The detection of surface parameters of pressure vessel welds guarantees safe operation. To address the problems of low efficiency and poor accuracy of traditional manual inspection methods, a method ...for welding morphological parameters combined with vision and structured light is proposed in this study. First, a feature point extraction algorithm for weld parameters based on deep convolution was proposed. An accurate extraction method of weld image feature point coordinates was designed based on the combination of the loss function via seam undercut feature recognition and weld feature point extraction network structure. Second, a training data enhancement method based on the third-order non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) curve was proposed to reduce the amount of data collection for training. Finally, a pressure vessel measurement device was designed, and the feature point extraction performance of the deep network and common feature point extraction networks, DeepLabCut and HR-net, proposed in this study were compared to analyze the theoretical accuracy of the surface parameter measurement. The results indicated that the theoretical accuracy of the parameter measurements was within 0.065 mm.
Diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is clinically relevant because untreated OSA has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The STOP-Bang questionnaire is a validated screening ...tool for OSA. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of STOP-Bang for screening patients suspected of having OSA and to predict its accuracy in determining the severity of OSA in the different populations.
A search of the literature databases was performed. Inclusion criteria were: 1) Studies that used STOP-Bang questionnaire as a screening tool for OSA in adult subjects (>18 years); 2) The accuracy of the STOP-Bang questionnaire was validated by polysomnography--the gold standard for diagnosing OSA; 3) OSA was clearly defined as apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) or respiratory disturbance index (RDI) ≥ 5; 4) Publications in the English language. The quality of the studies were explicitly described and coded according to the Cochrane Methods group on the screening and diagnostic tests.
Seventeen studies including 9,206 patients met criteria for the systematic review. In the sleep clinic population, the sensitivity was 90%, 94% and 96% to detect any OSA (AHI ≥ 5), moderate-to-severe OSA (AHI ≥15), and severe OSA (AHI ≥30) respectively. The corresponding NPV was 46%, 75% and 90%. A similar trend was found in the surgical population. In the sleep clinic population, the probability of severe OSA with a STOP-Bang score of 3 was 25%. With a stepwise increase of the STOP-Bang score to 4, 5, 6 and 7/8, the probability rose proportionally to 35%, 45%, 55% and 75%, respectively. In the surgical population, the probability of severe OSA with a STOP-Bang score of 3 was 15%. With a stepwise increase of the STOP-Bang score to 4, 5, 6 and 7/8, the probability increased to 25%, 35%, 45% and 65%, respectively.
This meta-analysis confirms the high performance of the STOP-Bang questionnaire in the sleep clinic and surgical population for screening of OSA. The higher the STOP-Bang score, the greater is the probability of moderate-to-severe OSA.
Background: Family education investment is a key factor in reducing intergenerational transmission of poverty. At the price of higher health risk, the poor may overdraw their bodies to earn more ...money to invest in education. This study investigates the effect of physical overdraft, health risks and health insurance on poverty and economic growth. Methods: This paper proposes an economic development model of endogenous health risks and poverty by setting up a physical overdraft decision. Furthermore, we introduce mutual health insurance mechanism to analyze its poverty alleviation effects. Results: First, this study shows that health risks weaken the economy and are among the leading causes of poverty. Second, mutual health insurance can alleviate, but not completely eliminate, the negative impact of health risks on the economy. Third, appropriate health insurance arrangements can lift some or even all poor households out of poverty. Conclusion: Health risks have a significant effect on poverty. Furthermore, health insurance mechanisms have the advantages of transferring health risks, reducing poverty and improving health equity.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of denosumab treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
The Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant ...clinical studies. Studies that assessed the efficacy of denosumab in patients with RA were identified. The primary endpoints were the percent changes in bone mineral density (BMD), and the changes in modified total Sharp score (mTSS), modified Sharp erosion score and joint space narrowing (JSN) score. Pooled analyses were calculated using random-effect models.
