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To explore methods for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of otomycosis.
Methods
Using randomised stratification, eligible patients were split into a patient-applied medication group and a physician-applied medication group in order to compare the efficacy and recurrence rates of two treatment approaches.
Results
The primary symptom of otomycosis was ear blockage (35.2 per cent), followed by pruritis (26.7 per cent) and otorrhea (13.6 per cent). Predominant fungi were Aspergillus terreus (50.5 per cent), Candida parapsilosis (15.5 per cent) and Aspergillus niger (12.5 per cent). The treatment efficacy was 44.7 per cent (34/76) for the patient-applied medication group and 98.6 per cent (71/72) for the physician-applied medication group, with the difference being statistically significant (χ2 = 52.061, p <0.01). The recurrence rate was 35.3 per cent (12/34) for the patient-applied group and 2.8 per cent (2/71) for the physician-applied medication group, also showing a statistically significant difference (p <0.01).
Conclusion
Triamcinolone acetonide econazole cream application by a physician every 2–3 days, three times, effectively cures otomycosis and lowers recurrence.
Retropharyngeal lymphadenectomy is challenging. This study investigated a minimally invasive approach to salvage retropharyngeal lymphadenectomy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Methods
An anatomical study of four fresh cadaveric heads was conducted to demonstrate the relevant details of retropharyngeal lymphadenectomy using the endoscopic transoral medial pterygomandibular fold approach. Six patients with nasopharyngeal cancer with retropharyngeal lymph node recurrence, who underwent retropharyngeal lymphadenectomy with the endoscopic transoral medial pterygomandibular fold technique at the Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University from July to December 2021, were included in this study.
Results
The anatomical study demonstrated that the endoscopic transoral medial pterygomandibular fold approach offers a short path and minimally invasive approach to the retropharyngeal space. The surgical procedure was well tolerated by all patients, with no significant post-operative complications.
Conclusion
The endoscopic transoral medial pterygomandibular fold approach is safe and efficient for retropharyngeal lymphadenectomy.
The relationship of a diet low in fibre with mortality has not been evaluated. This study aims to assess the burden of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCD) attributable to a diet low in fibre globally from 1990 to 2019.
Design:
All data were from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019, in which the mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALY) and years lived with disability (YLD) were estimated with Bayesian geospatial regression using data at global, regional and country level acquired from an extensively systematic review.
Setting:
All data sourced from the GBD Study 2019.
Participants:
All age groups for both sexes.
Results:
The age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) declined in most GBD regions; however, in Southern sub-Saharan Africa, the ASMR increased from 4·07 (95 % uncertainty interval (UI) (2·08, 6·34)) to 4·60 (95 % UI (2·59, 6·90)), and in Central sub-Saharan Africa, the ASMR increased from 7·46 (95 % UI (3·64, 11·90)) to 9·34 (95 % UI (4·69, 15·25)). Uptrends were observed in the age-standardised YLD rates attributable to a diet low in fibre in a number of GBD regions. The burden caused by diabetes mellitus increased in Central Asia, Southern sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe.
Conclusions:
The burdens of disease attributable to a diet low in fibre in Southern sub-Saharan Africa and Central sub-Saharan Africa and the age-standardised YLD rates in a number of GBD regions increased from 1990 to 2019. Therefore, greater efforts are needed to reduce the disease burden caused by a diet low in fibre.
Understanding factors associated with post-discharge sleep quality among COVID-19 survivors is important for intervention development.
Aims
This study investigated sleep quality and its correlates among COVID-19 patients 6 months after their most recent hospital discharge.
Method
Healthcare providers at hospitals located in five different Chinese cities contacted adult COVID-19 patients discharged between 1 February and 30 March 2020. A total of 199 eligible patients provided verbal informed consent and completed the interview. Using score on the single-item Sleep Quality Scale as the dependent variable, multiple linear regression models were fitted.
