T2-weighted imaging and dynamic contrast­enhanced imaging in predicting the prognosis in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure.

BACKGROUND: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a syndrome with high 28- and 90-day mortality rates. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used to diagnose and evaluate liver disease. Our purpose is to determine the value of the imaging features derived from Gd-DTPA-enhanced MRI for predicting the poor outcome of patients with ACLF and develop a clinically practical radiological score. METHODS: This retrospective study comprised 175 ACLF patients who underwent Gd-DTPA-enhanced abdominal MRI from January 2017 to December 2021. The primary end-point was 90-day mortality. Imaging parameters, such as diffuse hyperintense of the liver on T2WI, patchy enhancement of the liver at the arterial phase, uneven enhancement of the liver at the portal vein phase, gallbladder wall edema, periportal edema, ascites, esophageal and gastric varix, umbilical vein patefac, portal vein thrombosis, and splenomegaly were screened. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to evaluate prognostic factors and develop a prediction model. The accuracy of the model was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: During the follow-up period, 31 of the 175 ACLF patients died within 90 days. In the multivariate analysis, three imaging parameters were independently associated with survival: diffuse hyperintense on T2WI (p = 0.007; HR = 3.53 [1.40-8.89]), patchy enhancement at the arterial phase (p = 0.037; HR = 2.45 [1.06-5.69]), moderate ascites (vs. mild) (p = 0.006; HR = 4.12 [1.49-11.36]), and severe ascites (vs. mild) (p = 0.005; HR = 4.29 [1.57-11.71]). A practical radiological score was proposed, based on the presence of diffuse hyperintense (7 points), patchy enhancement (5 points), and ascites (6, 8, and 8 points for mild, moderate, and severe, respectively). Further analysis showed that a cut-off at 14 points was optimum to distinguish high-risk (score > 14) from the low-risk group (score ≤ 14) for 90-day survival and demonstrated a mean area under the ROC curve of 0.774 in ACLF patients. CONCLUSIONS: Gd-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging features can predict poor outcomes in patients with ACLF, based on which we proposed a clinically practical radiological score allowing stratification of the 90-day survival.

Establishment and evaluation of a CT-based radiomic model for AIDS-associated pulmonary cryptococcosis.

BACKGROUND: Establish a CT-based diagnostic radiomic model for AIDS complicated with pulmonary cryptococcosis and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of this model. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled 98 AIDS patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis and 103 AIDS patients with other infections or neoplastic lesions, comprising a total of 699 lesions. Patients were randomly divided into a training group and test group at a ratio of 2.75:1. Features from all lesions, cavity lesions and solid nodule lesions were extracted, and two kinds of radiomic models (6 types) were established. ROC curves were drawn, and the sensitivity and specificity were calculated to compare the SVM model and LR model, radiologists' empirical diagnoses and the combination of these empirical diagnoses with the radiomic model. RESULTS: The AUCs of senior radiologist for all lesions and cavity lesions were lower than those of the SVM and LR models. The diagnostic efficacy of primary radiologist was lower than that of both of the other model types. The diagnostic efficacy of the LR model was relatively stable, with the highest diagnostic efficiency of the 3 model/radiologist groups. The AUCs of intermediate radiologist in combination with the LR radiomic model for all lesions, nodular lesions and cavity lesions were 0.88, 0.84, and 0.9, respectively, which were the highest among all models and radiologists. CONCLUSIONS: The CT-based radiomic LR model of AIDS-associated pulmonary cryptococcosis exhibits good diagnostic performance, which was similar to that of senior radiologists and higher than that of the primary radiologist. With the help of a radiomic model, radiologists can achieve improved diagnostic accuracy compared to that when only an empirical diagnosis is used.

Effects of hyaluronic acid on differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells and cell-replacement therapy in type 1 diabetic mice.

