Human factors in pelvic surgery

In the pelvis, anatomic complexity and difficulty in visualization and access make surgery a formidable task. Surgeons are prone to work-related musculoskeletal injuries from the frequently poor design and flow of their work environment. This is exacerbated by the strain of surgery in the pelvis. These injuries can result in alterations to a surgeons practice, inadvertent patient injury, and even early retirement. Human factors examines the relationships between the surgeon, their instruments and their environment. By bridging physiology, psychology, and ergonomics, human factors allows a better understanding of some of the challenges posed by pelvic surgery. The operative approach involved (open, laparoscopic, robotic, or perineal) plays an important role in the relevant human factors. Improved understanding of ergonomics can mitigate these risks to surgeons. Other human factors approaches such as standardization, use of checklists, and employing resiliency efforts can all improve patient safety in the operating theatre.     

肠杆菌目细菌产耐碳青霉烯酶的基因分型检测方法进展

碳青霉烯类耐药肠杆菌科细菌（CRE）已成为全球性的公共卫生问题。有文献报道由CRE引起的感染，尤其是血流感染，会导致患者死亡率较高，为临床治疗带来了极大的挑战。肠杆菌科细菌耐碳青霉烯类药物的主要机制是细菌产生了不同型别的耐碳青霉烯类水解酶。目前只有少数几种新型抗菌药物可以用于CRE的治疗如头孢他啶/阿维巴坦，但头孢他啶/阿维巴坦对持有金属β内酰胺酶的CRE没有活性，所以快速、准确地检测CRE菌株所产碳青霉烯酶种类，对临床合理选择抗菌药物至关重要。本文就目前检测肠杆菌科细菌耐碳青霉烯类药物的基因分型实验方法的优缺点进行总结分析。     

基于电生理信号的生物医学工程专业课程体系建设

生理电信号作为生物医学工程中的重要信号,其中蕴含了丰富的人体信息。该研究以生理电信号为主线,通过对其信号的学习、获取、分析、处理将生物医学工程的专业课串联起来,使学生将专业知识和实际仪器设计分析结合起来,能较为全面的掌握信号与系统方面的知识,加强学生的实际分析和解决医学问题的能力。     

Advancement of chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer cells targeting hepatocellular carcinoma

With the advance of genome engineering technology, chimeric antigen receptors (CARs)-based immunotherapy has become an emerging therapeutic strategy for tumors. Although initially designed for T cells in tumor immunotherapy, CARs have been exploited to modify the function of natural killer (NK) cells against a variety of tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). CAR-NK cells have the potential to sufficiently kill tumor antigen-expressing HCC cells, independent of major histocompatibility complex matching or prior priming. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in genetic engineering of CAR-NK cells against HCC and discuss the current challenges and prospects of CAR-NK cells as a revolutionary cellular immunotherapy against HCC.     

The relationship between nasal and conjunctival cultures of antimicrobial-resistant isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

PurposeNasal screening is performed to avoid the complications of postoperative surgical site infections (SSI), especially those due to antimicrobial-resistant species such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This study examined the relationship between bacterial isolates from the conjunctiva and the nasal cavity.MethodsAll patients were diagnosed with ocular surface infections, and the organisms in the conjunctiva and the nasal cavity were isolated. We investigated the relationship of the following antimicrobial-resistant bacteria between the conjunctiva and the nose: MRSA, methicillin-resistant CNS (MRCNS), levofloxacin-resistant (LVFX-R) Corynebacterium spp. Data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test, and the odds ratio was examined.ResultsThis study included 188 eyes of 188 subjects (87 males and 101 females; mean age 58.5 years, range 11–97 years). MRSA (4 eyes), MRCNS (29 eyes), and LVFX-R Corynebacterium spp. (41 eyes) were identified from the conjunctiva, and MRSA (6 eyes), MRCNS (38 eyes), and LVFX-R Corynebacterium spp. (41 eyes) were identified from the nasal cavity. There was a significant relationship detected between the conjunctiva and the nose for MRSA, MRCNS, and LVFX-R Corynebacterium spp. MRSA displayed high sensitivity (0.750, 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.301 to 0.987) and specificity (0.984, 95% CI; 0.953 to 0.996) in nasal cavity cultures, and the odds ratio was 181.00 times (95% CI; 18.41 to 2320).ConclusionThis study showed a significant relationship between conjunctival and nasal cultures of MRSA, MRCNS, and LVFX-R Corynebacterium spp., suggesting that nasal cavity culture is a potentially useful screening method for detecting resistant bacteria, especially MRSA, in the conjunctiva.     

