Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on hepatitis B and forecasting the epidemiological trend in mainland China: a causal analysis.

BACKGROUND: It is uncertain how COVID-19 outbreak influences the hepatitis B epidemics. This study aims to evaluate the effects on hepatitis B owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and forecast the hepatitis B epidemiological trend in mainland China to speed up the course of the "End viral hepatitis Strategy". METHODS: We estimated the causal impacts and created a forecast through adopting monthly notifications of hepatitis B each year from 2005 to 2020 in mainland China using the Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) method. RESULTS: The hepatitis B epidemics fluctuates irregularly during the period 2005-2007(APC = 8.7, P = 0.246) and 2015-2020(APC = 1.7, P = 0.290), and there is a downturn (APC=-3.2, 95% CI -5.2 to -1.2, P = 0.006) from 2007 to 2015 in mainland China. The COVID-19 outbreak was found to have a monthly average reduction on the hepatitis B epidemics of 26% (95% CI 18-35%) within the first three months in 2020,17% (95% CI 7.7-26%) within the first six months in 2020, and 10% (95% CI19-22%) all year as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, (probability of causal effect = 96.591%, P = 0.034) and the forecasts showed an upward trend from 2021 to 2025 (annual percentage change = 4.18, 95% CI 4.0 to 4.3, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 has a positive effect on the decline of hepatitis B cases. And the potential of BSTS model to forecast the epidemiological trend of the hepatitis B can be applied in automatic public health policymaking in mainland China.

Insights on the stem elongation of spur-type bud sport mutant of 'Red Delicious' apple.

MAIN CONCLUSION: The decreased capacity of auxin-, CTK-, and BR-mediated cell division and cell enlargement pathways, combined with the enhanced capacity of GA and ETH-, JA-, ABA-, SA-mediated stress-resistant pathways were presumed to be the crucial reasons for the formation of spur-type 'Red Delicious' mutants. Vallee Spur', which exhibit short internodes and compact tree shape, is the fourth generation of the spur-type bud sport mutant of 'Red Delicious'. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of these properties remains unclear. Here, comparative phenotypic, full-length transcriptome and phytohormone analyses were performed between 'Red Delicious' (NSP) and 'Vallee Spur' (SP). The new shoot internode length of NSP was ˃ 1.53-fold higher than that of the SP mutant. Cytological analysis showed that the stem cells of the SP mutant were smaller and more tightly arranged relative to the NSP. By Iso-Seq, a total of 1426 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected, including 808 upregulated and 618 downregulated genes in new shoot apex with 2 leaves of the SP mutant. Gene expressions involved in auxin, cytokinin (CTK), and brassinosteroid (BR) signal transduction were mostly downregulated in the SP mutant, whereas those involved in gibberellin (GA), ethylene (ETH), jasmonate (JA), ABA, and salicylic acid (SA) signal transduction were mostly upregulated. The overall thermogram analysis of hormone levels in the shoot apex carrying two leaves detected by LC-MS/MS absolute quantification showed that the levels of IAA-Asp, IAA, iP7G, OPDA, and 6-deoxyCS were significantly upregulated in the SP mutant, while the remaining 28 hormones were significantly downregulated. It is speculated that the decreased capacity of auxin, CTK, and BR-mediated cell division and cell enlargement pathways is crucial for the formation of the SP mutant. GA and stress-resistant pathways of ETH, JA, ABA, and SA also play vital roles in stem elongation. These results highlight the involvement of phytohormones in the formation of stem elongation occurring in 'Red Delicious' spur-type bud sport mutants and provide information for exploring its biological mechanism.

IL-21/IL-21R Signaling Aggravated Respiratory Inflammation Induced by Intracellular Bacteria through Regulation of CD4+ T Cell Subset Responses.

