Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B
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J Zhejiang Univ Sci B · Feb 2019
ReviewNeuromodulation for tinnitus treatment: an overview of invasive and non-invasive techniques.
Tinnitus is defined as a perception of sound without any external sound source. Chronic tinnitus is a frequent condition that can affect the quality of life. So far, no causal cure for tinnitus has been documented, and most pharmacologic and psychosomatic treatment modalities aim to diminish tinnitus' impact on the quality of life. ⋯ Some of these neuromodulation techniques revealed promising results; nevertheless, further research is needed, especially regarding the pathophysiological principle as to how these neuromodulation techniques work and what neuronal change they induce. Various studies suggest that individually different brain states and networks are involved in the generation and perception of tinnitus. Therefore, in the future, individually tailored neuromodulation strategies could be a promising approach in tinnitus treatment for achieving a more substantial and longer lasting improvement of complaints.
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J Zhejiang Univ Sci B · Jan 2019
Experiments that led to the first gene-edited babies: the ethical failings and the urgent need for better governance.
The rapid developments of science and technology in China over recent decades, particularly in biomedical research, have brought forward serious challenges regarding ethical governance. Recently, Jian-kui HE, a Chinese scientist, claimed to have "created" the first gene-edited babies, designed to be naturally immune to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The news immediately triggered widespread criticism, denouncement, and debate over the scientific and ethical legitimacy of HE's genetic experiments. ⋯ These include questionable scientific value, unreasonable risk-benefit ratio, illegitimate ethics review, invalid informed consent, and regulatory misconduct. This series of ethical failings of HE and his team reveal the institutional failure of the current ethics governance system which largely depends on scientist's self-regulation. The incident highlights the need for urgent improvement of ethics governance at all levels, the enforcement of technical and ethical guidelines, and the establishment of laws relating to such bioethical issues.
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J Zhejiang Univ Sci B · Dec 2018
Interhemispheric functional connectivity for Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment based on the triple network model.
The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in interhemispheric functional connectivity in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) based on a triple network model consisting of the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and executive control network (ECN). The technique of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) analysis was applied to explore the aberrant connectivity of all patients. ⋯ More specifically, the DMN was inhibited, while the SN and ECN were excited. VMHC results were correlated with MMSE and MOCA scores, highlighting that VMHC could be a sensitive neuroimaging biomarker for AD and the progression from aMCI to AD.
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J Zhejiang Univ Sci B · May 2018
Early diagnosis of acute kidney injury in aged patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.
In aged patients, acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical complication after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), highlighting the need for timely and certain diagnosis of this disease. A single centre, nested case-control study was conducted, which assessed the usefulness of urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (uL-FABP), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL), and kidney injury molecule-1 (uKIM-1) for early detection of AKI. One hundred and thirty-two patients at or over 60 years old undergoing PCI were included. ⋯ AUC for the combination of uL-FABP and uNGAL was 0.899 at 6 h after PCI, and 0.917 at 24 h after PCI. Thus, measurement of uL-FABP and uNGAL levels at 6 and 24 h after PCI may be useful in detecting AKI in aged patients. Measurement of uKIM-1 levels provides inferior predictive power for early diagnosis of AKI.
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J Zhejiang Univ Sci B · Jan 2018
ReviewTowards precision medicine: from quantitative imaging to radiomics.
Radiology (imaging) and imaging-guided interventions, which provide multi-parametric morphologic and functional information, are playing an increasingly significant role in precision medicine. Radiologists are trained to understand the imaging phenotypes, transcribe those observations (phenotypes) to correlate with underlying diseases and to characterize the images. However, in order to understand and characterize the molecular phenotype (to obtain genomic information) of solid heterogeneous tumours, the advanced sequencing of those tissues using biopsy is required. ⋯ Therefore, interest in the application of radiomics has been growing in recent years as it has the potential to provide significant interpretive and predictive information for decision support. Radiomics is a combination of conventional computer-aided diagnosis, deep learning methods, and human skills, and thus can be used for quantitative characterization of tumour phenotypes. This paper discusses the overview of radiomics workflow, the results of various radiomics-based studies conducted using various radiological images such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron-emission tomography (PET), the challenges we are facing, and the potential contribution of radiomics towards precision medicine.