Results
Among all participants, 10.1% reported terrible or poor sleep quality, and 26.6% reported fair sleep quality, 26.1% reported worse sleep quality when comparing their current status with the time before COVID-19, and 33.7% were bothered by a sleeping disorder in the past 2 weeks. After adjusting for significant background characteristics, factors associated with sleep quality included witnessing the suffering (adjusted B = −1.15, 95% CI = −1.70, −0.33) or death (adjusted B = −1.55, 95% CI = −2.62, −0.49) of other COVID-19 patients during hospital stay, depressive symptoms (adjusted B = −0.26, 95% CI = −0.31, −0.20), anxiety symptoms (adjusted B = −0.25, 95% CI = −0.33, −0.17), post-traumatic stress disorders (adjusted B = −0.16, 95% CI = −0.22, −0.10) and social support (adjusted B = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.10).
Conclusions
COVID-19 survivors reported poor sleep quality. Interventions and support services to improve sleep quality should be provided to COVID-19 survivors during their hospital stay and after hospital discharge.
Nutritional Risk Screening index is a standard tool to assess nutritional risk, but epidemiological data are scarce on controlling nutritional status (CONUT) as a prognostic marker in acute haemorrhagic stroke (AHS). We aimed to explore whether the CONUT may predict a 3-month functional outcome in AHS. In total, 349 Chinese patients with incident AHS were consecutively recruited, and their malnutrition risks were determined using a high CONUT score of ≥ 2. The cohort patients were divided into high-CONUT (≥ 2) and low-CONUT (< 2) groups, and primary outcomes were a poor functional prognosis defined as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≥ 3 at post-discharge for 3 months. Odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the poor functional prognosis at post-discharge were estimated by using a logistic analysis with additional adjustments for unbalanced variables between the high-CONUT and low-CONUT groups. A total of 328 patients (60·38 ± 12·83 years; 66·77 % male) completed the mRS assessment at post-discharge for 3 months, with 172 patients at malnutrition risk at admission and 104 patients with a poor prognosis. The levels of total cholesterol and total lymphocyte counts were significantly lower in high-CONUT patients than low-CONUT patients (P = 0·012 and < 0·001, respectively). At 3-month post discharge, there was a greater risk for the poor outcome in the high-CONUT compared with the low-CONUT patients at admission (OR: 2·32, 95 % CI: 1·28, 4·17). High-CONUT scores independently predict a 3-month poor prognosis in AHS, which helps to identify those who need additional nutritional managements.
To explore the accuracy of estimated 24-h urinary iodine excretion (24-h UIEest) in assessing iodine nutritional status.
Design:
Fasting venous blood, 24-h and spot urine samples were collected during the day. The urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and urinary creatinine concentration (UCrC) were measured, and the urinary iodine-to-creatinine ratio (UI/Cr), 24-h UIEest, and 24-h urinary iodine excretion (24-h UIE) were calculated. At the population level, correlation and consistency between UIC, UI/Cr, 24-h UIEest and 24-h UIE were assessed using correlation analysis and Bland–Altman plots. At the individual level, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyse the accuracy of the above indicators for evaluating insufficient and excessive iodine intake. The reference interval of 24-h UIEest was established based on percentile values.
Setting:
Indicator can accurately evaluate individual iodine nutrition during pregnancy remains controversial.
Participants:
Pregnant women (n 788).
Results:
Using 24-h UIE as standard, the correlation coefficients of 24-h UIEest from different periods of the day ranged from 0·409 to 0·531, and the relative average differences ranged from 4·4 % to 10·9 %. For diagnosis of insufficient iodine intake, the area under the ROC curve of 24-h UIEest was 0·754, sensitivity and specificity were 79·6 % and 65·4 %, respectively. For diagnosis of excessive iodine intake, the area of 24-h UIEest was 0·771, sensitivity and specificity were 66·7 % and 82·0 %, respectively. The reference interval of 24-h UIEest was 58·43–597·65 μg.
