Liver function reserve (LFR) plays an extensive and important role in patients with liver disease. Indocyanine green (ICG) clearance test is the standard diagnostic approach for LFR evaluation which was performed by spectrophotometry or pulse dye densitometry (PDD). Spectrophotometry is the gold standard, it's invasive and not real-time. PDD is non-invasive, but accuracy of PDD is controversial. Taken spectrophotometry as the reference standard, this study investigated the accuracy of photoacoustic imaging (PAI) method for LFR assessment and compared to PDD in healthy volunteers. The results demonstrated a strong correlation between PAI method and spectrophotometry (r = 0.9649, p < 0.0001). No significant difference was shown in ICG clearance between PAI and spectrophotometry method (rate constant k1 vs. k2, 0.001158 +−0.00042 vs. 0.001491 +- 0.00045, p = 0.0727; half-life t1 vs. t2, 601.2 s vs. 474.4 s, p = 0.1450). These results indicated that PAI may be valuable as a noninvasive, accurate diagnostic tool for LFR assessment in human.
2023-05-31
Photoacoustics
West China Hospital, Sichuan University
The outer membrane structure is common in Gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria and chloroplasts, and contains outer membrane β-barrel proteins (OMPs) that are essential interchange portals of materials1,2,3. All known OMPs share the antiparallel β-strand topology4, implicating a common evolutionary origin and conserved folding mechanism. Models have been proposed for bacterial β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM) to initiate OMP folding5,6; however, mechanisms by which BAM proceeds to complete OMP assembly remain unclear. Here we report intermediate structures of BAM assembling an OMP substrate, EspP, demonstrating sequential conformational dynamics of BAM during the late stages of OMP assembly, which is further supported by molecular dynamics simulations. Mutagenic in vitro and in vivo assembly assays reveal functional residues of BamA and EspP for barrel hybridization, closure and release. Our work provides novel insights into the common mechanism of OMP assembly.
2023-04-30
Nature
West China Hospital, Sichuan University
The immune response of the host towards foreign body, especially in the form of giant cell reaction against the implanted materials, is a vital factor for determining the repair outcome of bone defect. Biomaterials with good immunomodulatory capacity and suitable degradation may promote the regeneration of bone defect and osteointegration with the host. Small intestine submucosa (SIS), a decellularized material, has been shown to possess a property for inducing the M2 phenotype of macrophages. Our findings suggested that the SIS hydrogel could induce the macrophages to polarize into mixed M1/M2 phenotypes, and such phenotypes have enhanced the migration and tube formation of angiogenesis-associated cells in vitro, whilst having a mild effect on osteoclastogenesis and osteogenesis. Experiment with a rat model for critical-sized bone defect regeneration further demonstrated that the composite BMP-2@SIS hydrogel could sequentially activate M1 and M2 macrophages and promote early-stage angiogenesis, which altogether expedited final bone defect regeneration.
2022-08-31
Composites Part B: Engineering
West China Hospital, Sichuan University
Aim. To develop a set of infectious disease emergency response competencies specific to frontline nurses in China. Background. Nurses play an important role in the infectious disease emergency response. Competency-based training is the cornerstone of the professionalization of disaster rescue, including the infectious disease emergency response. Accordingly, reaching a consensus on a set of core competencies is essential. However, information regarding the competencies needed for nurses in the infectious disease emergency response is limited. Methods. A literature review and in-depth expert interviews were conducted to establish a draft of competencies, which consisted of 53 items, including 3 first-level index items, 12 second-level index items, and 38 third-level index items. Eighteen experts with the knowledge of infectious disease management and experience with infectious disease emergency rescue from different regions in China were recruited for Delphi consultation. A two-round Delphi survey was conducted via email. Consensus was defined as a mean importance value >4.5 and the coefficient of variation <0.25 among the experts. Finally, the analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the weight of each index on which consensus had been reached. Results. An index system of infectious disease emergency response competencies for nurses was constructed, including 3 first-level indices (knowledge, attitudes, and skills), 10 second-level indices, and 32 third-level indices. The response rates of the two rounds of the Delphi survey were both 100%, and the authority coefficient of the 18 experts was 0.903. The weighted value of each index was established with a consistency ratio <0.1, demonstrating that skill (0.5396) ranked first among the three first-level indices, followed by knowledge (0.2970) and attitudes (0.1634). Conclusion. The study developed a consensus on infectious disease emergency response competencies required for nurses in China, which provides guidance for the assessment and training of nurses on infectious disease emergency response. Implications for Nursing Management. According to the competency index system, nursing managers could develop effective training programs of infectious disease emergency response competency for nurses and select competent nurses for emergency response to infectious diseases.
2023-05-31
Journal of Nursing Management
West China Hospital, Sichuan University
Urinary stone is conceptualized as a chronic metabolic disorder punctuated by symptomatic stone events. It has been shown that the occurrence of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) during stone formation is regulated by crystal growth modifiers. Although crystallization inhibitors have been recognized as a therapeutic modality for decades, limited progress has been made in the discovery of effective modifiers to intervene with stone disease. In this study, we have used metabolomics technologies, a powerful approach to identify biomarkers by screening the urine components of the dynamic progression in a bladder stone model. By in-depth mining and analysis of metabolomics data, we have screened five differential metabolites. Through density functional theory studies and bulk crystallization, we found that three of them (salicyluric, gentisic acid and succinate) could effectively inhibit nucleation in vitro. We thereby assessed the impact of the inhibitors with an EG-induced rat model for kidney stones. Notably, succinate, a key player in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, could decrease kidney calcium deposition and injury in the model. Transcriptomic analysis further showed that the protective effect of succinate was mainly through anti-inflammation, inhibition of cell adhesion and osteogenic differentiation. These findings indicated that succinate may provide a new therapeutic option for urinary stones.
2023-01-31
Signal Transduct Target Ther
West China Hospital, Sichuan University