Sex-related Differences in Exercise Capacity Trends and Determinants after Cardiac Rehabilitation in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether longitudinal changes in exercise capacity in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) differ by sex and clarified what contributed to these differences. Methods: We retrospectively examined the differences in each variable between men and women in 156 patients with AMI (mean age: 65 ± 12 years; 82.0% male) who participated in a 3-month cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program and could be followed-up for exercise capacity 12-months after AMI onset. Sex-related differences in the change in peak oxygen uptake (peak VO₂) at baseline, 3-months, and 12-months after AMI were analyzed. Results: Male patients with AMI were younger and had higher body mass index and employment rate than women. The attendance of the CR program was higher in women (men vs. women; 10 [3–15] vs. 14 [11–24] sessions, p = 0.0002). Women showed a significant lower %change in peak VO₂ after 12 months (men vs. women; 7.8% [–0.49% to 14.6%] vs. 1.3% [–5.7% to 7.5%], p = 0.013). In multiple linear regression analysis, age (β = –0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] = –1.0 to –0.50, p <0.0001) and female sex (β = –6.3, 95% CI = –9.1 to –3.5, p <0.0001) were negative independent predictors of change in peak VO₂ over 12 months, while CR attendance (β = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.0032–0.42, p = 0.047) and recommended exercise habit after the CR program (β = 2.1, 95% CI = 0.095–4.1, p = 0.040) were positive independent predictors of change in peak VO₂ over 12 months. Conclusion: In female patients, exercise capacity improved during the CR program but decreased to AMI onset levels after 12 months.     

Improved keypoint descriptors based on Delaunay triangulation for image matching

In the current keypoint-based image matching methods, not all the keypoints can be reliably matched because of the influence of noise, illumination, and image distortion. In the paper, we propose a novel method based on the Delaunay triangulation to detect and remove possible mismatches. Given previously matched keypoints by a detector in two images, the proposed method utilizes four steps to remove the mismatched point pairs: first, triangulating keypoints in the reference image, and producing a graph consisting of edges that connects the keypoints; second, drawing a graph in the test image by connecting the corresponding points as same as in the reference image; third, detecting abnormal edges in the test image using special constraints; fourth, detecting and removing mismatched point pairs based on the abnormal edges. The experimental results show that the method can detect the mismatches accurately and improve the robustness of current matching algorithms.     

Localized in vivo proton spectroscopy of the bone marrow in patients with leukemia

Volume selective magnetic resonance (MR) proton spectroscopy was used to investigate the haemopoietic (iliac bone) and fatty bone marrow (tibia) in patients with leukemia and polycythaemia vera. Selective measurements of the relaxation times T₁ and T₂ for the “water” and “fat” resonances in the bone marrow spectra were performed. Nine patients with acute leukemia and three patients with chronic leukemia were examined at diagnosis. Three patients with acute leukemia in remission were also examined. Five of the leukemic patients had follow-up examinations performed in relation to chemotherapeutic treatment. Nine patients with polycythaemia vera and 21 normal control subjects were examined with identical methods for comparison. All patients had bone marrow biopsies performed prior to every MR examination. Significant differences could be detected in the spectral patterns from iliac bone marrow in patients with leukemia at diagnosis compared to the healthy normal controls. The “relative water content” was increased in the iliac bone marrow spectra of the leukemic patients compared to the normal subjects, which indicates an increase in the amount of haemopoietic tissue and a corresponding decrease in marrow fat content. The T₁ relaxation times of the “water” resonance in the spectra from the iliac bone marrow of the leukemic patients were significantly prolonged at diagnosis, compared to the normal controls and the patients with polycythaemia vera. After chemotherapeutic induction of remission, the spectra from the iliac bone marrow in the patients with leukemia resembled normal spectra. Four leukemic patients had abnormal spectra from the tibial bone marrow and one patients showed early changes in tibial marrow during chemotherapeutic treatment, before any major changes could be detected in the iliac bone marrow.     

急性腹泻患儿血清锌、铜及锌／铜比值的初步探讨

对息性腹泻息儿血清锌、铜水平及锌／铜比值关系进行了探讨．认为锌／铜比值变化具有临床意义．     

Simplicial algorithm to solve the nonlinear complementarity problem onS n×R + m

In this paper, a simplicial algorithm is developed to solve the nonlinear complementarity problem onS ⁿ×R ₊ ^m . Furthermore, a condition for convergence is formulated. The triangulation which underlies the algorithm is a combination of the V-triangulation ofS ⁿ and the K-triangulation ofR ₊ ^m . Therefore, we will call it the VK-triangulation.The author wishes to thank Professor G. van der Laan for his valuable comments.     