The IL-21/IL-21R interaction plays an important role in a variety of immune diseases; however, the roles and mechanisms in intracellular bacterial infection are not fully understood. In this study, we explored the effect of IL-21/IL-21R on chlamydial respiratory tract infection using a chlamydial respiratory infection model. The results showed that the mRNA expression of IL-21 and IL-21R was increased in Chlamydia muridarum-infected mice, which suggested that IL-21 and IL-21R were involved in host defense against C. muridarum lung infection. IL-21R-/- mice exhibited less body weight loss, a lower bacterial burden, and milder pathological changes in the lungs than wild-type (WT) mice during C. muridarum lung infection. The absolute number and activity of CD4+ T cells and the strength of Th1/Th17 responses in IL-21R-/- mice were significantly higher than those in WT mice after C. muridarum lung infection, but the Th2 response was weaker. Consistently, IL-21R-/- mice showed higher mRNA expression of Th1 transcription factors (T-bet/STAT4), IL-12p40, a Th17 transcription factor (STAT3), and IL-23. The mRNA expression of Th2 transcription factors (GATA3/STAT6), IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-ß in IL-21R-/- mice was significantly lower than that in WT mice. Furthermore, the administration of recombinant mouse IL-21 aggravated chlamydial lung infection in C57BL/6 mice and reduced Th1 and Th17 responses following C. muridarum lung infection. These findings demonstrate that IL-21/IL-21R may aggravate chlamydial lung infection by inhibiting Th1 and Th17 responses.

IL-27/IL-27R Mediates Protective Immunity against Chlamydial Infection by Suppressing Excessive Th17 Responses and Reducing Neutrophil Inflammation.

IL-27, a heterodimeric cytokine of the IL-12 family, has diverse influences on the development of multiple inflammatory diseases. In this study, we identified the protective role of IL-27/IL-27R in host defense against Chlamydia muridarum respiratory infection and further investigated the immunological mechanism. Our results showed that IL-27 was involved in C. muridarum infection and that IL-27R knockout mice (WSX-1-/- mice) suffered more severe disease, with greater body weight loss, higher chlamydial loads, and more severe inflammatory reactions in the lungs than C57BL/6 wild-type mice. There were excessive IL-17-producing CD4+ T cells and many more neutrophils, neutrophil-related proteins, cytokines, and chemokines in the lungs of WSX-1-/- mice than in wild-type mice following C. muridarum infection. In addition, IL-17/IL-17A-blocking Ab treatment improved disease after C. muridarum infection in WSX-1-/- mice. Overall, we conclude that IL-27/IL-27R mediates protective immunity during chlamydial respiratory infection in mice by suppressing excessive Th17 responses and reducing neutrophil inflammation.

In Silico Identification and Validation of Pyroptosis-Related Genes in Chlamydia Respiratory Infection.

The incidence of Chlamydia trachomatis respiratory infection is increasing, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. Pyroptosis, as a mode of inflammatory cell death, plays a vital role in the occurrence and development of Chlamydia trachomatis respiratory infection. In this study, the potential pyroptosis-related genes involved in Chlamydia trachomatis respiratory infection were identified by constructing a mouse model of C. muridarum infection combined with bioinformatics analysis. Through in-depth analysis of the RNA sequencing data, 13 differentially expressed pyroptosis-related genes were screened, including 1 downregulated gene and 12 upregulated genes. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that these genes mainly regulate inflammatory responses and produce IL-1ß. Protein-protein interaction network analysis identified eight hub genes of interest: Tnf, Tlr2, Il1b, Nlrp3, Tlr9, Mefv, Zbp1 and Tnfaip3. Through quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis, we found that the expression of these genes in the lungs of C. muridarum-infected mice was significantly reduced, consistent with the bioinformatics results. At the same time, we detected elevated levels of caspase-3, gasdermin D and gasdermin E proteins in the lungs of C. muridarum-infected mice, demonstrating that Chlamydia trachomatis infection does induce pyroptosis. We then predicted nine miRNAs targeting these hub genes and constructed a key competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. In summary, we identified six key pyroptosis-related genes involved in Chlamydia trachomatis respiratory infection and constructed a ceRNA network associated with these genes. These findings will improve understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying pyroptosis in Chlamydia trachomatis respiratory infections.

IL-21/IL-21R Promotes the Pro-Inflammatory Effects of Macrophages during C. muridarum Respiratory Infection.

