Decreased CD10-positive granulocytes for the differential diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are highly heterogeneous myeloid neoplasms, and a large number of patients are difficult to diagnose and classify by blood and bone marrow examination. As a surface marker of granulocyte, studies have shown CD10 can be used to define the degree of granulocyte maturation in MDS patients. However, whether it can be used for differential diagnosis of MDS and other hematological diseases remains inconclusive. To explore the value of CD10 for differential diagnosis of MDS, 60 newly diagnosed MDS, 20 aplastic anemia (AA) patients, and 35 iron-deficient anemia (IDA) patients were selected for this study. Bone marrow (BM) specimens were processed for surface marker analysis and labeled with pre-conjugated monoclonal antibodies. Stained cells were detected by flow cytometry. Our results indicated that CD10-positive granulocytes were significantly decreased in BM of MDS patients than AA and IDA patients, and the level of CD10-positive mature granulocytes was not associated with the clinical stages of malignancy. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) areas under the curve (AUC) of CD10-positive granulocytes was 0.86 and 0.85, respectively, in MDS patients than the IDA group and AA group with good specificity and sensitivity. Further, CD10-positive granulocytes were increased after effective treatment. In conclusion, we found the decrease in CD10-positive granulocytes has a differential diagnostic value of MDS.     

Fault diagnosis using partial syndromes: a modified Hopfield neural network approach

This paper presents a modified Hopfield neural network (HNN) for solving the system-level fault diagnosis problem which aims at identifying the set of faulty nodes. This problem has been extensively studied in the last three decades. Nevertheless, identifying the set of all faulty nodes using only partial syndromes, i.e. when some of the testing or comparison outcomes are missing prior to initiating the diagnosis phase, remains an outstanding research issue. The new HNN-based diagnosis algorithm does not require any prior learning or knowledge about the system, nor about any faulty situation, hence providing a better generalisation performance. Results from a thorough simulation study demonstrate the effectiveness of the HNN-based fault diagnosis algorithm in terms of diagnosis correctness, diagnosis latency and diagnosis scalability, for randomly generated diagnosable systems of different sizes and under various fault scenarios. We have also conducted extensive simulations using partial syndromes. Simulations showed that the HNN-based diagnosis performed efficiently, i.e. diagnosis correctness was around 99% when at most half of the test or comparison outcomes are missing, making it a viable alternative to existing diagnosis algorithms.     

Heuristic circuit simulation using PROLOG

Through the use of the logic programming language PROLOG, digital logic circuitry can be conveniently represented in predicate calculus in a manner amenable to various forms of computation. Axioms define the behavior of primitive gates in a given technology, and implications hierarchically characterize the behavior of non-primitive modules.Simulation of circuitry proceeds by theorem proving, viewed as constraint satisfaction. A PROLOG-based simulator is presented for the investigation of heuristics to efficiently solve problems of ‘backward’ simulation which arise in a number of areas, such as reasoning about fault isolation. The heuristic simulator can also serve as the basis for an elegant implementation of Roth's D-algorithm.     

Investigation of volatile organic compounds in office buildings in Bangkok,Thailand: Concentrations,sources, and occupant symptoms

To conserve energy, office buildings with air-conditioning systems in Thailand are operated with a tight thermal envelope. This leads to low fresh-air ventilation rates and is thought to be partly responsible for the sick building syndrome symptoms reported by occupants. The objectives of this study are to measure concentrations and to determine sources of 13 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in office buildings with air-conditioning systems in the business area of Bangkok. Indoor and outdoor air samples from 17 buildings were collected on Tenax-TA^™ sorbent tubes and analyzed for individual VOCs by thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD–GC/MS). Building ventilation was measured with a constant injection technique using hexafluorobenzene as a tracer gas. The results show that the VOC concentrations varied significantly among the studied buildings. The two most dominant VOCs were toluene and limonene with average concentrations of 110 and 60.5 μg m⁻³, respectively. A Wilcoxon sum rank test indicated that the indoor concentrations of aromatic compounds and limonene were statistically higher than outdoor concentrations at the 0.05 level, while the indoor concentrations of chlorinated compounds were not. Indoor emission factors of toluene and limonene were found to be highest with the average values of 80.9 and 18.9 μg m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively. Principal component analysis was applied to the emission factors of 13 VOCs, producing three components based on source similarities. Furthermore, a questionnaire survey investigation and field measurements of building air exchange pointed to indoor air complaints related to inadequate ventilation.     

三氧化二砷联合沙利度胺治疗骨髓增生异常综合征

目的探讨三氧化二砷联合沙利度胺治疗骨髓增生异常综合征-难治性贫血（MDS-RA）的疗效。方法 22例原发性骨髓增生异常综合征-难治性贫血（MDS-RA）患者,其中男12例,女10例,中位年龄42.5岁,均采用三氧化二砷联合沙利度胺治疗,治疗方案为三氧化二砷10 mg.d-1,静脉滴注,每月给药15 d,总疗程4个月,同时服用沙利度胺200~400 mg.d-1。对照组10例,单用三氧化二砷治疗,剂量及疗程同治疗组。结果治疗组基本缓解12例（54.5%）,部分缓解8例（36.4%）,总有效率约为91%;对照组3例基本缓解（30%）,2例部分缓解（20%）,总有效率50%。总有效率2组比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。结论三氧化二砷联合沙利度胺治疗原发性MDS-RA是有效的,且不良反应轻微,总有效率达91%,值得进一步应用总结。     

Constancy of psychotic syndromes in men and women.