Our hypothesis is that hyaluronic acid may regulate the differentiation of human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) into insulin-producing cells and help the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Herein, a protocol for the stepwise in vitro differentiation of hAECs into functional insulin-producing cells was developed by mimicking the process of pancreas development. Treatment of hAECs with hyaluronic acid enhanced their differentiation of definitive endoderm and pancreatic progenitors. Endodermal markers Sox17 and Foxa2 and pancreatic progenitor markers Pax6, Nkx6.1, and Ngn3 were upregulated an enhanced gene expression in hAECs, but hAECs did not express the ß cell-specific transcription factor Pdx1. Interestingly, hyaluronic acid promoted the expression of major pancreatic development-related genes and proteins after combining with commonly used inducers of stem cells differentiation into insulin-producing cells. This indicated the potent synergistic effects of the combination on hAECs differentiation in vitro. By establishing a multiple injection transplantation strategy via tail vein injections, hAECs transplantation significantly reduced hyperglycemia symptoms, increased the plasma insulin content, and partially repaired the islet structure in type 1 diabetic mice. In particular, the combination of hAECs with hyaluronic acid exhibited a remarkable therapeutic effect compared to both the insulin group and the hAECs alone group. The hAECs' paracrine action and hyaluronic acid co-regulated the local immune response, improved the inflammatory microenvironment in the damaged pancreas of type 1 diabetic mice, and promoted the trans-differentiation of pancreatic α cells into ß cells. These findings suggest that hyaluronic acid is an efficient co-inducer of the differentiation of hAECs into functional insulin-producing cells, and hAECs treatment with hyaluronic acid may be a promising cell-replacement therapeutic approach for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Tuning Redox Active Polyoxometalates for Efficient Electron-Coupled Proton-Buffer-Mediated Water Splitting.

We present strategies to tune the redox properties of polyoxometalate clusters to enhance the electron-coupled proton-buffer-mediated water splitting process, in which the evolution of hydrogen and oxygen can occur in different forms and is separated in time and space. By substituting the heteroatom template in the Keggin-type polyoxometalate cluster, H6 ZnW12 O40 , it is possible to double the number of electrons and protonation in the redox reactions (from two to four). This increase can be achieved with better matching of the energy levels as indicated by the redox potentials, compared to the ones of well-studied H3 PW12 O40 and H4 SiW12 O40 . This means that H6 ZnW12 O40 can act as a high-performance redox mediator in an electrolytic cell for the on-demand generation of hydrogen with a high decoupling efficiency of 95.5 % and an electrochemical energy efficiency of 83.3 %. Furthermore, the H6 ZnW12 O40 cluster also exhibits an excellent cycling behaviour and redox reversibility with almost 100 % H2 -mediated capacity retention during 200 cycles and a high coulombic efficiency >92 % each cycle at 30 mA cm-2 .

Misplacement of Tunneled Hemodialysis Catheter into Azygos Vein: Left or Right Jugular Insertion Has Similar Susceptibility.

BACKGROUND: Central venous catheter (CVC) is commonly used to provide access for hemodialysis (HD) when arteriovenous access is not available. The misplacement of CVC into azygos vein (AV) is a rare but a potential serious complication. Previous reports communicated the opinion that left-sided catheterization predisposed to AV misplacement, but these reports concentrated on peripherally inserted CVCs, placed for indications rather than HD. Unintended AV misplacement of HD catheters (HDCs) has not been well studied. We seek to investigate factors associated with inadvertent AV miscannulation during HDC placement. METHODS: We are to present a case of unintentional misplacement of a tunneled HD catheter (tHDC) into the azygos arch from right internal jugular vein (RIJV) despite real-time fluoroscopy guidance. Additionally, we have undertaken a systematic literature search in Pubmed to study the anatomical and other factors related to unintended AV misposition in HD setting. RESULTS: From 2005 to August 31, 2018, a total of 11 articles containing 16 cases of misplacement of HDCs into AV were identified. Of the 17 cases of unintentional AV misposition including ours, the majority of the misguided HDCs (94.1%, 16/17) were tHDCs and only 1 case was related to a temporary (non-tunneled) catheter. Most catheter misplacements (88.2%, 15/17) were performed without real-time radiological guidance. The reported incidence of inadvertent AV cannulation from different institutions varied between 0.6% and 3.8%. Among the 16 misplaced tHDCs, the rates of AV misposition that arose from RIJV and left internal jugular vein (LIJV) insertion are even at 50%. CONCLUSIONS: Based upon anatomical and case studies, we have found that AV may join posterior aspect of superior vena cava at different directions and levels. Hence, this might explain why AV misplacement might occur whether an HDC is inserted from the LIJV or RIJV approach. By raising the awareness of this potential complication and how we may minimize it, we hope to reduce the future complication of AV misposition.