After searching the literature and performing further detailed assessments, 10 studies with a total of 1758 patients were included in the quantitative analysis. Pooled analyses showed that denosumab treatment significantly increased the percent changes in lumbar spine BMD mean difference (MD): 5.12, confidence intervals (CI): 4.15 to 6.09, total hip BMD (MD: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.80 to 3.64) and femoral neck BMD (MD: 2.20, 95% CI: 0.94 to 3.46) compared with controls. Moreover, denosumab treatment significantly decreased the changes in mTSS (MD: -0.63, 95% CI: -0.86 to -0.41) and modified Sharp erosion score (MD: -0.62, 95% CI: -0.88 to -0.35). Subgroup analysis indicated that denosumab was superior to bisphosphonates for the improvement of BMD and the mitigation of joint destruction.
Denosumab treatment was associated with increased BMD and alleviated progression of joint destruction in RA patients, even when compared with bisphosphonates.
Abstract
Background
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel β-coronavirus, causes severe pneumonia and has spread throughout the globe rapidly. The disease associated ...with SARS-CoV-2 infection is named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To date, real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the only test able to confirm this infection. However, the accuracy of RT-PCR depends on several factors; variations in these factors might significantly lower the sensitivity of detection.
Methods
In this study, we developed a peptide-based luminescent immunoassay that detected immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM. The assay cutoff value was determined by evaluating the sera from healthy and infected patients for pathogens other than SARS-CoV-2.
Results
To evaluate assay performance, we detected IgG and IgM in the sera from confirmed patients. The positive rate of IgG and IgM was 71.4% and 57.2%, respectively.
Conclusions
Therefore, combining our immunoassay with real-time RT-PCR might enhance the diagnostic accuracy of COVID-19.
A peptide-based magnetic chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was developed; 71.4% (197 of 276) and 57.2% (158 of 276) of the COVID-19 inpatients were positive for IgG and IgM against SARS-CoV-2.
Background The STOP-Bang questionnaire is a validated screening tool for the identification of surgical patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). A STOP-Bang score ≥ 3 is highly sensitive but only ...moderately specific. Apnea/hypopnea during sleep can lead to intermittent hypercapnia and may result in serum bicarbonate (HCO3− ) retention. The addition of serum HCO3− level to the STOP-Bang questionnaire may improve its specificity. Methods Four thousand seventy-seven preoperative patients were approached for consent and screened by the STOP-Bang questionnaire. Polysomnography was performed and preoperative HCO3− level was collected in 384 patients. Study participants were randomly assigned to a derivation or validation cohort. Predictive parameters (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values) for STOP-Bang score and serum HCO3− level were calculated. Results In the derivation cohort, with a STOP-Bang score ≥ 3, the specificity for all OSA, moderate/severe OSA, and severe OSA was 37.0%, 30.4%, and 27.7%, respectively. HCO3− level of 28 mmol/L was selected as a cutoff for analysis. With the addition of HCO3− level ≥ 28 mmol/L to the STOP-Bang score ≥ 3, the specificity for all OSA, moderate/severe OSA, and severe OSA improved to 85.2%, 81.7%, and 79.7%, respectively. Similar improvement was observed in the validation cohort. Conclusion Serum HCO3− level increases the specificity of STOP-Bang screening in predicting moderate/severe OSA. We propose a two-step screening process. The first step uses a STOP-Bang score to screen patients, and the second step uses serum HCO3− level in those with a STOP-Bang score ≥ 3 for increased specificity.
The objective of this study was to explore the correlation between vaginal microecological imbalance and the expression of related inflammatory factors in pregnant women with group B streptococcus ...(GBS) infection and pregnancy outcomes. For this purpose, 100 GBS-positive pregnant women were recruited as the experimental group, and 100 GBS-negative pregnant women were recruited as the controls. The balance of vaginal microecology of pregnant women in different groups was compared. Results showed that the probability of vaginal microecological imbalance in the experimental group was much higher than against the controls. Fasting venous blood was drawn from the pregnant women in two groups. After centrifugation, the expression levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in serum were detected. It was found that the expression levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α in the experimental group were higher than against the controls. After delivery, it suggested that the incidence of premature delivery, neonatal infection, premature rupture of membranes, and other adverse childbirth in the experimental group was much higher in contrast to the controls, up to 87%. In conclusion, GBS infection can increase the incidence of vaginal microecological imbalance and the expression of serum inflammatory factors in pregnant women, and it can greatly raise the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Because of the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its adverse impact on perioperative outcome, a practical screening tool for surgical patients is required. This study was conducted ...to validate the Berlin questionnaire and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) checklist in surgical patients and to compare them with the STOP questionnaire.