Conclusions:
Twenty-four-hour UIEest can better indicate iodine nutritional status at a relatively large sample size in a given population of pregnant women. It can be used for early screening at the individual level to obtain more lead time for pregnant women.
Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection has been a major public health threat globally. Monitoring and prediction of CT epidemic status and trends are important for programme planning, allocating resources and assessing impact; however, such activities are limited in China. In this study, we aimed to apply a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model to predict the incidence of CT infection in Shenzhen city, China. The monthly incidence of CT between January 2008 and June 2019 in Shenzhen was used to fit and validate the SARIMA model. A seasonal fluctuation and a slightly increasing pattern of a long-term trend were revealed in the time series of CT incidence. The monthly CT incidence ranged from 4.80/100 000 to 21.56/100 000. The mean absolute percentage error value of the optimal model was 8.08%. The SARIMA model could be applied to effectively predict the short-term CT incidence in Shenzhen and provide support for the development of interventions for disease control and prevention.
In high power laser facility for inertial confinement fusion research, final optics assembly (FOA) plays a critical role in the frequency conversion, beam focusing, color separation, beam sampling and debris shielding. The design and performance of FOA in SG-II Upgrade laser facility are mainly introduced here. Due to the limited space and short focal length, a coaxial aspheric wedged focus lens is designed and applied in the FOA configuration. Then the ghost image analysis, the focus characteristic analysis, the B integral control design and the optomechanical design are carried out in the FOA design phase. In order to ensure the FOA performance, two key technologies are developed including measurement and adjustment technique of the wedged focus lens and the stray light management technique based on ground glass. Experimental results show that the design specifications including laser fluence, frequency conversion efficiency and perforation efficiency of the focus spot have been achieved, which meet the requirements of physical experiments well.
The Shen-Guang II Upgrade (SG-II-U) laser facility consists of eight high-power nanosecond laser beams and one short-pulse picosecond petawatt laser. It is designed for the study of inertial confinement fusion (ICF), especially for conducting fast ignition (FI) research in China and other basic science experiments. To perform FI successfully with hohlraum targets containing a golden cone, the long-pulse beam and cylindrical hohlraum as well as the short-pulse beam and cone target alignment must satisfy tight specifications (30 and $20~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ rms for each case). To explore new ICF ignition targets with six laser entrance holes (LEHs), a rotation sensor was adapted to meet the requirements of a three-dimensional target and correct beam alignment. In this paper, the strategy for aligning the nanosecond beam based on target alignment sensor (TAS) is introduced and improved to meet requirements of the picosecond lasers and the new six LEHs hohlraum targets in the SG-II-U facility. The expected performance of the alignment system is presented, and the alignment error is also discussed.
Previous studies have investigated the association between dietary inflammatory potential and the development of cancer. For breast cancer the results have been equivocal. The present study aimed to investigate whether higher Dietary Inflammatory IndexTM (DII) scores were associated with increased risk of breast cancer among Chinese women. A total of 867 cases and 824 controls were recruited into the present case–control study from September 2011 to February 2016. DII scores were computed based on baseline dietary intake assessed by a validated 81-item FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI were assessed by multivariable logistic regression after adjusting for various potential confounders. DII scores in this study ranged from −5·87 (most anti-inflammatory score) to +5·71 (most proinflammatory score). A higher DII score was associated with a higher breast cancer risk (adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 2·28; 95 % CI 1·71, 3·03; adjusted ORcontinuous 1·40; 95 %CI 1·25, 1·39). In stratified analyses, positive associations also were observed except for underweight women or women with either oestrogen receptor+ or progesterone receptor+ status (but not both). Results from this study indicated that higher DII scores, corresponding to more proinflammatory diets, were positively associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women.
