术中超声在复杂性肾结石手术的临床应用

目的：探讨术中超声在复杂性肾结石手术中的作用。方法：将56例复杂性肾结石手术患者分成实验组和对照组,前者术中使用超声检查,后者术中不使用超声检查,比较两组术后结石残存率、术中手术时间、出血量和肾功能。结果：实验组术后结石残存率、术中手术时间、出血量少于对照组（P〈0．05）,两组肾功能变化差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。结论：术中超声对肾切开取石有简便、精确、迅速、易掌握的优点,值得临床推广。     

A new approach to modeling daily probabilities of conception

Standard conception probabilities models assume that different acts of intercourse make independent contributions to the probability of conception in viable cycles. We propose an alternative, approximate model based on the assumption that the act of intercourse closest to the time of maximum fertility is the one most likely to have caused conception. We describe an adaptive algorithm [the most fertile intercourse day (MFID) algorithm] that estimates the most fertile intercourse day in each cycle. The approach is easily extended to include covariates and random between-couple differences in fecundability that affect the probability of conception in a given cycle. Reanalyses of two data sets reported in the literature are presented. Estimates of the probability of conception during the most fertile period of the cycle and of the effects of covariates are similar to estimates found using standard models.     

Oral metagenomes from Native American Ancestors reveal distinct microbial lineages in the pre-contact era

Objectives

Limited studies have focused on how European contact and colonialism impacted Native American oral microbiomes, specifically, the diversity of commensal or opportunistically pathogenic oral microbes, which may be associated with oral diseases. Here, we studied the oral microbiomes of pre-contact Wichita Ancestors, in partnership with the Descendant community, The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, Oklahoma, USA.

Materials and Methods

Skeletal remains of 28 Wichita Ancestors from 20 archeological sites (dating approximately to 1250–1450 CE) were paleopathologically assessed for presence of dental calculus and oral disease. DNA was extracted from calculus, and partial uracil deglycosylase-treated double-stranded DNA libraries were shotgun-sequenced using Illumina technology. DNA preservation was assessed, the microbial community was taxonomically profiled, and phylogenomic analyzes were conducted.

Results

Paleopathological analysis revealed signs of oral diseases such as caries and periodontitis. Calculus samples from 26 Ancestors yielded oral microbiomes with minimal extraneous contamination. Anaerolineaceae bacterium oral taxon 439 was found to be the most abundant bacterial species. Several Ancestors showed high abundance of bacteria typically associated with periodontitis such as Tannerella forsythia and Treponema denticola. Phylogenomic analyzes of Anaerolineaceae bacterium oral taxon 439 and T. forsythia revealed biogeographic structuring; strains present in the Wichita Ancestors clustered with strains from other pre-contact Native Americans and were distinct from European and/or post-contact American strains.

Discussion

We present the largest oral metagenome dataset from a pre-contact Native American population and demonstrate the presence of distinct lineages of oral microbes specific to the pre-contact Americas.     

Sampling bias in studies of dentoalveolar pathology in past human populations

Two subsamples of 30 subjects drawn from the same skeletal population (Monte d'Argento, Italy, Medieval age) were examined in a parallel blind study of dentoalveolar pathology, tooth wear and calculus, in order to assess the influence of sampling bias on dietary reconstruction. The effect of interobserver error was controlled and random subdivision was performed on a sample homogeneous for age and social condition. In spite of this, appreciable differences in the frequencies of some pathologies and, therefore, in dietary reconstruction were found, thus pointing to potential effectiveness of sampling bias in archaeological partial samples.     

The spikes trains probability distributions: A stochastic calculus approach

We discuss the statistics of spikes trains for different types of integrate-and-fire neurons and different types of synaptic noise models. In contrast with the usual approaches in neuroscience, mainly based on statistical physics methods such as the Fokker-Planck equation or the mean-field theory, we chose the point of the view of the stochastic calculus theory to characterize neurons in noisy environments. We present four stochastic calculus techniques that can be used to find the probability distributions attached to the spikes trains. We illustrate the power of these techniques for four types of widely used neuron models. Despite the fact that these techniques are mathematically intricate we believe that they can be useful for answering questions in neuroscience that naturally arise from the variability of neuronal activity. For each technique we indicate its range of applicability and its limitations.     