After hospital ethics approval, preoperative patients aged 18 yr or older and without previously diagnosed OSA were recruited. The scores from the Berlin questionnaire, ASA checklist, and STOP questionnaire were evaluated versus the apnea-hypopnea index from in-laboratory polysomnography. The perioperative data were collected through chart review.
Of 2,467 screened patients, 33, 27, and 28% were respectively classified as being at high risk of OSA by the Berlin questionnaire, ASA checklist, and STOP questionnaire. The performance of the screening tools was evaluated in 177 patients who underwent polysomnography. The sensitivities of the Berlin questionnaire, ASA checklist, and STOP questionnaire were 68.9-87.2, 72.1-87.2, and 65.6-79.5% at different apnea-hypopnea index cutoffs. There was no significant difference between the three screening tools in the predictive parameters. The patients with an apnea-hypopnea index greater than 5 and the patients identified as being at high risk of OSA by the STOP questionnaire or ASA checklist had a significantly increased incidence of postoperative complications.
Similar to the STOP questionnaire, the Berlin questionnaire and ASA checklist demonstrated a moderately high level of sensitivity for OSA screening. The STOP questionnaire and the ASA checklist were able to identify the patients who were likely to develop postoperative complications.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a major health challenge globally. Previous studies have suggested that changes in the glycosylation of IgG are closely associated with the severity of ...COVID-19. This study aimed to compare the profiles of IgG
N
-glycome between COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. A case-control study was conducted, in which 104 COVID-19 patients and 104 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were recruited. Serum IgG
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-glycome composition was analyzed by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (HILIC-UPLC) approach. COVID-19 patients have a decreased level of IgG fucosylation, which upregulates antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) in acute immune responses. In severe cases, a low level of IgG sialylation contributes to the ADCC-regulated enhancement of inflammatory cytokines. The decreases in sialylation and galactosylation play a role in COVID-19 pathogenesis
via
the activation of the lectin-initiated alternative complement pathway. IgG
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-glycosylation underlines the complex clinical phenotypes of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
In this hospital-based descriptive study, the genotype distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) among HPV-infected women were investigated in 4,305 gynecological patients in Sichuan province. ...Females attending gynecology clinics between March 2014 and March 2015 were subjected to HPV screening after giving informed consent. Cervical scrapings were examined by cytopathology and colposcopy-directed biopsies. HPV genotyping was performed on a Luminex 200 system. Seventeen high-risk (HR) genotypes (HPV-16, -18, -31, -33, -35, -39, -45, -51, -52, -53, -56, -58, -59, -66, -68, -73, and -82) and seven low-risk (LR) genotypes (HPV-6, -11, -42, -43, -61, -81, and -83) were detected. Among all HPV-positive women, 34.1% (1,467/4,305) of the cases showed abnormal cytology and biopsy, including high-grade squamous lesions (HSIL), cervical intraepithelial neoplasias of grades 2 and 3 (CIN2/CIN3), and cervical cancer (CC). HPV-16, -52, and -58 were the predominant genotypes, followed by HPV-56, -18, -59, -39, -53, -33, and -81. A total of 3,785 (87.9%) HPV positive women were found to have HR HPV infection, while 859 (20.0%) were found to have LR HPV infection. Among all patients, 79% (3,401/4,305) were infected with a single strain of HPV, 85.5% (2,907/3,401) cases of which were of the HR HPV genotype. In cervical precancerous lesions (CPLs) and CC patients, HR HPV-16, -58, -52, -33, and -18 were the predominant genotypes. Interestingly, 33 CPL patients had a single LR HPV infection with HPV-61, -11, -81, -6, -43, or -42. Furthermore, one CC patient was infected only with LR HPV-11. According to the abundant genotype diversity of HPV in Sichuan, we suggest that a large-scale epidemiological investigation should be launched, not only to understand the distribution of HPV genotype, but also to provide information needed for HPV vaccination programs and to predict the effectiveness of current vaccines in Southwest China.
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