Interview behavior ratings were obtained on the Inpatient Multidimensional Psychiatric Scale for 375 male and 448 female psychotics from 16 state and university hospitals. An hypothesis-testing factor analysis confirmed 11 of the 12 factors (syndromes) hypothesized. The congruency coefficients indicated essential constancy between men and women across the 11 syndromes established. 4 similar 2nd order factors accounted for the correlations among the factor scores in both groups. Comparisons of the 2 sexes as to score level revealed that the males were more retarded, while the females were more excited. Thus, men and women are quite similar as to the kinds of psychotic behaviors they exhibit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A [meso-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrinato]zinc(ii) complex as an oral therapeutic for the treatment of type 2 diabetic KKA(y) mice

We prepared and characterized [meso-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrinato]zinc(II) ([Zn(tpps)]), and investigated its in vitro insulin-mimetic activity and in vivo hypoglycemic effect in type 2 diabetic KKA(y) mice. The results were compared with those of previously proposed insulin-mimetic zinc(II) complexes and zinc sulfate (ZnSO(4)). The in vitro insulin-mimetic activity of [Zn(tpps)] was considerably better than that of bis(allixinato)zinc(II) ([Zn(alx)(2)]), bis(maltolato)zinc(II) ([Zn(mal)(2)]), bis(2-aminomethylpyridinato)zinc(II) ([Zn(2-ampy)(2)](2+)), and ZnSO(4). In particular, the order of in vitro insulin-mimetic activity of the complexes was determined to be: [Zn(tpps)]>[Zn(alx)(2)]>[Zn(mal)(2)]>[Zn(2-ampy)](2+)>ZnSO(4). [Zn(tpps)] normalized the hyperglycemia of KKA(y) mice within 21 days when administered orally at doses of 10-20 mg (0.15-0.31 mmol) Zn per kg body mass for 28 days. In addition, metabolic syndromes such as insulin resistance, the degree of renal disturbance, and the degree of liver disturbance were significantly improved in [Zn(tpps)]-treated KKA(y) mice relative to those administered with saline and ZnSO(4). The improvement in diabetes was validated by the results of oral glucose-tolerance tests and the decrease in the HbA(1c) level observed. In contrast, ZnSO(4) and the ligand H(2)tpps did not lower the elevated blood glucose level under the same experimental conditions. Based on these observations, [Zn(tpps)] is proposed to be the first orally active zinc(II)-porphyrin complex for the efficacious treatment of not only type 2 diabetes but also metabolic syndromes in animals.     

抗血小板膜P2Y12受体拮抗剂的研究进展

抗血小板药物是治疗急性冠脉综合征的必备用药,其中抗血小板膜P₂Y₁₂受体拮抗剂已成为急性冠脉综合征药物治疗研究中最活跃的一个领域,从基础到临床研究,不断地开发出系列新药。本文就对P₂Y₁₂受体拮抗剂作用机制、药代动力学、急性冠脉综合征临床研究、临床指南等进行分析,为临床合理用药提供参考。     

复方参鹿颗粒干预肾阳虚型骨髓增生异常综合征造血调控的临床观察

目的 评判复方参鹿颗粒对肾阳虚型骨髓增生异常综合征(MDS)(难治性贫血/难治性血细胞减少伴多系造血异常)(RA/RCMD)造血调控情况.方法 30例MDS-RA/RCMD患者随机分成复方参鹿颗粒组(简称参鹿组)(15例)和十一酸睾酮组(15例),测评治疗前后外周血象、T细胞亚群+自然杀伤(NK)细胞、骨髓细胞免疫表型.结果 参鹿组与治疗前相比,红细胞、血色素、血小板有明显上升,治疗前分别为(2.39±0.99)×1012/L、(84.47±28.68)g/L、(81.13±96.85)×109/L,治疗后分别为(2.80±0.98)×1012/L、(94.87±25.63)g/L、(98.67±107.9)×109/L,差异均有统计学意义(t=4.0359、t=2.7009、t=2.2573,均P<0.05),十一酸睾酮组仅有血红蛋白数量上升,治疗前为(71.93±27.53)g/L,治疗后为(80.07±26.03)g/L,差异有统计学意义(t=2.3125,P=0.0365);参鹿组治疗后CD+4、CD+8、CD+4/CD+8、NK细胞均达到或接近正常值,分别为(37.9±5.9)%、(24.0±5.8)%、1.75±0.83、(13.0±6.9)%,与治疗前的(29.3±11.7)%、(29.6±5.8)%、1.12±0.59、(8.8±5.7)%相比差异有统计学意义(t=2.6194、t=2.6595、t=2.6581、t=2.2288,均P<0.05),十一酸睾酮组治疗后仅CD+8、CD+4/CD+8接近正常值,分别为(22.1±7.5)%、1.50±0.74,与治疗前(26.6±7.5)%、1.18±0.55相比差异有统计学意义(t=2.2377,P=0.0420;t=2.9352,P=0.0109),治疗后,参鹿组CD+4表达率为(37.9±5.9)%,十一酸睾酮组为(30.5±12.6)%,差异有统计学意义(t=2.1738,P=0.0474);参鹿组对骨髓细胞CD+13、CD+33、CD+34、CD+64、CD+117的异常阳性表达调控能力强于安雄组(前三者u=2.76、u=3.39、u=2.85,均P<0.01,后两者u=2.17、u=2.46,均P<0.05).结论 复方参鹿颗粒能有效调控肾阳虚型MDS-RA/RCMD正常造血功能.