Interleukin-21 and its receptors (IL-21/IL-21R) aggravate chlamydial lung infection, while macrophages (Mφ) are one of the main cells infected by chlamydia and the main source of inflammatory cytokines. Therefore, it is particularly important to study whether IL-21/IL-21R aggravates chlamydia respiratory infection by regulating Mφ. Combined with bioinformatics analysis, we established an IL-21R-deficient (IL-21R-/-) mouse model of Chlamydia muridarum (C. muridarum) respiratory tract infection in vivo, studied C. muridarum-stimulated RAW264.7 by the addition of rmIL-21 in vitro, and conducted adoptive transfer experiments to clarify the association between IL-21/IL-21R and Mφ. IL-21R-/- mice showed lower infiltration of pulmonary total Mφ, alveolar macrophages, and interstitial macrophages compared with WT mice following infection. Transcriptomic analysis suggested that M1-related genes are downregulated in IL-21R-/- mice and that IL-21R deficiency affects the Mφ-mediated inflammatory response during C. muridarum infection. In vivo experiments verified that in IL-21R-/- mice, pulmonary M1-type CD80+, CD86+, MHC II+, TNFα+, and iNOS+ Mφ decreased, while there were no differences in M2-type CD206+, TGF-ß+, IL-10+ and ARG1+ Mφ. In vitro, administration of rmIL-21 to C. muridarum-stimulated RAW264.7 cells promoted the levels of iNOS-NO and the expression of IL-12p40 and TNFα, but had no effect on TGFß or IL-10. Further, adoptive transfer of M1-like bone marrow-derived macrophages derived from IL-21R-/- mice, unlike those from WT mice, effectively protected the recipients against C. muridarum infection and induced relieved pulmonary pathology. These findings help in understanding the mechanism by which IL-21/IL-21R exacerbates chlamydia respiratory infection by promoting the proinflammatory effect of Mφ.

Perceptions of Oncology Nurses Regarding Fertility Preservation and Providing Oncofertility Services for Men of Childbearing Age with Cancer.

This study investigated the knowledge, thoughts, and attitudes of oncology nurses in China regarding fertility preservation for male cancer patients of childbearing age, and for offering counseling or oncofertility services for the men in their care. Data was collected from 18 oncology nurses in Southwest China through voluntary self-report and in-depth interviews. The qualitative interview data were analyzed using a descriptive phenomenology method based on the lived experience of the nurses. The interviewees commonly reported 6 main concerns regarding fertility preservation (FP): their insufficient knowledge and inadequate nursing education; the importance of offering such services to cancer patients; legal vulnerability if FP information is withheld from patients; the role of the nurse in counseling; and barriers to discussing FP in practice. Nurses had a positive attitude toward FP, but most had no practical role in routinely informing male patients of their options, and the nurses believed that discussion of FP was outside their scope of practice. This study offers insight into the perceptions of oncology nurses in a developing country regarding the provision of FP services for adult male cancer patients. These results lead us to recommend that local fertility nurses should be given new training regarding FP. Furthermore, nurse-led clinics are desirable. Future research should focus on the effectiveness of nurse participation in FP counseling and referral, and how to improve the professional confidence of oncology nurses for addressing FP issues.

[Characteristics of the left heart structure and function in 86 term neonates with intrauterine growth restriction]. / 86ä¾‹å®«å† ç”Ÿé•¿å—é™è¶³æœˆæ–°ç”Ÿå„¿çš„å·¦å¿ƒç»“æž„åŠåŠŸèƒ½åˆ†æž.

OBJECTIVES: To study the left heart structure and functional characteristics of term neonates with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). METHODS: This study included 86 term neonates with IUGR admitted to the Neonatal Ward of Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2019 to January 2022 as the IUGR group, as well as randomly selected 86 term neonates without IUGR born during the same period as the non-IUGR group. The clinical data and echocardiographic data were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The analysis of left heart structure and function showed that compared with the non-IUGR group, the IUGR group had significantly lower left ventricular mass, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left ventricular end-systolic diameter, left atrial diameter, end-diastolic interventricular septal thickness, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, left ventricular end-diastolic volume, left ventricular end-systolic volume, and stroke volume (P<0.05) and significantly higher ratio of end-diastolic interventricular septal thickness to left ventricular posterior wall thickness, proportion of neonates with a mitral peak E/A ratio of ≥1, and cardiac index (P<0.05). The Spearman correlation analysis suggested that stroke volume was positively correlated with birth weight and body surface area (rs=0.241 and 0.241 respectively; P<0.05) and that the ratio of end-diastolic interventricular septal thickness to left ventricular posterior wall thickness was negatively correlated with birth weight and body surface area (rs=-0.229 and -0.225 respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The left ventricular systolic function of neonates with IUGR is not significantly different from that of neonates without IUGR. However, the ventricular septum is thicker in neonates with IUGR. This change is negatively correlated with birth weight and body surface area. The left ventricular diastolic function may be impaired in neonates with IUGR.