彩色多普勒超声引导下经皮肾镜取石术（PCNL）治疗复杂性肾结石的临 床分析

摘要目的：总结彩色多普勒超声引导下经皮肾镜取石术（percutaneous nephrolithotomy,PCNL) 治疗的复杂性肾结石的经验及其 安全性、有效性以及常见并发症。方法：回顾性分析我院2011 年7 月～2012 年8 月采用彩色多普勒引导下经皮肾镜治疗复杂性 肾结石患者56 例的临床资料。结果：所有患者均I期建立经皮肾通道,平均手术时间(107.5± 27.5)分钟,24 例行EMS 气压弹道联 合超声碎石(101.0± 27.9)分钟,20 例行钬激光联合超声碎石(119.4± 23.6)分钟,10 例行单纯超声碎石(108.2± 30.2)分钟,EMS 气 压弹道联合超声碎石组的手术时间少于钬激光碎石组,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05,单纯超声碎石组与另外两组比较无统计学意 义P>0.05)。术前肾功能损伤患者术后随访,肾功能明显改善。结石完全清除率91%,结石部分残留率9%。术中均无严重出血,无 周边脏器损伤。术后出现迟发出血5 例,反复发热4 例,均经对症治疗后缓解。结论：彩色多普勒超声引导除了具有普通超声引导 的优势外,还可有效避开肾实质大血管损伤,减少术中及术后出血风险。彩色多普勒超声引导下经皮肾镜碎石取石术是一种治疗 复杂性肾结石安全、有效的方法。     

Cavitation bubble- and gas bubble-induced fractional precipitation of paclitaxel from Taxus chinensis

In this study, a fractional precipitation technique of paclitaxel using ultrasonic cavitation bubbles and gas bubbles is presented. Precipitation efficiency has been dramatically improved, and the time required for precipitation has been reduced by 20–30 times compared to conventional methods. As a result of investigating the mechanism of fractional precipitation in which cavitation and gas bubbles were introduced, it was found that the bubble surface itself acts as a nucleation site, resulting in faster nucleation and thereby improving precipitation efficiency. In addition, compared to the conventional fractional precipitation, the particle size was reduced by 7.8–8.9 times and 4.7–4.9 times for cavitation bubbles and gas bubbles, respectively, and the diffusion coefficient was increased by 10.3–11.9 times (cavitation bubble) and 4.7–4.9 times (gas bubble).     

Itô versus Stratonovich calculus in random population growth

The context is the general stochastic differential equation (SDE) model dN/dt=N(g(N)+sigmaepsilon(t)) for population growth in a randomly fluctuating environment. Here, N=N(t) is the population size at time t, g(N) is the 'average' per capita growth rate (we work with a general almost arbitrary function g), and sigmaepsilon(t) is the effect of environmental fluctuations (sigma>0, epsilon(t) standard white noise). There are two main stochastic calculus used to interpret the SDE, It? calculus and Stratonovich calculus. They yield different solutions and even qualitatively different predictions (on extinction, for example). So, there is a controversy on which calculus one should use. We will resolve the controversy and show that the real issue is merely semantic. It is due to the informal interpretation of g(x) as being an (unspecified) 'average' per capita growth rate (when population size is x). The implicit assumption usually made in the literature is that the 'average' growth rate is the same for both calculi, when indeed this rate should be defined in terms of the observed process. We prove that, when using It? calculus, g(N) is indeed the arithmetic average growth rate R(a)(x) and, when using Stratonovich calculus, g(N) is indeed the geometric average growth rate R(g)(x). Writing the solutions of the SDE in terms of a well-defined average, R(a)(x) or R(g)(x), instead of an undefined 'average' g(x), we prove that the two calculi yield exactly the same solution. The apparent difference was due to the semantic confusion of taking the informal term 'average growth rate' as meaning the same average.