关于平面点集三角剖分的两类子集

给定欧氏平面上的一个点集合Ｓ，我们给出两类端点在Ｓ中的线段集合，第一类线段集合是Ｓ的任一三角剖分的子集，第二类线段集合是Ｓ的任一最小权三解剖分的子集，这两类子集是不相交的，这两类子集合的计算要用Ｏ(n³)时间和Ｏ（ｎ）空间．     

Protein array for assist diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction

A nanogold probe immunoassay for cardiac troponin I (cTnI) combining the concepts of the one-step dual monoclonal antibody “sandwich” principle, the low density protein array, and silver enhancement on the gold particle is described. Two main substrates, namely the capture antibody (IgG1) coated supporting nitrocellulose membrane and the colloidal gold-labeled detection antibody (cAu–IgG2), were prepared before the detection. The detection procedure involved two steps, i.e. immunoreaction and silver amplification. The assay needs only small amounts of serum samples of patients. The detection results could be easily imaged with a simple flatbed scanner or even the naked eye. The whole detection procedure of the assay could be fulfilled within 40 min (much faster than the routine enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that takes usually at least 3 h for a turnaround test). The detection limit of cTnI was found to be 1 ng/ml. The detecting results of cTnI in serum samples were similar to those detected by ELISA.     

Calibration procedure for a laser triangulation scanner with uncertainty evaluation

Most of low cost 3D scanning devices that are nowadays available on the market are sold without a user calibration procedure to correct measurement errors related to changes in environmental conditions. In addition, there is no specific international standard defining a procedure to check the performance of a 3D scanner along time. This paper aims at detailing a thorough methodology to calibrate a 3D scanner and assess its measurement uncertainty. The proposed procedure is based on the use of a reference ball plate and applied to a triangulation laser scanner. Experimental results show that the metrological performance of the instrument can be greatly improved by the application of the calibration procedure that corrects systematic errors and reduces the device's measurement uncertainty.     

不同病原体引起的儿童化脓性扁桃体炎的临床特点

目的探究不同病原体引起的儿童化脓性扁桃体炎的临床特点。方法选择2014年住院确诊且有明确病原体的化脓性扁桃体炎患儿97例,比较不同病原体引起的化脓性扁桃体炎的流行病学特点、临床症状与体征、实验室检查结果等。结果A族β溶血性链球菌（GABHS）、EB病毒、腺病毒和肺炎支原体（MP）引起的化脓性扁桃体炎患儿发病年龄分别为（6.29±2.17）、（3.41±1.81）、（3.35±2.50）、（3.88±2.95）岁,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）,其中GABHS感染患儿年龄最大。GABHS感染患儿发病年龄多在5岁以下,冬春季为发病高峰季节。有咽部出血点表现的多为GABHS和腺病毒感染,EB病毒感染患儿易出现肝、脾和颈部淋巴结肿大,腺病毒感染患儿易出现结膜炎。不同病原体引起的急性化脓性扁桃体炎患儿血清中性粒细胞（NC）、C-反应蛋白（CRP）、血清降钙素原（PCT）水平比较,差异均有统计学意义（均P＜0.05）;与GABHS感染患儿相比,EB病毒、MP感染患儿CRP水平均较低（均P＜0.05）,EB病毒、腺病毒和MP感染患儿PCT水平均较低（均P＜0.05）。结论在化脓性扁桃体炎患儿中,除GABHS感染外,腺病毒、EB病毒和支原体感染也占相当一部分。对于年龄＜5岁,冬末春初发病,有明显咽痛、咽后壁出血样表现,CRP明显升高,PCT＞0.5ng/ml的患儿,应考虑GABHS感染的可能,并及早、足疗程使用抗生素。     

Towards a Precise NMR Quantification of Acute Phase Inflammation Proteins from Human Serum

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra of human serum and plasma show, besides metabolites and lipoproteins, two characteristic signals termed GlycA and B arising from the acetyl groups of glycoprotein glycans from acute phase proteins, which constitute good markers for inflammatory processes. Here, we report a comprehensive assignment of glycoprotein glycan NMR signals observed in human serum, showing that GlycA and GlycB signals originate from Neu5Ac and GlcNAc moieties from N-glycans, respectively. Diffusion-edited NMR experiments demonstrate that signal components can be associated with specific acute phase proteins. Conventionally determined concentrations of acute phase glycoproteins correlate well with distinct features in NMR spectra (R² up to 0.9422, p-value <0.001), allowing the simultaneous quantification of several acute phase inflammation proteins. Overall, a proteo-metabolomics NMR signature of significant diagnostic potential is obtained within 10–20 min acquisition time. This is exemplified in serum samples from COVID-19 and cardiogenic shock patients showing significant changes in several acute phase proteins compared to healthy controls.