Multi-omics profiling reveals comprehensive microbe-plant-metabolite regulation patterns for medicinal plant Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.

Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch is a medicinal plant widely used to treat multiple diseases in Europe and Asia, and its efficacy largely depends on liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid. The regulatory pattern responsible for the difference in efficacy between wild and cultivated G. uralensis remains largely undetermined. Here, we collected roots and rhizosphere soils from wild (WT) G. uralensis as well as those farmed for 1 year (C1) and 3 years (C3), generated metabolite and transcript data for roots, microbiota data for rhizospheres and conducted comprehensive multi-omics analyses. We updated gene structures for all 40 091 genes in G. uralensis, and based on 52 differentially expressed genes, we charted the route-map of both liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid biosynthesis, with genes BAS, CYP72A154 and CYP88D6 critical for glycyrrhizic acid biosynthesis being significantly expressed higher in wild G. uralensis than in cultivated G. uralensis. Additionally, multi-omics network analysis identified that Lysobacter was strongly associated with CYP72A154, which was required for glycyrrhizic acid biosynthesis. Finally, we developed a holistic multi-omics regulation model that confirmed the importance of rhizosphere microbial community structure in liquiritin accumulation. This study thoroughly decoded the key regulatory mechanisms of liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid, and provided new insights into the interactions of the plant's key metabolites with its transcriptome, rhizosphere microbes and environment, which would guide future cultivation of G. uralensis.

IL-21/IL-21R Regulates the Neutrophil-Mediated Pathologic Immune Response during Chlamydial Respiratory Infection.

IL-21/IL-21R was documented to participate in the regulation of multiple infection and inflammation. During Chlamydia muridarum (C. muridarum) respiratory infection, our previous study had revealed that the absence of this signal induced enhanced resistance to infection with higher protective Th1/Th17 immune responses. Here, we use the murine model of C. muridarum respiratory infection and IL-21R deficient mice to further identify a novel role of IL-21/IL-21R in neutrophilic inflammation. Resistant IL-21R-/- mice showed impaired neutrophil recruitment to the site of infection. In the absence of IL-21/IL-21R, pulmonary neutrophils also exhibited reduced activation status, including lower CD64 expression, MPO activity, and neutrophil-produced protein production. These results correlated well with the decrease of neutrophil-related chemokines (KC and MIP-2), inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α), and TLR/MyD88 pathway mediators (TLR2, TLR4, and MyD88) in infected lungs of IL-21R-/- mice than normal mice. Complementarily, decreased pulmonary neutrophil infiltration, activity, and levels of neutrophilic chemotactic factors and TLR/MyD88 signal in infected lungs can be corrected by rIL-21 administration. These results revealed that IL-21/IL-21R may aggravate the neutrophil inflammation through regulating TLR/MyD88 signal pathway during chlamydial respiratory infection.

What can cerebrospinal fluid testing and brain autopsies tell us about viral neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2.

To provide instructive clues for clinical practice and further research of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we analyzed the existing literature on viral neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2 in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. To date, SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or brain parenchyma in quite a few patients, which provide undeniable evidence for the neuroinvasive potential of this novel coronavirus. In contrast with the cerebrum and cerebellum, the detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 was higher in the olfactory system and the brainstem, both of which also showed severe microgliosis and lymphocytic infiltrations. As compared with the number of patients who underwent viral testing in the central nervous system (CNS), the number of patients showing positive results seems very small. However, it seems too early to conclude that the neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2 is rare in COVID-19 patients because the detection methods or sampling procedures in some studies may not be suitable or sufficient to reveal the CNS infection induced by neurotropic viruses. Moreover, the primary symptoms and/or causes of death were distinctly different among examined patients, which probably caused more conspicuous pathological changes than those due to the direct infection that usually localized to specific brain areas. Unfortunately, most autopsy studies did not provide sufficient details about neurological symptoms or suspected diagnoses of the examined patients, and the documentation of neuropathological changes was often incomplete. Given the complex pathophysiology of COVID-19 and the characteristics of neurotropic viruses, it is understandable that any study of the CNS infection may inevitably have limitations.