Glucose-lowering and hypolipidemic activities of polysaccharides from Cordyceps taii in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia are classic features of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Cordyceps taii, a folk medicinal fungus native to southern China, possesses various pharmacological activities. This study aimed to assess the glucose-lowering and hypolipidemic effects of polysaccharides from C. taii (CTP) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. METHODS: Kunming mice were intraperitoneally injected with STZ at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight. After induction of diabetes, diabetic mice were randomly divided into five groups: diabetic mellitus group (DM), metformin-treated group, low, medium, and high-dose CTP-treated group (CTP-L, CTP-M, and CTP-H). Normal mice served as the control group. After treatment for 28 days, body weight, fasting serum insulin (FSI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured. Histological analysis of pancreatic tissue and immune organ indices was also performed to evaluate the anti-diabetes effect of CTP. SPSS (version 21.0) software was used for statistical analysis, and statistical differences were considered significant at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Compared with the DM group, the body weight and FSI level of CTP-H group increased by 36.13 and 32.47%, whereas the FBG and HOMA-IR decreased by 56.79 and 42.78%, respectively (p < 0.05). Histopathological examination of the pancreas revealed that CTP improved and repaired the impaired islet ß-cells in pancreatic tissue. Compared with the DM group, the levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C decreased by 13.84, 31.87, and 36.61%, whereas that of HDL-C increased by 28.60% in CTP-H (p < 0.05). Further study showed that the thymus index in CTP-H was elevated by approximately 54.96%, and the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, and CRP was inhibited by approximately 19.97, 34.46, and 35.41%, respectively (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The anti-diabetes effect of CTP is closely associated with immunoregulation and anti-inflammation, and CTP may be considered as a therapeutic drug or functional food for DM intervention.

[Pharmacokinetics of ganoderic acids].

Ganoderic acid(GA) is one of main bioactive components produced by Ganoderma lucidum,which a traditional Chinese herbal medicine and a kind of tracyclic triterpene lanosterol derivatives with highly oxidized structure. It has a variety of important pharmacological activities,such as anticancer,immunoregulation,anti-oxidation,anti-diabetes and anti-HIV. At present,the studies of GA mainly focus on biosynthesis,fermentation control,isolation and purification,structure identification and pharmacological effects.However,there are a fewer pharmacokinetic studies of GA,although it is closely related to the clinical application. Recent studies have shown that GA can be absorbed rapidly by gastrointestinal tract and distributed in various tissues and organs after oral intake. GA is metabolized by liver at phase Ⅰ and phase Ⅱ,and then mainly excreted by bile. In this paper,the pharmacokinetic characteristics of GA and its absorption,distribution,metabolism and excretion(ADME) will be systematically summarized,in order to provide scientific basis for the application and development studies of Ganoderma triterpenoid drugs and their rational clinical use.

Strategies to Explore and Develop Reversible Redox Reactions of Li-S in Electrode Architectures Using Silver-Polyoxometalate Clusters.

Investigations of the Ag (I)-substituted Keggin K3[H3AgIPW11O39] as a bifunctional Lewis acidic and basic catalyst are reported that explore the stabilization of Li2Sn moieties so that reversible redox reactions in S-based electrodes would be possible. Spectroscopic investigations showed that the Li2Sn-moieties can be strongly adsorbed on the {AgIPW11O39} cluster, where the Ag(I) ion can act as a Lewis acid site to further enhance the adsorption of the S-moieties, and these interactions were investigated and rationalized using DFT. These results were used to construct an electrode for use in a Li-S battery with a very high S utilization of 94%, and a coulometric capacity of 1580 mAh g-1. This means, as a result of using the AgPOM, both a high active S content, as well as a high areal S mass loading, is achieved in the composite electrode giving a highly stable battery with cycling performance at high rates (1050 and 810 mAh g-1 at 1C and 2C over 100 to 300 cycles, respectively).

Dynamic changes in chromatin and microtubules at the first cell cycle in SCNT or IVF goat embryos.