Jacobsoniidae, comprising a small group of small-to-minute polyphagan beetles, is a family presently placed within Derodontiformia. No fossil jacobsoniid has been described to date. Here, we describe the first fossil jacobsoniid, Derolathrus groehni n. sp., based on two well-preserved individuals in middle Eocene Baltic amber. Micro–computed tomography (micro-CT) was used to reveal many diagnostic characters of the Recent genus Derolathrus Sharp. Derolathrus groehni is compared with modern Derolathrus species and is noteworthy for the well-developed eyes and elongate prothorax.
New-type oilseed rape (Brassica napus, ArArCcCc) with introgressed exotic subgenomic components from Brassica rapa (ArAr) and Brassica carinata (BcBcCcCc) showed strong heterosis in both vegetative and reproductive growth. The aim of the current study was to analyse the tolerance of the new-type B. napus with different exotic subgenomic contents to low nitrogen (N) stress. Under hydroponic culture and pot experiments, root system parameters, photosynthetic parameters, relative chlorophyll concentration (SPAD values), biomass, seed yield, seed yield components, N concentration and expressions of genes involved in N transport and assimilation were determined with two new-type B. napus genotypes (N-efficient genotype D4-15 and N-inefficient genotype D1-1) under high-N and low-N levels. Furthermore, N accumulation, N transfer efficiency and N use efficiency (NUE) were analysed in the two genotypes. The hydroponic and potted growth tests showed consistent characteristics in N uptake and utilization efficiency at the seedling stage, and N-efficient genotype (D4-15) showed better growth phenotypes across cultured conditions and N levels. Under the low-N condition, D4-15 produced a larger root system and accumulated more N, and had higher N transfer efficiency and NUE than D1-1. Moreover, D4-15 had significantly higher photosynthetic parameters, photosynthetic NUE and expression levels of the N transporter genes, BnNRT1·1, BnNRT2·5, BnNRT2·7 and BnAMT1·1, in roots or leaves, as well as higher seed yield than that of D1-1 under low-N supply. These results indicated that the N-efficient new-type B. napus D4-15 possessed excellent adaptability to low-N stress, which may be attributed to the highly introgressed exotic subgenomic components from B. rapa and B. carinata, suggesting the possibility of identifying high-nutrient-efficiency germplasm from inter-specific hybrids.
The relationship between recurrent major depression (MD) in women and suicidality is complex. We investigated the extent to which patients who suffered with various forms of suicidal symptomatology can be distinguished from those subjects without such symptoms.
Method
We examined the clinical features of the worst episode in 1970 Han Chinese women with recurrent DSM-IV MD between the ages of 30 and 60 years from across China. Student's t tests, and logistic and multiple logistic regression models were used to determine the association between suicidality and other clinical features of MD.
Results
Suicidal symptomatology is significantly associated with a more severe form of MD, as indexed by both the number of episodes and number of MD symptoms. Patients reporting suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts experienced a significantly greater number of stressful life events. The depressive symptom most strongly associated with lifetime suicide attempt was feelings of worthlessness (odds ratio 4.25, 95% confidence interval 2.9–6.3). Excessive guilt, diminished concentration and impaired decision-making were also significantly associated with a suicide attempt.
Conclusions
This study contributes to the existing literature on risk factors for suicidal symptomatology in depressed women. Identifying specific depressive symptoms and co-morbid psychiatric disorders may help improve the clinical assessment of suicide risk in depressed patients. These findings could be helpful in identifying those who need more intense treatment strategies in order to prevent suicide.
In this paper, we extend corresponding theory which can only deal with thin medium based on thin sheet approximation to a new area which can deal with thick medium with gain and loss. An analytical expression for the location and the peak intensity of the hot-image in the case of thick nonlinear medium with gain and loss are deduced by using propagation matrix method. In order to confirm our analysis as a reliable tool to forecast the hot-image damage risk, we provide some numerical results to verify its validity. The predictions of the theory are found to be in good agreement with the numerical simulations. The theoretical analysis can be used for forecasting the intensity and location of the hot-image. It can provide rules for estimating the damage risk of the hot-image and warn us of the critical areas that may be vulnerable to the hot-image.