Evidence of central nervous system infection and neuroinvasive routes, as well as neurological involvement, in the lethality of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a significant and urgent threat to global health. This review provided strong support for central nervous system (CNS) infection with SARS-CoV-2 and shed light on the neurological mechanism underlying the lethality of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among the published data, only 1.28% COVID-19 patients who underwent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests were positive for SARS-CoV-2 in CSF. However, this does not mean the absence of CNS infection in most COVID-19 patients because postmortem studies revealed that some patients with CNS infection showed negative results in CSF tests for SARS-CoV-2. Among 20 neuropathological studies reported so far, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the brain of 58 cases in nine studies, and three studies have provided sufficient details on the CNS infection in COVID-19 patients. Almost all in vitro and in vivo experiments support the neuroinvasive potential of SARS-CoV-2. In infected animals, SARS-CoV-2 was found within neurons in different brain areas with a wide spectrum of neuropathology, consistent with the reported clinical symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Several lines of evidence indicate that SARS-CoV-2 used the hematopoietic route to enter the CNS. But more evidence supports the trans-neuronal hypothesis. SARS-CoV-2 has been found to invade the brain via the olfactory, gustatory, and trigeminal pathways, especially at the early stage of infection. Severe COVID-19 patients with neurological deficits are at a higher risk of mortality, and only the infected animals showing neurological symptoms became dead, suggesting that neurological involvement may be one cause of death.

Bioinformatics analysis of C3 and CXCR4 demonstrates their potential as prognostic biomarkers in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

BACKGROUND: The molecular prognostic biomarkers of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) are still unknown. We aimed at researching the candidate biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets of ccRCC. METHODS: Three ccRCC expression microarray datasets (include GSE14762, GSE66270 and GSE53757) were downloaded from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between ccRCC and normal tissues were explored. The potential functions of identified DEGs were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). And then the protein - protein interaction network (PPI) was established to screen the hub genes. After that, the expressions of hub genes were identified by the oncomine database. The hub genes' prognostic values of patients with ccRCC were analyzed by GEPIA database. RESULTS: A total of 137 DEGs were identified by utilizing the limma package and RRA method, including 63 upregulated genes and 74 downregulated genes. It is found that 137 DEGs were mainly enriched in 82 functional terms and 24 pathways in accordance with the research results. Thirteen highest-scoring genes were screened as hub genes (include 10 upregulated genes and 3 downregulated candidate genes) by utilizing the PPI network and module analysis. Through integrating the oncoming database and GEPIA database, the author found that C3 and CXCR4 are not only overexpressed in ccRCC, but also associated with the prognosis of ccRCC. Further results could reveal that patients with high C3 expression had a poor overall survival (OS), while patients with high CTSS and TLR3 expressions had a good OS; patients with high C3 and CXCR4 expressions had a poor disease-free survival (DFS), while ccRCC patients with high TLR3 expression had a good DFS. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that C3 and CXCR4 were the candidate biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets of ccRCC patients.

Subchronic oral toxicity study of rhubarb extract in Sprague-Dawley rats.

OBJECTIVE: The study was primarily used to evaluate subchronic oral toxicity of rhubarb extract. METHODS: The rhubarb extract was orally administered to rats at doses of 0.00, 0.65, 1.62 and 4.05 g/kg BW/day for 13 weeks with a recovery period of 4 weeks. The weight and the relative organ weight of the kidney in the 0.65 g/kg BW group were significantly increased but no significant changes were seen in renal histopathology. When the rats received rhubarb extract at 1.62 g/kg BW or above, the relative weight of the spleen and kidney were significantly increased; the kidney was also swollen and black with hydronephrosis. Histologic examination showed that there was an obvious increase in pigment deposition in renal tubular epithelial cells. No toxic related changes were observed in the 0.65 g/kg BW group, even though organ weight was increased and relative ratio to body weight of kidney were observed at 0.65 g/kg BW dosage, no significant renal histopathologic changes were detected at this dose. Based on the current study conditions and results, the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of rhubarb extract in rats is 0.65 g/kg BW/day.