We investigated the dynamic changes in chromatin and microtubules at the first cell cycle in goat somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)-derived and in vitro fertilization (IVF)-derived embryos. Stage-dependent and characteristic changes to chromatin and microtubules occurred in SCNT-derived embryos at different times after activation. About half donor nuclei underwent premature chromosome condensation (PCC) at 1 h post activation, and furtherly reached telophase at 2 h after activation. However, we discovered that the separated chromosomes reaggregated, not keeping two independent nuclei; and formed one pronucleus at 2.5 h after activation. One pronucleus was found in all reconstructed oocytes except other no nucleus oocytes from 3 to 22 h after activation. Reconstructed oocytes reached the first mitotic metaphase at 23 h post activation, which was later than that of IVF-derived embryos at 16 h after insemination. SCNT-derived embryos showed significantly higher abnormalities in the first mitotic metaphase spindle, compared with IVF-derived embryos. Abnormal spindles included multi polar and half spindles. SCNT-derived embryos began to cleave at 24 h after activation, which was later than that of IVF-derived embryos at 21 h after insemination. SCNT-derived embryos showed delayed conversion from telophase to interphase than IVF-derived embryos during cleavage. These might lead to poor development in SCNT-derived embryos.

Differential expression profile of long non-coding RNA in cardiomyocytes autophagy induced by angiotensin II.

Autophagy is a ubiquitous intracellular process for cellular homeostasis maintenance by recycling damaged protein and organelles. Dysregulation of cardiomyocytes autophagic activity is implicated in various heart diseases. Recent studies had demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) played crucial roles on modulation of autophagic activity. In this study, we first established an angiotensin II-induced autophagy model on neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Western blot assay confirmed that the expression of Beclin 1 and the conversion of soluble LC3-I to lipid bound LC3-II were significantly increased at 12 h after angiotensin II stimulation, but the cardiomyocytes surface area and hypertrophic markers expression had no significant change. Then microarray analysis and real-time PCR were applied to detect differentially expressed lncRNAs during cardiomyocytes autophagy. A total of 1,249 lncRNAs were determined as differentially expressed, including 700 upregulated lncRNAs and 549 downregulated lncRNAs. LncRNAs subgroup analysis showed there were 43 transcribed ultra-conserved noncoding RNAs (T-UCRs) differentially expressed in cardiomyocytes autophagy, of which 26 T-UCRs were upregulated and 17 T-UCRs were downregulated. Bioinformatics analysis further showed that 94 differentially expressed lncRNAs contained potential binding sites of miR-22, a pro-hypertrophic and pro-autophagic microRNA. Therefore, these differentially expressed lncRNAs might play critical roles in cardiomyocytes autophagy. This finding would provide an experimental basis for future investigation on ischemic heart disease.

Hyaluronic acid enhances proliferation of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells through activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

This study investigated the pro-proliferative effect of hyaluronic acid (HA) on human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) and the underlying mechanisms. Treatment with HA increased cell population growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Analyses by flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry revealed that HA did not change the cytophenotypes of hAMSCs. Additionally, the osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic differentiation capabilities of these hAMSCs were retained after HA treatment. Moreover, HA increased the mRNA expressions of wnt1, wnt3a, wnt8a, cyclin D1, Ki-67, and ß-catenin as well as the protein level of ß-catenin and cyclin D1 in hAMSCs; and the nuclear localization of ß-catenin was also enhanced. Furthermore, the pro-proliferative effect of HA and up-regulated expression of Wnt/ß-catenin pathway-associated proteins - wnt3a, ß-catenin and cyclin D1 in hAMSCs were significantly inhibited upon pre-treatment with Wnt-C59, an inhibitor of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. These results suggest that HA may positively regulate hAMSCs proliferation through regulation of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Study on Adsorption and Desorption Characteristics of Cd2+ and Cu2+ on the Surface Sediments of Sanhuhekou of Yellow River by Using ICP-MS.

