of adjacent pile foundations caused by surcharge loading; Mindlin formulas are adopted to predict the passive pile’s additional lateral stress applied by excavation. Secondly, Pasternak models are adopted and the finite difference method is used to establish the deflection differential formula of the single passive pile. Last but not least, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of the loading dimensions, loading magnitudes, and three-dimensional excavation dimensions. The findings of the calculations reveal that the loading magnitudes have a more significant impact on the lateral displacement of the pile compared to the loading dimensions. Therefore, a concentrated surcharge loading should be avoided. Additionally, the excavation depth has a greater influence on the lateral displacement of the pile compared to the excavation area. In order to mitigate this situation, a step excavation should be implemented for each layer of soil, with the soil excavated away from the pile foundation first

Rotation Modes Stability Analysis and Phase Compensation for Magnetically Suspended Flywheel Systems with Cross Feedback Controller and Time Delay

This paper analyzes the effects of time delay on the stability of the rotation modes for the magnetically suspended flywheel (MSFW) with strong gyroscopic effects. A multi-input multioutput system is converted into a single-input single-output control system with complex coefficient by variable reconstruction, and the stability equivalence of the systems before and after variable reconstruction is proven. For the rotation modes, the stability limits and corresponding vibration frequencies are found as a function of nondimensional magnetic stiffness and damping and nondimensional parameters of rotor speed and time delay. Additionally, the relationship between cross feedback control system stability and time delay is investigated. And an effective phase compensation method based on cross-channel is further presented. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the correctness of the stability analysis method and the superiority of the phase compensation strategy

Experiences of xerostomia after radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer : A qualitative study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe the experiences of radiation-induced xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer. BACKGROUND: Xerostomia is the most commonly occurring complication during and following radiotherapy. It can persist for several months or years and can have a significant impact on patients' quality of life. DESIGN: This was a qualitative descriptive study. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 20 participants. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. RESULTS: Analysis of the manifest content identified five categories: communication problems, physical problems, psychosocial problems, treatment problems and relief strategies. The latent content was formulated into a theme: due to lack of information from professionals, the patients had to find their own solutions for their problems. CONCLUSIONS: Xerostomia is not only a biophysical symptom but also has a profound effect on the emotional, intellectual and sociocultural dimensions of life. The majority of patients continued to suffer from xerostomia and its associated symptoms after radiotherapy, in part, because of a lack of professional support, including the inability of nurses to provide oral health care. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurses need to be knowledgeable about the effects of radiotherapy on oral mucosa and about appropriate interventions. The healthcare system requires a symptom management platform for radiation-induced complications, to help patients, their families and healthcare professionals obtain information about self-care, treatments and relief strategies

Application of Spherical Magnetic Bearing in Magnetically Suspended Control and Sensitive Gyro

This paper presents a spherical magnetic bearing and analyzes its application in magnetically suspended control and sensitive gyro (MSCSG). The main advantage of the spherical magnetic bearing is that it can eliminate the interference torque in the process of rotor tilt and improve the suspension accuracy of the rotor. By comparing the finite element analysis results of spherical magnetic bearing and traditional cylindrical magnetic bearing, the interference torque to the rotor of cylindrical magnetic bearing increases gradually with the increase of the rotor tilt angle. The interference torque to the rotor of spherical magnetic bearing does not change with the rotor tilt, and the interference torque is basically 0 Nm. Then, dynamic and static experiments were carried out to verify the interference torque generated in the process of spherical magnetic suspended rotor tilting. The experimental results show that the runout value of the rotor’s translation and tilt signals in both static and dynamic states is basically consistent with the value of the equilibrium state of the rotor (tilt angle = 0). Therefore, spherical magnetic bearing will not produce interference torque, which is of great significance for realizing the high-precision control of magnetic suspension inertia mechanism