Single-crystal SnO2 nanofibers have been formed from SnO2 polycrystals via reaction at low oxygen partial pressures. Polycrystalline SnO2 disks coated with Au nanoparticles were exposed to humid H2/N2 at 700 to 800 °C. Single-crystal SnO2 nanofibers formed beneath Au nanoparticles, with the nanofiber length oriented parallel to the [100] crystallographic direction of SnO2. Because this simple process does not require either a separate source of a Sn–O-bearing vapor species located upstream of the substrate or a temperature gradient, single-crystal nanofibers may be formed on large area SnO2-bearing substrates.
This paper investigates the effects of consistent and inconsistent long-run variance estimation on a test for a unit root, based on the generalization of the von Neumann ratio. The results from the Monte Carlo experiments suggest that the unit root tests based on an inconsistent estimator have less size distortion and more stability of size across different autocorrelation specifications as compared to the tests based on a consistent estimator. This improvement in size property, however, comes at the cost of a loss in power. The finite-sample power, in addition to the local asymptotic power, of the tests with an inconsistent estimator is shown to be much lower than that of conventional tests. This finding can be well generalized to the test for cointegration in a multivariate system. The paper also points out that combining consistent and inconsistent estimators in the long-run variance ratio test is one possibility of balancing the size and power.The authors thank two anonymous referees, Pentti Saikkonen, and participants of the 2004 Midwest Econometrics Group meetings, 2005 Spring Meetings of The Japanese Economic Association, and a workshop at Vanderbilt University for helpful comments and suggestions.
Non-oxide ceramic materials like boron carbide and silicon carbide are technologically relevant as advanced high temperature materials, while boron nitride is a thermally robust low-k insulating material with electronic applications. Efficient routes to boron carbide, boron nitride, and silicon carbide ceramic nanostructures have been developed which employ molecular and polymeric precursors, including the boron carbide precursor 6, 6'-bis(decaboranyl)hexane, the boron nitride precursor polyborazylene, and a commercially available silicon carbide precursor allylhydridopolycarbosilane(AHPCS), in conjunction with colloidal silica and biological silica “diatom” templates. Layered submicron-sized ordered void structures with three-dimensional periodicity and tunable length scales were fabricated by the melt infiltration of the precursors into ordered colloidal silica bead templates. Pyrolytic ceramic conversion followed by dissolution of the silica beads by chemical treatment with aqueous HF or NaOH generated highly uniform ceramic structures with thicknesses up to 50μm and ordered voids ranging in diameter from 50-150 nm. Following on earlier work by Sandhage who generated polymer and oxide ceramic structures, vacuum filtration of the ceramic precursor solutions through bioclastic silica diatom frustule templates generated polymer coated replicas of their 3-D micro- and nanostructures. Subsequent pyrolysis and dissolution of the frustules in 48% HF yielded free-standing ceramic structures with fine features on length scales of 60-200 nm. This technique therefore provides a large scale route to nano- and micro structured non-oxide ceramic materials. Structural control of the end products was achieved by changing the concentration of the precursor solution, pore size and/or the frustule template. Characterization by XRD, DRIFT, SEM, TEM and possible uses of these uniform nano- and micro-structured ceramics will be discussed.
Microscale zirconia structures with intricate three-dimensional (3D) shapes and nanoscale features were synthesized using diatom (single-celled algae) microshells as transient scaffolds. After exposure to a zirconium alkoxide-bearing solution and firing at 550–850 °C, silica-based diatom microshells were coated with a thin, continuous nanocrystalline zirconia layer. Predominantly tetragonal or monoclinic zirconia could be produced with appropriate heat treatments. Selective silica dissolution then yielded freestanding zirconia micro-assemblies that retained the microshell shape and fine features. Such hybrid (biological/synthetic chemical) processing may be used to mass-produce nanostructured micro-assemblies with a variety of 3D, biologically replicable shapes and tailored compositions for use in numerous applications.