In order to study the interaction mechanism between Cd2+, Cu2+ and surface sediments in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the surface sediment of Sanhuhekou (YRSSM) was chosen as research object with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) as analysis method. The adsorption reaction condition such as liquid-solid ratio, reaction time and pH were optimized, and the adsorption and desorption characteristics of Cd2+ and Cu2+ onto the surface sediments under the optimized experimental conditions were studied. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of Cu2+ was greater than that of Cd2+, the equilibrium absorption capacity were 0.88 and 0.13 mg·g-1 under each optimum experimental condition, respectively. The adsorptions of Cu2+ and Cd2+ were in accord with the pseudo-second-order kinetic, while adsorption rate of Cu2+ was also greater than that of Cd2+. The adsorption thermodynamics data were in accordance with the Freundlich model and the fitting. Results showed that the adsorption process of Cu2+ and Cd2+ belonged to the preferential adsorption, and were endothermic and spontaneous processes. The desorption process showed that the Elovich equation were suitable for Cd2+ and Cu2+ and belonged to the heterogeneous diffusion. Multi-ions competitive adsorption and desorption experiments indicated that Cu2+ was influenced more by co-existing ion. The study revealed not only the mechanism of adsorption and desorption between Cd2+, Cu2+ and surface sediment in Sanhuhekou, but also the influence of coexisting ions on the adsorption and desorption characteristics. The results demonstrated that the distribution mechanism of heavy metals between solid-liquid phases, and provided a theoretical basis for the migration ability of heavy metals. It also had a guiding significance for establishing heavy metals preventive and control measures of the study area.

New cytochalasins from medicinal macrofungus Crodyceps taii and their inhibitory activities against human cancer cells.

Three new cytochalasins (1-3) together with two known cytochalasin analogues (4 and 5) were isolated from the chloroform fraction of ethanolic extract of a medicinal macrofungus Cordyceps taii. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, including HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR experiments. The cytotoxicities of Compounds 1-5 were investigated by the sulforhodamine B (SRB) method in vitro against human highly metastatic lung cancer cell 95-D, human lung cancer cell line A-549 and normal hepatocyte HL-7702. The results revealed that Compounds 4 and 5 showed potent antitumor activities against human lung cancer cell 95-D with IC50 value of 3.67 and 4.04 µM, respectively. In comparison with cisplatin, the first-line chemotherapy drug, they had little or no cytotoxicity on normal cells, but showed stronger cytotoxic effects on cancer cells 95-D.

Antitumor and antimetastatic activities of chloroform extract of medicinal mushroom Cordyceps taii in mouse models.

BACKGROUND: Cordyceps taii, an entomogenous fungus native to south China, is a folk medicine with varieties of pharmacological activities including anticancer effect. To validate the ethnopharmacological claim against cancer, the antitumor and antimetastatic activities of chloroform extract of C. taii (CFCT) were investigated in vivo. METHODS: The in vitro cytotoxic activities of CFCT against human lung cancer (A549) and gastric cancer (SGC-7901) cells were evaluated using the Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. In vivo anti tumor and antimetastatic activities, Kunming mice bearing sarcoma 180 and C57BL/6 mice bearing melanoma B16F10 were employed, respectively. The antitumor effects of CFCT were completely evaluated on the basis of the tumor weight, survival time, histologic analysis, and immune organ indices. The histopathological change, metastatic foci and malignant melanoma specific marker HMB45 in the lung tissue were detected for the evaluation of the antimetastatic activity of CFCT. RESULTS: CFCT exhibited dose- and time-dependent cytotoxicities against A549 and SGC-7901 cells with the IC50 values of 30.2 and 65.7 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, CFCT at a dose of 50 or 100 mg/kg could significantly inhibit the tumor growth in vivo and prolonged the survival time in two different models as compared with the model group, especially when combined with the CTX at a low dose rate. And it also increased spleen index of Kunming mice and thymus index of C57BL/6 mice. Meanwhile, histologic analysis illustrated that CFCT alone or in combination with CTX could induce tumor tissue necrosis of both models. In addition, CFCT at a dose of 50 or 100 mg/kg inhibited the lung metastasis of melanoma B16F10 in tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice. The antimetastatic effect was also observed when CFCT was used in combination with CTX. In comparison to any other groups, CFCT at a dose of 100 mg/kg could effectively enhance the GSH-Px activities of various tissues in tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that CFCT has potent in vivo antitumor and antimetastatic activities, and may be helpful to the development of anticancer chemopreventive agents from C. taii.