Synthesis and biological profiling of half-calycanthaceous alkaloid analogues.

During our continuous efforts to pursue antifungal agents, some calycanthaceous alkaloid analogs showed diverse and promising bioactivities. Therefore, 34 new calycanthaceous alkaloid derivatives were further prepared and screened for bioactivities. As a result of the evaluation against a great deal of plant pathogen fungi, bacteria and human pathogenic fungi, a majority of them displayed potent bioactivity. In particular, compound b6 displayed remarkably activity and might be novel potential leading compound for further development of antifungal agent. The relationship between structure and biological activity was also discussed.

[Short-chain fatty acid butyrate acid attenuates atherosclerotic plaque formation in apolipoprotein E-knockout mice and the underlying mechanism].

This study was designed to evaluate the role of short-chain fatty acid butyrate acid on intestinal morphology and function, and atherosclerotic plaque formation in apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE-/-) mice. ApoE-/- mice on high-fat, high-cholesterol diet were treated with butyrate acid (200 mmol/L) or NaCl (control) in the drinking water for 12 weeks, followed by histological evaluations of atherosclerotic lesion in aorta. Real-time PCR analysis and ELISA were used to measure the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Butyrate acid significantly attenuated high-fat, high-cholesterol diet-induced atherosclerotic plaque formation in ApoE-/- mice. Butyrate acid prevented high-fat, high-cholesterol diet-induced inflammation in both the aorta and the circulation, as evidenced by reduced expression of proinflammatory cytokines. These changes were accompanied by a marked attenuation in metabolic endotoxemia lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Butyrate acid induced intestinal expression of the tight junction proteins (Occludin and zona occuldens protein-1), thereby preventing the gut permeability. Butyrate acid dose-dependently upregulated the expression of the tight junction proteins in Caco-2 cells in GPR41-dependent manner. In conclusion, butyrate acid attenuates atherosclerotic lesions by ameliorating metabolic endotoxemia-induced inflammation through restoration of the gut barrier.

[Diagnosis and Treatment of 126 Cases of Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma].

Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features and prognosis of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma(ChRCC). Methods The clinical and pathological data of 126 patients with ChRCC treated in Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were retrospectively analyzed. Results The patients included 64 males and 62 females,with the age of 22-80 years(median of 52 years).The tumor was located on the right side in 70 cases and on the left side in 56 cases.Ultrasound,CT or magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)were performed.Of the 110 cases receiving ultrasound examination,63,23,13,10,and 1 cases showed hypoecho,hyperecho,isoecho,uneven or mixed echo,and dark hypoecho,respectively.Color Doppler flow imaging showed no blood flow signal in 42 cases and low blood flow signal in 60 cases out of 68 cases with blood flow signal.Among the 54 cases receiving CT,50 cases showed equal density or low density and 4 cases showed high density with clear boundary.The enhanced scanning showed mild to moderate uniform or non-uniform reinforcement,mostly below the renal parenchyma,and still showed reinforcement in the delayed period.Among the 97 cases receiving MRI,96 cases showed hypo-or isointense signals and 1 case showed hyperintense signal in T1 weighted images;71 cases showed hyper-or isointense signals and 26 cases showed hypo-or isointense signals in T2 weighted images;93 cases showed hyperintense signals with obvious limited diffusion and 4 cases showed unobvious limited diffusion in diffusion weighted images.Mild to moderate uniform or non-uniform reinforcement was observed in most of the enhanced scans.All the 126 patients underwent surgical treatment,including 64 cases of nephron sparing surgery and 62 cases of radical surgery.Pathological examinations confirmed ChRCC for all the patients,including 91 cases of T1N0M0,15 cases of T2N0M0,and 20 cases of T3N0M0.The immunohistochemical assay demonstrated the positive expression rate of 48.2%(54/112)for CD10,92.3%(96/104)for CD117,8.0%(9/112)for vimentin,85.6%(95/111)for CK7,and 97.6%(83/85)for colloidal iron.Conclusions ChRCC is less common,with low level of malignancy and good prognosis.Since the clinical symptoms of ChRCC are not typical,MRI is an important means of imaging differential diagnosis,and the disease can be confirmed depending on pathological diagnosis.Surgery is the preferred treatment method,and currently there is no standard treatment regimen for metastatic patients.