Effect of chlorhexidine digluconate on antimicrobial activity,cell viability and physicochemical properties of three endodontic sealers

ObjectiveAssess the biological and physicochemical properties of AH Plus, BioRoot RCS and Pulp Canal Sealer (PCS) leachates with and without chlorhexidine (CHX).MethodsThe sealers were studied in no contact and 1-minute contact with CHX. For biological properties (antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity), leachates were formed in saline of freshly mixed, 1-, 7- and 28 days set sealers. The antibacterial properties of sealer leachates were investigated for planktonic and biofilm growth of E. faecalis, S. mutans, S.epidermidis and S.aureus. The 3-(4,5 dimethylthiazolyl-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to evaluate murine fibroblast cell viability after exposure to the leachates. The physical properties (water uptake, sorption, solubility, porosity, surface characteristics) of sealers and the pH of the immersion liquid (saline or distilled water) were also assessed over a 28-days period.ResultsCHX improved the antibacterial properties of the sealer leachates and reduced cell viability for all sealer leachates, except for freshly mixed PCS. BioRoot RCS leachates presented the highest antibacterial properties and cell viability with and without CHX contact. PCS was the material most affected by CHX in terms of physical properties, whereas for AH Plus, solubility was increased. CHX did not affect the physical properties of BioRoot RCS, except for solubility that was decreased. CHX contact did not change sealers’ alkalinity in distilled water whereas it increased it for AH Plus and BioRoot RCS in saline.SignificanceCHX improved the antibacterial efficacy of sealer leachates and either compromised or did not affect cell viability. CHX affected to various extent sealers’ physicochemical properties.     

Arterial spin labeling MR image denoising and reconstruction using unsupervised deep learning

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) imaging is a powerful magnetic resonance imaging technique that allows to quantitatively measure blood perfusion non-invasively, which has great potential for assessing tissue viability in various clinical settings. However, the clinical applications of ASL are currently limited by its low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), limited spatial resolution, and long imaging time. In this work, we propose an unsupervised deep learning-based image denoising and reconstruction framework to improve the SNR and accelerate the imaging speed of high resolution ASL imaging. The unique feature of the proposed framework is that it does not require any prior training pairs but only the subject's own anatomical prior, such as T1-weighted images, as network input. The neural network was trained from scratch in the denoising or reconstruction process, with noisy images or sparely sampled k-space data as training labels. Performance of the proposed method was evaluated using in vivo experiment data obtained from 3 healthy subjects on a 3T MR scanner, using ASL images acquired with 44-min acquisition time as the ground truth. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed txtc framework over the reference methods. In summary, our proposed unsupervised deep learning-based denoising and reconstruction framework can improve the image quality and accelerate the imaging speed of ASL imaging.     

人髌下脂肪垫干细胞的分离培养鉴定及初步研究

目的建立人髌下脂肪垫干细胞分离、培养和鉴定的平台，验证其可作为可靠的干细胞来源，并可作为细胞模型参与科学研究。 方法人髌下脂肪垫取自膝关节置换手术患者，经Ⅰ型胶原酶消化，在高糖Dulbecco改良Eagle培养基(DMEM)内扩增，取P5代细胞用于检测其"干性"及三向分化能力。与微尺度支架结合，通过RT－PCR检测成骨基因的表达，应用最小显著性差异法进行组间两两比较，用于验证微尺度支架的成骨诱导特性。 结果人髌下脂肪垫干细胞具备间充质干细胞相关特性，包括黏附贴壁性；成脂肪、成软骨及成骨分化；表达相关表面标记，如分化抗原簇(CD)73、CD90和CD105；不表达造血细胞系的分子表面标记，如c-kit、CD14、CD11b、CD34、CD45、CD19、CD79和人白细胞抗原(HLA)-DR。本课题中人髌下脂肪垫来源干细胞成功作为一种干细胞模型，证明HaCG微尺度支架具备成骨诱导特性，表现为三组中成骨基因ALP、COL1、Runx2表达差异有统计学意义(分别为F＝150，P<0.01；F＝68，P<0.01；F＝16，P<0.01)。HaCG微尺度支架组高于纯明胶微尺度支架组及二维培养组，纯明胶微尺度支架组高于二维培养组(P值均小于0.05)。 结论人髌下脂肪垫干细胞分离、培养和鉴定平台的建立，未来可作为细胞模型应用于多种不同实验。     

Stem cells for babies and their surgeons: The future is now

Pediatric surgeons are ideal allies for the translation of basic science including stem cell therapies. In the spirit of Robert E. Gross, of applying creative solutions to pediatric problems with technical expertise, we describe the impending cellular therapies that may be derived from stem and progenitor cells. Understanding the types and capabilities of stem and progenitor cells is important for pediatric surgeons to join and facilitate progress for babies. We are developing an induced pluripotent stem cell therapy for enteric neuropathies such as Hirschsprung disease that might be helpful for children in the near future. Our goals, which we hope to share with other surgeons and scientists, include working to establish safe clinical trials and meeting regulatory standards in a thoughtful way that balances patients need and unknown risks.