[Research progress on hypoglycemic effect and its mechanism of action of medicinal fungal polysaccharides].

Due to substantial morbidity and high complications, diabetes mellitus is considered as the third "killer" in the world. Medicinal fungal polysaccharides, as water-soluble macromolecular substances with low toxicity, exhibit diversified pharmacological actions such as immune regulation, anti-tumor, antivirus, antioxidant, anti-aging, hypoglycemic effect and improving liver and kidney function. In recent year, a number of investigators reported medicinal fungal polysaccharides showed good anti-diabetes and hypoglycemic activity, and their acting mechanisms involved in glycometabolism and ß cell function, e. g. promoting glycogen synthesis, promoting glycolysis, inhibiting the activity of α-glucosidase, promoting insulin secretion, increasing insulin sensitivity, enhancing antioxidation. Therefore, the hypoglycemic activity and its mechanisms of action of medicinal fungal polysaccharides showed characteristics of multiple effects, multi-target, and multi-pathway regulation. These finding suggest that medicinal fungal polysaccharides are a promising source for the development of discovery of anti-diabetic agent.

Hepatic Involvement in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-Associated Kaposi's Sarcoma: A Descriptive Analysis on CT, MRI, and Ultrasound.

Purpose: To retrospectively analyse the different imaging manifestations of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated hepatic Kaposi's sarcoma (AIDS-HKS) on CT, MRI, and Ultrasound. Patients and Methods: Eight patients were enrolled in the study. Laboratory tests of liver function were performed. The CT, MRI, and Ultrasound manifestations were reviewed by two radiologists and two sonographers, respectively. The distribution and imaging signs of AIDS-HKS were evaluated. Results: AIDS-HKS patients commonly presented multiple lesions, mainly distributed around the portal vein on CT, MRI, and Ultrasound. AIDS-HKS presented as ring enhancement in the arterial phase on contrast-enhanced CT and MRI scanning, and nodules gradually strengthen in the portal venous phase and the delayed phase. AIDS-HKS presented as intrahepatic bile duct dilatation and bile duct wall thickening around the lesion. Five patients (62.5%, 5/8) were followed up. After chemotherapy, the lesions were completely relieved (60.0%), or decreased (40.0%). Conclusion: AIDS-HKS presented as multiple nodular lesions with different imaging features. The combination of different imaging methods was helpful for the imaging diagnosis of AIDS-HKS.

Chinese expert consensus on imaging diagnosis of drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the major infectious diseases in the world with a high incidence rate. Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a key and difficult challenge in the prevention and treatment of TB. Early, rapid, and accurate diagnosis of DR-TB is essential for selecting appropriate and personalized treatment and is an important means of reducing disease transmission and mortality. In recent years, imaging diagnosis of DR-TB has developed rapidly, but there is a lack of consistent understanding. To this end, the Infectious Disease Imaging Group, Infectious Disease Branch, Chinese Research Hospital Association; Infectious Diseases Group of Chinese Medical Association of Radiology; Digital Health Committee of China Association for the Promotion of Science and Technology Industrialization, and other organizations, formed a group of TB experts across China. The conglomerate then considered the Chinese and international diagnosis and treatment status of DR-TB, China's clinical practice, and evidence-based medicine on the methodological requirements of guidelines and standards. After repeated discussion, the expert consensus of imaging diagnosis of DR-PB was proposed. This consensus includes clinical diagnosis and classification of DR-TB, selection of etiology and imaging examination [mainly X-ray and computed tomography (CT)], imaging manifestations, diagnosis, and differential diagnosis. This expert consensus is expected to improve the understanding of the imaging changes of DR-TB, as a starting point for timely detection of suspected DR-TB patients, and can effectively improve the efficiency of clinical diagnosis and achieve the purpose of early diagnosis and treatment of DR-TB.