NK cells modulate T cell responses via interaction with dendritic cells in Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection.

Protective immune response to chlamydial infection is largely dependent on cell-mediated immune responses with IFN-γ production. Recent studies have shown the critical role of NK cells in bridging innate and adaptive immune responses. In this study, we investigated the effect of NK cells on T cell responses during Chlamydophila pneumoniae (Cpn) lung infection. The results showed that NK cells play a protective role in Cpn infection and influence T cell immunity largely though modulating dendritic cells (DCs) function. Specifically, we found that NK depletion significantly impaired type 1 T cell responses, but enhanced FOXP3+Treg cells and IL-10-producing CD4+T cells. The alteration of T cell responses was associated with more disease severity and higher chlamydial growth in the lung. Further analysis of DC phenotype and cytokine profile found that DCs from NK cell-depleted mice expressed lower levels of co-stimulatory molecules and produced higher levels of IL-10 than those from control IgG-treated mice. More importantly, the adoptive transfer of DCs from NK cell-depleted mice induced a much lower degree of type 1 T cell responses but a higher amount of FOXP3+ Treg cells and IL-10-producing CD4+T cells in the recipient mice than DCs from IgG-treated mice. In contrast to the strong protective effect observed in recipients of DCs from IgG-treated mice, the recipients of DCs from NK cell-depleted mice failed to be protected against Cpn infection. The data suggest that NK cells play a critical role in coordinating innate and adaptive immunity in Cpn lung infection by modulating the DC function to influence T cell responses.

The possible impairment of respiratory-related neural loops may be associated with the silent pneumonia induced by SARS-CoV-2.

As compared to many other viral pulmonary infections, there existed several peculiar manifestations in the COVID-19 patients, including the "silence" of pneumonia in both mild and severe cases and a long intensive care unit stay for those requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. Similar silent pneumonia has been documented in the infectioninduced by H5N1 influenza virus HK483 and was found to result from the direct attack of the virus on the bronchopulmonary C-fibers at the early stage and the final infection in the brainstem at the late stage. The long stay of critical patients in the intensive care unit is possibly due to the depression of central respiratory drive, which resulted in the failure to wean from the mechanic ventilation. Carotid and aortic bodies and bronchopulmonary C-fibers are two key peripheral components responsible for the chemosensitive responses in the respiratory system, while triggering respiratory reflexes depends predominantly on the putative chemosensitive neurons located in the pontomedullary nuclei. In view of the findings for the H5N1 influenza virus, the silence of pneumonia induced by SARS-CoV-2 may be due to the possible impairment of peripheral chemosensitive reflexes as well as the damage to the respiratory-related central neurons.

Insight into molecular characteristics of a Chinese coal via separation, characterization, and data processing.

Dayan lignite was subjected to thermal dissolution sequentially with cyclohexane, acetone, and methanol. Each thermal dissolution extract was subjected to further separation/enrichment using column chromatography, which was sequentially eluted with petroleum ether, a mixture of ethyl acetate and petroleum ether (vol:vol = 1:1), and ethyl acetate. The three thermal dissolution extracts and nine enrichment subfractions were characterized by an Orbitrap mass spectrometry equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ion source. The mass spectrometry data were also statistically analyzed by principal component analysis, which can reduce the dimensionality of data and classify multiple samples according to principal components. Identified compounds in the extracts and subfractions are classified into eight classes according to the heteroatom distribution. Hydrocarbon class is mainly presented in the petroleum ether fraction, and oxygen class, nitrogen class, and oxygen-nitrogen class are distributed in both petroleum ether/ethyl acetate and ethyl acetate subfractions. The combination of different analytical methods enhances the understanding of coal at the molecular level and provides important data for downstream refining processes.