[The mechanism of inhibition of the increase in intracellular calcium concentration by the islet amyloid polypeptide in high glucose-stimulated INS-1 cells].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the potential mechanism of the inhibition of increased intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca²âº]i) by short-term exposure to the islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) in high glucose-stimulated pancreatic ß cells. METHODS: The pancreatic ß cells were loaded with calcium sensitive fluorescent indicator Fluo-4/AM. The fluorescence intensity, which represented [Ca²âº]i, was measured in time by laser scanning confocal microscope before and after stimulated by glucose, KCl, caffeine and carbachol. RESULT: The fluorescence intensity F/F0 in INS-1 cells, increased to about 2 folds after glucose stimulation. After the exposure to the IAPP with different concentration, the fluorescence intensity F/F0 was decreased slightly in the pretreated cells by 16.7 mmol/L glucose with 0.5 µmol/L IAPP. However, after the pretreatment of IAPP with the concentration of 1.0, 5.0, 10.0 µmol/L, the fluorescence intensity F/F0 showed a dose-dependent decrease with statistical difference. The fluorescence intensity F/F0 in the cells increased rapidly in a peak pattern after the stimulation of 30 mmol/L KCl. But with the pretreatment of 10.0 µmol/L IAPP, the fluorescence intensity F/F0 decreased with statistical difference. With 20 mmol/L caffeine and 100 µmol/L carbachol which stimulated Ca²âº release respectively from internal ryanodine receptor (RYR) and inositol triphosphate (IP3) Ca²âº storage, the fluorescence intensity F/F0 curve presented a peak pattern. After 10 µmol/L IAPP pretreatment, the fluorescence intensity F/F0 showed no statistical difference from the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The short-term effect of IAPP on pancreatic ß cells has no influence on the caffeine and carbachol stimulated Ca²âº release from endoplasmic reticulum RYR and IP3 Ca²âº storage. The inhibition of calcium increase in INS-1 cells by short-term exposure to IAPP may mainly via inhibiting the voltage-gated L-calcium channels with intact release capacity of Ca²âº storage.

[Application of carbon nanoparticles in the laparoscopic sentinel lymph node detection in patients with cervical cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of laparoscopic sentinel lymph node(SLN) detection with carbon nanoparticles tracer in cervical carcinoma. METHODS: Totally 21 patients with confirmed early cervical cancer were enrolled in this study.Before laparoscopic extended hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenoetomy(and para-aortic lymphadenoectomy) , they were injected with carbon nanoparticles suspension injection tracer from cervical neck before surgery. The black-staining lymph nodes were cut as SLN under the laparoscope for routine pathological examination. RESULTS: Of these 21 patients, at least one SLN was successfully detected in 20 patients(95.24%) , and a total of 158 SLNs were detected.The conventional pathology results suggested that 5 patients(23.81%) had positive lymph nodes(n=16, including 14 in 4 patients) . The new approach showed a sensitivity of 80.0%(4/5) , accuracy of 100.0%(20/20) , and negative predictive value of 100.0%(16/16) for SLN detection. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic SLN detection with carbon nanoparticles tracer is a relative safe and sensitive method for in cervical carcinoma.

Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China.

OBJECTIVE: Omicron, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, is responsible for numerous infections in China. This study investigates the association between the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea (SFHT) and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to develop precise and differentiated strategies for control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: This case-control study was conducted at shelter hospitals and quarantine hotels in China. A total of 5348 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled between April 1 and May 31, 2022, while 2190 uninfected individuals served as healthy controls. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, underlying diseases, vaccination status, and use of SFHT. Patients were propensity-score-matched using 1:1 nearest-neighbor matching of the logit of the propensity score. Subsequently, a conditional logistic regression model was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 7538 eligible subjects were recruited, with an average age of [45.54 ± 16.94] years. The age of COVID-19 patients was significantly higher than that of uninfected individuals ([48.25 ± 17.48] years vs [38.92 ± 13.41] years; t = 22.437, P < 0.001). A total of 2190 COVID-19 cases were matched with uninfected individuals at a 1:1 ratio. The use of SFHT (odds ratio = 0.753, 95% confidence interval: 0.692, 0.820) was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to untreated individuals. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that taking SFHT reduces the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is a useful study in the larger picture of COVID-19 management, but data from large-sample multi-center, randomized clinical trial are warranted to confirm the finding. Please cite this article as: Zhang SX, Chen XX, Zheng Y, Cai BH, Shi W, Ru M, Li H, Zhang DD, Tian Y, Chen YL. Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(4):369-376.